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• The Role of Gifts in the Diplomatic Relations between Sigismund of Luxemburg and the Teutonic Order

  37–58

  László Pósán

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  109

  In the diplomatic relations between Sigismund of Luxembourg and the Teutonic Order, gifts of varying kinds and value played an important role, in line with contemporary European practice. Far more records survive concerning the gifts presented by the Order to the Hungarian and King of the Romans than those sent by Sigismund to the Grand Master. The Order’s gifts often conveyed symbolic political messages; by contrast, no such function can be clearly identified in Sigismund’s case. In its gift-giving practices, the Order also considered the potential political influence of wives and daughters at princely courts, and accordingly extended gifts to them. Given the Order’s monastic and ecclesiastical character, such a practice on Sigismund’s part is hardly conceivable. Particular attention should be paid to the Grand Master’s most prestigious gifts, namely trained hunting falcons, highly esteemed across Europe. These were distributed according to the rank of the recipients and the significance of political relations, with the number of birds serving as an indicator of status.

  Notably, the treasury accounts of the Grand Master record only one Hungarian gift deemed worthy of specific mention: Hungarian wine. Strikingly, the sources indicate that this “gift” was in fact purchased by the Order at considerable cost. As for other items Sigismund may have sent to Prussia, these can be inferred from the practices of other European rulers, typically consisting of objects compatible with the knights’ monastic lifestyle or of religious relics.

• Balancing between Loyalties The Teutonic Order Bailiwick of Utrecht and the Formation of the Dutch State, 1528–1648

  169-192

  Renger E. de Bruin

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  245

  During the Dutch Revolt, the Teutonic Order Bailiwick of Utrecht found itself caught between two fires: the rebels and the legitimate authority of the Spanish king, who had been sovereign of the Netherlands since Charles V expanded his Burgundian inheritance with a few territories and loosened the Burgundian Circle from the Holy Roman Empire, transferring it together with the Spanish possessions to his son Philip II. While at first the fiction was maintained that the battle was not against the king himself but against his evil advisers, with the abjuration of Philip II in 1581 that was over. The rebellious area became a republic of independent provinces, increasingly Calvinistic in character. From then on, the province of Utrecht had authority over the Bailiwick of Utrecht. This institution, under the leadership of the fiercely Catholic Land Commander Jacob Taets van Amerongen, resisted the push for Protestantization. He also remained loyal to the Habsburg Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and in 1594 he sent knights to Hungary to fight the Turks, whom the Dutch actually viewed as allies. This created a security problem for the new state. In 1615, the States of Utrecht decided that the next land commander and also new knights should be Protestant. In 1640, the Protestantization process was finished with the abolition of celibacy, which marked a break with the Grand Master. Henceforth, the Utrecht Teutonic knights were Protestant, mostly married nobles, who functioned as politicians or army officers in the Dutch Republic. This state was recognized at the Westphalian Peace in 1648, including by the Spanish king.

• Diplomacy at the Time of the Breakthrough. Correspondence of King John I Albrecht (Jan Olbracht) with the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order

  57-66

  Adam Szweda

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  218

  This article discusses letters written by King John I Albert to the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order and other recipients, preserved in the archives of the Teutonic Order. The first of these was sent by the prince, who sought the support of Grand Master Johann von Tiefen during the election of 1492. Most of the correspondence concerns the king’s relations with Tiefen’s successor, Duke Frederick of Saxony. The first problem was Frederick’s refusal to swear an oath of allegiance, which he consistently refused to do. The second important issue was the fight against the Turks, with the king demanding help from the Teutonic Order. The Grand Master’s brother, Duke Georg of Saxony, whose wife was the Polish king’s sister Barbara, was also involved in Polish diplomatic activities. Thirteen letters from the short reign of John Albrecht (1492–1501) were discussed, including their subject matter, form, and accompanying seals.