26 November 1335

 

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. We, Charles and John, by divine grace Kings of Hungary and Bohemia, announce to all through the present document that the magnificent Prince Lord Casimir, the King of Poland on one part, and the Grand Master, praeceptors and all the knights hospitaller of the Order of Crusaders of the Teutonic House on the other, with the desire to be the sons of peace with each other, made a sincere agreement about the lands, the provinces, and the districts of Culmerland (Chełmno Lands), Dobrin (Dobrzyń Land), Cuiavia (Kujawy), Pomerania (Gdansk Pomerania), and Torun (Toruń), which had since very ancient times been in dispute between the late Wladislaus, King of Poland, latterly - after his felicitous passing away to our Lord - King Casimir and the aforementioned crusaders; they trusted themselves, by their free will, to us, the Hungarian and Bohemian kings, and to, as previously and as present, their friendly and customary arbiters, which - at present - remains strengthened by legal documents and valid, mutual compulsory letters. We, for such and different affairs, came to meet around All Saints' Day in the year of the Lord 1335, at the Castle of Visegrád, in Hungary; Lord Casimir, the King of Poland was personally present; Knight Henry Ruthenus, provincial of Culmerland of the above-mentioned Teutonic Order; Knight Marcard de Sparrenbergh, commandant of Torun; Knight Conrad of Brunyeshem, commandant of Schwetz, came in the name of the Grand Master, of the praeceptors, and of the entire body of knights with legal and sufficient letters of attorney. The prelates and barons were also with us, whom we mutually desired to join, and for days we took the documents, evidence and rights under thorough and diligent examination; at last, with God's favour directing sharpness to our minds with equal scale, we came to the following decision and order: Lord Casimir, King of Poland, the land of Cuiavia and Dobrin with all the provinces, districts, utilities and territories belonging for ages within their old borders, with full due right and title of domain, as his ancestor and predecessor, consequently he, the real and true successor had and has - especially his own portions of the land of Cuiavia - owned, shall own them all peacefully, quietly, perpetually and for ever, and then shall leave them to son and son. Except for the right that all goods and lands in Cuiavia and Dobrin that the crusaders had owned peacefully and undisturbed by right before the war shall be kept as they had been owned before with all rights and jurisdiction by the Order, with all the territories within their old borders. The Grand Master and the aforementioned lords of the crusaders, the land of Pomerania, with its district within the old borders, similarly with all territories and usages that were passed to the knights by Casimir, King of Poland, as an eternal donation for the reason and hope of a divine recompense and for his own and his predecessors' salvation, and for eternal peace; moreover he, in our presence, renounced all rights which could possibly be demanded of the Polish monarchs concerning Pomerania; so, according to our arbitrated decision and order, the knights, with the rights and the means that the ancestors and predecessors of the lands of Culm and Torun had donated and left to them, shall own, possess and keep the lands still preserving the validity of this old donation. We also ordered by our arbitrated decision that any damages, injuries or molestations from both parties, whether towards to the Polish monarch and his subjects or to the crusaders and their subjects which have been caused in any way, ought to be compensated and completely ceased, so that the two parties shall have no demands remaining in the matter. Moreover, as we cannot omit it from our order, any of the liege lords of the Polish monarch, or of the crusaders, who had been expelled from his land during the war, whether from the territory of Cuiavia, Dobrin, Culmerland or Pomerania, we command that each refugee, by our present letter, ought to be restored to his domain and to the favours of his liege lord, in the event that he wants to return, or he can sell his land freely and settle where he prefers. As testimony and strength of all this action by our seals that are suspended on the present document. Concluded at Visegrád, in Hungary, in the presence of the undersigned honoured in Lord Jesus Christ, magnificent and noble men, namely, Chanad Archbishop and eternal bailiff of Strigonia, friar Ladislaus Archbishop of Kalocsa and Chancellor of Hungary, William Drugeth, Palatine of Hungary, Demetrius, Lord Chief Treasurer, Thomas, Voivode of Transsylvania and bailiff of Szolnok, Mikch, Ban of Sclavonia, Peter, court judge of Hungary, and Wytgone, Archbishop of Meissen, John, Archbishop of Olmutz, Rudolf, Prince of Saxony, Charles, Earl of Moravia, Bolezlo, Prince of Silesia and Lord of Legnica, Timon de Coldychz, Henry de Lypa, and other invited and requested attests. On the Sunday after the day of St. Elizabeth, in the year of the Lord 1335.

Charter issued on November 26, 1335, with the broken equestrian seal of King John (Original: Prussian Secret Central Archives, Berlin)

 

"26 November 1335". In: Rácz, György (ed.): Visegrád 1335. Bratislava, 2009, pp. 140-141.

 

»»» back