1422 treaty ending the Gollub War
Treaty of Melno
Treaty of Lake Melno
|
---|
Map of the State of the Teutonic Order between 1260 and 1410.
|
Context
| Gollub War
|
---|
Signed
| 27 September 1422
|
---|
Location
| Lake Melno
|
---|
Ratified
| 9?18 May 1423
|
---|
Condition
| Approval by
Pope Martin V
|
---|
Parties
| |
---|
The
Treaty of Melno
(
Lithuanian
:
Melno taika
;
Polish
:
Pokoj melne?ski
) or
Treaty of Lake Melno
(
German
:
Friede von Melnosee
) was a
peace treaty
ending the
Gollub War
. It was signed on 27 September 1422, between the
Teutonic Knights
and an alliance of the
Kingdom of Poland
and the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
at
Lake Melno
(German:
Melnosee, Meldensee
; Polish:
Jezioro Mełno
), east of Graudenz (
Grudzi?dz
). The treaty resolved territorial disputes between the Knights and Lithuania regarding
Lithuania Minor
and
Samogitia
, which had dragged on since 1382, and determined the Prussian?Lithuanian border, which afterwards remained unchanged for about 500 years. A portion of the original border survives as a portion of
the modern border
between the
Republic of Lithuania
and
Kaliningrad Oblast
, Russia, making it one of the oldest and most stable borders in Europe.
[1]
Background
[
edit
]
The
First Peace of Thorn
of 1411 did not resolve long-standing territorial disputes between the Teutonic Knights and the
Polish?Lithuanian union
. The peace transferred
Samogitia
to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but only for the lifetimes of Polish King
Jogaila
(Władysław II Jagiełło) and Lithuanian Grand Duke
Vytautas
. At the time both rulers were aged men. Soon disagreements arose as to the Samogitian borders: Vytautas claimed that the entire northern bank of the
Neman River
, including the port of Memel (
Klaip?da
), was Samogitian territory.
[2]
The dispute was mediated at the
Council of Constance
and by
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
. When Sigismund delivered an unfavorable judgment to the Lithuanians, Jogaila and Vytautas invaded the
monastic state of the Teutonic Knights
in July 1422, starting the
Gollub War
.
[3]
The Teutonic Knights, led by
Grand Master
Paul von Rusdorf
, were unable to mount a suitable defense. However Poland?Lithuania decided to end the conflict before reinforcements from the
Holy Roman Empire
could arrive through
Farther Pomerania
.
[4]
A truce was signed on 17 September 1422. Each side named eight representatives,
[nb 1]
gave them full authority to negotiate, and sent them to the Polish Army camp near Lake Melno.
[5]
The Treaty of Melno was concluded ten days later, on 27 September.
[6]
Provisions
[
edit
]
According to the terms of the treaty, the Teutonic Knights for the first time renounced all territorial, political, and missionary claims against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
[3]
Samogitia
was permanently ceded to Lithuania. The Prussian?Lithuanian border ran from sparsely inhabited wilderness in
Suvalkija
, through the triangle north of the
Neman River
, to
Nemirseta
on the
Baltic Sea
. Thus the Knights still controlled Neman's lower reaches and Memel (
Klaip?da
), an important seaport and trade center. Lithuania retained access to the Baltic Sea between the towns of
Palanga
(Polangen)
[nb 2]
and
?ventoji
(Heiligen Aa) ? a distance of about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi).
[7]
However, Lithuania failed to develop harbors in Palanga or ?ventoji as there was stiff competition with the nearby established ports of Memel and Libau (
Liep?ja
)
[8]
and unfavorable natural conditions.
[9]
Thus it could not be considered a real access to the sea.
[10]
For the Knights this short coastline strip was a major sacrifice as it separated the Teutonic Knights in
Prussia
from
their branch
in
Livonia
. The treaty is often described as a mutual Prussian?Lithuanian compromise.
[3]
The Kingdom of Poland received
Nieszawa
and half of the
Vistula
channel from the mouth of the
Drw?ca
River; in return Poland renounced any territorial claims to
Pomerelia
,
Culmerland
, and the
Michelauer Land
.
[7]
These results were described as a "disappointment" for Poland.
[10]
The treaty also required that the Teutonic Commander's Castle in Nieszawa be destroyed.
[11]
At the time of the treaty, the parties did not have their official seals and therefore it was not immediately
ratified
.
[5]
Grand Master Rusdorf attempted to exploit the recess and renegotiate the treaty because his subjects were not satisfied with the terms. He hoped to wage a war with assistance from the Holy Roman Emperor. However, Sigismund and Jogaila met in Kasmark (
Ke?marok
) and agreed to an alliance: Sigismund would end his support to the Knights and Poland?Lithuania would stop their assistance to the
Hussites
in the
Hussite Wars
.
[5]
This meant that Vytautas had to abandon his interventions in Bohemia.
[12]
The agreement was signed on 30 March 1423.
[7]
The Treaty of Melno was subsequently ratified on 9?18 May in
Veliuona
and approved by
Pope Martin V
on 10 July 1423.
[13]
Poland?Lithuania affixed some 120 official seals to the treaty.
[14]
The first Lithuanian signatories were
voivode of Vilnius
Albertas Manvydas
,
starosta
of Vilnius
Kristinas Astikas
,
voivode of Trakai
Jonas Jaunius,
elder of Samogitia
Mykolas Skirgaila.
[15]
Aftermath
[
edit
]
The treaty effectively ended warfare between the Teutonic Knights and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which had continued with brief interruptions since the 13th century. The last volunteer crusaders arrived in October 1422; after that the Knights had to rely on their own men or on mercenaries.
[16]
It was a welcome development to Lithuania, as the treaty allowed it to direct its attention towards its Eastern territories and to internal reforms.
[3]
War-devastated border regions in Samogitia and
Suvalkija
began to recover. However, the Polish?Teutonic disputes were not resolved. In a telling episode shortly after the treaty had been signed, the Knights and the Poles disputed a watermill in
Lubicz
, a strategic post that had been turned into a fortress.
[17]
Vytautas was angered by the dispute and threatened to give up Palanga to the Knights if Poland did not surrender its claims to Lubicz. The Knights won this dispute.
[17]
The treaty put an effective end to the Polish?Lithuanian cooperation against the Knights.
[18]
The Teutonic Knights attempted to befriend the Lithuanians, offering a royal crown to Vytautas in hopes of breaking up the Polish?Lithuanian union. During the
Lithuanian Civil War (1431?1435)
, Lithuanian Duke
?vitrigaila
was able to employ the Polish?Teutonic animosity for his own advantages ? the Knights invaded Poland, starting the
Polish?Teutonic War
. The two states battled again during the
Thirteen Years' War (1454?66)
, a civil war that tore Prussia in half.
The agreement drew the Prussian?Lithuanian border roughly and imprecisely, resulting in local demarcation disputes. The border was redrawn with greater detail and precision in 1532 and 1545.
[19]
The border survived without major changes until World War I. In 1919, the
Treaty of Versailles
detached the
Klaip?da Region
(Memel Territory) from Germany as a
League of Nations mandate
.
Lithuania
annexed the region in 1923. The southern portion of the border, with small modifications, still survives as the border between Lithuania and
Kaliningrad Oblast
, Russia.
[1]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Ra?imait?, Egl? (2010-03-24).
"Siena: ?imtme?i? vingiai"
.
Kelias
(in Lithuanian): 60?64.
ISSN
1648-7818
.
- ^
Ivinskis, Zenonas
(1978).
Lietuvos istorija iki Vytauto Did?iojo mirties
(in Lithuanian). Rome: Lietuvi? katalik? mokslo akademija. p. 345.
LCCN
79346776
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Kiaupa, Zigmantas
; Kiaupien?, J?rat?; Kuncevi?ius, Albinas (2000).
The History of Lithuania Before 1795
. Vilnius: Lithuanian Institute of History. pp. 144?145.
ISBN
9986-810-13-2
.
- ^
Turnbull, Stephen
(2003).
Tannenberg 1410: Disaster for the Teutonic Knights
. Oxford: Osprey. pp. 83?84.
ISBN
1-84176-561-9
.
- ^
a
b
c
Urban, William
(2003).
Tannenberg and After
. Chicago: Lithuanian Research and Studies Center. pp. 281?283.
ISBN
0-929700-25-2
.
- ^
Stanislaus F. Belch (2017).
Paulus Vladimiri and his doctrine concerning international law and politics
. Vol. 2.
Walter de Gruyter
. p. 1074.
ISBN
9783111589725
.
- ^
a
b
c
Zinkus, Jonas; et al., eds. (1985?1988). "Melno taika".
Taryb? Lietuvos enciklopedija
(in Lithuanian). Vol. 3. Vilnius, Lithuania: Vyriausioji enciklopedij? redakcija. p. 46.
LCCN
86232954
.
- ^
Sema?ka, Algimantas (2006).
Kelioni? vadovas po Lietuv?: 1000 lankytin? vietovi? norintiems geriau pa?inti gimt?j? kra?t?
(in Lithuanian) (4th ed.). Vilnius: Algimantas. p. 498.
ISBN
9986-509-90-4
.
- ^
McLachlan, Gordon (2008).
Lithuania: the Bradt travel guide
(5th ed.). Bradt Travel Guides. p. 209.
ISBN
978-1-84162-228-6
.
- ^
a
b
Halecki, Oskar; F. Reddaway; J. H. Penson.
The Cambridge History of Poland to 1696
. Cambridge University Press. p. 222.
ISBN
978-1-00-128802-4
.
- ^
Jo?wiak, Sławomir (2003).
"Zburzenie zamku komturskiego w Nieszawie w latach 1422?1423"
(PDF)
.
Rocznik Toru?ski
.
30
: 19?33. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 15 June 2023.
- ^
Mick?nait?, Giedr? (2006).
Making a great ruler: Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania
. Central European University Press. p. 50.
ISBN
978-963-7326-58-5
.
- ^
Ju?as, Me?islovas (2009).
The Battle of Grunwald
. Vilnius: National Museum Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. p. 112.
ISBN
978-609-95074-5-3
.
- ^
Petrauskas, Rimvydas;
Kiaupien?, J?rat?
(2009).
Lietuvos istorija
. Nauji horizontai: dinastija, visoumen?, valstyb?
(in Lithuanian). Vol. IV.
Baltos lankos
. pp. 416?417.
ISBN
978-9955-23-239-1
.
- ^
Kirkien?, Genut? (2008).
LDK politikos elito galingieji: Chodkevi?iai XV?XVI am?iuje
(in Lithuanian). Vilniaus universiteto leidykla. p. 65.
ISBN
978-9955-33-359-3
.
- ^
Christiansen, Eric (1997).
The Northern Crusades
. London: Penguin Books. p.
242
.
ISBN
0-14-026653-4
.
- ^
a
b
Mick?nait?, Giedr? (2006).
Making a great ruler: Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania
. Central European University Press. p. 130.
ISBN
978-963-7326-58-5
.
- ^
Lukowski, Jerzy; W. H. Zawadzki (2006).
A concise history of Poland
(2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 48.
ISBN
978-0-521-61857-1
.
- ^
?elkis, Tomas (2008).
"Nuo teritorinio ruo?o prie linijos: sien? sampratos poky?iai Lietuvos Did?iojoje Kunigaik?tyst?je XIV?XVI am?iuje"
(PDF)
.
Lietuvos istorijos studijos
(in Lithuanian).
22
: 68, 70.
ISSN
1392-0448
.
53°26′15″N
19°00′15″E
/
53.43750°N 19.00417°E
/
53.43750; 19.00417