Teutonic Order; Middle Ages; Poland; History; 15th Century

The conflict between the State of the Teutonic Order and Poland was fought not only militarily but also diplomatically, through the use of a widespread spy network. Both sides of the conflict were zealously engaged in propaganda in the early fifteenth century in order to convince foreign countries of the righteousness of their own cause. Finally, both parties sought the negotiation of the Roman-German king-elect Sigismund of Luxemburg who, in his Second Buda Award of July 1414, postponed the conflict resolution to the Council of Constance. As a diplomatic event, the latter offered a welcome stage to both opponents for the propagandistic stylization of their own side as the shield (clypeus, scutum), forewall (antemurale) or bulwark (propugnaculum) etc. of Christendom. Of particular interest here is the theological and legal perspective of the respective deputies on the authority of the Council as an arbitrator for supranational peace and mediation. In the following, the emphasis will be placed upon the negotiating authorities and the mediating actors in the conflict between the Teutonic Order and the kingdom of Poland (and to a lesser extent also the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) from the so-called “Great War” 1409–1411 until the Peace of Lake Melno 1422.