Draft:Warsaw Trial 1339
The Warsaw trial - a canonical trial conducted in Warsaw in 1339 before the envoys of Pope Benedict XII. The parties to the trial were the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order.
Description[edit]
The trial began on February 4 in Warsaw, as a result of the efforts of Casimir the Great. This took place after the rejection of the provisions of the judgment issued at Visegrad in 1335, which was unfavorable to Poland. The rulers of Bohemia and Hungary, who acted as peacemakers in the judgment, granted to the Order as a perpetual donation (alms) Gdańsk Pomerania and Chelmno Land.
The judges in the Warsaw trial were the papal collectors of the Apostolic Camera: Galhard de Carceribus and Peter Le Puy. The King of Poland was represented by prosecutors Bertold of Raciborz, Jarosław of Bogoria and Skotniki and Wojciech of Bochnia.
The court sat in the alderman's house in the Old Town Square and in St. John's Church.
The Polish side prepared a full indictment detailing Polish-Teutonic relations, demanding the return of: Gdansk Pomerania, Chelmno and Michalow lands, and Kuyavia and Dobrzyn lands. The Chelmno Land was to return to the Kingdom of Poland as its former constituent part, but also as a result of the Order's loss of rights to its possession as a result of its armed action against Poland as its benefactor.
After hearing 126 witnesses, the court settled the dispute, issuing a verdict on September 15, in which the Teutonic Order was ordered to return Kujawy and Dobrzyn lands, Gdansk Pomerania, and Chelmno and Michalov lands. At the same time, Poland was ordered to pay damages of 194,500 grzywna (ancient Polish monetary unit). The entire cost of the trial was to be paid by the order.
The verdict was not accepted by the Teutonic Knights, who from the beginning of the trial questioned the competence of the court, and after the verdict appealed to the Avignon curia.
Benedict XII ordered a re-examination, which was less favorable to Poland (p. Peace of Kalisz).
Bibliography[edit]
- Janusz Bieniak, "Litterati" świeccy w procesie warszawskim z 1339 r., [w:] Cultus et cognitio. Studia z dziejów średniowiecznej kultury, Warszawa 1976
- Janusz Bieniak, "Milites" w procesie polsko-krzyżackim z r. 1339, "Przegląd Historyczny", 75, 1984, z. 3
- Ignacy Zakrzewski, Spory i sprawy pomiędzy Polakami a Zakonem Krzyżackim Tom 1 Poznań 1890