ThePrussian Homage orPrussian Tribute (German:Preußische Huldigung;Polish:hołd pruski) was the formalinvestiture ofAlbert, Duke of Prussia (1490-1568), with hisDuchy of Prussia as afief of theKingdom of Poland that took place on 10 April1525 in the then capital ofKraków, Kingdom of Poland. This ended the rule of theTeutonic Order in Prussia, which became a secularProtestant state.
Fighting in theThirteen Years War of1454-1466 and thePolish-Teutonic War (1519-1521) ended with an armistice. A year later in 1522, Albert, also theGrand Master of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Royal dynasty of theHouse of Hohenzollern, became aProtestant, as did many other members of theTeutonic Order and Prussian noblesat the suggestion of Dr.Martin Luther (1483-1546), to Albert.
Luther was a formerRoman Catholic priest, continued as a theological professor at theUniversity of Wittenberg in the town ofWittenberg,Saxony and a monk in theAugustinian religious order. A reformer, author and eventual leader ofEvangelical Lutheranism, espousing doctrine and theology since1517, along with gathering many other supporters among laity, clergy, academics, and nobility, initiating the beginnings ofEvangelical. He debated / argued with other reformers such as Swiss theologianUlrich Zwingli, French / SwissJohn Calvin orJohn Knox in theKingdom of Scotland on their slightly different emphases ofReformed /Calvinism /Presbyterianism movements in the largerProtestantism of theReformation inWestern Christianity during the16th century.
Albert agreed that Prussia should submit to Poland and become officially a Protestant state. KingSigismund I the Old of Poland (1467-1548, reigned1506-1548), (who happened to be Albert's uncle) accepted this, because it was better for Poland for strategic reasons rather than have the independent State of the Teutonic Order in Prussia, formally subject to theHoly Roman Empire inCentral Europe andGermany and itsEmperor and thebishops of theRoman Catholic Church and thePapacy inRome.
These terms were included in theTreaty of Kraków, which officially ended the Polish–Teutonic War on 8 April1525. A week later, on 10 April, in theMain Square of the then Polish capital Kraków, Albert resigned as Grand Master and received the title "Duke of Prussia" from Polish King Sigismund. Thus the Duchy of Prussia became the first Protestant state, anticipating the terms three decades later of thePeace of Augsburg of1555.
As a symbol of vassalage, Albert received a standard with the Prussian coat of arms from the Polish king. The black Prussian eagle on the flag was augmented with a letter "S" (for Sigismundus) and had a crown placed around its neck as a symbol of fealty to Poland.
The tradition ofPrussian Homages dates back to the year 1469, when, after theThirteen Years' War (1454–66) and theSecond Peace of Thorn (1466), each new Grand Master was obliged to pay homage to Polish rulers within six months of his election. Some Grand Masters refused to do so, claiming that the Order was underPapal sovereignty. Among those who refused wereMartin Truchseß von Wetzhausen,Frederick of Saxony (who referred the matter to the 1495Imperial Diet), and Albert. Five Grand Masters did comply:
TheDuchy of Prussia was created in 1525, and the homage of Duke Albert of Prussia took place on 10 April 1525 at Kraków. The last homage took place on 6 October 1641 in front of theRoyal Castle, Warsaw. Following theTreaty of Bromberg (1657), Prussian rulers were no longer regarded asvassals of Polish kings.