 | |
| Type | Legal status and succession in theDuchy of Pomerania |
|---|---|
| Signed | 26 and 28 March 1493 |
| Location | Pyritz,Königsberg |
| Signatories | |
| Parties | |
| Language | German |
TheTreaty of Pyritz settled claims of theHouse of Pomerania and theHouse of Hohenzollern regarding the legal status and succession in theDuchy of Pomerania on 26 and 28 March 1493.[1]John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg of the Hohenzollern renounced theElectorate of Brandenburg's claims to hold the Pomeranian duchy as a fief on 26 March inPyritz (now Pyrzyce).[2] In turn,Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania acknowledged Brandenburgian succession in his duchy in case of the extinction of his dynasty on 28 March inKönigsberg (nowKaliningrad).[2] The treaty was the most important achievement of Bogislaw X's foreign policy.[3] It was confirmed and amended when a final settlement between the two houses was reached in theTreaty of Grimnitz in 1529.[3]
In the 15th century,a longstanding conflict between theElectorate of Brandenburg and theDuchy of Pomerania had flared up again: Brandenburg, then ruled by theHouse of Hohenzollern, claimed the Pomeranian duchy as a fief, while theHouse of Pomerania ("Griffins") claimedImperial immediacy.[4] The frontier between the realms of the two houses was also disputed, and the conflict was often fought out in open war.[4]
In 1464, the dispute escalated due to the death ofOtto III, Duke of Pomerania: Otto III had died without issue, and left hispartition of Pomerania, the Duchy of Pomerania-Stettin vacated.[5] Both his relatives from theHouse of Pomerania and the Hohenzollern claimed succession.[5] In theTreaty of Soldin (1466), the Pomeranian dukes and Brandenburgian electors settled for a scenario where the House of Pomerania would rule Pomerania-Stettin as a Brandenburgian fief.[6]
Yet, this treaty did not come into effect, and the two houses again resorted to warfare.[7] The war was temporarily ended with theTreaty of Prenzlau (1472), when the House of Pomerania had to accept Brandenburgian overlordship and succession as well as territorial losses, but flared up again in 1477.[8] Brandenburg was able to decide the war in her favour, andBogislaw X, meanwhile the sole Pomeranian duke after his co-rulers had died in 1464, 1474 and 1478, had to accept and renew the treaty of 1472 in theTreaty of Prenzlau (1479).[9]
While in 1479 Bogislaw X had pledged allegiance toAlbrecht III, Elector of Brandenburg, he refused to do so to his son,John Cicero, when the latter succeeded in the Brandenburgian electorate.[2] Margarethe, a daughter ofFrederick II, Elector of Brandenburg and married to Bogislaw X since 1477, sided with her husband in the feud despite maintaining good relations to her cousin, John Cicero.[10] Yet, Bogislaw X's marriage with Margarethe was not blessed with children.[11] Bogislaw X accused her that she had manipulated her body to prevent conception, so the Pomeranian duchy would fall to Brandenburg according to the treaties of Prenzlau.[11] Margarethe died in 1489.[12] In 1490 Bogislaw married AnnaJagiellon of Poland,[13] but, though Anna was pregnant, no heir was born yet by the time the treaty of Pyritz was concluded.[12]
John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg accepted that theHouse of Pomerania is not obliged to take theDuchy of Pomerania as a fief from theHouse of Hohenzollern, and that the dukes of Pomerania would not have to pledge allegiance to the Brandenburgian electors.[1] In turn,Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania assured the Hohenzollern their right of succession in the Duchy of Pomerania in case the House of Pomerania became extinct.[1] John Cicero made his assurances on 26 March 1493 in the Pomeranian town ofPyritz, while Bogislaw X responded in thePrussian town ofKönigsberg on 28 March.[2] The Brandenburgian right of Pomeranian succession was confirmed by oath by 150 Pomeranianprelates andlandlords.[2]
With the birth ofGeorg I, Duke of Pomerania on 11 April 1493, subsequently followed by the birth of four more children to Bogislaw X and Anna Jagiellon,[12] Brandenburg's hopes for prompt succession in Pomerania were thwarted.[14] When in 1495 Bogislaw X was invited to theImperial Diet inWorms, John Cicero ordered the interception of the invitation.[15] Both John Cicero and Bogislaw X then were absent from the Diet, yet John Cicero had arranged that - in his place - his brother formally received the Duchy of Pomerania as a fief.[15] In the following, Bogislaw X frequently contactedMaximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor to personally receive theDuchy of Pomerania as a fief.[15] In 1521, emperor Maximilian I's successorCharles V on his first Diet in Worms gave the Duchy of Pomerania as a fief to John Cicero's successorJoachim I and his brother Kasimir as well as to Bogislaw X, exploring an opportunity to receive taxes for the duchy from both the Hohenzollern and the House of Pomerania.[16] However, Bogislaw X was then integrated in theUpper Saxon Circle and awarded a seat and a vote in theImperial Diet, which he seized despite Brandenburgian protests inNuremberg in 1522.[17]
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After Bogislaw X's death in 1523, theBrandenburg-Pomeranian conflict continued between Joachim I and Bogislaw X's sons Georg I andBarnim XI who ruled Pomerania in common, but could be solved by diplomacy.[17][18] In 1526, Joachim I had intervened when the Pomeranian dukes were invited to participate in anImperial Diet inSpeyer.[14] The Pomeranian case was negotiated in Speyer, and high nobles of theHoly Roman Empire mediated the conflict thereafter.[17] In 1529, theTreaty of Grimnitz finally settled the conflict, confirming and amending the treaty of Pyritz:[3] In Grimnitz, Pomerania was confirmed as animmediate imperial fief, yet theElectors of Brandenburg had to be present at every formal investiture and were allowed to touch the Pomeranian flag during the process, furthermore they were allowed to entitle themselves as dukes of Pomerania with the exception of cases when both the Pomeranian dukes and the Brandenburgian electors were present.[17]
The succession clause of the Treaty of Grimnitz would have come into effect in 1637 with the death of the lastGriffin duke of Pomerania, yet, as this duke had concluded a conflicting treaty withSweden seven years before, theTreaty of Stettin (1630), and Pomerania at that time was occupied by superior Swedish forces, theBrandenburg-Pomeranian conflict continued between the houses ofHohenzollern andSweden.[19]
