The article analyzes the circumstances under which the war against the Polish King Wladyslaw II was declared by the Grand Master of the German Order Ulrich von Jungingen in August 1409. The subject has not been exhausted in literature, and the basis for the deliberations hereby constitutes the publication (as a source annex) of the notary instrument made in the Teutonic castle in Torun on 31 October 1409, ordered by the Torun commander Heinrich Hold. The content of the article concerns the circumstances in which the war declaration letter of the Grand Master issued in Marienburg castle on 6 August 1409 was handed over by the house commander to his envoys on 11 August, and the circumstances in which they brought it to the royal castle administrator (burggrabius capitanei) in Zlotoria. The behaviour of the royal official was astonishing, as he did not accept the letter. The analysis showed that in the autumn of 1409 the Polish party could lodge a plaint against the Teutonic Order concerning too hasty military activities – merely three days after declaring the war. It was demonstrated that the accusations could be justified from the formal point of view, however not in the interpretation which was presented by Poles. The sources clearly and explicitly prove that the military action was started by the German Order on 16 August, whereas the declaration letter reached Wladyslaw II on 14 August, which means three days before the outbreak of the war. Contrary to Polish accusations, which with time were becoming more and more severe, Teutonic authorities led by the Grand Master started actions against the Polish King at the end of July and beginning of August legally. The starting point for the Teutonic party in the talks with royal envoys in Marienburg on 1 August 1409 was the recognition of the question of Samogitia as the internal issue of the Order. The meeting failed to soothe the conflict. It even finished with war declarations of the Archbishop of Gniezno Mikolaj II Kurowski, which were followed by the same kind of declarations made by Ulrich von Jungingen. The statement of the Grand Master , contrary to the narration of Jan Dlugosz, was not a declaration of war. In a fit of passion the head of the Order discussed the situation with dignitaries, representatives of towns, knights and servants for many hours after the envoys had left. Having checked the legal aspect of the Order’s position in the conflict with the King and his inferior the Grand Duke of Lithuania Aleksander Witold, he ordered to make a war declaration letter on 6 August. It was a reason for announcing the mobilization of territory rations. On 8 August Teutonic brothers deliberately stopped its transport to the Kingdom of Poland in Torun for three days, the aim of which was to get more time to mobilize the army. It was not until 11 August that it reached the nearest location of a royal official – the administrator of the castle in Zlotoria. In the meantime the Teutonic Order promptly mobilized the army, and carried out one of the possible options of military actions (from the military point of view – the most cautious). Being sure that the declaration letter had reached the Polish King, they started military actions in Dobrzyn Land on 16 August.
The article concerns the attitude of Pomeranian dukes towards the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic conflict in the period from the summer-autumn of 1409 until the moment prior to the Prussian expedition of the Polish king in the summer 1410. The author attempts to explain the relationship between Pomeranian dukes, the Polish Kingdom and the Teutonic Order by analysing the activities of monarchs in the context of certain events. He rejects the analytical formula of examining the activities of rulers in terms of long-term “political strategies”. He is interested exclusively in cultural conditions. The author examines the activities of Świętobor I [Latin: Suatobor] and Bogusław VIII. He presents the significance of the alliance concluded by them on 20-24 August 1409 with the grand master. The articles reveals the premises allowing us to assume that they supported the Teutonic Order militarily at the beginning of October 1409. The author refutes the opinions held by older researchers that Bogusław VIII was to support both the Teutonic Order and the Polish Kingdom at the end of 1409 and at the beginning of 1410. The activities undertaken by this ruler may be interpreted as a result of his attitude, unchanged since the autumn of 1409. He attempted to remain neutral in the Polish-Teutonic conflict. The author shows that in the spring of 1410 Bogusław VIII, who had fallen out with the grand master at that time, was far from making an alliance with the Polish king, which placed him in a very unfavourable position. He realised that had the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic conflict not finished amicably, he would have had to support the Teutonic Order. In this situation the Duke of Słupsk started to act as a mediator between the two sides of the conflict. Together with Świętobor I and Ulrich I he sent an envoy to the Polish king, which was one of the elements of extensive mediation activity undertaken by Sigismund of Luxembourg. For Pomeranian dukes, including Bogusław VIII. It was an opportunity to gain recognition and good fame in the Reich, particularly in the regional system connecting rulers, which extended the scope of his reign.
In the second half of 1987 a group of parents and teachers mostly from academic areas decided to establish an official group of independent charter schools. This project aroused the interest of people working within structures of independent education and therefore the Social Educational Society was established.
The paper presents the activities of Swantibor I, Duke of Pomerania, undertaken in relation to the captivity of his son, the young Griffin Casimir [V], by the King of Poland, Władysław II, after the Battle of Grunwald on July 15, 1410; it also verifies the erroneous opinions present in the older literature regarding the period of Casimir’s imprisonment (1410–1411) and indicates sources which confirm that in 1411 Swantibor I went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Taking into account the old age of the Pomeranian monarch, his poor health, the several‑months‑long break in performing monarchic functions in his Duchy and gubernatorial functions in the Mittelmark, the geographical expanse of the journey, as well as its very destination – i.e., the sanctuaries, first and foremost the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem – this journey, distant and in many aspects dangerous for the old Duke, should be interpreted as a paternal votivem pilgrimage in the intention of recovering his son. We also pointed at some indications that the votive pilgrimage of Swantibor I was motivated not only by his paternal feelings for his son, but that the decision to visit the Holy Sepulchre resulted from the old Duke’s perception of the Polish‑Lithuanian‑Teutonic conflict and the King of Poland himself. The latter, keeping his son imprisoned, most likely in the distant Lithuania, presented himself to him as an enemy of Christianity availing himself of “pagans”, “schismatics”, and “Saracens” in the fight with the German order, whom both Griffins supported. In this situation, only a remarkable votive deed performed in the hope of eliciting direct divine intervention could have saved the son and return him to his father. This action of Swantibor I and its motives wholly inscribe themselves into the religious mentality of the then elite and their perception of reality.
The article concerns the chronological framework and circumstances of constructing a castle of the Teutonic Order in Bäslack (Bezławki). The research was based on written, mainly manuscript, primary sources. A detailed analysis has been made of the colonisation carried out by the Teutonic Order in the lower and middle course of the Dajna River, where this castle was built, in the region of Barten (Bartia). The analysis made it possible to date back the chronology of constructing the stronghold to the 1370s. It was also argued that the direct reason for erecting the castle was the conflict of the Bishop of Ermland (Warmia) Johann II Stryprock with the Teutonic Order, which had been escalating in the 1360s, and which ended only in 1374/1375. On the one hand, the construction of the castle in Bäslack was to symbolically emphasise the dominant position of the Teutonic Order in Prussia and its supremacy over the dominion of the bishops of Ermland. On the other hand, it was to serve as a tangible demarcation of the territory which was directly under the rule of the Teutonic Order in the region, where the border between the lands controlled by the Teutonic Knights and by the bishops of Ermland had not been firmly established, which was one of the causes of the aforementioned conflict.
In the article the author makes an attempt to analyze a small fragment of the 1409–1411 war connected not so much with military activities as with mental conditions of the perception of reality by people of those times. Asking the question about impressions (in a general sense) and feelings connected with the outcome of the battle of Grunwald among people of Prussia constitutes a part of cultural studies over the phenomenon of ‘war’ in particular and ‘conflict’ in general. It concerns important questions of the psychological influence which military activities and their outcomes exert on the human being. As far as reactions to the outcome of the battle appearing in the evening after the battle are concerned, indirect accounts show that the predominant feeling was the impression concerning the magnitude of the battle in the Teutonic Order, and a high number of the killed. This intense impression determined the appearance of oral narrations about the final stage of the battle. The next day after the battle, 16 July, apart from the sensory reception of the bodies of the killed soldiers and horses, the Prussians experienced various actions undertaken by Władysław II which had a symbolic and ritual character. They were as follows: liturgical acts during at least two votive solemn masses, presenting to the King military signs captured the previous day, the order of the King to find the bodies of Teutonic brothers and to send them to the nearest convent in a royal funeral procession, a magnificent ceremonial feast, and a three-day stay of the King on the battlefield. Inhabitants of Prussia witnessed the ostentation and manifestation of the belief that the Polish King had received the support from the supernatural during the battle of Grunwald, They also saw the manifestation of the total and glorious victory of the Polish monarch over the opponent, which was executed in all dimensions. Symbolically, they received a message of God’s sentence, which was the way people understood battles in those times. Among prisoners from the Teutonic army all those rituals must have caused a feeling of fear. The analysis of the source material shows that the mental influence of those events on prisoners on the battlefield from 15 to 17 July was not so strong despite its ostentatious character. Impressions from the battlefield did not make inhabitants of Prussia support the Polish King. The significant factor which affected the change of attitude among inhabitants of Prussia was the factual, not symbolic, presence of the royal army in the nearest geographical neighborhood, which was visible particularly in case of big Prussian towns. Reactions of members of the Prussian branch of the Teutonic Order were diversified. The behavior of some dignitaries who had survived the battle was marked by panic and confusion. Corporation bonds, the basic element constituting the Teutonic Order, were undermined. In such suddenly changed circumstances the organization of activities was based on a different type of relations such as family connections, ties of blood.
In the second half of 1987 a group of parents and teachers mostly from academic areas decided to establish an official group of independent charter schools. This project aroused the interest of people working within structures of independent education and therefore the Social Educational Society was established
Prezentowany artykuł jest publikacją źródłową. Zawiera omówienie jednego z rękopisów pruskiej proweniencji przechowywanego obecnie w Bibliotece Litewskiej Akademii Nauk im. Wróblewskich (Lietuvos mokslų akademijos Vrublevskių biblioteka) w dziale rękopisów (Rankraščių skyrius), w zespole F 15 (Rankraščių rinkinys „Borussica“), pod sygnaturą 73 (LMAVB, RS, F 15-73). W tekście przedstawiony został szczegółowy opis zewnętrzny rękopisu składającego się z dwóch oddzielnych części. Pochodzący z pierwszej połowy XVI stulecia dość znacznej objętości (290 kart papierowych) manuskrypt w formacie in folio zawiera regesty (w łącznej liczbie ok. 1725) wewnętrznej korespondencji zakonnej (oraz nielicznych dokumentów) z okresu 1270–1497, przy czym znaczna część zapisów nie została opatrzona datami rocznymi. Przeprowadzona dokładna analiza foliantu pozwoliła w obu częściach wyodrębnić 58 (lub 62) regestów dotyczących okresu wojny Królestwa Polskiego i Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego z zakonem niemieckim 1409–1411 r. Ustalono, że z tej liczby aż 40 (lub 44) regestów dotyczy listów, których oryginały zaginęły nie później niż w końcu XVIII w. Tak więc stanowią one materiał źródłowy do wojny 1409–1411 r., który nauce historycznej (począwszy od L. v. Baczki) dotychczas w ogóle w żadnej formie nie był znany (pozostałe 18 regestów dotyczy korespondencji, która zachowała się do dziś w oryginalnym zapisie i przechowywana jest w zespole OBA w GStA PK w Berlinie-Dahlem). Do analitycznej źródłoznawczej części artykułu dołączono obszerny załącznik źródłowy (Quellenmaterial), w którym publikowane jest 39 regestów dotyczących wydarzeń 1409–1411 r., znajdujących się w 2 części manuskryptu (w tym 37 regestów listów dotychczas nieznanych i 2 regesty listów zachowanych w oryginale). Pozostałe 3 regesty z 1 części manuskryptu (i 4 domniemane odnoszące się do wojny 1409–1411 r. zapisane w 2 części) opublikowane zostaną w II części artykułu, gdzie zaprezentowana zostanie również próba identyfikacji autora rękopisu oraz przyczyn i celu jego powstania.
The penance practice of the Church changed during the ages. One of the invariable elements of the sacrament of penance and reconciliation is the service of the dispenser. Particular stages of the canon penance that was the form of celebration of this sacrament in the first centuries of the Church, i.e. entering the state of penitents, the period of penance and reconciliation, had a liturgical character and occurred with the participation of the whole community of the Church. The bishop (and later also the presbyter), who was at the head of the Christian community, made the decision about admitting to the state of penitents, led the penitential rites, heard the confession (if a confession was necessary), determined the way penance was to be performed, as well as its length. In each period of penance the gesture of laying on of hands took place. In that period we find the so-called dispenser's functions defined as the classic ones: he is called the father, teacher, physician and judge. Priestly service in the penance process had an ecclesial character. Excluding someone from the community and admitting him to it anew was an important element of the penance process in that period. An analogy is seen between the catechumenate that prepared one for baptism and introduced him to the Church, and canon penance that was including a sinner into the community of salvation again, as he had been excluded from it because of sin.
The article describes the audit process quality assurance system that has been introduced at the Supreme Audit Office. The basic features of the system are hierarchy and responsibility. Control mechanisms have been built in at every level of the management and in every audit process which allows for achieving high quality audit products. Moreover, quantity requirements have been defined for the outcomes (audit programmes, post-audit statements, pronouncements on audit results). The underlying principle is that the persons at the higher level are responsible for both, performance of their own tasks, and for the end product achieved by the person at the lower level in the hierarchy.
NIK President Krzysztof Kwiatkowski presented to the lower house of the Polish Parliament (the Sejm) the results of the research concerning road safety. In the document, containing the upshot of seven earlier audits on traffic safety, the Supreme Audit Office proposed several comprehensive solutions that should dramatically improve road safety in Poland.
On 13th September 2016, President of NIK Krzysztof Kwiatkowski presented the Sejm, i.e. the lower chamber of the Polish Parliament, with the Report on the Activity of the Supreme Audit Office in 2015. In the period that the report concerned, NIK conducted 117 planned audits, as well as the audit of the state budget execution in 2014 at the administrators of 111 budget parts and at the entities that directly use public resources. Last year, NIK also carried out 144 ad hoc audits. Ad hoc audits are NIK’s response to reports on potential irregularities received from Members of the Parliament, other institutions, the media, or the citizens. The President of NIK presented also information on NIK’s international activities regarding, among others, the audits of the Council of Europe and the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, CERN, as well as support provided to capacity building of other Supreme Audit Institutions.
On 4th March 2016, President of NIK Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, during the inauguration of the postgraduate studies “Legal Aspects of State Auditing” at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Łódź, gave a lecture dedicated to the preventive function of NIK’s audits. NIK’s audits have a preventive function because they both aim at establishing irregularities, and disclose the reasons thereof. The conclusions formulated by NIK in post audit statements are implemented not only by the auditees, but they provide guidance for other entities as well. In his lecture, President Krzysztof Kwiatkowski referred to de lege ferenda proposals, i.e. proposals to amend the law, which he called prevention of the highest level.
In July 2015, President of NIK Krzysztof Kwiatkowski presented the lower house of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) with the Analysis of the State Budget Execution and Monetary policy Guidelines in 2014 and the Report on the Activity of the Supreme Audit Office in 2014. The first document has been developed by NIK on the basis of the audit of the budget execution in public finance sector entities and NIK’s own analyses. The audits were conducted at 98 administrators of budget parts, and at selected administrators at a lower level, including those that implement programmes financed with a share of European funds. The audit also covered financial plans of 28 earmarked funds, six implementing agencies and three state legal persons. Other auditiees were selected beneficiaries that receive subsidies from the state budget. NIK’s evaluations also comprised bank services related to the state budget and the budget of the European funds provided by the National Bank of Poland (NBP) and the National Economy Bank (BGK). The report on NIK’s activity depicts, inter alia, other audits: last year NIK presented the Sejm with 185 pronouncements on audit results. Thanks to corrective measures taken following NIK’s activities, over PLN 219 million have been obtained.
The main part of the lecture that President of the Supreme Audit Office Krzysztof Kwiatkowski gave at the Faculty of Management and Social Communication of the Jagiellonian University (Uniwersytet Jagielloński – UJ) was dedicated to the management of and the work at the supreme body of state auditing. President Kwiatkowski presented how NIK examines and evaluates the public performance process, and the role of NIK in improving the state’s functioning. The students also got acquainted with the broad scope of the audits that NIK carries out – the President discussed the proceedings conducted within 206 planned audits and 108 ad hoc audits, comprising the analysis of the key areas of the state’s functioning and issues of vital importance to the citizens. A large part of the lecture was dedicated to the de lege ferenda proposals – NIK’s proposals for changes in legal regulations.
In July 2016, President of NIK Krzysztof Kwiatkowski presented the Sejm – the lower house of the Polish Parliament – with the “Analysis of the execution of the State Budget and Monetary Policy Guidelines in 2015”. The document was elaborated on the basis of the audits of the state budget execution and the European Funds budget in 109 budget parts, and the execution of financial plans of 35 non-budgetary economy entities and earmarked funds. In over four-fifths cases, the execution of budgets and financial plans was assessed positively. While in every fifth budget part or budget economy entity, irregularities were found that lowered the overall evaluation. As one of its constitutional obligations, the Supreme Audit Office also carried out the audit of the activities of the National Bank of Poland with regard to the implementation of the monetary policy guidelines in 2015.
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