Jeńcy strony krzyżackiej po bitwie pod Koronowem

• Authors: Sławomir Jóźwiak

Title variants

EN

Teutonic enemy prisoners in the battle of Koronowo

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

If examining the course of the battle of Koronowo of 10 October 1410 comes up against serious restrictions due to scarce sources, then secondary aspects of the battle (such as the question of Teutonic enemy prisoners) are better known. The Teutonic army consisted predominantly of foreign regulars (from Germany and Silesia) and knights, courtiers and household members from the circle of Sigismund of Luxembourg. At least 300 enemy prisoners were captured, 68 of whom are known by their names. As the sources unanimously say, Władysław Jagiełło treated them courteously. He tried to convince them that Poland had acted right. Their names were recorded and they were allowed to go after a few days on the condition that they appeared with ransom in the appropriate place and time. All those measures probably were used in relation to foreign regulars and knights-courtiers of Sigismund of Luxembourg, as Teutonic brothers and Teutonic subordinates participating in the battle were not let go (seemingly, the latter group was not under the authority of the King, but the Polish knights who had captured them). The sources do not give clear data concerning the manner, time and conditions of releasing enemy prisoners from the battle of Koronowo. Beside the requirement to pay ransom, in some cases there were attempts to exchange Teutonic enemy prisoners for Polish knights captured by the Teutonic army (particularly in September 1410). The outcome is not known. The status of some prisoners caused problems to the Teutonic authorities too, as they had to give money for compensations, journeys to the place to leave ransom, and perhaps for ransom for regulars (but without paying them during their time of imprisonment). Knight-courtiers of Sigismund of Luxembourg were treated differently (as visitorsvolunteers), as the Teutonic authorities did not want to give them money for ransom. It led to prolonged conflicts and – according to the Teutonic authorities – to unfounded claims on their part. It seems that the major part of enemy prisoners from the battle of Koronowo (however not all of them) were given back their freedom within a few months after concluding the First Peace of Thorn (after 1 February 1411).

Keywords

EN

Polish-Teutonic War 1409–1411; battle of Koronowo; prisoners of war; mercenaries; ransom

• Publisher: Towarzystwo Naukowe w Toruniu
• Journal: Zapiski Historyczne
• Year: 2010
• Volume: 75
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 87-102

Contributors

author

Sławomir Jóźwiak

• Instytut Historii i Archiwistyki, Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika