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| '''Nicolaus of Tüngen''' (] ''Mikołaj Tungen'', {{lang-de|Nikolaus von Tüngen}}, died ] ] in ], today ]) was ] from 1467 until 1489. | '''Nicolaus of Tüngen''' (] ''Mikołaj Tungen'', {{lang-de|Nikolaus von Tüngen}}, died ] ] in ], today ]) was ] from 1467 until 1489. | ||
| Nicolaus |
Nicolaus von Tüngen came from an ] ] family in ] (now ]) near ] (now ]) in ''Ermland'' ]. He worked in the ] for many years as a secretary, and at the same time accumulated many church offices (1459 Canon of (]) (] and ]). After the death of Warmia's Bishop ] he was chosen as his successor by the Warmia ] ] on ] ]. Tüngen received the pope's agreement for his nomination on ] ] and obtained the bishop's insignia in Rome. However he could not a enter his diocese for some time, because the king of Poland Casimir IV wished to annex the Ermland to his Polish territory. | ||
| ], did not accept the choice of Tüngen as bishop. He wanted to outright annex Ermland and instead nominated the Pole ], the bishop of Kulm ] and administrator of the ] ], as the new bishop of Warmia. Kielbasa came with fraudulent "papal orders" to gain entry to the Ermland chapter and caused a great confusion. In 1470 the king of Poland Casimir and Kielbasa declared Bishop von Tüngen a public enemy , incarcerated everyone, who supported the Ermland bishop, or expelled them. Kielbasa threatened all who did not support him with loss of property and life. Von Tüngen went to ] to his lawful metropolitan, the ]. He delivered a bull from the pope and to him he pledged the oath of allegiance, as he was instructed to do by the pope. | |||
| Casimir and Kielbasa had so frightened and embittered the people of Ermland and their chapter that an uprising was imminent. The people declared that they are ready to lose their property and lifes for standing up against them. When Casimir and Kielbasa saw that they could not be successful, Kielbasa left. | |||
| Kiełbasa's resignation did not mean the resignation of the Polish king from his aim of putting his own candidate in office. Casimir IV intervened with the pope ], who ordered Tüngen to resign the Warmia bishopric (his successor, pope ], nominated Tüngen ]). The new candidate nominated for the post in 1471 was ], ] of ] and a royal secretary. | |||
| Von Tüngen and the chapter were finally able to return to Ermland. The people were joyful, that finally the wars and struggles were over and were surprised at how fast the Poles took off. They believed that miracelously the Poles had developed a bad concience against their awful deeds and thus disappeared in a hurry. | |||
| Oporowski's nomination did not change the situation in Warmia. The nominee was not allowed to assume his office because of protests from the clergy and people of Warmia and the Prussian Estates. At the same time Nicolaus of Tüngen began to strive to obtain his desired bishopric and tried to secure Warmia's full autonomy from Poland. Supported by the ], Tüngen gained control of most of Warmia's castles and towns. He also gained the support of the king of ], ], then in conflict with Poland, entrusting him with protecting the bishopric. | |||
| But Casimir IV had not given up yet. He now wanted to put ], the ] of ] and royal secretary into the Ermland seat and wanted to transfer von Tüngen out of Prussia. Again war rumors spread and the Ermlanders again asked the pope for aid. 1473 Oporowski actually arrived from Poland with "papal bulls" and threatened them with wars. He requested immediate turnover of the cathedral and all bishops property to him. | |||
| ⚫ | In 1478, Polish forces intervened militarily in Warmia and gained control of most of it. This armed conflict is known as the ]. |
||
| One of the requirements in the Ermland bishopric was the German language, because their school educated priests for the diocese. Oporowski could not even speak a word of German and requested the chapter to deal in Latin. They pointed out, that Ermland is part of the German ]s. The nobles and the Estates also sent letters to the pope, declaring that they recognize von Tüngen only. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| Oporowski had a large family and many friends in Poland, who supplied him with arms and again war was brought across Ermland. Casimir IV was even more full of hate and determined to oust and destroy von Tüngen and he tried every act available to him, he even declared trade embargo against Ermland and sent more military against them. The Ermland chapter presented the documents from Kielbasa and Oporowski checked out by the papal office and they were determined to have been fraudulent. The Polish King threatened the bishop so much, that a declaration by the pope declared Casimir IV a Threat to Peace and promised him punishment. | |||
| ⚫ | After 1479 bishop Tüngen made efforts to rebuild the diocese after the devastations caused by the Polish troops on Prussian soil. Tüngen funded the altar in St. George's church in ], and in his will he gave large sums to the monasteries and churches of the diocese. To the end of his life he |
||
| Von Tüngen approached the King of Hungary for aid. Ermland made an agreement with Mathias of Hungary, accept the King of Hungary as protector, for the King of Poland had not honored the agreement of 1466, to protect the Ermland. Casimir IV showed up at the Prussian Landtag at Marienburg and his demeanor upset the Teutonic Order such, that the Grand Master [[Heinrich von Richtenberg, who had kept neutral, now declared for the Ermland bishop as well. In 1476 they entered a protection agreement. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| 1477 with the ] the King of Hungary became the protector of Ermland. The Teutonic Order made similar treaties. The king of Poland requested the bishop of Ermland and the Grandmaster Martin Truchsess von Wetzhausen to pledge allegiance to him and they declined. Again Poland brought war in 1478-1479. | |||
| ⚫ | In 1478, Polish forces intervened militarily in Warmia and gained control of most of it. This armed conflict is known as the ]. | ||
| It was so destructive, that von Tüngen saw no other way out, but to bow down to the kings feet and ask Casimir for leniency. Even the pope had to reprimand the king of Poland and Casimir was for now pacified and let von Tüngen attend his rightfully elected office. He again accepted Casimir as ''Schutzherr'' protector. | |||
| ⚫ | A 1479 agreement reached between Casimir II and Matthias Corvinus further weakened Tüngen's position. Peace negotiations to end the conflict took place in ]. The agreement reached on ] ] put Ermland again under the Polish king's protection and required the ] to swear an oath of ] to him as protector. The Warmia chapter was also required to elect as bishop ''a person to the liking of the king''. Casimir entitling him to be one of the ] (just like Polish bishops). | ||
| A declaration by ] in 1488 reconfirmed, that the Ermland church is part of the German Concordat and in 1512 it came directly under the pope. | |||
| ⚫ | After 1479 bishop Tüngen made efforts to rebuild the diocese after the devastations caused by the Polish troops on Prussian soil. Tüngen funded the altar in St. George's church in ], and in his will he gave large sums to the monasteries and churches of the diocese. To the end of his life he upheld the independent position of Prussian Ermland in opposition to the Polish king, for example by entering into a confederation with the ] in 1485 in defence of their privileges. | ||
| ⚫ | Von Tüngen's health was greatly weakened by the years of struggles and wars against him and his people. A s supporter of Ermland/Warmia's autonomy from Poland, Tüngen was greatly worried by the king's plan to nominate his own son ] as the next bishop after Tüngen's death. To prevent this, the then elderly bishop made efforts in Rome to nominate ] as ]. These efforts were interrupted by his death, yet his will was respected when the diocese chapter did select Watzenrode as the next bishop, taking advantage of the fact that the 1479 agreement did not specify which ''candidate to the king's liking'' was to be chosen. | ||
| == References == | == References == | ||
| * Zeitschrift:Geschichte und Alterthumskunde Ermlands. Historischer Verein Ermland | |||
| * Piotr Nitecki, ''Biskupi Kościoła w Polsce w latach 965-1999'', Warszawa 2000 | * Piotr Nitecki, ''Biskupi Kościoła w Polsce w latach 965-1999'', Warszawa 2000 | ||
| * Tadeusz Oracki, ''Słownik biograficzny Warmii, Prus Książęcych i Ziemi Malborskiej od połowy XV do końca XVIII wieku'', Olsztyn 1988 | * Tadeusz Oracki, ''Słownik biograficzny Warmii, Prus Książęcych i Ziemi Malborskiej od połowy XV do końca XVIII wieku'', Olsztyn 1988 | ||
Revision as of 17:20, 11 October 2008
Nicolaus of Tüngen (pl. Mikołaj Tungen, Template:Lang-de, died 14 February 1489 in Heilsberg, today Lidzbark Warmiński) was bishop of Warmia from 1467 until 1489.
Nicolaus von Tüngen came from an Old Prussian burgher family in Tüngen (now Bogatyńskie) near Wormditt (now Orneta) in Ermland Warmia. He worked in the Roman Curia for many years as a secretary, and at the same time accumulated many church offices (1459 Canon of (Breslau) (Wrocław and Canon of Warmia). After the death of Warmia's Bishop Paul von Legendorf he was chosen as his successor by the Warmia diocese chapter on 10 August 1467. Tüngen received the pope's agreement for his nomination on 4 November 1468 and obtained the bishop's insignia in Rome. However he could not a enter his diocese for some time, because the king of Poland Casimir IV wished to annex the Ermland to his Polish territory.
Casimir IV, did not accept the choice of Tüngen as bishop. He wanted to outright annex Ermland and instead nominated the Pole Vincent Kiełbasa, the bishop of Kulm Chełmno and administrator of the Poznań diocese, as the new bishop of Warmia. Kielbasa came with fraudulent "papal orders" to gain entry to the Ermland chapter and caused a great confusion. In 1470 the king of Poland Casimir and Kielbasa declared Bishop von Tüngen a public enemy , incarcerated everyone, who supported the Ermland bishop, or expelled them. Kielbasa threatened all who did not support him with loss of property and life. Von Tüngen went to Riga to his lawful metropolitan, the Archbishop of Riga. He delivered a bull from the pope and to him he pledged the oath of allegiance, as he was instructed to do by the pope.
Casimir and Kielbasa had so frightened and embittered the people of Ermland and their chapter that an uprising was imminent. The people declared that they are ready to lose their property and lifes for standing up against them. When Casimir and Kielbasa saw that they could not be successful, Kielbasa left.
Von Tüngen and the chapter were finally able to return to Ermland. The people were joyful, that finally the wars and struggles were over and were surprised at how fast the Poles took off. They believed that miracelously the Poles had developed a bad concience against their awful deeds and thus disappeared in a hurry.
But Casimir IV had not given up yet. He now wanted to put Andrew Oporowski, the archdeacon of Gniezno and royal secretary into the Ermland seat and wanted to transfer von Tüngen out of Prussia. Again war rumors spread and the Ermlanders again asked the pope for aid. 1473 Oporowski actually arrived from Poland with "papal bulls" and threatened them with wars. He requested immediate turnover of the cathedral and all bishops property to him.
One of the requirements in the Ermland bishopric was the German language, because their school educated priests for the diocese. Oporowski could not even speak a word of German and requested the chapter to deal in Latin. They pointed out, that Ermland is part of the German Concordats. The nobles and the Estates also sent letters to the pope, declaring that they recognize von Tüngen only.
Oporowski had a large family and many friends in Poland, who supplied him with arms and again war was brought across Ermland. Casimir IV was even more full of hate and determined to oust and destroy von Tüngen and he tried every act available to him, he even declared trade embargo against Ermland and sent more military against them. The Ermland chapter presented the documents from Kielbasa and Oporowski checked out by the papal office and they were determined to have been fraudulent. The Polish King threatened the bishop so much, that a declaration by the pope declared Casimir IV a Threat to Peace and promised him punishment.
Von Tüngen approached the King of Hungary for aid. Ermland made an agreement with Mathias of Hungary, accept the King of Hungary as protector, for the King of Poland had not honored the agreement of 1466, to protect the Ermland. Casimir IV showed up at the Prussian Landtag at Marienburg and his demeanor upset the Teutonic Order such, that the Grand Master [[Heinrich von Richtenberg, who had kept neutral, now declared for the Ermland bishop as well. In 1476 they entered a protection agreement.
1477 with the Treaty of Gran the King of Hungary became the protector of Ermland. The Teutonic Order made similar treaties. The king of Poland requested the bishop of Ermland and the Grandmaster Martin Truchsess von Wetzhausen to pledge allegiance to him and they declined. Again Poland brought war in 1478-1479.
In 1478, Polish forces intervened militarily in Warmia and gained control of most of it. This armed conflict is known as the War of the Priests. It was so destructive, that von Tüngen saw no other way out, but to bow down to the kings feet and ask Casimir for leniency. Even the pope had to reprimand the king of Poland and Casimir was for now pacified and let von Tüngen attend his rightfully elected office. He again accepted Casimir as Schutzherr protector.
A 1479 agreement reached between Casimir II and Matthias Corvinus further weakened Tüngen's position. Peace negotiations to end the conflict took place in Piotrków Trybunalski. The agreement reached on 15 July 1479 put Ermland again under the Polish king's protection and required the bishops of Warmia to swear an oath of fealty to him as protector. The Warmia chapter was also required to elect as bishop a person to the liking of the king. Casimir entitling him to be one of the senators of Poland (just like Polish bishops).
A declaration by Pope Innocent VIII in 1488 reconfirmed, that the Ermland church is part of the German Concordat and in 1512 it came directly under the pope.
After 1479 bishop Tüngen made efforts to rebuild the diocese after the devastations caused by the Polish troops on Prussian soil. Tüngen funded the altar in St. George's church in Königsberg, and in his will he gave large sums to the monasteries and churches of the diocese. To the end of his life he upheld the independent position of Prussian Ermland in opposition to the Polish king, for example by entering into a confederation with the Prussian estates in 1485 in defence of their privileges.
Von Tüngen's health was greatly weakened by the years of struggles and wars against him and his people. A s supporter of Ermland/Warmia's autonomy from Poland, Tüngen was greatly worried by the king's plan to nominate his own son Frederic Jagiellon as the next bishop after Tüngen's death. To prevent this, the then elderly bishop made efforts in Rome to nominate Lucas Watzenrode as coadjutor bishop. These efforts were interrupted by his death, yet his will was respected when the diocese chapter did select Watzenrode as the next bishop, taking advantage of the fact that the 1479 agreement did not specify which candidate to the king's liking was to be chosen.
References
- Zeitschrift:Geschichte und Alterthumskunde Ermlands. Historischer Verein Ermland
- Piotr Nitecki, Biskupi Kościoła w Polsce w latach 965-1999, Warszawa 2000
- Tadeusz Oracki, Słownik biograficzny Warmii, Prus Książęcych i Ziemi Malborskiej od połowy XV do końca XVIII wieku, Olsztyn 1988
- Jerzy Sikorski, Prywatne życie Mikołaja Kopernika, Olsztyn 1985
- Alojzy Szorc, Dzieje diecezji warmińskiej (1243-1991), Olsztyn 1991