Die Bauchronologie und das Raumprogramm der Deutchordensburg Barten (Barciany) im Lichte Mittelalterlicher Schriftquellen

The chronology of construction and floor plan of the Teutonic Order’s castle in Barten (Barciany) in the light of medieval written sources The first wood-and-earth stronghold in Barten (Barciany) (its exact location is unknown) was constructed in 1325. In the late 1340s the stronghold was the seat of vogt, and in the early 1350s – a Teutonic Order’s procurator (pfleger) subject to the authority of the Brandenburg commanders. The construction of a brick castle in Barten was initiated in 1377. From the very beginning it was planned to be a regular four-sided stronghold with at least three wings of representative, residential and economic role. The intensive work on its construction was carried out during 1383 and 1384. The east wing – the main one – was finished by 1387, while the construction of the north wing was still in progress and lasted probably until 1395, undoubtedly as a result of the promotion of Barten to the rank of the commander’s convent (in 1394-1395). Despite this, the north wing never reached the planned height, and the construction of the other two was not even begun in the Middle Ages. Perhaps also in the mid-1390s the building of outer bailey was launched on the east side of the castle (nothing is known about its appearance). From1396 the Barten castle once again became the seat of a Teutonic Order’s procurators, who, depending on the administrative reforms carried out at that time in this part of the Teutonic Order’s State, were subordinate to either Rhein or Brandenburg commanders. The round tower, the only one that exists today, was probably erected only after 1410

Das Amt des „Bauleiters“ (magister lapidum; magister laterum; steinmeister; czygelmeyster; muwermeister) im Deutschordensstaat im 14. Jh. und in der ersten Hälfte des 15. Jh.

At least as early as in the 1330s, the position of ‘master mason’ (‘magister lapidum’; ‘magister laterum’, ‘steinmeister’, ‘czygelmeyster’, ‘muwermeister’) was established in the Teutonic Order’s state in Prussia in order to coordinate works on either the construction or development of brick castles. A Teutonic Order’s knight as a master mason had to accomplish a given construction assignment. The scope of his duties covered hiring professional individuals and labour force (and this also included paying wages, providing food and accommodation), supervising work performance, buying limestone, lime, timber, ropes for scaffolds, tools, bricks, nails as well as organising transportation.The most significant element of this research analysis is recognising an explicit correlation between the position of ‘master mason’ (always appointed for a specified period of time) and building brick castles. This fact allows to specify the chronology of erecting selected castles. It was possible to ascertain that the construction of the high castle in Ragnit (Neman) was finished immediately before 1406, and the two stages of developing the capital castle fortress in Marienburg (Malbork) occurred in the 1340s and 1370s. As far as Danzig (Gdańsk) is concerned, it was found that the local castle was erected in the second half of the 1330s, it was developed in 1350s, and it was reconstructed after fire destruction at the end of the 14th and in the beginning of the 15th centuries. In the case of other brick castles (not only commander castles), the findings corroborate claims that castles were built in the following periods of time: Schlochau (Człuchów) – the second half of the 1340s, Tuchel (Tuchola) – mid-1350s, Lauenburg (Lębork) – early 1360s, Barten (Barciany) – 1377–1384, Labiau (Polessk) – 1386–1391, Neidenburg (Nidzica) – 1407–1409, and finally, Memel (Klaipėda) – the second half of the second decade of the 15th century.The position of the ‘master mason’ (‘magister lapidum’, ‘magister laterum’, ‘steinmeister’, ‘czygelmeyster’, ‘muwermeister’) in the Teutonic Order’s state in Prussia in the 14th and in the first half of the 15th centuriesAt least as early as in the 1330s, the position of ‘master mason’ (‘magister lapidum’; ‘magister laterum’, ‘steinmeister’, ‘czygelmeyster’, ‘muwermeister’) was established in the Teutonic Order’s state in Prussia in order to coordinate works on either the construction or development of brick castles. A Teutonic Order’s knight as a master mason had to accomplish a given construction assignment. The scope of his duties covered hiring professional individuals and labour force (and this also included paying wages, providing food and accommodation), supervising work performance, buying limestone, lime, timber, ropes for scaffolds, tools, bricks, nails as well as organising transportation.The most significant element of this research analysis is recognising an explicit correlation between the position of ‘master mason’ (always appointed for a specified period of time) and building brick castles. This fact allows to specify the chronology of erecting selected castles. It was possible to ascertain that the construction of the high castle in Ragnit (Neman) was finished immediately before 1406, and the two stages of developing the capital castle fortress in Marienburg (Malbork) occurred in the 1340s and 1370s. As far as Danzig (Gdańsk) is concerned, it was found that the local castle was erected in the second half of the 1330s, it was developed in 1350s, and it was reconstructed after fire destruction at the end of the 14th and in the beginning of the 15th centuries. In the case of other brick castles (not only commander castles), the findings corroborate claims that castles were built in the following periods of time: Schlochau (Człuchów) – the second half of the 1340s, Tuchel (Tuchola) – mid-1350s, Lauenburg (Lębork) – early 1360s, Barten (Barciany) – 1377–1384, Labiau (Polessk) – 1386–1391, Neidenburg (Nidzica) – 1407–1409, and finally, Memel (Klaipėda) – the second half of the second decade of the 15th century

Die Benennung und Bestimmung der Räume im südlichen Repräsentativteil des Geschosses des zweiten „Hochmeisterpalastes“ auf der Marienburg im Mittelalter im Lichte der Schriftquellen

Nomenclature and intended use of the rooms of the southern (representative) part of the upper floor of the “palace” of Grand Masters in the Marienburg Castle in the Middle Ages on the basis of written sources   The analyses carried out in this article concerning the southern part of  the upper floor of the new (second) “palace” of the Teutonic Order’s superiors in the late Middle Ages allow to formulate several important conclusions. First of all, the building certainly existed before 11 September 1392, but it cannot be ruled out that it was erected at the beginning of the 1370s. In the fifteenth-century sources, its entire southern representative part (looking from the so-called Low and High Halls) along with five rooms of different sizes located there, were referred to as the “Summer (or, less often, Winter) chamber (gemach)”. This name comes from the most characteristic interiors located there: the “Summer Refectory” / “Great Summer Hall” in the western part and the Winter Refectory in the central part. The thorough analysis of medieval written sources carried out in this article allows for the formulation of the thesis that the chamber located in the easternmost part of the southern part of the “palace”, supported by two columns, should be  identified as the “Minor Summer Hall” (aula minor estivalis), which was recorded in the transumpt of 14 May 1456. Thus, all the suggestions concerning this interior and its supposed intended use in the discussed period, hitherto put forward by the researchers who have so far formulated their conclusions in isolation from the written accounts of the period, should be rejected. This name comes from the most characteristic interiors located there: the "Summer Refectory" / "Great Summer Hall" in the western part and the Winter Refectory in the central part. The thorough analysis of medieval written sources carried out in this article allowed for the formulation of the thesis that the chamber located in the easternmost part of the southern part of the "palace", supported by two columns, should be  identified as the "Minor Summer Hall" (aula minor estivalis), which was recorded in the transumpt of 14 May 1456. Thus, all the suggestions concerning this interior and its supposed intended use in the discussed period,  hitherto put forward by the researchers who have so far formulated their conclusions in isolation from the written accounts of the period, should be rejected.Nomenclature and intended use of the rooms of the southern (representative) part of the upper floor of the “palace” of Grand Masters in the Marienburg Castle in the Middle Ages on the basis of written sources   The analyses carried out in this article concerning the southern part of  the upper floor of the new (second) “palace” of the Teutonic Order’s superiors in the late Middle Ages allow to formulate several important conclusions. First of all, the building certainly existed before 11 September 1392, but it cannot be ruled out that it was erected at the beginning of the 1370s. In the fifteenth-century sources, its entire southern representative part (looking from the so-called Low and High Halls) along with five rooms of different sizes located there, were referred to as the “Summer (or, less often, Winter) chamber (gemach)”. This name comes from the most characteristic interiors located there: the “Summer Refectory” / “Great Summer Hall” in the western part and the Winter Refectory in the central part. The thorough analysis of medieval written sources carried out in this article allows for the formulation of the thesis that the chamber located in the easternmost part of the southern part of the “palace”, supported by two columns, should be  identified as the “Minor Summer Hall” (aula minor estivalis), which was recorded in the transumpt of 14 May 1456. Thus, all the suggestions concerning this interior and its supposed intended use in the discussed period, hitherto put forward by the researchers who have so far formulated their conclusions in isolation from the written accounts of the period, should be rejected.Nomenclature and intended use of the rooms of the southern (representative) part of the upper floor of the “palace” of Grand Masters in the Marienburg Castle in the Middle Ages on the basis of written sources   The analyses carried out in this article concerning the southern part of  the upper floor of the new (second) “palace” of the Teutonic Order’s superiors in the late Middle Ages allow to formulate several important conclusions. First of all, the building certainly existed before 11 September 1392, but it cannot be ruled out that it was erected at the beginning of the 1370s. In the fifteenth-century sources, its entire southern representative part (looking from the so-called Low and High Halls) along with five rooms of different sizes located there, were referred to as the “Summer (or, less often, Winter) chamber (gemach)”. This name comes from the most characteristic interiors located there: the “Summer Refectory” / “Great Summer Hall” in the western part and the Winter Refectory in the central part. The thorough analysis of medieval written sources carried out in this article allows for the formulation of the thesis that the chamber located in the easternmost part of the southern part of the “palace”, supported by two columns, should be  identified as the “Minor Summer Hall” (aula minor estivalis), which was recorded in the transumpt of 14 May 1456. Thus, all the suggestions concerning this interior and its supposed intended use in the discussed period, hitherto put forward by the researchers who have so far formulated their conclusions in isolation from the written accounts of the period, should be rejected

Survival at the frontier of Holy War: political expansion, crusading, commerce and the medieval colonizing settlement at Biała Gora, North Poland

Between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries AD, the Lower Vistula valley represented a permeable and shifting frontier between Pomerelia (eastern Pomerania), which had been incorporated into the Polish Christian state by the end of the tenth century, and the territories of western Prussian tribes, who had resisted attempts at Christianization. Pomeranian colonization eventually began to falter in the latter decades of the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, most likely as a result of Prussian incursions, which saw the abandonment of sites across the borderland. Subsequently, the Teutonic Order and its allies led a protracted holy war against the Prussian tribes, which resulted in the conquest of the region and its incorporation into a theocratic state by the end of the thirteenth century. This was accompanied by a second wave of colonization, which resulted in the settlement pattern that is still visible in the landscape of north-central Poland today. However, not all colonies were destroyed or abandoned in between the two phases of colonization. The recently excavated site of Biała Góra, situated on the western side of the Forest of Sztum overlooking the River Nogat, represents a unique example of a transitional settlement that included both Pomeranian and Teutonic Order phases. The aim of this paper is to situate the site within its broader landscape context which can be characterized as a militarized frontier, where, from the later twelfth century and throughout much of the thirteenth century, political and economic expansion was combined with the ideology of Christian holy war and missionary activity. This paper considers how the colonists provisioned and sustained themselves in comparison to other sites within the region, and how Biała Góra may be tentatively linked to a documented but otherwise lost outpost in this volatile borderland

The time of the establishment of the commandery in Pokarmin (Brandenburg) and the issue of the chronology of the erection of the local castle

The analyses performed in the paper indicate that the construction works on the brick Teutonic Commandery Castle in Pokarmin (Brandenburg) started in the 1280s (perhaps around 1283). This coincided with the decision to make it the headquarters of the order and the seat of the commander, which took place at the end of 1283 or at the beginning of 1294. The castle was more or less finished (the main wing and the curtain wall surrounding the whole site?) in 1290. At the beginning of the 14th century (before 1306) it had two or three wings and was built on a rectangular plane. By no means was the castle in Pokarmin the first or model regular castle in the State of the Teutonic Order in Prussia, which was a common assumption among scholars up until now. This issue is still being researched, but more and more information points to Papowo in the Chełmno land as the first regular (square), four‑wing commandery castle in Prussia. We are still not certain, however, if by the end of the 13th century its construction had been completed

The position of the ‘master mason’ (‘magister lapidum’, ‘magister laterum’, ‘steinmeister’, ‘czygelmeyster’, ‘muwermeister’) in the Teutonic Order’s state in Prussia in the 14th and in the first half of the 15th centuries

At least as early as in the 1330s, the position of ‘master mason’ (‘magister lapidum’; ‘magister laterum’, ‘steinmeister’, ‘czygelmeyster’, ‘muwermeister’) was established in the Teutonic Order’s state in Prussia in order to coordinate works on either the construction or development of brick castles. A Teutonic Order’s knight as a master mason had to accomplish a given construction assignment. The scope of his duties covered hiring professional individuals and labour force (and this also included paying wages, providing food and accommodation), supervising work performance, buying limestone, lime, timber, ropes for scaffolds, tools, bricks, nails as well as organising transportation. The most significant element of this research analysis is recognising an explicit correlation between the position of ‘master mason’ (always appointed for a specified period of time) and building brick castles. This fact allows to specify the chronology of erecting selected castles. It was possible to ascertain that the construction of the high castle in Ragnit (Neman) was finished immediately before 1406, and the two stages of developing the capital castle fortress in Marienburg (Malbork) occurred in the 1340s and 1370s. As far as Danzig (Gdańsk) is concerned, it was found that the local castle was erected in the second half of the 1330s, it was developed in 1350s, and it was reconstructed after fire destruction at the end of the 14 th and in the beginning of the 15 th centuries. In the case of other brick castles (not only commander castles), the findings corroborate claims that castles were built in the following periods of time: Schlochau (Człuchów) – the second half of the 1340s, Tuchel (Tuchola) – mid-1350s, Lauenburg (Lębork) – early 1360s, Barten (Barciany) – 1377–1384, Labiau (Polessk) – 1386–1391, Neidenburg (Nidzica) – 1407–1409, and finally, Memel (Klaipėda) – the second half of the second decade of the 15 th century

Topography and spatial layout of the castle of the Teutonic commander in Toruń in the light of the medieval written sources

The information included in the medieval written sources enrich our knowledge about the Toruń castle destroyed in 1454. The construction of the part of the defensive walls (made from stone?) lasted at least from 1255. In 1262 the stronghold in its original form had been already erected. In the subsequent years (1263) works took place to construct its interiors (at least a chapel located on the first floor in the eastern part of the southern wing). The main octagonal tower situated in the northern part of the courtyard of the High Castle was frequently mentioned in the medieval written sources (starting from 1381). However, it must have been erected earlier. The information about buildings located beyond the space of the High Castle is particularly interesting. The buildings included the „gemach” of the commander (with a chapel, refectory and a kitchen) in the northern part of the western outer bailey, the „gemach” of the castle’s commander – probably in the vicinity (it was created later – after 1409) and the „summer house” („somerhaws”) with the „summer hall” („aula estivalis”) existing since at least the 1380s and situated in the southern part of the western Low Castle. Among other buildings recorded in the medieval written sources there were also the „gemach” of the Teutonic head of the mint („Münzmeister”) located next to the western defensive wall of the Low Castle; the „gemach” of the steward of Königsberg (Kaliningrad, Russia) mentioned from the end of the 14th century and situated probably in the western part of the Low Castle; the building of the infirmary which might have been located in the north-east part of the Low Castle. In the topography of the castle there were also outbuildings. For example, at least two mills were situated within the defensive walls probably in the eastern part of the Low Castle. To sum up, the medieval written sources present a picture of a complex construction of the Toruń castle