Treaty of Melno

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The Treaty of Melno (German: Friede von Melnosee; Lithuanian: Melno taika; Polish: Pokój melneński) was a peace treaty ending the Gollub War. It was signed on 27 September 1422 between the Teutonic Knights and an alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at Lake Melno^[1] (German: Melnosee, Meldensee; Polish: Jezioro Mełno), east of present-day Grudziądz.

The decade after the First Peace of Toruń in 1411 consisted of low-level conflicts between the Knights and the Polish-Lithuanian alliance. Each side accused the other of violating the terms of the peace and engaged in minor battles, but were unwilling to risk a major confrontation. Frustrated with the Order's appeals to Imperial tribunals, King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland finally sent his forces against the monastic state in autumn 1422. The resulting Gollub War (so-named after the town of Golub-Dobrzyń) was a two-month conflict between the feuding parties. The Teutonic Knights were unable to mount a suitable defense and the Polish and Lithuanian forces advanced rapidly into Prussian territory before reinforcements from the Holy Roman Empire could arrive through Western Pomerania.

The resulting peace treaty was signed by Grand Master Paul von Rusdorf, the Livonian Landmeister Siegfried Lander von Spanheim, and the Deutschmeister Eberhard von Seinsheim, much to the latter's displeasure. On behalf of the Polish-Lithuanian alliance, the treaty was signed by Władysław, Grand Duke Vytautas, and Dukes Jan and Semowit of Masovia.

According to the terms of the treaty, the Teutonic Knights relinquished Nieszawa to Poland and all claims to Samogitia and northern Lithuania to the Grandy Duchy.^[2] In return, Poland renounced any claims to Pomerelia, Culmerland, and the Michelauer Land east of Culmerland. The border of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights was set north of the Memel River and included the town of Memel. This boundary between Prussia and Lithuania lasted for centuries, ending with the creation of the Memel Territory as a League of Nations mandate in 1920 and its annexation by the Republic of Lithuania in 1923.

An alternative name for the town of Memel, possibly documented for the first time, was also listed in the treaty: "et castrum Memel in Samogitico Cleupeda appellaum" (and the castle Memel, called Cleupeda in Samogitia).

Although the Teutonic Knights only had minimal territorial losses in the Treaty of Lake Melno, it continued their decline since the First Peace of Toruń and foreshadowed their greater weaknesses in the Thirteen Years' War.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Map showing the location of Lake Melno
2. ^ Seward, Desmond. The Monks of War: The Military Religious Orders. Penguin Books. London, 1995. ISBN 0-14-019501-7

This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of June 4, 2006.