Letter #1799
[Ioannes DANTISCUS] to [Tiedemann GIESE]Löbau (Lubawa), 1537-11-24
English register: Dantiscus is replying to Giese’s letter. He considers the words of gratitude it contained to be excessive, especially since he feels himself to be in Giese’s debt. He supposes the provision bullae will come from Rome no earlier than the spring. Dantiscus informs Giese about the preparations for his arrival in the Chełmno diocese. He is doing his best to make sure the new bishop finds everything in order. He declares that if it hadn’t been for the expenses related to last year’s stay at the Diet in Cracow, he would have left the whole of this year’s income at Giese’s disposal. In any case, he promises that Giese will find an abundance of everything needed for comfortable living. Dantiscus’ cousin (Szymon Hannow), who is managing the bishop’s estate in his name at present, will give Giese an inventory of all the movables. Dantiscus informs him that, giving in to the request of the Warmia Chapter, he will travel to Lidzbark via Olsztyn, and not Dobre Miasto as he had planned. He will notify Achatius (Trenck) of the route and time of the journey. With respect to Giese’s suggestions as to the possible ceremonies after Dantiscus’ arrival in the Warmia diocese, Dantiscus believes the official ingress can only take place once the papal provision arrives. Dantiscus agrees with Giese’s opinion as to the greed of bank agent Ioannes Brede. He promises to try to recover the money that Giese’s brother entrusted to Brede. In future, he advises Giese to post letters and documents via Cracow. Dantiscus tells Giese about the procedure for collecting excise duty: bishops’ estates and large and small towns don’t need written royal mandates; the mandates relating to the gentry have been delivered by royal chamberlain Wolski; the starostas will collect excise duty from the gentry; in bishops’ towns, just as in others, the millers have been obligated not to accept unmarked barley for milling – this rule is written in the Prussian Council’s letter to the king, a copy of which Dantiscus sent Giese; bishops are not exempted from excise duty. The issue of exempting Gdańsk residents from paying excise duty has yet to be resolved; Dantiscus is surprised that there were no protests concerning this during the assembly. Dantiscus doubts whether Maurycy Ferber could have assigned anyone (according to Giese’s letter, this was Ioannes Tymmermann) a pension without the Chapter’s knowledge and approval. He thanks Giese for the tidings – he is returning them together with the letter received from the Cracow bishop (Jan Chojeński). With reference to Chojeński’s letter, Dantiscus is pleased that the Wallachians have been defeated and hopes that the gentry come to their senses and take the opportunity to defeat them altogether.
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Reverendissime Domine, frater et amice carissime ac plurimum honorande. Salutem fraternique amoris commendationem.
Cum tantum debeam Dominationi Vestrae Reverendissimae, quantum mihi ipsi, non est, cur tantopere mihi gratias agat. Si quid feci, id quod debui feci. Veniat haec nostra expeditio vel etiam cum ciconiis, expectandum beneque sperandum est. Interea hic dabitur diligens opera, ut omnia per me et officiales meos in commodum Dominationis Vestrae Reverendissimae, quantum amplius fieri possit, dirigantur. Si non fuisset profectio anni praeteriti ad comitia Regni Cracoviam, in quibus mille quingentas marcas de meis hic censibus ex pecuniis propriis absumpsi, nihil de proventibus huius anni Dominationi Vestrae Reverendissimae decederet aliud quam id, sine quo res domestica sustineri non potest, pro fraterno tamen amore nostro curabitur, quod et in arca non parum, in castrisque et praediis omnia reperiet integra, non secus, ut prius scripsi, quam si ipse sim mansurus. Accipietque Dominatio Vestra Reverendissima tempore possessionis a nepote meo, qui ex mandatu meo omnia hic diriget, rerum omnium, ut vocant, inventarium, et alia omnia, quae Dominationi Vestrae Reverendissimae sum pollicitus. Neque interim necesse est, quod de equis, pecoribus, familia aut officialibus Dominatio Vestra Reverendissima sit solicita – omnia eo ordine disponentur et in potestatem vestram tradentur, quemadmodum a me habita sunt et recta, modo ea Deus in gratia sua conservet.
Ceterum, quod venerabile capitulum petit, ut inter eundum in Allenstein me conferam, quamvis aliter apud me statueram et de mente mea venerabilem dominum Achacium, qui idipsum a me petebat, certiorem reddidi, non possum tamen non obsequi venerabilis capituli primis precibus, significaboque domino Achacio, quo tempore me expectare debeat, profectionis meae prius descriptae tempus et modum mutaturus, concedamque Heilsbergum, oppido Gutstat non viso ob caeremonias, de quibus Dominatio Vestra Reverendissima scripsit, quas non prius exhiberi permittam, quam sim confirmatus, neque liceret. De Ioanne Brede sic res habet, ut scribit Dominatio Vestra Reverendissima, ubi quid istiusmodi factorculi harpagare possunt, non omittunt. Satius erit deinceps, ut per Cracoviam, quod ad nos pertinet, agamus. Quattuor aurei Renenses, quos frater Dominationis Vestrae Reverendissimae dedit, ut ei reddantur, efficiam. Mandata maiestatis regiae pro colligenda accisa non sunt nobis necessaria, quandoquidem episcopatus nostri civitatesque maiores et oppida reservarunt sibi, ut ipsi exigerent et colligerent, verum exactio a nobilitate commissa est a maiestate regia per scripta mandata, quae pauloante Volski cubicularius attulit, dominis capitaneis, erit itaque is ordo servandus in oppidis episcopatus qui in aliis, ut videlicet molitores seu molendinarii sint iurati, ne quod braseum sine signo ad molam percipiant, ut in litteris dominorum consiliariorum ad maiestatem regiam, quarum Dominationi Vestrae Reverendissimae miseram exemplum, continetur. Nobilitas etiam in episcopatibus ab officialibus deputatis signa ad molam deferat, nemo enim omnium ordinum immunis esse debet, ad eum modum iam hic ut ordo servetur, commisi. Nos episcopi ab ea contributione de mensis nostris non sumus exempti etc.
De expilatione Gdanensium, quam inconsultis dominis consiliariis harum terrarum sibi statuerunt, an subditi nostri ad eam sint astricti nec ne, cum illis est agendum. Mirabar, quod in conventu praeterito pagani seu nobiles nostri non sint conquesti, cum ubi opus non est, ex musca faciunt elephantum. Gdanenses, quos volunt immunes, faciunt, esset tamen ea de re cum eis agendum. Credere nequeo, quod sine venerabilis capituli consensu reverendissimus olim Varmiensis durante vita pensionem reservari curaverit, verum de iis et aliis aliquando coram latius.
Pro novis gratiam habeo et refero cum iis, quae reverendissimus dominus Cracoviensis ad me perscripsit. Utinam vel auderent, vel saperent, adhuc superesset satis commodi temporis in Valachos, qui non parva caede ex divina permissione in consolationem sancti regis nostri sunt affecti, quem et ulterius, ut spero, dominus Deus non deseret. A quo Dominationi Vestrae Reverendissimae aetatem diutissime incolumem atque omnem felicitatem precor.
Lubaviae, XXIIII Novembris anno Domini M-o D XXXVII.