Letter #3201
[Ioannes DANTISCUS] to [Tiedemann GIESE]Heilsberg (Lidzbark), 1547-08-29
English register:
Dantiscus thanks the addressee for the bundle of his letters delivered the previous day by his messenger, in which he shares what has been written to him.
At the forthcoming diet of Royal Prussia, they must as councillors efficiently address the matter of the mission to the diet of the Kingdom of Poland, for the young king [Sigismund II Augustus] is to participate in it.
Obviously, the addressee has the right to act according to his own will regarding his summons by the church dignitaries of the Kingdom of Poland to the provincial synod. Without a doubt, he will send envoys to relieve himself of this burden. It is doubtful that the bishops of Kulm (Chełmno) have ever interfered in the ecclesiastical affairs of the kingdom or submitted to the Polish church hierarchy despite being summoned. Any such concession could lead to many problems in the future.
Dantiscus is agitated by the letter from a certain imprudent youth forwarded to him by the addressee. He believes that the youth in question would not have dared to take such an audacious step without incitement, though he does not know who might be behind it. The addressee suspects certain influential local figures [members of the Council of Royal Prussia]. If he makes an indication to Dantiscus whom he suspects, Dantiscus will be able to dissuade them from such conduct. His recommendation is that the aforementioned letter should be sent to the vice-chancellor [Mikołaj Grabia] along with an account of the insult suffered. Should the addressee wish for Dantiscus to write on this matter as well, he shall do so.
Dantiscus likewise has reasons to complain. Certain persons in Royal Prussia are seeking the exclusive favour of their neighbour [Albrecht I von Hohenzollern] at the expense of others. Consequently, they report to the duke everything that occurs there which, in their view, might work to his disadvantage. Dantiscus reminds the addressee of a conversation held within a small circle, not even including the secretaries, at Dietrichswalde (Gietrzwałd) [during the diet of Royal Prussia], in which they both participated. As often happens in council discussions, Dantiscus discussed at that time too freely his fears that, given that financial subsidies had been sent from Prussia to the enemies of the emperor [Charles V of Habsburg] and shelter had been granted to them there, the emperor’s success might bring trouble upon the country. He did not say that to incite ill will towards the duke, as if the latter were to bring war to Prussia, but rather to prepare in advance for a possible course of events. Dantiscus’ words were reported to the duke in great detail, and he himself has met with grievances as a result. He comments with irony on the breach of confidentiality among the council members, noting that if matters are to proceed in such a fashion, it would be better to remain as silent as the people of Amyclae [a Greek city which famously failed to prepare a defence against a foreign invasion because warnings had been banned after repeated false alarms].
Dantiscus has described this situation so that the addressee might know that he, too, is troubled, and so that they may support each other against their persecutors. He reassures him, as he has done on many occasions, that the addressee can rely on his assistance.
In a postscript, Dantiscus reassures the addressee that there is no need to fear passing through the estates of Ostrowitzki or to refrain from participating in the diet of Royal Prussia in Graudenz (Grudziądz) for that reason. Nevertheless, he may send his nobles to Ostrowitzki to sound out his disposition. Dantiscus believes that the addressee has already done so, having received a letter from Ostrowitzki’s son.
While writing the letter, it escaped Dantiscus’ notice to mention that the king’s [Sigismund I Jagiellon’s] reply regarding the meeting in Dietrichswalde had arrived. He has enclosed a copy of it. Regarding the two letters from the councillors of Royal Prussia sent to the king from the diet of Royal Prussia in Malbork (Marienburg), no reply has been received, nor has any mention of them appeared. This is a testament to the low esteem in which their letters are held.
Manuscript sources:
Auxiliary sources:
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Text & apparatus & commentary Plain text Text & commentary Text & apparatus
AAWO, AB, D. 70, f. 357rReverendissime etc.
Heri mihi fasciculum litterarum ad me a Dominatione Vestra Reverendissima missarum puer iste reddidit habeoque gratiam, quod me eorum, quae ad Dominationem Vestram Reverendissimam scripta sunt, participem esse voluit.
Iam nobis erit intendendum, cum maiestas regia iunior comitiis Regni intererit, ut strenue legationem nostram prosequamur. Qua in re Graudenti dominis consiliariis serio veniet conferendum.
Quod hoc Dominationi Vestrae Reverendissimae sit indultum, in quo prius voluntatem suam obfirmaverat, ut ad synodum mittat, quantum in eo gratificationis perceperit, liquet. Nuntios suos haud dubie sic instituet atque instruet Dominatio Vestra Reverendissima, ut ab hoc onere, quod praelati Regni sibi persuadent imposituros Dominationi Vestrae Reverendissimae, se eximere et liberare possit. Compertum non habetur, quod umquam episcopi Culmenses, licet vocati fuerint, se ecclesiasticis Regni rebus i<m>miscuerint aut illarum rectoribus oboedientiam praestiterint. Si sub hoc iugum Dominatio Vestra Reverendissima trahetur, non carebit in posterum multis molestiis etc.
Permoverunt me non parum impudentis illius iuvenis ad Dominationem Vestram Reverendissimam litterae, quas sine impulsu incentorum, qui eo illum adigunt, scribere adeo contemptim non fuisset ausus. Qui vero illi sint, qui eum in Dominationem Vestram Reverendissimam animant, maxime quod putat esse quosdam de primis nostratibus, non satis deprehendo. Quod si illos mihi Dominatio Vestra Reverendissima designaverit, fortassis modos invenirem, quibus eos ab eiusmodi malevolentia abducerem. Ceterum de hoc temerario iuvene nihil video consultius agendum, quam quod exemplum litterarum eius magnifico domino vicecancellario mittatur, quodque de hac ignominia et minis, quibus insultat, ipsi domino vicecancellario a Dominatione Vestra Reverendissima scribatur. Hoc si etiam a me fieri voluerit Dominatio Vestra Reverendissima, scribam, quae ad rem pertinent, diligentissime.
Non deest item, quod et ego conquerar (quisque suos patimur manes). Sunt quidam ex nostris, qui cum aliorum incommodo miris artibus favorem principis vicini nostri aucupantur et neminem apud illum quam se gratiosos esse velint. Deferunt itaque ei, quidquid apud nos fit, quod in illius putant esse detrimentum. Meminit Dominatio Vestra Reverendissima illorum, quae in Ditrichswalt nuper inter nos paucos, absentibus et exclusis etiam secretariis nostris, de rebus harum terrarum et de imminentibus periculis colloquebamur. Ubi ego, ut in consilio, liberius ea protuli, quae subveritus sum, ne aliquando nobis hic perturbationes et difficultates sub ea caesaris felicitate inferant, eo potissimum, quod hinc contra caesarem pecuniaria subsidia sint missa, et quod hostibus eius hic pateat asylum etc. Quae revera non ob id in medium adduxi, ut dominum ducem apud nostrates written over nos⌈nos no(strate)s(?) nostrates written over nos⌉ odiosum facerem, quasi nobis in iis bellum huc illum, praeter tempus, promoturum, sed ut nobis temporius et maturius in eo, quod futurum metuimus, prospiceremus. Quae singula a me dicta in notitiam domini ducis sunt perlata mecumque ob id expostulatum. Quod si ad eum modum consilia nostra secreta servare debent, satius erit cum Amyclis tacendum.
Haec igitur Dominationi Vestrae Reverendissimae scribo, ut et me sciat non prorsus immunem esse ab animi affectionibus, et ut alter alterum contra no(st)ros insidiatores adiuvet. In me nihil deerit, quod prius aliquoties sum pollicitus, ubi Dominationi Vestrae Reverendissimae contra quoscumque etiam adminiculum meum et subsidium praestare possim. Hocque ut sibi de me certo persuadeat, oro.
Cupioque eandem Dominationem Vestram Reverendissimam diutissime et tranquillo animo, et saluberrimo valere corpore meque haberi ab illa commendatissimum.
Ex Heilsberg, XXIX Augusti MDXLVII.
Postscript:
AAWO, AB, D. 70, f. 381rReverendissime mi Domine.
Non est, quod formidet per bona ipsius Ostrowitzki proficisci et ideo se a comitiis Graudentinis continere, nihilo tamen secius posset Dominatio Vestra Reverendissima ad illum quosdam ex suis nobilibus mittere ad perquirendum, cuius ea in re sit animi, quod vel iam fecisse Dominationem Vestram Reverendissimam existimo post acceptas a filio eius litteras etc.
Excidit mihi iis diebus, cum ad Dominationem Vestram Reverendissimam scriberem, quid mihi responsum sit a maiestate regia de colloquio nostro in Dittrichswald. Apographum itaque adiunxi. Verum ad eas litteras, quas ex Marienburgensibus comitiis binas ad maiestatem regiam domini consiliarii dederunt, nihil est rescriptum neque ulla facta mentio. Tantae existimationis sunt nostrae litterae etc.