Chełmno land

Who he is

Name

not named for 1199-1200

Title

castellan (kasztelan) for the duke

Since

not pinned

Born

not pinned

Family

not pinned

Confidence

low

Wikipedia (de): Kulmer Land; Wikipedia (de): Chełmno; Wikipedia (en): Chełmno Land; Wikipedia (en): Old Prussians

Overlord

the duke of Masovia (Konrad, under his mother's regency)

What it holds

• The castle of Chełmno and its settlement (the great 11th-century church on St Lawrence's hill near Kałdus)
• The castle of Grudziądz on the Vistula
• The villages of the land between the Vistula, the Drwęca and the Osa
• A share of the land held by the bishop of Płock (he and Konrad hand their shares to Bishop Christian in 1222)

How it was acquired

An office held at the duke's pleasure; the castellan keeps the castle, leads its levy, judges and collects the dues of the district.

Allies and rivals

The palatine and the other castellans; the great families of the district.

How things stand that morning

Held for Konrad; castles standing; the Pomesanian frontier on the Osa is quiet as far as the sources show.

Wealth

The district's dues in kind and services, the market and toll at the castle, and the duke's share of court fines.

Military

The castle levies of Chełmno and Grudziądz; a frontier land with no numbers known.

Threats

• Pomesanian raids across the Osa
• The Pomerelian lord across the Vistula at Świecie: Grzymisław, last attested 11 November 1198 (Grzymisław); by some genealogies he married Dobrosława, the widow of Bolesław of Kuyavia

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1216 (after this year)A Prussian raid destroys the castle of Chełmno, churches and villages, and carries off people.Depends on: the Prussians provoked by the missions and Konrad's crusades Stopped by: a strong frontier defence or peace with the Pomesanians
2. 1222 and 1228-1230 (after this year)Konrad and the bishop of Płock give their shares to Bishop Christian (1222); Konrad gives the land to the Teutonic Order (1228, or the Treaty of Kruszwica, 16 June 1230).Depends on: the land's devastation Stopped by: Masovia holding the land itself

Places of note

• St Lawrence's hill near Kałdus: Great 11th-century church and settlement of early Culm (de.wikipedia)

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: de.wikipedia Kulmer Land and Chełmno give the land's bounds, the 1065 mention, the castellany system and the later dates; the 1200 officers are unknown.

On the map: The district is drawn round its castle with the places named; castle districts were rights over the people of a group of villages, and their 1200 edges are not known.

Primary sources for Masovia and Kuyavia

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Chronicle of the Poles, by Master Vincent (Wincenty Kadłubek), Wincenty Kadłubek (about 1190 to 1208). Book 4 is a contemporary's account of the fight for the senior throne of Kraków. Read online
• The annals of the Kraków chapter and the other Polish annals (kept from the 11th century; the Kraków chapter annals continued to 1266). Short dated entries that fix the chronology Kadłubek blurs: the deaths of dukes and bishops, Mieszko the Old's captures of Kraków, Prussian raids on Masovia, church consecrations. Read online