Grand master of the Teutonic Order (1352-1382); perhaps the most influential grand master in the fourteenth century as far as his policies toward the Prussian estates, Lithuania, and the Hanseatic League were concerned. His reign was considered to have been the golden age of the Teutonic Order in Prussia.
Born in the Rhineland about 1310, Winrich made his career in Prussia, as commander at Danzig (mod. Gdansk, Poland) and Balga, then marshal and grand commander of the order. He was elected grand master after the resignation of Heinrich Dusemer and was the first grand master to be officially honored by the estates. He reorganized the campaigns against the heathen Lithuanians, supported by knights from Western Europe. In 1362, Kaunas was conquered and destroyed, and the order erected fortresses north of the river Nemunas, but military and political success was limited. In 1370, the Lithuanian princes Algirdas and Kestutis even successfully attacked Sambia, only to be driven back by an army headed by the grand master himself. When Algirdas died and Jogaila became prince of Vilnius in 1377, Winrich’s plan to strengthen his position by supporting Jogaila against Kestutis failed. After the grand master’s death (24 June 1382), the conflict with Lithuania was a legacy that weighed heavily on the order’s future.
-Jurgen Sarnowsky
See also: Teutonic Order; Teutonic Order: Literature
Bibliography
Conrad, Klaus, “Winrich von Kniprode (6. I. 1352 - 24. VI. 1382),” in Die Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens, 1190-1990, ed. Udo Arnold (Marburg: Elwert, 1998), pp. 84-88.
Hubatsch, Walter, “Winrich von Kniprode, Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens 1352 bis 1382,” Blatter fur deutsche Landesgeschichte 119 (1983), 15-31.
World History
