Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg (1360 or 1370 – 15 December 1423, Danzig (Gdańsk)) was the 28th Grand Master of the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

, serving from 1414 to 1422.

Biography

Küchmeister was born in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, as a son of Saxon nobility. He was the

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

of Rastenburg (Rastembork) (1396–1402) and the ''Großschäffer'' of

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

(1402–05). After the Peace of Raciąż of 1404 he held the position of

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

and from 1410 the Vogt of the

Neumark The Neumark (), also known as the New March ( pl, Nowa Marchia) or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945. Call ...

(Nowy Targ). After the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...

, he tried with his army of mercenaries and

vassals A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. ...

to re-take the regions lost by the Teutonic Order. In September 1410, Küchmeister lost the

Battle of Koronowo The Battle of Koronowo was a battle of the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. It took place on 10 October 1410, near the village of Łąsko Wielkie and ended in victory for the Polish–Lithuanian alliance. This is the account of the battle of ...

and was captured by the Polish army, and was not released from prison until the summer of 1411. The defeat prompted the signing of the

Peace of Thorn (1411) The (First) Peace of Thorn was a peace treaty formally ending the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War between allied Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania on one side, and the Teutonic Knights on the other. It was signed on 1 February ...

. In the aftermath of the defeat at Grunwald, the Teutonic Order lost much of its military and economic importance. The way of thinking of the

Old Prussians Old Prussians, Baltic Prussians or simply Prussians ( Old Prussian: ''prūsai''; german: Pruzzen or ''Prußen''; la, Pruteni; lv, prūši; lt, prūsai; pl, Prusowie; csb, Prësowié) were an indigenous tribe among the Baltic peoples that ...

had changed as well. It was not surprising that when Grand Master

Heinrich von Plauen Heinrich von Plauen (the Elder) (ca. 1370–1429) was the 27th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from November 1410 to October 1413. Having becoming grandmaster in the wake of the Battle of Grunwald, he was a stern proponent of prol ...

was heading towards war with the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

, his army (consisting of Prussian nobility and villagers) stationed near the village of Lautenburg (Lidzbark Welski) refused to fight the Poles on 29 September 1413, and he was relieved from his position as Grand Master by Küchmeister. On 7 January 1414 Küchmeister was chosen as the 28th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. Although he preferred negotiations over war, he strengthened Marienburg Castle ( Malbork Castle) with an extra wall on the north side. He resigned in March 1422 before the

Gollub War The Gollub War was a two-month war of the Teutonic Knights against the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1422. It ended with the signing the Treaty of Melno, which resolved territorial disputes between the Knights and Lithuani ...

began. Küchmeister died in Danzig (Gdańsk) and was buried in the mausoleum under the Chapel of St. Anna in Marienburg Castle.

References

* Friedrich Borchert: "Die Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens in Preußen." In: ''Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung'', 6 October 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuechmeister von Sternberg, Michael 14th-century births 1423 deaths 14th-century German nobility 15th-century German nobility Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order German untitled nobility Saxon nobility Silesian-German people Burials in the Chapel of St. Anne, Malbork