The Treaty of Arnswalde (''Treaty of Choszczno'') was signed on 1 April 1269 between three Brandenburgian margraves, the Ascanians John II,

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 119 ...

and Conrad, and Duke Mestwin II of Pomerelia (Mściwój II) in Arnswalde (then a fortified place in the Brandenburgian New March, now

Choszczno Choszczno (german: Arnswalde) is a town in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 14,831. The town is in a marshy district between the river Stobnica and Klukom lake, southeast of Stargard and on t ...

, Poland). With the treaty, Mestwin gave some of his possessions to the margraves, and had them returned as a fief. Excluded from the return was the

Białogard Białogard (pronounced , german: Belgard, ; Pomeranian: ''Biôłogard'') is a historic town in Middle Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 23,614 inhabitants as of December 2021. The capital of Białogard County in the West Pomeranian Voivod ...

(Belgard) area, including

Świecie Świecie (; german: Schwetz) is a town in northern Poland with 25,968 inhabitants (2006), situated in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999); it was in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. It is the capital of Świecie County. Locati ...

(Schwetz), which remained under direct Brandenburgian rule. In turn the margraves financed the duke, e.g. for the marriage of Mestwin's daughter Catherine with Pribislaw II of Parchim-Richtenberg (part of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

). Through this treaty, Brandenburg gained direct access to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. The signing of the treaty provoked a rebellion by the nobility of the region who were opposed to the Brandenburgians. Likewise, Mestwin's brother Warcisław of Gdańsk (Danzig), and his uncle, Sambor II took the opportunity to try and depose Mestwin. However, Warcisław died in 1270 while Sambor was defeated with the help of the Polish duke

Bolesław the Pious Bolesław the Pious (1224/27 – 14 April 1279) was a Duke of Greater Poland during 1239–1247 (according to some historians during 1239–1241 sole Duke of Ujście), Duke of Kalisz during 1247–1249, Duke of Gniezno during 1249–1250, Du ...

. In 1273 Mestwin found himself in open conflict against the margraves who refused to remove their troops from Gdańsk, Mestwin's possession, which he had been forced to temporarily lease to them during his struggles against Warcisław and Sambor. Since the lease had now expired, through this action, the Margrave Conrad broke the treaty and subsequent agreements, in the hopes of capturing as much of Mestwin's Pomeralia as possible. Mestwin, unable to dislodge the Brandenburgian troops himself called in the aid of Bolesław the Pious, whose troops took the city with a direct attack. The war against Brandenburg ended in 1273 with a treaty (possibly signed at Drawno Bridge), in which Brandenburg returned Gdańsk to Mestwin while he rendered feudal homage to the margraves for the

Lands of Schlawe and Stolp The Schlawe and Stolp Land, also known as Słupsk and Sławno Land, is a historical region in Pomerania, centered on the towns of Sławno (''Schlawe'') and Słupsk (''Stolp'') in Farther Pomerania, in present-day Poland. The area is of some hi ...

. In a subsequent treaty of 1282, the

Treaty of Kępno The Treaty of Kępno ( pl, Umowa kępińska, Układ w Kępnie) was an agreement between the High Duke of Poland and Wielkopolska Przemysł II and the Duke of Pomerania Mestwin II (sometimes rendered as "Mściwój") signed on February 15, 1282, w ...

signed with the Polish duke (later, king)

Przemysł II Przemysł II ( also given in English and Latin language, Latin as ''Premyslas'' or ''Premislaus'' or in Polish as '; 14 October 1257 – 8 February 1296) was the Duke of Poznań from 1257–1279, of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296, of Kraków f ...

, Mestwin transferred the suzerainty over all of Pomeralia and Gdańsk Pomerania, including

Słupsk Słupsk (; , ; formerly german: Stolp, ; also known by several alternative names) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specific ...

(Stolp) and Sławno (Schlawe) to Poland. Przemysł took control over the area but was murdered by agents of Brandenburg in 1296. The subsequent conflict over the area led to the

Teutonic takeover of Danzig Teutonic or Teuton(s) may refer to: Peoples and cultures * Teutons, a Germanic tribe or Celtic tribe mentioned by Greek and Roman authors ** ''Furor Teutonicus'', a Latin phrase referring to the proverbial ferocity of the Teutons * Having qualit ...

in 1308.David Abulafia, The New Cambridge Medieval History
/ref>

References

External links

Full text of the treaty of Arnswalde (1269) (in Latin) in Morin FH (1838): Codex diplomaticus Brandenburgensis I, p. 101.Full text of the treaty of Drage Bridge (1273) (in Latin) in Morin FH (1838): Codex diplomaticus Brandenburgensis I, p. 121.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnswalde 1269 in Europe 1260s treaties Treaties of the Margraviate of Brandenburg Treaties of the Duchy of Pomerania 1260s in the Holy Roman Empire