Heinrich Dusemer von Arfberg (c. 1280 - 1353), often times known in English simply as Heinrich Dusemer, was the 21st grandmaster of the Teutonic Order.

Biography

He is first mentioned as a member of the Teutonic Order in 1311. As a youthful knight, he often engaged in combat with the

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

, and according to monastic legend, defeated the

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Vytenis Vytenis was Grand Duke of Lithuania from to . He became the first monarch of the Gediminid dynasty to sustain a long-lasting reign, establishing the dynasty’s continuity and long-term governance of Lithuania. In the early 14th century, his ...

, in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

. Vytenis later honored him for his courage and chivalry in battle. In 1318, he is mentioned as a member of the convent of Polessk

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

. He became

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Ragnit Neman (; ; ), is a town and the administrative center of Nemansky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located in the historic region of Lithuania Minor, on the steep southern bank of the Neman River, where it forms the Russian border with ...

in 1329 and became

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Sambia Sambia () or Samland () or Kaliningrad Peninsula (official name, , ''Kaliningradsky poluostrov'') is a peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The peninsula is bounded by the Curonian Lagoon t ...

in 1334. He became commander of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

in the same year, and then Grand Marshall and commander of Koningsberg. From 1335 to 1339, he was commander-in-chief of the order's army. In 1339, a dispute between him and then grandmaster Dietrich von Altenburg resulted in Dusemer's demotion and exile to

Brodnica Brodnica () is a town in northern Poland with 28,574 inhabitants . It is the seat of Brodnica County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. The nearby Brodnica Landscape Park, a protected area, gets its name from Brodnica. History The first r ...

, where he became commander. In either 1343 or 1344, he fought against the

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people () are a Finnic ethnic group native to the Baltic Sea region in Northern Europe, primarily their nation state of Estonia. Estonians primarily speak the Estonian language, a language closely related to other Finni ...

Rule

In September 1345, Grandmaster Ludolf Konig, who according to historical records, was mentally reeling from a failed campaign against the Lithuanians, resigned, and on December 13, 1345, Dusemer was elected Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order. Shortly following his election, in 1346,

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

was acquired by the Teutons from the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

for 19,000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

. War with the Lithuanians resumed under his reign, ending in the decisive

Battle of Strėva The Battle of Strėva, Strebe, or Strawe was fought on 2 February 1348 between the Teutonic Order and the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the banks of the Strėva River, a right tributary of the Neman River, near present-day Žiežmariai. Chro ...

on February 2, 1348, which rendered the Lithuanians as a non-threat for decades. The Teutons intended to subdue the entirety of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, however, the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

reached

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in that year, resulting in Dusemer being forced to widthraw his troops from the area. In 1349 he approved one of the rare monastery foundations of the time of the order for the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

nuns in

Löbenicht View of Löbenicht from the Pregel, including its church and gymnasium, as well as the nearby Propsteikirche Löbenicht (; ) was a quarter of central Königsberg, Germany. During the Middle Ages it was the weakest of the three towns that com ...

. He expressed his gratitude for the victory over the Lithuanians at Strėva. The monastery was endowed with substantial property in the form of forests in the district of Wehlau. The forests later bore the name ''Löbenichtscher Hospitalforst.'' Under his reign, construction started on the grandmaster's palace in the Teutonic capital of Marienburg. Talks with the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

resulted in the establishment of a definitive Teutonic-Polish border in 1349 in

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. In 1351, probably due to illness, Henry Dusemer resigned from office. He left for Bratian and no longer held any honorable functions. He died in Bratian in 1353.Hans Koeppen:
Heinrich Dusemer
'' In: '' New German Biography'' (NDB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969, , p. 378 ( digitized ). He was buried in Malbork in the mausoleum of the grand masters of the Teutonic Order under the chapel of St. Anna.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dusemer, Heinrich Grand masters of the Teutonic Order Burials in the Chapel of St. Anne, Malbork Year of birth unknown 1350s deaths 1280s births