Martin Truchseß von Wetzhausen zu Dachsbach (c. 1435 – 3 January 1489) was the 34th Grand Master of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

, serving from 1477 to 1489. Von Wetzhausen hailed from a family of

Imperial Knight The Free Imperial Knights (, ) were free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor. They were the remnants of the medieval free nobility (''edelfrei'') and the ministerialis, ministeriales. What ...

s, later

barons Barons may refer to: *Baron (plural), a rank of nobility *Barons (surname), a Latvian surname *Barons, Alberta, Canada * ''Barons'' (TV series), a 2022 Australian drama series * ''The Barons'', a 2009 Belgian film Sports * Birmingham Barons, a Min ...

from the

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

area in

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

. Several members of his family settled in

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, ...

and held important posts within the Teutonic Order. Early in his career, he was a monk in Mewe, Strasburg, and Elbing. From 1462 von Wetzhausen became an adviser to Grand Master

Ludwig von Erlichshausen Ludwig von Erlichshausen (1410–1467) was the 31st Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1449/1450 to 1467. As did his uncle and predecessor Konrad von Erlichshausen, Ludwig came from Ellrichshausen in Swabia, now part of Sattel ...

and since 1476 the Komtur of Osterode. On 4 August 1477 the Order's

Capitulum capitulum (plural capitula) may refer to: *the Latin word for chapter ** an index or list of chapters at the head of a gospel manuscript ** a short reading in the Liturgy of the Hours *** derived from which, it is the Latin for the assembly known ...

elected him Grand Master, despite his having once pledged that "''ehe er welde dem Könige von Polen schweren, er welde ehe in seinem Blutte vortrincken''" (archaic ) — which the Grand Masters had been obliged to do since the

Second Peace of Thorn (1466) The Peace of Thorn or Toruń of 1466, also known as the Second Peace of Thorn or Toruń (; ), was a peace treaty signed in the Hanseatic city of Thorn (Toruń) on 19 October 1466 between the Polish king Casimir IV Jagiellon and the Teutonic K ...

. Von Wetzhausen supported

Nicolaus von Tüngen Nicolaus von Tüngen ( Polish ''Mikołaj Tungen''; ; died 14 February 1489 in Heilsberg (Lidzbark Warmiński)) was bishop of Warmia from 1467 until 1489. Life Nicolaus von Tüngen came from a Teutonic Prussian burgher family in Tüngen (Bogaty� ...

, a candidate for

Bishop of Warmia This is a list of Bishops and Prince-Bishops of the Diocese of Warmia (, , ), which was elevated to the Archdiocese of Warmia in 1992. The Bishopric was founded in 1243 as the Bishopric of Ermland, one of four bishoprics of Teutonic Prussia ...

, in the War of the Priests, which had started as a dispute in 1467 when King

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

of Poland did not accept his candidature. In 1478, after having gained international support from King

Matthias Corvinus of Hungary Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and adopted the tit ...

, but hardly any support from within Prussia, von Wetzhausen took a military stance against Poland and captured Culm (Chełmno), Strasburg, and Starogard Chełminski. The Polish army under the command of

Jan Biały Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

and Jan Zieleziński, supported by

Royal Prussia Royal Prussia (; or , ) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) became a province of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, which was annexed follow ...

and Danzig, defeated the Order's army quickly and the Grand Master had to paid the homage to the Polish king on 9 October 1479 in

Nowe Miasto Korczyn Nowy Korczyn is a small town in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Nowy Korczyn. It lies in Lesser Poland, approximately south of Busko-Zdrój and s ...

. Afterwards, von Wetzhausen focused on internal policy within the Order and its problematic financial situation. In the summer of 1488, the Grand Master became very ill and he died in early 1489 in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

. He was buried in

Königsberg Cathedral Königsberg Cathedral (; ) is a Brick Gothic-style monument in Kaliningrad, Russia, located on Kneiphof island in the Pregolya river. It is the most significant preserved building of the former city of Königsberg, which was largely destroyed in ...

References

Further reading