ABSTRACT

New Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Poland and Prussia: The Impact of Gdańsk draws together the latest reseach conducted by local historians and archaeologists on the city of Gdańsk and its impact on the surrounding region of Pomerania and Poland as a whole.

Beginning with Gdańsk’s early political history and extending from the 10th to the 16th century, its twelve chapters explore a range of political, social, and socio-cultural historical questions and explain such phenomena as the establishment and development of the Gdańsk port and city. A prominent theme is a consideration of the interactions between Gdansk and Poland and Prussia, including a look into the city’s links with the State of the Teutonic Order in Prussia and the Kingdom of Poland under the rule of the Piast and Jagiellonian dynasties. The chapters are placed in the historical context of medieval Poland as well as the broader themes of religion, the matrimonial policy of noble families or their contacts with the papacy.

This book is an exciting new study of medieval Poland and unparalleled in the English-speaking world, making it an ideal text for those wanting to deepen their knowledge in this subject area.

chapter |16 pages

Introduction

chapter 3|14 pages

Two local empires in confrontation

Poland and Lithuania competing with the Teutonic State to dominate the Southeastern region of the Baltic Sea (the end of the fourteenth to 1409)

chapter 4|13 pages

Crafts after the decline of the Teutonic Order state

Case study of Malbork

chapter 5|15 pages

Religion in Gdańsk in the Middle Ages and early modern times

From St Adalbert’s mission to the Reformation victory

chapter 6|12 pages

Maritime Gdańsk in the second half of the fourteenth and the fifteenth century

The phenomenon of privateer Paul Beneke and the great caravel Peter von Danzig

chapter 9|20 pages

In the melting pot of different traditions, styles, and tastes

Gothic panel painting in Gdańsk

chapter 10|16 pages

Faith and political strategy

Artistic donations for St Mary’s Church in Gdańsk during the reign of the Teutonic Order