| Abstrakt: |
The events which transpired in Gdańsk on November 12-13, 1308 and entered historiography as the "Gdańsk massacre" have long been the subject of historical research. They have not, however, been studied in the context of the historical narrative created in the Middle Ages. That narrative was a testimony to the collective memory of the Pomeranian and Polish populations on the topic of the Teutonic Order's seizure of Gdańsk. It was connected with the destruction of the town by the Teutonic Order and the deaths of numerous inhabitants of Gdańsk. The evidence of historical memory was found in testimonies of Polish and Pomeranian witnesses during several court proceedings in the 14th and 15th centuries brought against the Teutonic Order by the Polish side, concerning i.a., the unlawful seizure of Gdańsk Pomerania. This memory was also reflected in narrative source accounts (annals and chronicles) written in Pomerania and Prussia. Due to the fact that they represented opinions from both sides, their messages were not uniform. It was only in the 15th century that the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz looked to create a coherent image of events connected with the seizure of Gdańsk by the Teutonic Order. In light of his chronicle, the Teutonic Knights committed treason in 1308 and unlawfully seized Pomerania. This opinion, with the lack of analogous written account sources authored by chroniclers tied to the Teutonic Order, would become the generally accepted narrative in Poland and Pomerania of the fall of Gdańsk and secession of Gdańsk Pomerania from Poland. Over the course of the centuries it also constituted one of the major arguments in the historic Polish/German dispute over Gdańsk Pomerania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
