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des monographiques qui, pour la plupart, attendent encore leur réalisation. Les
auteurs envisagent la publication de volumes ultérieurs — vol. III et IV embras­
sant les années 1795—1918 et vol. V pour la période 1918—1939. Ils se heurtent
à des sérieuses difficultés, résultant surtout de la désintégration à cette époque
du territoire national et du manque d’une organisation nationale autonome pour
le recouvrement de laquelle il a fallu lutter pendant 150 ans environ. Les volumes
parus tracent la ligne générale et la méthode de travail pour la suite de l’oeuvre,
malgré les traits spécifiques de la période ultérieure. L’histoire de l’État et du
droit polonais est une synthèse dont l’intérêt en ce qui concerne les recherches
historiques et juridiques dépasse les frontières de notre pays. Les résultats de
l’enquête internationale organisée par la « Revue de l’histoire du droit » qui rerèrent l’état actuel de l’histoire du droit dans divers pays d’Europe, nous autorisent
à une conclusion pareille n.
Władysław Sobociński
Marian T u m le r , Der Deutsche Orden im Werden, Wachsen und Wirken bis 1400 mit einem Abriss der Geschichte des Ordens von 1400 bis
zur neuesten Zeit, Wien 1955, 746 p. with 58 tables.
The extensive work of Dr. Marian T u m 1 e r, present Grand Master of the Teu­
tonic Order who resides in Vienna, will have excited lively interest. For several
years the Teutonic problem has attracted the attention of Polish historiography
which dealt with the Teutonic Order for the very reason of its having played
an important part in the history of mediaeval Poland. As a result, Polish rese­
arch was limited to the history of the religious state in Prussia. Likewise, most
of the work of German historians is concerned with the history of the Teutonic
Order’s state in Prussia and Livonia.
The assumption accepted by Tumler in his work is of quite a different cha­
racter, he intends to introduce the history of the Teutonic Order during the pe­
riod of its greatest development, particularly its history as a religious corpo­
ration, with large property holdings not only in Prussia and Livonia, but also
in the German Empire and in the Mediterranean countries. This assumption
which far exceeded those already accepted by many authors implied thorough
research in original and other available sources concerning the history of
the Centres in Baltic and other European areas. It must be said that the author
has carried out this task in a serious and painstaking manner. Tumler made use
not only of the rich sources already published but also of some unpublished ma­
terial from the Central Archives of the Order in Vienna, and several monographic
works. Thus his many years of research created a strong basis for his book.
The main weakness of the book stems from the fact that it does not take into
sufficient account Polish literature on the subject. The author hardly seems to
know some older Polish works (mostly by W. K ę t r z y ń s k i and apparently from
summaries only), and neglects numerous more recent works, especially those con­
cerning the bringing of the Teutonic Knights to Prussia (e. g. by G. L a b u d a
and K. G ó r s k i) . Having such an extensive source basis the author was thus
11
« Czasopismo Prawno-Historyczne », t. IX, 1957, no 1, p. 397-420 et no 2, p. 391-434
(p. 421-434 — les résultats de l’enquête en français intitulée: Enquête internationale sur l’en­
seignement de l’histoire du droit dans les Facultés de Droit. Conclusions).
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able to analyze the most important problems in the history of the whole Order.
In chapter I he introduces the beginning and the development of the Teutonic
Order in Palestine up to the year 1291, with a background of the existence and de­
velopment of the Knight Orders in mediaeval Europe. In chapter II in discussing
the extension of the Order’s activity in Europe he takes into special considera­
tion the topography of several Mediterranean and German bailiages. In chapter
III the main events of the seizure of Prussia, Pommerania and Livonia in
the XIHth and XlVth centuries are sketched. Chapter IV deals with the internal
life of the Order and its organizational structure, while in the next chapter
the Order’s external activities in organizing state institutions in Prussia and Li­
vonia are introduced. He also includes cultural problems (literature, art). The short
chapter VI tells about the history of the Order from the beginning of the XVth
century up to the present day. The body of the book is supplemented by a few
annexes, concerning mainly the controversial problem of the beginning of the Or­
der in Palestine, and extensive lists of the donations for the Order, its commanderies, hospitals and churches which were under the Order’s spiritual guidance,
a listing of the villages and towns belonging to the Order as well as the lists
of the Grand Masters, dignitaries, provincial Masters, and Commanders — from
the XHth century up to about the year 1400. The book also contains 120 illu­
strations and several maps. Thanks to the high graphic quality of the text and il­
lustrations the book makes a very good impression.
Though the aim of the author was to present the history of the Order as
that of a religious corporation the sheer amount of already existing work and pre­
vious sources as well as the importance of the Order’s Baltic estates — the source
of its power and prestige in contemporary Europe — compelled the author to con­
centrate on the Order in Prussia and Livonia. Thus, Tumler’s work in the main,
is only a résumé of his predecessors attainments, especially with regard to poli­
tical history. Yet in chapter II, one of the most originals, the author is successful
in presenting a broad picture of the territorial domain of the Order in Palestine,
Italy and the German Empire. He based himself on little known and little used
sources from the Central Archives in Vienna. In chapter V there is much new
information on the Order’s internal structure. And finally, chapter VI introduces
some interesting and little known facts about the history and the fall of the Order
after the year 1525.
Summing up, the work of Dr. Tumler is an extensive compendium of knowled­
ge about the Teutonic Order. It is quite obvious that the author not only intends
to project information about the interesting past of the Teutonic Order, but also
to influence the reader’s opinions by introducing the Order’s history in an almost
exclusively positive light. The consequences of this standpoint — easily understood
in the light of the author’s present position — are his efforts to justify the ac­
tions of the Order’s authorities, actions which, as is generally known, were not
always in conformity with the spirit of mediaeval religious morality. This con­
cerns especially the question of such primary importance as the plan of setting
up the Order’s own State in Hungary and Prussia (p. 181 and the following).
The author even seems to approve with some reservations the Order’s right to
convert the pagans by the sword as a consequence of the necessity of defence
of Christianity (p. 361). The attitude of the Order’s authorities towards the con­
quered people is presented in a rather optimistic vein, and the importance of
the Dzierzgoń Agreement of 1249 is exaggerated since the agreement was in fact
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181
cancelled by the Order after the failure of the second insurrection. The author
even tries to justify the brutal method of displacing all Prussian tribes at
the end of the XIIIth century (p. 300). In addition he rejects all the Polish
complaints of the years 1320—1339 (i. e. the period of the Pope’s trials) and he
even rejects the complaints of the Order’s own serfs during the middle of
the XVth century, which were witness to the low morality of the Teutonic
Knights. He claims them to be essentially prejudiced and unjustified. The au­
thor also ignores the well known unfavourable opinion of the Swedish mystic
St. Bridget about the Order as a whole. When estimating the economic and
cultural attainments in Prussia the author completly confirms the theses of
earlier German historiography, obviously idealizing the solidarity of co-existence
of all the social groups under the patriarchal rule of the Teutonic Order and em­
phasizing the advantage of the gradual process of Germanization of the Prussian
population. Since he does not take into sufficient consideration Polish work on
this subject and does not seem to understand the importance of the state of Po­
land in the Baltic region, the author clearly underestimates the meaning of
the Polish-Teutonic conflict and the danger of the Order’s state for Poland
and Lithuania at the end of the XIVth and the beginning of the XVth centuries.
Yet he considers that the historic significance of the Order (p. 363) depends not
only upon its fight to win the people of the Baltic region for Christianity and to
raise their cultural level but above all, upon creating a defence wall in north­
eastern Europe against the Russian danger. According to the author there already
existed in the XIIIth century the danger of conquest by the Russian nation
(Russentum) of all the Baltic countries from Esthonia to Prussia. It is quite obvious
that such an assertion is an anachronism, by means of which the author tries to
prove in an exaggerated and artificial manner not so much the importance of
the Teutonic Order for mediaeval Europe as for the Western Europe of today.
Certain tendencious views of the author, as indicated by the above remarks,
weaken the value of Tumler’s work, which above all ought to be considered as
an encyclopaedic history of the Teutonic Order during the period of its highest
development.
Marian Biskup
Jan W ą s i c ki, Ziemie polskie pod zaborem pruskim. Prusy Południo­
we, 1793—1806. Studium historyczno-prawne. [Les territoires polonais
sous l’occupation prussienne. La Prusse Méridionale, 1793—1806.
Etude d’histoire du droit], Ossolineum, Wrocław 1957, 167 p.
L’objet de la présente étude est fourni par une des provinces prussiennes, con­
stituées sur les territoires annexés par la Prusse lors des partages de la Répu­
blique. L’introduction contient la présentation de la littérature scientifique du
problème, les sources ainsi que les remarques (par trop brèves et laconiques)
concernant le cadre du travail. La division du corps du sujet proprement dit
est basée sur la distinction de trois périodes principales de l’histoire de la Prusse
Méridionale; dans chacune des périodes trois groupes de problèmes sont discutés:
la situation politique, l’organisation sociale et l’organisation des autorités de la
province. En ce qui concerne le dernière période (les années 1800—1806) il n’a pas été
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