Zamek w Bezławkach rzekomą bazą militarną zakonu niemieckiego podczas letniej wyprawy litewskiej 1402 roku

Abstract

This article supplements the information on the military functions of the castle of the Teutonic Order in Bezławki published in 2016 in “Zapiski Historyczne”. It refers directly to the perspectives presented in the monograph published in 2013 devoted to the late-medieval settlement complex in Bälsack (Pol. Bezławki), whose authors attributed to this fortified structure the strategic importance and role of a “mustering point”, “exit base” and “military camp” for the troops of the Teutonic Order during their campaigns against Lithuania (and Rus). This hypothesis has already been critiqued in the “Zapiski Historyczne”, where in this text a detailed analysis of the summer Lithuanian campaign of 1402, during which time the castle was supposed to play the aforementioned role, which was to be assigned by the Teutonic Order for the campaign associated with Prince Bolesław Świdrygiełło (lit. Švitrigaila). Meanwhile, this analysis indicated that none of the Order’s troops during the aforementioned campaign from Bezławki gathered the re, nor did they leave from there, nor did they pass through, and the decision to transfer the lease of the fortification to the Lithuanian prince was taken after the expedition, with the arrival of the prince taking place no earlier than in the second half of October 1402.