Published : 2025-12-17

The Treaty of Cracow and the Prussian Homage of 1525 – Sources in the Central Archives of Historical Records

Abstract

The 500th anniversary of the Treaty of Cracow (1525) is generally associated with the Prussian Homage. However, the significance of this anniversary concerns the peace treaty rather than the feudal tribute that was normal in the feudal world. This duty was imposed on the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order by the provisions of the Treaty of Toruń (1466). Under its terms, successive Grand Masters paid homage to the Polish kings. The basis of Prince Albrecht Hohenzollern’s homage to King Sigismund I the Elder was a peace treaty known as the Treaty of Cracow. It ended a four-year truce in the war between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order in 1519-1521. The treaty was signed in Cracow on April 8, 1525. Two days later, the homage ceremony took place in the Cracow market square. The ceremony demonstrated the feudal dependence of the secularized Teutonic Order in Prussia on the king and the Kingdom of Poland. After swearing allegiance to King Sigismund, Albert, Duke of Prussia, received his Duchy of Prussia as a fief of the Kingdom of Poland. This article lists and characterizes source materials from The Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw relating to the Treaty of Cracow.

Keywords:

Treaty of Cracow, peace treaty, Prussian Homage, Central Archives of Historical Records, parchment document



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Teka of the Historical Sciences Commission of the Learned Society of KUL |ISSN 2658-1175 eISSN 2719-3144 DOI: 10.18290/tkh

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