War of The Priests - Election Dispute

Election Dispute

In 1467, the chapter chose as bishop Nicolaus von Tüngen, while the Polish king promoted Wincenty Kiełbasa (at the time Bishop of Chełm) for the position. It was Tüngen who was approved by the Pope, but he was unable to take the seat de facto and instead resided in Riga. Unable to get the Pope's approval for Kiełbasa, Casimir changed tact and nominated Andrzej Oporowski, his chancellor, as bishop (Tüngen was to receive the Bishopric of Kamień). Oporowski however, unlike Kiełbasa, did not have the support of the Prussian estates as he was not from the region.

This resulted in a dispute in which Tüngen was supported by the Teutonic Order and Matthias Corvinus, the king of Hungary. With help from the Order Tüngen was able to come to Warmia in 1472. In 1476 Corvinus invaded southern Poland and a year later Heinrich Reffle von Richtenberg, the Grand Master of the Order refused to provide military support to Casimir, his sovereign.

Casimir responded by courting the support of the Prussian Estates and cities. He granted Chełmno Law to several cities, affirmed existing privileges and withdrew the candidature of Oporowski. As a result the Prussians re-swore their fealty to the King of Poland and refused to support the order. Likewise, Gdańsk, the largest city in Polish Royal Prussia declined to support to the Order and Corvinus.

Read more about this topic:  War Of The Priests

Famous quotes containing the words election and/or dispute:

    In the past, as now, Haiti’s curse has been her politicians. There are still too many men of influence in the country who believe that a national election is a mandate from the people to build themselves a big new house in Petionville and Kenscoff and a trip to Paris.
    Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)

    As for the dispute about solitude and society, any comparison is impertinent. It is an idling down on the plane at the base of a mountain, instead of climbing steadily to its top.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)