Johann Thies of Königsberg and his pragmatic literacy (1515-1540)
The aim of the paper is to present the figure of Johann Thies, a Samland canon and ducal official, through the lens of his chancellery activities and the documents he produced. His period of activity coincided with a crucial moment in the history of the Teutonic Order’s Prussia—the political and religious transformation associated with the secularization of the Teutonic state in 1525 and its conversion into the secular Ducal Prussia. This documentation includes both official acts issued within the structures of the Teutonic Order before 1525 and texts produced in the service of Duke Albert of Hohenzollern after the secularization of Prussia.
