Arnold von Fittinghof

In 1342, Arnold von Fittinghof served as Comtour Marienburg . In 1347 - 1348 he served as Komtur (commander) of Kuldigi (Goldingen), and from 1348 to 1349 he was Komtur of Revel ( Tallinn ).

In 1360, Arnold von Fittinghof was elected the new Landmaster of the Teutonic Order in Livonia. He continued to pursue an aggressive policy towards the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In the spring and autumn of 1360, the new Livonian magister Arnold von Fittinghof led two raids on Lithuanian possessions.

During 1362, Arnold von Fittinghof, at the head of the Livonian Crusader Knights, undertook four trips to Lithuania. During the third raid, the Livonian master connected with the great master of the Teutonic Order, Vinrich von Kniprode , who also invaded Lithuanian possessions with his army.

Grand Master Vinrich von Kniprode with a large order of the army, which included crusaders from England, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy, entered into Lithuanian possessions and laid siege to Kaunas ( Kovno ) castle on March 29. In April, Livonian magister Arnold von Fittinghof arrived with ships on ships near Kovno. The Lithuanian garrison under the command of Prince Voidat (the son of Keistut ) bravely defended. On April 15, the crusaders stormed the castle and burned it. During the assault, almost all Lithuanians (up to 2 thousand people) were killed or burned in the fire. Voidat, the commandant of the castle and thirty-seven Lithuanians were taken prisoner. The Lithuanian princes, the brothers Olgerd and Keistut , with a small army stood behind the river. The Neman could not help the besieged garrison.

In June 1362, the Livonian magister Arnold von Fittinghof organized an order congress in Dorpat . It was attended by the bishops of Ezel , Revel and Derpt . At the congress, the Livonian magister Arnold von Fittinghof set out his complaint to the Derpt bishop Johann Funfhausen ( 1346 - 1373 ). The Derpt bishop complained to European monarchs and German princes of harassment by the Livonian Order. Having not received support at the congress, the Derpt bishop was forced to ask for forgiveness from the Livonian master and pledged to provide military assistance to the Livonian knights in the war against the Lithuanians. Later, however, the devious bishop wrote to Pope Urban a new complaint about the actions of the master and the order.

In February 1363, the Livonian master entered into Lithuanian border possessions and devastated the Upita land. In the fall, Arnold von Fittinghof secondarily devastated and ravaged the Upita land.

In February 1364, the Livonian magister Arnold von Fittinghof made the last trip to Lithuanian possessions. Near Vilkomir, the Livonian master connected with the great master of the Teutonic Order, Vinrich von Kniprode. The Teutonic and Livonian Crusaders devastated the Lithuanian lands for nine days, capturing and killing a large number of local residents.

On July 11, 1364, the Livonian master Arnold von Fittinghof died. Wilhelm von Frimersheim was elected his successor.

• Balthazar Russov Chronicle of the province of Livonia.
• Gudavičius E. History of Lithuania from Ancient Times to 1569. Volume 1. Moscow, 2005.
• Wartberg Herman . Livonian Chronicle // Teutonic Order. The collapse of the crusade in Russia / Comp. A.R. Andreev, S.A. Shumov. - M.: Algorithm, Eksmo, 2005. - A series of "Secret Sects and Orders". - S. 204-291.