The Prussian Homage by Jan Matejko

A pensive Stańczyk in a detail of Matejko's The Prussian Homage

The Prussian Homage or Tribute (German: Preußische Huldigung; Polish: hołd pruski) was the formal investment of Albert of Prussia as duke of the Polish fief of Ducal Prussia. Jan Matejko ( (also known as Jan Mateyko; June 24 1838 Free City of Kraków; - November 1 1893 Kraków) was a Polish painter Stańczyk (c 1480&ndash1560 (pronounced) was the most famous Court jester in Polish history. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Albert (Albrecht Albertus 16 May 1490 – 20 March 1568 was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and after converting to Lutheranism, Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Under the system of Feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud, feoff, or fee, often consisted of inheritable lands or revenue-producing The Duchy of Prussia or Ducal Prussia (Herzogtum Preußen Prūsijos kunigaikštystė Prusy Książęce was a Duchy in the eastern part of Prussia from

In the aftermath of the armistice ending the Polish-Teutonic War Albert, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and a member of the House of Hohenzollern, visited Martin Luther at Wittenberg and soon therefter became sympathetic to Protestantism. The grand master (Hochmeister Magister generalis is the holder of the supreme office of the Teutonic Order. Martin Luther (November 10 1483 February 18 1546 was a German Monk, theologian, university professor Father of Protestantism, and church reformer Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a Town in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the Elbe Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. On April 10, 1525, two days after signing of the Treaty of Kraków, in the market of the Polish capital Kraków, Albert resigned his position as Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights to become a Lutheran and receive the title "Duke of Prussia" from his uncle King Zygmunt I the Old of Poland. Events 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. 1407 - the lama Treaty of Kraków was signed on 8 April 1525 between Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. Kraków, in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow (ˈkrækaʊ M-W: krăk'ou krāk'ō is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland The Teutonic Order is a German Roman Catholic religious order. Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther Sigismund I the Old (Zygmunt I Stary Žygimantas II Senasis 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) of the Jagiellon dynasty reigned as In a deal partially brokered by Luther, the Duchy of Prussia became the first Protestant state, anticipating the Peace of Augsburg of 1555. The Peace of Augsburg was a treaty between Ferdinand I, who replaced his brother Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor, and the forces of the Schmalkaldic Nevertheless investiture of Protestant fief of Duchy of Prussia was better for Poland for geostrategical reasons than Catholic fief of State of Teutonic Order in Prussia, formally subjected to the Holy Roman Emperor and Papacy. Investiture, from the Latin (preposition in and verb vestire, 'dress' from vestis 'robe' is a rather general term for the formal installation of an The Holy Roman Emperor (Römischer Kaiser or Römisch-Deutscher Kaiser Romanorum Imperator was the elected monarch ruling over the many varying numbers of states History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and