The case of Christopher Schleinitz
(1511 – 1513)

Nicholas Zharkikh

Shortened text of the section.
Full text in ukrainian version.

This story began long before the war began in 1512, but it gained notoriety in 1511. It is best told in the language of the documents themselves.

In early May 1511, King Sigismund, on his way from Poland to the Lithuanian Diet in Brest, sent Rafal Leszczynski as ambassador to the Duke of Saxony George the Bearded (1471 – 1539). The subject of the embassy was actually Christopher Schleinitz.

Embassy from King Sigismund to Duke George

The King’s Letter to Marienburg

Chronicle of Decius

Conclusions

This example shows the great and irreparable evil consequences of Sigismund’s seemingly insignificant decision in the fall of 1506 – to remove Prince Mikhail Glynsky from the position of court marshal. The offended Glynsky, not finding justice from the king, which he had been waiting for until the Minsk Diet (August 1507), raised a riot and fled to Moscow (fall 1508).

A small group of his supporters, who had no quantitative weight, emigrated with him to Moscow. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania lost several dozen soldiers, while the Grand Duchy of Moscow gained these few dozen.

The significance of this emigration was not quantitative, but qualitative. Mikhail Glynsky had acquaintances in Germany since his youth (1490s) and probably maintained them during his service under King Alexander. At that time, these connections worked (or at least could work) in favor of Lithuania. And now Mikhail used these connections in favor of his new master – Vasyl III.

It is possible to believe that it was Glynsky who found Schleinitz – the Moscow diplomats of that time had neither the experience nor the connections to recruit such an agent. Through Glynsky, Schleinitz gained the ruler’s trust, perhaps even met with Grand Duke Vasyl, and received important assignments, broad powers (to seek allies for Moscow!) and, apparently, considerable money for advances to soldiers.

King Sigismund followed the activities of the clever German and tried to hinder it, but did not achieve any success in this. Moscow, thanks to Glynsky and Schleinitz, gained some influence in Saxony, and this was very beneficial for Moscow and very unpleasant and even threatening for Sigismund in the conditions of the war that was approaching and then began.