Editing Duchy of Prussia (section)

===Establishment===
On 10 April 1525, Albert resigned his position, became a Protestant and in the [[Prussian Homage]] was granted the title "Duke of Prussia" by his uncle, King [[Sigismund I the Old|Sigismund I]] of Poland. In a deal partly brokered by Luther, Ducal Prussia became the first Protestant state, anticipating the dispensations of the [[Peace of Augsburg]] of 1555.

[[File:Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, 2022, 07.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The ''[[Prussian Homage (painting)|Prussian Homage]]'' (by [[Jan Matejko]], 1882, National Museum, [[Kraków]]): [[Albert, Duke of Prussia|Albert]] receives Ducal Prussia as a [[fief]] from King [[Sigismund I the Old|Sigismund I]] of Poland in 1525.]][[File:Rzeczpospolita Royal Ducal.png|right|thumb|Ducal Prussia as a Polish fief (striped) in the second half of the 16th century]]
When Albert returned to Königsberg, he publicly declared his conversion and announced to a quorum of Teutonic Knights his new ducal status. The knights who disapproved of the decision were pressured into acceptance by Albert's supporters and the [[:wikt:burgher|burgher]]s of Königsberg, and only Eric of [[Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]], [[Komtur]] of [[Klaipėda|Memel]], opposed the new duke. On 10 December 1525, at their session in Königsberg, the [[Prussian estates]] established the [[Lutheran]] Church in Ducal Prussia by deciding the [[Church Order (Lutheran)|Church Order]].<ref name="Juška 1997 2-Reformatorische Anfänge"/>

By the end of Albert's rule, the offices of Grand Commander and Marshal of the Order had deliberately been left vacant, and the order was left with but 55 knights in Prussia. Some of the knights converted to Lutheranism in order to retain their property and then married into the Prussian nobility, while others returned to the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and remained [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]].<ref name="Seward">[[Desmond Seward|Seward, Desmond]]. ''The Monks of War: The Military Religious Orders''. Penguin Books. London, 1995. {{ISBN|0-14-019501-7}}</ref> These remaining Teutonic Knights, led by the next Grand Master, [[Walter von Cronberg]], continued to unsuccessfully claim Prussia, but retained much of the estates in the Teutonic [[bailiwick]]s outside of Prussia.
{{Rzeczpospolita 1618|size=250px}}
On 1 March 1526, Albert married [[Dorothea of Denmark, Duchess of Prussia|Princess Dorothea]], daughter of King [[Frederick I of Denmark]], thereby establishing political ties between Lutheranism and [[Scandinavia]]. Albert was greatly aided by his elder brother [[George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach]], who had earlier established the Protestant religion in his territories of [[Franconia]] and [[Upper Silesia]]. Albert also found himself reliant on support from his uncle [[Sigismund I the Old|Sigismund I]] of Poland, as the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and the Roman Catholic Church, had banned him for his Protestantism.

The Teutonic Order had only superficially carried out its mission to Christianize the native rural population and erected few churches within the state's territory.<ref name="Juška 1997 2-Reformatorische Anfänge"/> There was little longing for [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]]. Baltic [[Old Prussians]] and [[Prussian Lithuanians|Prussian Lithuanian]] peasants continued to practice pagan customs in some areas, for example, adhering to beliefs in [[Perkūnas|Perkūnas (Perkunos)]], symbolized by the [[goat|goat buck]], [[Potrimpo]], and [[Peckols|Pikullos (Patollu)]] while "consuming the roasted flesh of a goat".<ref name="Kirby">[[David Kirby (historian)|Kirby, David]]. ''Northern Europe in the Early Modern Period: The Baltic World, 1492–1772''. Longman. London, 1990. {{ISBN|0-582-00410-1}}</ref> Bishop [[George of Polentz]] had forbidden the widespread forms of pagan worship in 1524 and repeated the ban in 1540.<ref name="Juška 1997 2-Reformatorische Anfänge"/>

On 18 January 1524 Bishop George had ordered the use of native languages at baptisms, which improved the acceptance of baptism by the peasants.<ref name="Juška 1997 2-Reformatorische Anfänge"/> There was little active resistance to the new Protestant religion. The Teutonic Knights having brought Catholicism made the transition to Protestantism easier.<ref name="Koch">[[H.W. Koch|Koch, H.W.]] ''A History of Prussia''. Barnes & Noble Books. New York, 1978. {{ISBN|0-88029-158-3}}</ref>

The Church Order of 1525 provided for visitations of the parishioners and pastors, which were first carried out by Bishop George in 1538.<ref name="Juška 1997 2-Reformatorische Anfänge"/> Because Ducal Prussia was ostensibly a [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] land, authorities traveled throughout the duchy ensuring that Lutheran teachings were being followed and imposing penalties on pagans and dissidents. The rural population of native descent was thoroughly Christianised only starting with the Reformation in Prussia.<ref name="Juška 1997 2-Reformatorische Anfänge"/>

A peasant rebellion broke out in [[Sambia Peninsula|Sambia]] in 1525. The combination of taxation by the nobility, the contentions of the [[Protestant Reformation]], and the abrupt secularization of the Teutonic Order's remaining Prussian lands exacerbated peasant unrest. The relatively well-to-do rebel leaders, including a miller from [[Zarechye|Kaimen]] and an innkeeper from [[Schaaken Castle|Schaaken in Prussia]], were supported by sympathizers in Königsberg. The rebels demanded the elimination of newer taxes by the nobility, and a return to an older tax of two [[mark (money)|marks]] per [[hide (unit)|hide]] (a measure of land of approximately forty acres).

They claimed to be rebelling against the harsh nobility, not against Duke Albert, who was away in the Holy Roman Empire and said that they would swear allegiance to him only in person. Upon Albert's return from the Empire, he called for a meeting of the peasants in a field, whereupon he surrounded them with loyal troops and had them arrested without incident. The leaders of the rebellion were subsequently executed.<ref name="Kirby"/> There were no more large-scale rebellions. Ducal Prussia became known as a land of Protestantism and sectarianism.<ref name="Koch"/>
{{multiple image |align=right |perrow=2 |total_width=380
| image1=Seklucjan gospel.gif
| image2=CATECHISMVSA PRAsty Szadei (in Lithuanian language) by Martynas Mažvydas, published in Königsberg, 1547 (cropped).jpg
| footer=The duchy became a leading Polish and Lithuanian Lutheran and printing center. In the mid-16th century in [[Königsberg]] were published the first translation of the [[New Testament]] into Polish by [[Stanisław Murzynowski]] and the [[Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas]], which is the first printed book in the Lithuanian language.
}}

In 1544, Duke Albert founded the [[University of Königsberg|Albertina University]] in Königsberg, which became the principal educational establishment for Lutheran pastors and theologians of Prussia.<ref name="Juška 1997 2-Reformatorische Anfänge"/> In 1560, the university received a royal [[privilege (law)|privilege]] from King [[Sigismund II Augustus]] of Poland. It was granted the same rights and autonomy that were enjoyed by the [[Jagiellonian University|Kraków University]] and so it became one of the leading universities in the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. The use of the native languages in church services made Duke Albert appoint exiled Protestant Lithuanian pastors as professors, e.g. [[Stanislovas Rapolionis]] and [[Abraomas Kulvietis]], making the Albertina also a centre of Lithuanian language and literature.<ref name="Juška 1997 5-Pfarrer">Albertas Juška, ''Mažosios Lietuvos Bažnyčia XVI-XX amžiuje'', Klaipėda: 1997, pp. 742–771, here after the German translation [http://www.liuteronai.lt/Istorija-ir-teologija/Baznycios-istorija/Die-Kirche-in-Klein-Litauen ''Die Kirche in Klein Litauen''] (section: 5. Die Pfarrer und ihre Ausbildung; {{in lang|de}}) on: [http://www.liuteronai.lt/eng ''Lietuvos Evangelikų Liuteronų Bažnyčia''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002005842/http://www.liuteronai.lt/eng |date=2011-10-02 }}, retrieved on 28 August 2011.</ref>

While the composition of the nobility changed little in the transition from the monastic state to the duchy, the control of the nobility over the dependent peasantry increased. Prussia's free peasants, called Kölmer, were holders of free estates according to [[Culm law]]. Kölmer held them with about a sixth of the arable land, much more than in other nations in the feudal era.<ref>Peter Brandt in collaboration with Thomas Hofmann, ''Preußen: Zur Sozialgeschichte eines Staates''; eine Darstellung in Quellen, edited on behalf of Berliner Festspiele as a catalogue to the exhibition on Prussia between 15 May and 15 November 1981, Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1981, (=Preußen; vol. 3), pp. 24 and 35. {{ISBN|3-499-34003-8}}</ref>

Administratively, little changed in the transition from the Teutonic Knights to ducal rule. Although he was formally a vassal of the crown of Poland, Albert retained self-government for Prussia, his own army, the minting of his currency, a [[Prussian estates|provincial assembly]], (de, ''[[Landtag]]''), and substantial autonomy in foreign affairs.<ref name= "Urban">[[William Urban|Urban, William]]. ''The Teutonic Knights: A Military History''. Greenhill Books. London, 2003. {{ISBN|1-85367-535-0}}</ref>