About the orgin and possible affiliation of the vice-commander of the Malbork Castle Claus von Winterthur (1388-1402)

Abstract

Brother Claus von Winterthur (1325/1335-1402), who was in the late XIV.th century the vice-commander of the Malbork Castle, came from the family of urban ministerialis, who originally lived in Niederwinterthur. They were serving the Counts of Kyburg and the Counts of Habsburg. Because their living in Winterthur massively aggravated, some family members searched their luck in the neighbouring cities and some in distant Strassburg, which exactly at that time after the expulsion of the episcopal knights gladly accepted new warriors. The analysis of the surnames leaves to the conclusion that brother Claus came from Strassburg. He very likely knew about his familiar affiliations, so he could have been very loyal to the brethren Konrad and Rudolf von Kyburg. Loyalty towards them and cooperation with other brethren from Alsace-Burgundy might have helped him to obtain the dignity of the vice-commander in 1388. In this function he managed to stay much longer than his predecessors, till 1402.