Działalność wojskowa Bernarda Pretwicza jako rotmistrza obrony potocznej
The Military Activity of the „Common Defense” Captain Bernard Pretwicz

Summary/Abstract: The „Common Defense” was a system that was designed to defend the southeastern borders of the Polish-Lithuanian state against Tatar invasions. A key role with regards to the functioning of the system during the 1540s and 1550s was played by the Silesian nobleman Bernard Pretwicz. Comparing the written correspondence of Pretwicz that was addressed to the Prussian Duke, Albert Hohenzollern, with preserved taxation documents from the time sheds further light on this issue. The correspondence in question was not intensive, but this was mainly due to the distances that the letters had to travel. The sources reveal that Pretwicz enjoyed continuous service in the ranks of the „Common Defense” from at least 1533 to 1559, and that the size of the units under his command ranged from between 100 to 200 troops. In addition, it is known that Pretwicz maintained, at his own expense, soldiers that were not included in the official army rota from that time. An interesting aspect is that Pretwicz developed his military activities on an enterprising scale. His main source of income was gained through looting, which allowed him, among other things, to keep additional soldiers from outside the official rota and to pay them a lower salary from the treasury money he received. An important topic discussed in Pretwicz’s correspondence with the Prussian Duke concerned debts that the captain repaid by shipping animals.

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