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The Prussian estates ((ドイツ語:Preußischer Landtag), (ポーランド語:Stany pruskie)) were representative bodies of Prussia, first created by the Monastic state of Teutonic Prussia in the 14th century (around the 1370s)〔Daniel Stone, ''A History of Central Europe'', University of Washington Press, 2001, ISBN 0-295-98093-1, (Google Print, p.18-19 )〕 but later becoming a devolved legislature for Royal Prussia within the Kingdom of Poland. They were at first composed of officials of six big cities of the region; Braunsberg (Braniewo), Culm (Chełmno), Elbing (Elbląg), Danzig (Gdańsk), Königsberg (Królewiec) and Thorn (Toruń).〔 Later, representatives of other towns as well as nobility were also included.〔〔Karin Friedrich, ''The Other Prussia: Royal Prussia, Poland and Liberty, 1569-1772'', Cambridge University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-521-02775-6, (Google Print, pp. 21–24 )〕 The estates met on average four times per year, and discussed issues such as commerce and foreign relations.〔〔 == Era of Teutonic Prussia == Originally, the Teutonic Order created the Estate to appease the local citizens, but over time the relations between the Order and the Estates grew strained, as the Order of knights treated the local population with contempt.〔〔 Different Prussian holders of the privilege of coinage (among them the Order and some cities), actually committed to issue a Prussian currency of standardised quality, had debased the coins and expanded their circulation in order to finance the wars between Poland and Teutonic Prussia. However, this expansion disturbed the equilibrium of coins circulated to the volume of contractual obligations, only coming down to a harsh depreciation of all existing nominally fixed contractual obligations by inflating all other non-fixed prices measured by these coins, ending only once the purchasing power of every extra issued coin equalled its material and production costs.〔Nicolaus Copernicus, ''Modus cudendi monetam'' (1519) (Way of Coinage; i.e. the Latin title of Copernicus' own translation into German of his 'N.(icolai) C.(oppernici), Meditata XV Augusti anno domini MDXVII, 1517 ), published in: Erich Sommerfeld (ed.), ''Die Geldlehre des Nicolaus Copernicus: Texte, Übersetzungen, Kommentare; in memoriam Kurt Braunreuther 1913–1975'', Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1978, pp. 33–37, lines 26–31 of Copernicus' original text, as given by Sommerfeld.〕〔Cf. Ulf Heinsohn, "The Role of Good Bills and Covered Bonds in the Creation of Money", in: ''Eigentum und Recht und Freiheit: Otto Steiger zum Gedenken'' (Gedenkschrift), Detlev Ehrig and Uwe Staroske (eds.), Marburg: Metropolis, 2010, pp. 213–233, here pp. 216seq. ISBN 978-3-89518-775-9.〕 "Obligations would be retroactively changed if new coins, too plentifully issued, would be counted as equal to the old ones (1526, lines 307-310〔Nicolaus Copernicus, ''Monete cudende ratio per Nicolaum Coppernicum'' (1526), Erich Sommerfeld (trl.), published in: Erich Sommerfeld (ed.), ''Die Geldlehre des Nicolaus Copernicus: Texte, Übersetzungen, Kommentare; in memoriam Kurt Braunreuther 1913–1975'', Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1978, pp. 48–67, lines 307–310 of Copernicus' original text, as given by Sommerfeld.〕)."〔Ulf Heinsohn, "The Role of Good Bills and Covered Bonds in the Creation of Money", in: ''Eigentum und Recht und Freiheit: Otto Steiger zum Gedenken'' (Gedenkschrift), Detlev Ehrig and Uwe Staroske (eds.), Marburg: Metropolis, 2010, pp. 213–233, here p. 218. ISBN 978-3-89518-775-9.〕 Thus a law was "passed by the Diet of Teutonic Prussia in 1418 (cf. Max Toeppen, 1878, 320seqq.〔„Disse nachgeschrieben verramung diss gantzen landes ist ausgangen von Marienburg am sontage nach Allerheiligen tag Anno 1418“, in: ''Acten der Ständetage Preussens unter der Herrschaft des Deutschen Ordens'', Max Pollux Toeppen (ed.), see references for more detailed bibliographical information, vol. 1: Die Jahre 1233–1435, pp. 320seqq.〕), smartly regulating the fulfilment of old debts fixed in old currency by adding an agio when repaid by new coins."〔Ulf Heinsohn, "The Role of Good Bills and Covered Bonds in the Creation of Money", in: ''Eigentum und Recht und Freiheit: Otto Steiger zum Gedenken'' (Gedenkschrift), Detlev Ehrig and Uwe Staroske (eds.), Marburg: Metropolis, 2010, pp. 213–233, here footnote 78 on p. 218. ISBN 978-3-89518-775-9.〕〔Cf. Nicolaus Copernicus, ''Monete cudende ratio per Nicolaum Coppernicum'' (1526), Erich Sommerfeld (trl.), published in: Erich Sommerfeld (ed.), ''Die Geldlehre des Nicolaus Copernicus: Texte, Übersetzungen, Kommentare; in memoriam Kurt Braunreuther 1913-1975'', Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1978, pp. 48–67, lines 331–334 of Copernicus' original text, as given by Sommerfeld.〕 Thus creditors and recipients of nominally fixed revenues were not to lose by debasement-induced inflation. As Prussia became increasingly tied economically and politically with Poland, and the wars became more and more devastating to the borderlands, and as the policies and attitude of the King of Poland were more liberal towards the Prussian burghers and nobility than that of the Order, the rift between the Teutonic Knights and their subjects widened. The Estates drifted towards the Kingdom of Poland in their political alignment.〔〔 Norman Housley noted that "The alienation of the Prussian Estates represented a massive political failure on the part of the Order".〔Norman Housley, ''The Later Crusades, 1274-1580: From Lyons to Alcazar'', Oxford University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-19-822136-3, (Google Print, p. 339 )〕 At first, the estates opposed the Order passively, by denying requests for additional taxes and support in Order wars with Poland; by the 1440s Prussian estates acted openly in defiance of the Teutonic Order, rebelling against the knights and siding with Poland militarily (see Lizard Union, Prussian Confederation and the Thirteen Years' War).〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Prussian estates」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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