Heinrich von Plauen is a two-volume historical novel. The 22-year-old young nobleman Heinrich von Waldstein, known as Heinz, is summoned to Prussia by his relative Heinrich von Plauen, the commander of Schwetz. The Teutonic Order intends to take the field against the Polish King Wladislaus Jagello. Jagello has allied himself with his cousin Grand Duke Witowd of Lithuania. Both are arch-enemies of the Teutonic Order. During the sea voyage from Lübeck to Gdańsk, Heinz befriends the 24-year-old young nobleman Hans von der Buche from Buchwalde. Hans has recently completed several years at university, studying for two years with Johann Huss and Hieronymus in Prague and one year in Bologna. In the Gdańsk Bay, in May 1410, the ship is boarded by the Vitalienbrüder under their captain Marquard Stenebreeker. The Gdańsk crew, with the support of the strong young passengers, including Bartholomäus Gross, the son-in-law of Gdańsk Mayor Konrad Letzkau, manages to overpower the pirates and present them to the gawking Gdańsk merchant crowd. The Gdańsk councilors, who are merchants, want to judge the prisoners. However, the Gdańsk commander Johann von Schönfels has a different opinion. The citizens are subjects of the Teutonic Order. Ernst Wichert (1831-1902) was a German writer and jurist.