Paúel Benecke

Pavel Benecke (or Paúel or Paul or Pawel) was a 15th century Danzig (Gdańsk) privateer, sometimes referred to as a pirate. Benecke was captain of the ship "Peter von Danzig". In 1473, he boarded a galleon in the North Sea that was bound for Italy. Benecke seized, amongst other items, Hans Memling's triptych "The Last Judgment". The painting had been commissioned for the chapel of a servant of the Medicis, Angelo Tani. Not surprisingly, the owners objected to the seizure and the issue was taken up in the papal court. Danzig defended Benecke on the basis that the seizure was a legitimate act of war (the Hanseatic League was at war with England at the time). The painting was not returned. Instead, it was given to St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk.

He had a wife called Margreta, and a daughter, Elsbeth.

He is one of the historical characters who appear in Dorothy Dunnett's novel "Caprice and Rondo" in the House of Niccolò series.

References

cite web
last = Mierzejewski
first = Marcin
title = "Golden Goals"
publisher = The Warsaw Voice
date = 1999-03-28
url = http://www.warsawvoice.pl/archiwum.phtml/9301/
accessdate = 2007-01-15