Teutonic Knights – Facts And History About The Christian Military Order

David Tee - AncientPages.com - The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem (commonly known as the Teutonic Order) was founded in 1192 in Acre. Its original mission was to protect Christian tourists as they journeyed to the Holy Land and establish hospitals.

Teutonic Knights, Malbork. Poland. Credit: Adobe Stock - wojtekurbanek

The Teutonic Knights were also known by several shorter names, such as Deutscher Orden or the German Order. While it served a humanitarian purpose, the Teutonic Knights were primarily a military order and participated in the 3^rd Crusade (1187-1192 CE) to retake Jerusalem from the Arabs. The Knights wore white surcoats with a black cross.

Pope Innocent, AD 1198-1216, established the Teutonic Knights as an independent military order. Throughout their early years, the Teutonic Knights built castles and fortresses to protect Crusader lands throughout the region.

Membership In The Teutonic Knights

The membership of this new organization was split into two groups. The first group was the knights themselves. They had to be of German birth and part of society's noble or knight class.

The second group was made up of the priestly order. These men did not have to be of German nobility. While the knights had the military duty to fight the infidels and help the sick, they had to perform these duties under three vows: poverty, chastity, and obedience.

On the other hand, the priests did not fight but performed mass, offered the sacraments, and tried to convert the pagans to Christianity. In Lithuania and Prussia, priests were not allowed to be promoted to top leadership positions, but they could become commanders in Germany.

The Important Leaders Of The Order

Although he wasn’t the first overall master of the Teutonic Knights, he was one of the more important earlier rulers. Herman von Salza (1209-1239) changed the way the Teutonic Knights worked, and his diplomatic skills brought prestige, wealth, and land to the order.

Salza also made the knights more of a military order, initially helping the King of Hungary protect his borders from the Cumans. They were later thrown out when the Knights sought to be placed under papal authority and removed from the King’s command.

Hermann von Salza, the fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (1209–1239). Image via wikipedia

Heinrich von Hohenlohe (1244-1253), the 6th Master, helped the knights gain more inland and authority in Prussia. The 8th Master, Popon von Osterna (1253-1262), helped solidify the Teutonic Knights’ rule in Prussia and sped up the transfer of German peasants to their new land.

When Master Hartman von Heldrungen died in 1283, the Teutonic Knights controlled Prussia and built many castles to defend their territory. After Christianizing Prussia, the Teutonic Knights set their sights on Poland and Lithuania.

The Many Battles Of The Teutonic Knights

By this time, the Teutonic Knights focused more on gaining power and control over other people and lands and gathering a lot of wealth. Poland was initially an ally of the Teutonic Knights, but the latter’s conquest of Pomerelia changed Poland from a friend to an enemy.

It wasn’t till The Treaty of Kalisz in 1343 that stopped the open warfare between the Knights and the country of Poland. Lithuania was a more formidable opponent to the knights as the former people would take the knights and their people captive, then permanently enslave them, kill them, or torture them.

The Knights, on the other hand, found that once they enslaved the captured Lithuanians and became Christians, the Knights could no longer treat their enemy in such a harsh manner. This led to a decrease in attempts to Christianize their captives.

Eventually, Poland and Lithuania joined forces and gathered an army of 160,000 men. They outnumbered the Teutonic Knights by a margin of 2 to 1, yet the battle’s outcome was not determined as winners and losers as the Polish army lost 60,000 men to the 40,000 the knights had lost.

Over the next two centuries, the Knights lost their independence, authority, and much of their land. Part of their demise was that the Teutonic Knights stood alone against a combined force of Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, and Mongols.

One of their armies was utterly wiped out, and the Order became more secular.

New Orders For The Old Order

The 17^th century saw the rise of Grand Master Maximilian, who, on February 27th, 1606, provided new statutes to guide the Teutonic Knights. These statutes brought the Knights back to their original purpose of fighting the infidels and aiding the sick, along with observing religious celebrations, etc.

By the 18^th century, the idea of Christian Crusades was outdated, and the Knights had little to do. Napoleon Bonaparte did not help their failing purpose, as he also took much of their land and authority.

The Treaty of Pressburg of December 26, 1805, also removed a large portion of the Order’s sovereignty, placing it under the rule of the Imperial House of Austria. But their fortunes changed in 1826 when the Knights were on the verge of extinction.

With only four professional knights left in service, Holy Roman Emperor Francis I (1708–1765) restored the Knights’ rights lost at the signing of the Treaty. He also made them an autonomous, religious, and military Institute, with himself named the protector of the Order.

World War I Brought More Changes

With a backlash against the nobility, the Habsburgs (1526–1804), royalty, and titles, the old Teutonic Knights' way of doing things had to change. No longer could it be seen as a military order; the Teutonic Knights were changed into a strictly religious order overseen by a priest and not a military man.

The Teutonic Order of Saint Mary’s Hospital in Jerusalem (or the Deutscher Orden) returned to its original 12th-century roots save for the military purpose. It was to focus on helping the sick, Christianize pagans, and similar duties.

This new re-invention of the Teutonic Knights received papal blessings on November 27, 1929. It suffered under Hitler’s rule but was returned after his defeat in World War II. The Teutonic Knights continue in this charitable capacity today.

Written by – David Tee - AncientPages.com Staff Writer

Updated on Aug 5, 2024

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