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What is the Teutonic Order?
How did the Teutonic Order become a military order?
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What did the Teutonic Order accomplish?
Teutonic Order. The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society c. 1190 in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals.
- c. 1190 – present
He had the rank of an ecclastic emperial state and was sovereign prince of Prussia until 1466. Despite this high formal position, practically, he only was a kind of first among equals. Großgebietiger. The Großgebietiger were high officers with competence on the whole Teutonic Order, appointed by the Hochmeister.
- Foundation: The Third Crusade
- Organisation & Recruitment
- Uniform & Rules
- European Crusades: Prussia & Livonia
- Achievements
The Third Crusade was called by Pope Gregory VIII following the capture of Jerusalem in 1187 CE by Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria (r. 1174-1193 CE). Although led by the cream of Europe's nobility, the project was beset with problems, none bigger than the accidental death en route of Frederick I Barbarossa (King of Germany and Holy Roman Emp...
The order was led by a Grand Master (Hochmeister) who was chosen by an electoral college and who was expected to consult his senior officers and commanders. In the 15th century CE, there was a second master in Livonia who became increasingly independent from the order based at its then headquarters in Prussia. It did sometimes happen that a master ...
The order was, above all, famous for its well-trained and well-armed knights, as well as their stout stone fortresses. Teutonic knights wore black crosses on a white background or with a white border. These crosses could appear on shields, white surcoats (from 1244 CE), helmets, and pennants. Half-brethren wore grey instead of the full white reserv...
Disaster struck the order in 1244 CE when the Kingdom of Jerusalem fell to the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. At the battleof La Forbie near Gaza, a devastating 437 of 440 Teutonic knights were killed. In 1271 CE the Mamluks of Egypt and Syria captured Montfort fortress, effectively removing Teutonic influence in the Middle East, although they clung onto...
The Teutonic order enjoyed many successes over the centuries, as well as military failures - notably in the defence of the Holy Land and against the Russians, but it achieved the two things it was always meant to do: spread Christianity and help the poor and needy. The order converted a great number of pagans wherever they conquered territories, th...
- Mark Cartwright
Teutonic Order, religious order that played a major role in eastern Europe in the late Middle Ages and that underwent various changes in organization and residence from its founding in 1189/90 to the present. Its major residences, marking its major states of development, were: (1) Acre, Palestine.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Administrative Structure of the Teutonic Order. Universal leadership of the Teutonic Order. Generalkapitel. The Generalkapitel (general chapter) was the collection of all the priests, knights and half-brothers (German: Halbbrüder ). Because of the logistical problems in assembling the members, who were spread over large distances, only ...
The Teutonic order played an exceptionally important role in the history of the crusading movement and in the political, economic, and cultural development of northeastern Europe. It was an important part of the military orders in Medieval history.
Teutonic Order, or Teutonic Knights officially House of the Hospitallers of Saint Mary of the Teutons, Religious order important in eastern Europe in the late Middle Ages. Founded in 1189–90 to nurse the sick in Palestine during the Third Crusade , it was militarized in 1198 and given land in Jerusalem and Germany.
