Historical Study: The Teutonic Order

As I study the history of the Holy Roman Empire and Central Europe I continue to discover new regions of great interest. I was actually looking at some of the medieval maps of the 1200-1300s when I stumbled upon something new and very interesting. Up in the Baltic region that is now Estonia and Latvia, was once a sovereign territory known as the State of the Teutonic Order. Sure I've heard of the German Teutonic knights from the crusades, one of the most famous of crusade orders alongside the French Knights Templar. However I never knew they actually had their own territory and sovereign state. This was more then just a society of knights, it was an administrative district that was heavily backed by the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire. The whole thing is truly like something out of a fantasy movie. A society of warrior monks (like Jedi Knights) who fought against Muslims and Pagans. However their religious crusade later turned into a political one, as they sought to further expand their territory into Poland. It was the kingdoms of Poland and Lithuania that finally halted their momentum and brought their state to a swift end by the 1500s. 

While their were many Christian military orders established during the Crusade era, none had such a vast territorial region as the Teutonic Knights did. Other crusader states such as in Jerusalem, Antioch, Tripoli, and Edessa were just a fraction of the Teutonic's size. Once the Teutons captured Prussia, their territorial state stretched all along the Baltic Sea from northern Poland, into Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia (68,000 square miles). Their main headquarters were in Kaliningrad (which today is a Russian state nestled between Poland and Lithuanian). This was to be a true theocratic state, on par with the papal states, where the government was to follow the laws of God and the church above all. 

It was a new era of chivalry where the knights fought for the down-trodden in what they considered a righteous pursuit. While their intentions may have been true it also demonstrated the flaws and hypocrisies of their faith. The sheer notion of going to war in the name of God, is very contradictory to the central Christian message of peace and love of one's neighbor. These Teutonic knights were eventually driven by political ambition and power which lead to their downfall. However while their tenure was brief at only 300 years, it was quite a rare mindset and society they upheld. I find it all to be a very fascinating component of the history of the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, and Germany. Henrich Himmler eventually incorporated this knightly ethos into his SS soldiers (however with a much higher emphasis on racism and occultism instead of Christian ideals). 

The Crusades

I've hit on the Crusades before (see History of Christianity) and find it to be a very fascinating period in world history. By the 11th century the majority of western Europe was aligned in their belief of Christianity (despite continuous other political disputes). Meanwhile the new faith of Islam emerged in the middle east by the 7th century and quickly expanded throughout the region. They eventually captured the city of Jerusalem from the Byzantine Empire in 638 AD and established a stronghold throughout the Middle East. This went mostly unchallenged for 500 years until Pope Urban III called for a new crusade at the Council of Clermont. This was to be a new Holy War to reclaim the Holy Land as a Christian capital.

The 1st Crusade was actually a success for the Christian crusade alliance and a new Kingdom of Jerusalem was established in 1099 AD. It was around this time the church established new holy military orders to defend the region. The first order of the Knights Hospitaller emerged in 1113, then came the most famous French order of the Knights Templar in 1119. They established crusader states within the Levant region such as Edessa, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Tripoli. This Christian stronghold on the Holy Land lasted for about 100 years until once again the Muslims returned with vengeance. During the 2nd Crusade (1147-1149) the Muslims recaptured Edessa, and then in the Third Crusade (1189-1192) they recaptured Jerusalem. It was during the third crusade where the holy military orders made their big debut such as the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, and the newly established German Teutonic Order.        

Establishment of the Teutonic Order

After the Muslims recaptured Jerusalem in 1187, the city of Acre became the new Christian stronghold. It was here where the Crusader armies regrouped to launch their next assault during the Third Crusade. It was also during this time in Acre, where a group of German knights established their fraternal order known as the Teutonic Knights. Their first grand master was Heinrich Walpot von Bassenheim. This was modelled after the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitallers, as a hospital to care and defend Christian pilgrims. Pope Clement III and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa fully endorsed the military order and they played a part in the fighting. However the Crusader army was unable to recapture Jerusalem and instead had to settle in Acre (which became the 2nd kingdom of Jerusalem for another hundred years). The Crusaders were eventually fully expelled from the Holy Land in 1291.

Throughout the 1200s the Teutonic Order had quickly begun to spread from the Holy Land of Jerusalem to establish strongholds in Mediterranean Islands such as Cyprus. Meanwhile the Holy Roman Empire fully supported the order out of Germany, and actively recruited and financed their operation. While they continued to aid other crusades against the Muslims such as the Fifth and Sixth Crusade their attention begin to turn more towards Central Europe by the late 1200s. They were officially invited to establish a stronghold in Transylvania and help the Kingdom of Hungary defend their borders against the eastern Cumans. While this was a brief stint for about ten years, it served as their first major fortress and military training ground. The Teutonic Order was then invited to Poland at the behest of the Holy Roman Empire to help drive back the pagan Prussians in 1230.

The Prussian and Livonian Crusade

Poland was it's own kingdom during this time, separate from the Holy Roman Empire however they still were considered allies. They ultimately shared a common interest in Christianity and sought to drive out enemies of the faith. It was in the northeastern Polish region of Prussia where paganism still reigned supreme. The Polish duke was unable to convert them and thus called upon the Teutonic Knights to help his cause. However a deal was struct with the backing of the pope and the Holy Roman Empire, that the Teutons would be able to acquire whatever land they conquered in the Prussian region. This was to be the start of a new Teutonic State that was officially recognized thru a papal bull in 1226.  

So the Teutonic Knights arrived to northern Poland in 1226 under the leadership of Grand Master Hermann von Salza. They established their stronghold in Chelmno along the Cistula River where they began their early military campaigns. This Prussian Campaign was part of a larger Christian effort known as the Northern Crusades to drive out pagans within the Scandinavia and Baltic region. From 1233-1275 the Teutonic Knights waged war against some of the last Germanic barbarian clans such as the Pomesanians, Natangians, Warmians, Sambians, and Nadruvians. After some of the their early victories the Teutons began to colonize the district and bring in German immigrants to settle the land. However they were often met with fierce Prussian resistance and uprisings. By around the 1270s they had stabilized the region and established a functioning administrative government known as the State of the Teutonic Order.

As they gained a strong foothold in Prussia during the 1230s, the Teutonic Order also joined the Livonian Crusades in Terra Mariana (modern day Latvia and Estonia). They merged with the Christian military order known as the Sword Brothers in 1237, and eventually took control of the order and the Livonian region. The Livonian Crusade lasted until 1290 when the final pockets of Baltic pagans were eliminated or converted. This territory known of Terra Mariana, became a branch of the Teutonic State, under the administration of the Livonian Order. They were somewhat independent but still fully answered to the State of the Teutonic Order, who answered to the Holy Roman Empire, who answered to the Papacy.

Lithuanian Crusade

Once the Teutons has established strongholds in Prussia and Livonia, they built their new headquarters in Marienburg (Malbork) Poland in 1309. It was here that their ionic Malbork Castle was built from 1274 to 1406 a massive Gothic fortress along the Nogat River. They also began to turn their attention to the Lithuanian Pagans and launched another Northern Crusade from 1283-1422. This was one of the most difficult of the northern crusades and the Lithuanians and Samogitians fought fiercely against the Teutonic Knights and their allies. The Teutons gained minimal territory from this Lithuanian Crusade, aside from the region of Konigsberg in 1309 (now known as Kaliningrad, Russia). It was during this war that the Teutons began to make enemies with the Kingdom of Poland.

Nonetheless the 1300s were the zenith of the Teutonic Order's power. They had established a firm grip of the Baltic region with numerous castles, towns, and booming trade. Their economy was supplemented by merchant trade from the Hanseatic League and the Holy Roman Empire in cities such as Lubeck, Hamburg, Gdansk, Konigsberg, Riga, and even Stockholm. It's no doubt that around this time their ambitions evolved from a Christian theocracy to an imperial power in the likes of their patron the Holy Roman Empire. The rising tension with Poland was mostly over territory and geopolitics as the Teutons sought to further expand their region.

War against Poland

In 1385 the Kingdom of Poland and the Duchy of Lithuania established a new alliance thru royal marriage. This strengthened their fight against the Teutons who were now waging a war of expansionism instead of Christian conversion. The tension began to escalate during Teutonic raids into Samogitia which led to outright uprisings from 1401-1409. The Teutonic Knights were able to subdue the first uprising and sustain control of the region in 1404. However during the second uprising in 1409 the Kingdom of Poland came to the Lithuanians aid and waged war against the State of the Teutonic Order. The Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War would become the pivotal event of the medieval history in the Baltic Region.

The Teutonic Order had lost favor with the Holy Roman Empire at this point due to their growing wealth and expansion. Thus they no longer had the full support of their big brother and had to face the full wrath of the Polish-Lithuanian alliance. The decisive event came at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 which became one of the largest battles in medieval Europe. Teutonic Grandmaster Ulrich von Jungingen lead a force of 27,000 Teutonic knights against King Wlaydslaw II Jagiello's Polish/Lithuanian army of 39,000. It was a devastating defeat for the Teutonic order in which many of their leaders were killed including their grand master.

The Polish/Lithuanian army continued to advance into the Teuton's Prussian territory and laid siege on their fortress of Marienburg (Malbork). The Teutonic Order however was able to repel the assault and come to peace terms with the King Wladyslaw's army. This marked a sudden sharp decline of the Teutonic Order's control of Central-eastern Europe. The Polish-Lithuanian union had emerged as the new power of the region. Throughout the 1450s they continued their fight against the Teutons during the Thirteen Years War and completely expelled them from the Polish/Baltic regions by 1466.

Following this defeat the State of the Teutonic Order was significantly reduced, however they still maintained some presence in Prussia. Their order however suffered further defeat during the Polish-Teutonic Wars of 1519-1521. To add insult to injury their grandmaster converted to Lutheranism in 1525. By this point they were completely expelled from Prussian territory and retreated to German pockets within the Holy Roman Empire. The state of Teutonic Order came to an official end in 1561. The order however continued to exist despite losing it's sovereign territory. They eventually reorganized into a charitable order instead of a military order. They still exist today with papal recognition as one of the oldest Catholic military orders.