Teutonic Order State

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Heraldic shield of the Teutonic Order
The Teutonic Order State , Prussia , the Principal Bishops and the other states in Livonia (1410)
Flag of the Teutonic Order

The German Order State or State of the Order was the territory of the German Order in the period from 1230 to 1561. The state included in the core about the area Alt-Prußens between Vistula and Memel (later West and East Prussia ) as well as an independent Livonian Order in Baltic states until 1561 about today's Estonia and Latvia . The religious provinces in the Holy Roman Empire , which were directly subordinate to the Grand Master , can also be assigned to the religious state.

In contrast to the failed attempts of the other great knightly orders to establish a permanent and state-supporting or state-building foothold in the Holy Land , the Teutonic Order, which was founded relatively late, took a different path. Initially fully in the tradition of the Templars and Hospitallers in his intentions and actions , his actual rise only began with the decline of the Crusader states . By shifting its focus of action to north-east Europe at an early stage, the order took on a leading role in the Christianization and colonization of this area . Under the leadership of the order, what appears to be a modern state from today's perspective in comparison to contemporary territorial state formations was established. Its cultural and civilizational achievements had an indirect effect until the middle of the 20th century and formed one of the foundations of the later state of Prussia .

The religious state itself was not a completely new state structure, but resembled a larger monastic community in its organization. This was complemented by the experience of the civil servants in Syria and Palestine. Added to this was the use of administrative experience from the Norman Kingdom of Sicily .

ethnicities

Baltic tribes in the 12th century

languages

Since the Germans, as well as the Danes and Poles, were conquerors and newcomers to this country, the traditional languages ​​of the natives - Prussian , Livish , Curonian , Latvian and Estonian  - lived on among the rural population  .

German - especially Middle German and Low German in the coastal regions  - was spoken in the cities founded by German immigrants. In the Prussian countryside, the German language gradually spread to the Prussian and Lithuanian population as well as to the Masurians who fled Mazovia , while in the Baltic States it was limited to the cities and the upper class.

The higher officials were usually Germans. However, one cannot speak of an official German language, since official documents were mostly written in Latin . In the villages of the locals, i.e. the administration at the local level, the management was mostly with the locals. Albrecht von Prussia had the Lutheran catechism translated into the Prussian language after the order was converted into the Duchy of Prussia in 1525 .

history

Beginnings and Consolidation

Acquisitions of the Teutonic Order in Prussia and of the Brothers of the Sword in Courland and Livonia united with it in 1237 until 1260.
The hatched areas are the contested territories in Prussia and Shamaites .

The idea of ​​founding the state of the Teutonic Order outside the Holy Land can be traced back to the 4th Grand Master Hermann von Salza . Shortly after taking office in 1210, this experienced politician and influential advisor to Emperor Frederick II tried to establish a core area in Europe controlled by the order. The attempt to establish state-like structures in the then Hungarian Transylvania ( Burzenland ) failed in 1225 due to the resistance of the local clergy and the Hungarian royalty.

Creation of constitutional foundations

A request from Duke Konrad of Masovia to the Teutonic Order for help in the fight against the pagan Prussians around 1225 offered Hermann von Salza new perspectives. Konrad offered the order the Kulmer Land as compensation for military aid. Before the order agreed, it tried - after the bad experience with the Hungarian king - to protect itself legally. The first step on the way was the confirmation of the tasks in Prussia by Emperor Friedrich II in the Golden Bull of Rimini . Frederick II assured the order of all conquests in the land of the Prussians. For this purpose, the Grand Master of the order was raised to the status of an imperial prince. This legally controversial securitization formed an essential basis of the later order state. According to the latest research by the Polish historian Tomasz Jasinski, the Golden Bull of Rimini does not date before 1235, so that he questions the above-mentioned temporary legitimacy.

1230, the Order was the Treaty of Kruschwitz of Konrad of Mazovia title to the certify to be conquered territory. The authenticity of this contract is scientifically disputed. After a large part of the Kulm country had already been occupied by the knights of the order, Pope Gregory IX confirmed . 1234 in the Bull of Rieti the land of the Order and declared it to be the property of the Patrimonium Petri , i.e. the Church.

Start of expansion

Since 1226 the knight Konrad von Landsberg stayed at Vogelsang Castle in Mazovia with another knight whose name has not been passed down. Due to the personnel demands of the order as a result of the emperor's crusade, which was announced in 1227 , there was no noteworthy influx in the following years. It was not until 1230 that the previous German master, Hermann von Balk, appeared with seven knights and about 700 entourage and built Nessau Castle on the left bank of the Vistula . Only after the future ownership structure had been clearly clarified in the Treaty of Kruschwitz, Balk crossed the Vistula river not far from Nessau in 1231 together with the troops of Konrad of Mazovia. The first bridgehead was built not far from a settlement called Quercz . In bitter battles with three regional Prussian leaders, large parts of the Kulm country were conquered and militarily secured.

As early as 1231, the order founded Thorn, its first castle in the south of the Kulmer Land . After 1233 the "crusade propaganda" intensified and the crusaders were by Pope Gregory IX. the same compensation that is customary for a crusade to the Holy Land, such as a comprehensive forgiveness of the penalties for sin and further promises of salvation. In addition to German crusaders, Konrad von Masowien, Duke Heinrich II. Von Breslau and the Pomeranian dukes Swantopolk II. And Sambor II took part. With this army, the first Landmeister of Prussia Balk advanced to Pomesania in 1234 .

The subsidized influx of Low German settlers consolidated the rule of the knights of the order sustainably. Despite various setbacks, such as the first Prussian uprising in 1242 , or the general revolt as a result of the Battle of the Durbe against the Lithuanians fought by the order on July 13, 1261 and finally lost , the order was able to fight the Prussians in heavy fights from 1261 to 1271 finally submit.

Since 1202, the Order of the Brothers of the Sword had subjugated Livonia on behalf of the Bishop of Riga , to which at that time the Kurland south of the Gulf of Riga was politically included . In 1237 he joined the Teutonic Order as the Livonian Order due to lack of personnel , but the Prussian Order Land and Livonia remained in fact separate territories.

Heyday

Order area around 1410

In the years that followed, the territory of the Teutonic Order was expanded to include more areas -  Pomerellen and Danzig (1308), Estonia (1346) and Gotland (1398). With the acquisition of the Neumark in 1402, the Teutonic Order had reached its greatest extent.

The Grand Master, who had resided in Venice since 1291, moved his seat to the Marienburg in 1309 and thus largely took over the government of the country. In 1466 he took his seat in Königsberg . Although the Teutonic Order region appeared to the outside world as a unity, in fact it represented two independent domains: the landmaster of Livonia ruled as freely in his mastery as the grand master as landmaster of Prussia.

The Teutonic Order was an important economic power in the Baltic Sea region; Among other things, the order had the amber monopoly (see Palmnicken ), and cities such as Braunsberg , Elbing , Danzig , Kulm , Thorn and Königsberg belonged to the Hanseatic League . When the Christianization of the Prussian population was largely complete at the end of the 13th century , the religious state increasingly came into armed conflict with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, from 1325, with the Kingdom of Poland ; Since the Union of Krewo in 1385, Poland had been linked in personal union with Lithuania , where the Teutonic Order never succeeded in gaining a foothold.

The regional nobility was able to fight for their own position in relation to the order relatively early on; so since 1351 in Prussia are known days . The more and more rebellious landed gentry encountered grandmasters or landmasters with a princely rule geared towards the respective person. This had already become so prevalent in the 15th century that the subjects no longer paid homage to the order, but to the grand master or landmaster.

The conquest of Danzig and Pomerellen in 1308 worsened relations with Poland, which borders on the south.

Under Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode (1351-1382) the religious state experienced its heyday and in 1370 defeated the Lithuanians in the Battle of Rudau . Under Grand Master Konrad von Jungingen (1393–1407) Gotland , the Neumark and Samaitens were acquired ; the Teutonic Order had reached its greatest extent.

With the marriage between the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jagiełło and the Polish Queen Hedwig as part of the Union of Krewo , the two most powerful opponents of the order came together in 1386.

The Marienburg Order Castle is a symbol of the power of the Teutonic Order in the Baltic States

Decline

1466 after the division by the Second Peace of Thorner

After the army of the Teutonic Order, led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen , was defeated near Tannenberg on July 15, 1410 , the Order in Prussia was able to keep most of its territory in the First Peace of Thorn in 1411 , but had to make high contributions .

In the decades that followed, internal disputes eroded the religious state more and more. The order members split up into country-based groups and fought for influence in the order. In addition, there was a weak position vis-à-vis the German master, who fought over sovereignty over the grand master.

When the order tried to intervene in a Lithuanian succession dispute to split the Polish-Lithuanian superiority, war broke out again with Poland. The subsequent peace treaty from Kujawisch Brest expressly excluded claims by third parties, such as the Holy Roman Empire.

In order to be able to raise the reparations from the Peace of Thorne, the order tried to raise more taxes from its subjects. As a result, towns and gentry who wanted to evade the high taxation and had enforced a regular parliament since 1422 demanded a say. In 1440 they joined together in the " Prussian League ". In 1453 he submitted to King Casimir IV of Poland in order to win him as an ally. The Thirteen Years War broke out between the Prussian Confederation and Poland on the one hand and the Order on the other, which brought the Order to its knees economically.

In the Second Peace of Thorn of 19 October 1466, which ended the war, the Order had Pomerellen that Kulmerland , the Marienburg , Elbing and Warmia to the Polish crown cede and beyond for his remaining area that internal autonomy was equipped who recognize Polish suzerainty. For the continued preservation of the religious state, large subsidies from the Balleien in the Holy Roman Empire were necessary, which put many of the coming into a precarious financial situation.

Secularization and dissolution

Light gray: Ducal Prussia
Colored: Royal Prussia with its voivodships in personal union with the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania

After the equestrian war , which had no results , Grand Master Albrecht I of Brandenburg-Ansbach converted to Protestantism and in 1525 secularized the Prussian religious order to a hereditary and Protestant duchy under Polish suzerainty, the Duchy of Prussia .

The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and the parts of the order there did not recognize secularization any more than did the Pope. Emperor Ferdinand formally appointed the master of the order as administrator for Prussia. This title of no practical significance was retained well into the 18th century. The Meistertum Mergentheim became direct property .

Livonia submitted to the fiefdom of the Holy Roman Empire in 1526 in order to gain support in defending against the expansion of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The Landmeister was appointed Imperial Prince, but there was no significant support. In 1560/61 the Livonian monastic state split into the secular Protestant duchies of Livonia and Courland-Semgallia , which submitted to the fiefdom of Poland-Lithuania - in the far north, Swedish Estonia emerged . With this the religious state came to an end.

politics

Sovereignty

Seal of Emperor Friedrich II.

The position of the religious state towards the Holy Roman Empire is controversial among historians. The papal bull of Rieti declares the area to be perpetual and free property of the order as part of the papal state .

In the gold bull of Rimini , Emperor Friedrich II guaranteed the grand master and his successors the sovereign sovereignty: "should have and exercise that power in their countries better than any imperial prince " ( potestatem illam habeant et exerceant in terris suis, quam aliquis princeps imperii melius ) . The applicable for the assignment to the citizenship of the Reich Reichsmatrikeln is found to Ordensbesitzungen only the southwest German bailiwicks and in charge of the possessions in the realm German champions .

As in Livonia, in Prussia these rights were initially exercised by a landmaster appointed by the regional chapter and confirmed by the grand master . After the Grand Master's seat was moved to Marienburg in 1309 and then finally from 1324, the Grand Master was the direct sovereign in Prussia.

At the same time there was a dependent landed gentry of Prussian, German and Polish descent. Together with the cities, he fought for a regular state parliament and participation in the state government in 1422.

organization

The original idea of ​​the order lies in the self-initiated Christian hospital service, which in turn was an expression of the idea of ​​monks revived and intensified by the cluniac reform movement, including a pronounced thought of poverty. Thus, for the medieval Teutonic Order, there is basically the structure of a monastic order, to which the fighting knighthood, which has been added since 1198, is subordinate.

With regard to the membership structure, the full members of the Order are basically divided into lay people and priests:

 
 
Lay people
 
Full members
 
Clergy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Belted Knight (White Cloak)
 
Graumäntler / Halbkreuzler
 
 
Religious priest
 
Cleric (without higher orders)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Other members
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Serving brothers (acolytes)
 
Servants (servientes)
 
 
Religious sisters
 
Half sisters
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Novices
 
 
 
 
 
 
student
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

With the exception of the offices tailored to the specifics of the Order of Prussia, the organizational structures of the Order and the Teutonic Order were identical:

 
 
Councilor
 
Grand Master
Teuton flag.svg
 
Grand Master's Office
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Grand Commander (Magnus Commendator) to Marienburg
 
Order Marshal (Summus Marescalcus) of Koenigsberg
 
 
Großspittler (Summus Hospitalarius) to Elbing
 
Order stressler (Summus Thesaurarius) to Marienburg
 
Ordenstrappier (Summus Trappearius) at Christburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
German Master (Magister Germaniae)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Landmaster in Livonia (Magister Livoniae)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Balleien in the realm
 
 
 
 
 
 
Commanderies (Livonia)
 
Bailiwicks (Livonia)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Großschäffer (Marienburg)
 
 
Großschäffer (Koenigsberg)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amber Master ( Lochstädt )
 
 
Pound Master ( Danzig )
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Commander (Ragnit)
 
Komtur (Koenigsberg)
 
Commander (Elbing)
 
Commander (Balga)
 
Commander (Danzig)
 
Other commanderies
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
House Commander
 
male nurse
 
Vogt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Caravan lord Trappers Cellar master Kitchen master Forester Servant master Fish master
 
 

Swell:

State structures

The rapid and extensive expansion of the order's holdings during the first half of the 13th century meant that the state structure of the order was characterized by the division into three largely independent territorial complexes:

On the one hand the order territories of Livonia and Prussia (the religious state in the true sense of the word with a total area of ​​around 180,000 km²) in which the order was sovereign; on the other hand the numerous possessions scattered over the whole empire and parts of the Mediterranean area (comers, goods, hospitals, patronage etc.).

Order possession in the Holy Roman Empire

German Order - Balleien in the Reich

In Germany as well as in western and southern Europe, the order had widely scattered but wealthy comedians with the most varied of property complexes, patronages, hospitals with the German master elected by the chapter of the order (Master of German and French countries - Magister Germaniae) at the top. The seat of the German master was initially the Horneck Castle , since 1526 Mergentheim .

In order to better manage the administration in the huge area, as an intermediate stage, several comedians were grouped together in balleien with a land commander at the top:

Balleien
Apulia Armenia Bohemia-Moravia Bolzano Champagne¹ German mastery Alsace-Burgundy
Francs Koblenz Lamp types Lorraine Marburg Austria Partes inferiores
Romania Saxony Sicily Spain Thuringia Thuringia-Saxony² Westphalia

¹ administration by the Alsace-Burgundy Ballei; ² separated in 1287

In the course of the 14th century the richest balleien were removed from the control of the German master and placed directly under the grand master as chamber balloons:

  • 1324 Bohemia-Moravia, Bozen, Koblenz, Austria
  • 1388 Alsace-Burgundy

Livonian Confederation

The structure of the Livonian Confederation, formed from five spiritual territories, goes back to treaties of the Archbishop of Riga-Üxküll and the Order of the Brothers of the Sword and was largely adopted by the Teutonic Order.

  • Official name: German Order of Livonia
  • Total area: 108,500 km²
  • Population in the 16th century: 650,000
  • Headquarters of the Landmeister: Wenden
German Order: ¹ 67,000 km²
Archdiocese of Riga: 19,000 km²
Diocese of Dorpat: 9,600 km²
Diocese of Ösel-Wiek: 7,600 km²
Diocese of Courland: 4,600 km²
Riga City Mark: 800 km²

¹ Included in the area of ​​the order is the 12,000 km² as Hzm. Estonia trading and canonical to Ebm. Northern Estonia belongs to Lund, which was subjugated by Denmark in 1219, then handed over to the Sword Brothers, returned to Denmark in 1237 after being taken over by the DO and finally bought by Denmark for 19,000 silver marks in 1346.

Order of Prussia

Order of Prussia
Order of the Order of Prussia - administrative division

In contrast to Livonia, which was territorially completely stable, Prussia was subject to greater territorial changes in the course of its three hundred year history of the order:

Time period Order area
Output area Kulmerland 1226/31 4,000-5,000 km²
Order country after the final subjugation of the Prussians in 1283 45,000 km²
Acquisition of Pommerellen in 1309 (Bütow and Lauenburg) 61,000 km²
Order area after the 2nd Peace of Thor 1466: 35,000 km²
temporary acquisitions: Gotland 1398-1408 3,140 km²
Hzm. Dobrin 3,000-4,000 km²
Neumark 1402-1455 7,900 km²

From 1230 to 1309 and from 1317 to 1324 Prussia had its own landmaster (Magister Pruscie) at the head. His official seat was first in Thorn, then in Elbing.

Since then it has been administered directly by the Grand Master and the central government.

The country was divided into so-called commandery districts, also referred to as coming ones. Larger commanderies were again divided into bailiffs and nursing offices. The areas were changed over the years, bailiffs were outsourced and incorporated, and commanderies were merged.

Commanderies
Old house Belga Birgelau Brandenburg Brattian 1st
Christburg Danzig Elblag Castel Sant'Angelo 2 Gollub
Graudenz Koenigsberg Kulm Lippinken 3 Marienburg
Memel Mewe Nessau 4 Osterode Papau
Ragnite Rehden Rhine Roggenhausen 5 Schlochau
Schönsee Schwetz Strasburg Thorn Tuchel
1 Bailiwick of Brattian and the city of Neumark
2 Abolished in 1416 and partly connected with Rehden, partly with Dirschau
3 later united with Schönsee
4th Assigned to Poland in 1435
5 converted into bailiwick in the first half of the 14th century

Church structures

ecclesiastical division of the religious state

In terms of canon law, the territory of the Order State was largely identical to the Archdiocese of Riga:

Archdiocese of Riga
Diocese of Reval Diocese of Dorpat Diocese of Ösel-Wiek Diocese of Courland
Bishopric of Samland Diocese of Warmia Diocese of Pomesania Diocese of Kulm

Pomeranian as part of the Diocese of Kuyavia and Samogitia as part of the Diocese of Wilna belonged to the Archdiocese of Gniezno. The Hzm, which belonged to Denmark until 1346. Estonia was part of the Archdiocese of Lund. The Neumark finally formed part of the exiled diocese of Kammin.

The largely sovereign position of the Archbishop of Riga within Livonia led to long and heated disputes with the order. These only came to an end when the Teutonic Order succeeded in incorporating the Archbishopric, similar to the Prussian dioceses, into the order in 1384.

Economy and Infrastructure

As in the case of monasteries, the basis for the economic rise was initially the extensive farmyards aimed at self-sufficiency for the individual comers. The planned and extensive resettlement of German farmers, especially in Prussia, as well as extensive clearing and amelioration measures, especially in the Vistula Delta, resulted in dozens of new cities and hundreds of villages within a short period of time. Between 1300 and 1350 Prussia rose to become the leading export country for wood and grain.

The economic upturn was flanked by targeted bridge and canal construction. The significantly easier transit and trade traffic thereby ensured that the religious state developed into one of the richest countries in Europe. The amber trade, on which the order had a monopoly, proved to be an important additional source of money.

The general tax exemption and the moderate tax economy coupled with actual income had an extremely positive effect on the development of the country and its inhabitants. Measures against usury, as well as the care for a uniform coin system and relatively uniform weights and measures reinforced this trend. In times of economic hardship, support and relief from burdens and taxes were granted.

Settlement activity and economy

Village foundation with locator
13th century peasants

For most of the localities, the legal basis for the planned settlement of the conquered Prussia was the Kulmische Recht ( Kulmer Handfeste ), a modification of the Magdeburg city law , which was named after the first city founded by the order , which ensured the citizens self-administration and their own jurisdiction (analogous to this in Livonia Riga law = Lübeck city law ). The land was given to the settlers as hereditary property, but the order retained ultimate ownership of the land. Certain real burdens to be paid to the order were tied to the award, such as income-related contributions in kind , cash benefits or military service.

The establishment of new settlements was strictly organized. It was carried out by a certain group of farmers, led by a peasant master, the so-called locator . This was the actual contractor of the order and the size, performance and were with him regalia (rights to operate a mill, brewery, tavern, etc.) negotiated the new village and its inhabitants. For the most part, the new settlers still had the right to fish in the mostly abundant surrounding waters free of charge for their own use.

The boundary of such a village had an area of ​​40 to 60 hooves on average. After the locator had chosen his share, he distributed the area to the remaining settlers, whose share was 2–2.5 hooves per family. Between 1280 and 1400 around 60 order castles, 90 cities and 1500 villages were founded in the order area. The clearing and renovation work extended over the entire Prussian land. In the Vistula Delta, 150,000 hectares of arable land were extracted from a huge swamp area. It turned into the granary of Prussia and, according to the export figures, probably also of Western and Central Europe.

A similar project, namely the reclamation of the Memel Delta could no longer be realized.

In contrast, the old Prussian inhabitants of the country were disadvantaged, especially since the second great Prussian uprising in 1260. They only had around one hoof available for cultivation and legally they were considered unfree . Only in the course of the 14th century did their situation improve until they were finally put on an equal footing with the German colonists.

The huge domains of the commercial courtyards attached to the individual order castles functioned as large-scale agricultural operations. 13,000 horses, 10,000 cattle, 19,000 pigs and 61,000 sheep were kept on their 110,000 hectares of land. The order's leadership attached great importance to independent horse breeding. Both the tough, small local Swoyks and heavy warhorses were bred for the knights of the order in the 61 studs. Normally the farms were in the immediate vicinity of the religious house. In the case of the Prussian and Livonian border castles, however, it was necessary for security reasons to move them to the hinterland. For example, the farm yard of the Ragnit Fortress was 80 km away in Labiau .

Due to the natural conditions there was a lack of natural stones for the construction of the huge religious houses. As a result, the decision was made early on to build gigantic brickworks. The capacity of those from Mösland and Bütow was 75,000 and 40,000 bricks, respectively. The locksmiths and joiners developed parallel to the building trade.

In the wake of the lost wars of the 15th century, arson , reparation payments and the resulting introduction of direct taxes, the flourishing economy of the order area gradually fell back to the European average.

Transportation

A functioning transport infrastructure is a prerequisite for an upswing in the economy and trade. The natural conditions of Prussia with its extensive bodies of water and marshland usually did not allow the construction of solid roads. As a result, the rivers were primarily used to transport goods.

However, numerous bridges were built to facilitate the way overland, but preferably ferry stations on the large rivers. The order had the mightiest bridges built at Dirschau over the Vistula and at Marienburg over the Nogat. This ensured a solid continuous land connection between the empire and the eastern order area via its main natural obstacle, the lower Vistula and its delta.

One of the order's largest building projects began in 1395 with the creation of a navigable canal between Königsberg am Frischen and Labiau am Kurischen Haff, the so-called Deimegraben. From around 1400 it was possible to travel by boat from Danzig through the Fresh Lagoon via Königsberg, the Deimegraben, the Curonian Lagoon, up the Memel to Kaunas / Kowno without having to expose yourself to the dangers of the Baltic Sea.

Commerce and Money

The centers of trade were mainly the cities founded by the order according to Kulm and Luebian law, as well as the rich and powerful Danzig. Almost all of them were members of the Hanseatic League , which created an additional positive boost for their prosperity , as the effective interaction between the Order and the Hanseatic League formed the basis for German rule in the North and the Baltic Sea from the 13th to 15th centuries.

The religious responsible for trade relations were the shepherds in the individual comers and the two large shepherds in Marienburg and Königsberg. They worked with so-called couches , servants and landlords who were contractually bound to the order . The main export items of the order were grain, wood and its products. Mainly salt, spices and wine are imported. But textiles also had to be imported, such as white Flemish cloth for the friars and blue English cloth for the postmen. Due to the good transport connections, Prussia also acted as a hub for the lucrative intermediate trade from Western to Eastern Europe and vice versa. The West mainly supplied salt, cloth, wine and spices to the Order, which the Prussian merchants then passed on to the East at a profit. Conversely, honey, wax, furs and saffron came from Eastern Europe . From the Levant came silk, gold and copper.

Amber had a special role as an export hit . The order had the sole monopoly on these. Although trading in the coveted material had been common long before, it only really got going under the rule of the order. The office of the Amber Bailiff was created especially for this purpose, based in Lochstädt. Every piece found had to be returned to him for a corresponding fee. Offenses were officially punishable by the death penalty.

currency

With the gold bull of Rimini provided with the coin rack , the order has issued its own money since 1238, initially only in the form of silver hollow pennies ( bracteates ). In addition, Cologne pfennigs, Bohemian groschen and Hungarian guilders were valid . However, proprietary trading, which increased sharply in the 14th century, made it necessary to issue higher coin values. This led to a "currency reform" under Winrich von Kniprode in the second half of the 14th century . From now on:

1 Prussian mark = 60 shillings = 720 pfennigs

The following coins were minted:

  • 1 half sheet = 16 pfennigs (2 h = 1 scot, i.e. 1/24 Kulmische mark)
  • 1 schilling = 12 pfennigs
  • 1 four = 4 pfennigs
  • 1 pfennig
  • At the end of the 15th century the penny was added.

The Order vigorously opposed the usury of interest on its territory. The common interest rate for loans has been reduced from an average of> 12% to 8.3%. As a result, the area of ​​the order was not as attractive for bankers and money changers as neighboring Poland.

Postal services

Monastery messenger from the "Legend of St. Meinrad" 1466
Riding messenger after A. Dürer

The knights of the order, like the other religious and secular orders, were initially dependent on the wandering monks and messengers to maintain the connection with their branches, with the dioceses and the Holy See in Rome, if not the knights themselves or their servants the embassy in particularly urgent cases delivered. The rapid expansion of the order's territory and the need for fast and safe traffic between the main building and the commanderies as well as the cities and towns belonging to the order meant that the prudent administration of the order created its own postal facilities.

The first news about it comes from the year 1380. In the main house in Marienburg one of the large area officers, in the other houses a dedicated order official directed the mail. The room for handling this business was called the “letter stall”. (In the Middle Ages, “stable” had a more general meaning in the sense of “room”.) Here the postmaster of the order handled the postmen, known as “letter boys”. These wore a blue uniform and were members of the first class of mounted servants.

After the postmaster had entered the number, address and time of delivery in a book, the mail was handed over to them in a linen "mailbag". The mail boy brought the mailbag to the next religious house with a mail stall and handed it over to the next mail boy, who carried it on on a fresh horse. In every mail stall touched on the way, the letters were re-entered and at the same time noted on a slip of paper handed over to the letter boy. The horses intended for the postal service were called "Briefswoyken" (Swoyke = horse), in contrast to the other riding or work horses.

In addition to this postal transport, the "Wythinge" also had a transport service for particularly important and urgent items. The Wythinge were free landowners of Danish descent who had joined the order when the order first appeared in northeastern Germany and had been given ample fiefs by the order because of their loyalty and reliability. These characteristics, as well as the fact that their residences were fairly regularly spaced across the country, made them particularly suitable for maintaining connections in urgent cases. They had to “wait for the will of the Grand Masters with their horses”, so they had the obligation to immediately arrange for the forwarding of the letters entrusted to them outside of the normal postal service.

The well-established post office of the Teutonic Order extended mainly to its national territory. The transport of messages abroad was associated with the same difficulties and expenses as the correspondence of the time in general. For example, the delivery of a letter by a special messenger from Marienburg to Rome cost 10 silver marks, i.e. 2.33 kg.

How long the post of the Teutonic Order existed cannot be proven with certainty. However, all regular mail traffic has probably ceased either immediately with the abolition of the order in Prussia in 1525 or very soon afterwards, because after this point there are no more indications that the legal successors of the order are even fragments of those with the entire organization of the order so closely connected institution would have been able to maintain.

Cities

The cities of the Order, mostly settled by Germans, had extensive self-government. This was based on the Kulmer Handfeste and virtually limited the order to suzerainty. He himself usually limited himself to the staffing of the city church. The cities located in the diocese areas were also organized according to the model of the cities of the Order. Braunsberg, Elbing, Danzig, Thorn and Kulm were the most important cities in the country and belonged to the Hanseatic League. They were also the largest cities, although Gdansk only had over 10,000 inhabitants from 1500 and was therefore the only large city in this area according to the terms of the time. The remaining 99 cities in Prussia were mainly small and medium-sized towns, the former had up to 2,000 inhabitants at that time, the latter up to 10,000 inhabitants.

Some of these cities already received their town charter at a time when they were predominantly construction sites. For example, the founding document of the city of Preussisch Holland, today Pasłęk , mentions a large number of vacant lots and properties that were part of a previous village development. As was not uncommon in Germany at the time, some cities were founded next to an existing city. Most cities were initially very small. Königsberg , which was between Burg and Pregel, received its town charter , but it was only 500 × 200 meters. As early as 1300, the town of Löbenicht received its town charter, which was only located on the eastern castle freedom of Königsberg and covered 6  hectares (300 × 200 meters). The settlement of Kneiphof, located south of Königsberg on the Pregelinsel, was elevated to the status of a city, covering 8.4 hectares (280 × 300 meters). The dimensions given here are no coincidence, because these cities were planned and all had a more or less rectangular floor plan. It is also interesting that there were cities in the Teutonic Order without fortress walls, such as the 215 x 430 meter Neustadt. However, it never grew beyond 2,000 residents.

The order watched closely over the growth of its cities and the urban elevation of "suburbs" had an economic background. While the old towns hardly paid any taxes, the “young towns” were asked to pay for it. The city of Elbing only paid 3 marks, 1 pound of wax and 3 pfennigs a year - a recognition rate, but the new town that had been separated from it paid 151 marks. The new towns also had to acquire concession documents for buildings and facilities, such as paying taxes for the establishment of shops and stalls.

Welfare

Based on its rules and structure, coupled with its successes in colonization and the subsequent economic development of the Baltic region, the order was able to create a system of social welfare that was unprecedented for the entire Middle Ages.

Nursing

As it emerged from a hospital community, service to the sick came first in the order's rules, even before the religious struggle. The full-time responsible for this was the Oberste Spittler, based in Elbing (from 1312 to 1291 in Akkon), where the main hospital of the order was also located. As the only person in a large area, he was only partially accountable to the major chapter for his annual expenditure, so as not to complicate the welfare by bureaucratic obstacles. In the course of the 14th century, a system of more than eighty so-called companies, i.e. hospitals, military hospitals and old people's homes, in which every sick and decrepit citizen found free admission - a case of state health insurance that is unique in Europe, arose in the area of ​​the order. At the head of each of these institutions was a spittler or master of the firm. Contrary to the other strict customs, he was not accountable to the highest Spittler in Elbing monthly, but only annually. These social efforts were supported in many cases, especially in the area of ​​the Deutschmeister, by the self-sacrificing willingness of individual wealthy fellow citizens, some of whom supported the order in setting up hospitals by giving up their entire property.

The healing arts of the order were largely based on traditional monastery medicine. This was supplemented by the consistent use of all types of baths (steam baths, trickle baths, etc.)

In addition to this, the order's leadership took sharp measures against waste, drunkenness and the rampant mischief of begging and vagrancy.

education

Although it was primarily oriented towards administrative and military aspects in addition to the hospital system, the leadership of the order also found time to improve the education of its subjects. Numerous cathedral and elementary schools were established in the monastic state. Thousands of Prussians were sent to foreign universities, where in turn numerous scholars from the Order's country worked as professors. However, the establishment of its own university in Kulm failed.

Tax policy and subsidies

Due to its economic success, it was possible for the order not to levy any general or direct taxes from the citizens until 1411. Instead there was a system of income-related taxes and state subsidies.

architecture

Reconstructed part of the Osterode cloister
Cross-section of an Ordensburg (scheme)

The architecture of the Teutonic Order is a separate branch of the brick Gothic . Their distribution area is limited exclusively to the territory of the Teutonic Order in Prussia and Livonia .

The order castles built from the 13th to the 15th century (always called "houses" in the parlance of the order) protrude to a considerable extent from the context of the knight's castles that were also built in the German cultural area during this period ; for they are not, as is usually the case, the permanent individual residences of a noble owner with his family and the subordinates belonging to the household and the occupation, but fortified knight barracks (convent castles), the interiors of which are at the same time due to the spiritual character of the religious according to their division and purpose look very similar to a monastery . Accordingly missing in them (except the keep ) mostly the "classic" elements of a medieval castle as Palas and bower .

These rooms necessarily included the apartment of the commander-in-chief , the knights' dormitories ( dormitory ), the infirmary (infirmary), the chapel , the remter ( refectory ) and the chapter house , the latter three as a rule being particularly stately and with artistic vaults covered. At the same time, an order castle had all the facilities that served the purposes of national defense and the administration of the area belonging to the commandery.

Typical Konventsburg floor plan (Rehden)

Most of the buildings are regular three or four-wing fort castles on a square floor plan. From the outside, they form a closed building block. The ground floor and basement served economic functions. The main rooms mentioned above are on the first floor. The second floor, mostly set up as a circumferential battlement , was used for defense and at the same time as a storage facility. The two-storey cloister , often made of wood, attached to the inner courtyard connected the individual facilities of the castle with one another.

Typical district castle floor plan (Soldau)

The so-called official castles form a subgroup of the order castles. They only had administrative functions (e.g. as the seat of a bailiff or guardian) or were built as so-called wild houses only for defense purposes in the eastern parts of the country. The main difference to the larger convent castles is that they are mainly one to two-winged structures. The room layout and functions were otherwise identical to the convent castles (apart from the lack of the chapter house ).

Early period (up to around 1270)

In the first decades, the order's building activity was mainly limited to the construction of wooden fortifications, which were often only the continuation of already existing Prussian castles. In their ground plan, they were mostly adapted to the natural conditions. A few order castles ( Balga , Graudenz ) followed this principle even after the wooden buildings were replaced by those made of field and brick.

Main phase (until about 1340)

After the final consolidation of the order's rule, the order's leadership decided to expand and build new castles, preferably made of brick, from the seventies of the 13th century. In this decade, the principles of construction described above also apparently prevailed ( fort castles ). The main features of this period were the extensive use of decorative elements (e.g. wall patterns made of brick of a different color), the loosening of the block character of the religious houses through elegant corner turrets and the erection of mighty keep . The castles Strasburg , Rehden , Gollub , Mewe and of course the Marienburg are prime examples of this era .

Late phase (until 1410)

The castles, which were built in the second half of the 14th century, largely dispensed with decorative elements, keep and towers during construction. What remained was the sober block character of the basic form. Architectural historians like to speak of the so-called “reduction style” here. Reference buildings in this phase are Osterode and Ragnit . Only with the official castles did the master builders allow themselves a greater variety ( Bäslack , Lötzen , Soldau ).

After 1410, the order's castle building largely came to a standstill. Only in Marienburg , Stuhm and Königsberg was the existing substance expanded.

Episcopal castles

The design of the episcopal and chapter castles, which were mainly built on the autonomous territories of the bishops from around 1330, largely followed the construction principles of the religious houses both in the convent and episcopal castles ( Marienwerder , Heilsberg ) and in the official castles ( Allenstein , Rössel ). There are mostly organizational differences in the internal structure of the buildings and the design of the church buildings.

literature

Contemporary chronicles

  • Peter von Dusburg : Chronicon Terrae Prussiae (around 1326).
  • Nikolaus von Jeroschin : Di Kronike von Pruzinlant (transfer of Chronicon Terrae Prussae into Low German with additions, around 1340).
  • Hermann von Wartenberg : Chronicon Livoniae (around 1378)
  • Peter suchtwirt : From Duke Albrecht's knighthood ; around 1377, renamed 1395 after the Duke's death to: From the procession of Duke Albrechts -blessed-
  • Wigand von Marburg : Chronica nova Prutenica (handed down in fragments, around 1400)
  • Johann von Posilge : Chronicle of the State of Prussia around 1420

Source editions

  • Theodor Hirsch , Max Toeppen , Ernst Strehlke: Scriptores rerum Prussicarum . The historical sources of Prussian prehistoric times up to the fall of the order ; Volumes 1–5, Leipzig 1861–1874.
  • Klaus Scholz, Dieter Wojtecki: Peter von Dusburg. Chronicle of the Prussia. Translation and explanation . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1984, ISBN 3-534-00604-6 ( selected sources on the German history of the Middle Ages , volume XXV).
  • Ēvald Mugurēvičs: Hermanni de Wartberge Chronicon Livoniae. ; annotated translation by Chronicon Livoniae . Rīga 2005.
  • Juozas Jurginis: H. Latvis, H. Vartbergė. Livonijos kronikos. ; annotated translation by Chronicon Livoniae . Vilnius 1991.
  • P.Pakarklis, E. Gudavičius and A. Nikžentaitis (eds.) Popiežiaus bulės dėl kryžiaus žygių prieš prūsus ir lietuvius XIII a. [Papal bulls regarding the crusades against Prussians and Lithuanians in the 13th century] Vilnius 1987.
  • Alois Primisser : Peier suchtwirt's works from the fourteenth century: A contribution to contemporary and moral history ; Vienna 1827.

Scientific literature

  • Series of sources and studies on the history of the Teutonic Order . So far 60 volumes. Publisher Elwert NG
  • Marian Biskup : The secularization of the order state - Prussia and the "Prussian homage" from 1525 . In: Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin yearbook 1981/82 . Quadriga Verlag , 1983, ISBN 3-88679-300-1 , p. 35-54 .
  • Hartmut Boockmann : The German Order. 12 chapters from its history . Beck, Munich 1999 (1981), ISBN 3-406-38174-X .
  • Hartmut Boockmann: German History in Eastern Europe. East Prussia and West Prussia . Reviewed and updated special edition. Siedler, Munich 2002 (1992), ISBN 3-88680-772-X .
  • Albert Ludwig Ewald : The conquest of Prussia by the Germans . Volume 3, 1884 (reprint, limited preview )
  • Marie-Luise Heckmann and Jürgen Sarnowsky (eds.): Written form in Prussia (= conference reports of the Historical Commission for East and West Prussian State Research. Vol. 30), fiber-Verlag, Osnabrück 2020 ( [1] ).
  • Christofer Hermann: Burgen im Ordensland - Teutonic order and bishop's castles in East and West Prussia Bergstadtverlag Wilhelm Gottlieb Korn, Würzburg 2006.
  • Wolfgang Kleinknecht, Herbert Krieger: The Middle Ages. Materials for history class . 4., rework. Ed. Diesterweg, Frankfurt am Main u. a. 1972 (1960), ISBN 3-425-07332-X ( Handbook of History Teaching . Volume 3).
  • Stanislaus J. Klimek: In the sign of the cross. The recognized religious orders of knights . Diethelm Lütze Verlag, Stuttgart 1986.
  • Erich Maschke : The German Order State. Shape his great masters . Hanseatische Verlags-Anstalt, Hamburg-Wandsbek 1942 (1935).
  • AM Pankratowa (Red.): History of the USSR . Volume I. Publishing house for foreign language literature, Moscow 1947.
  • Otto Piper Castle Studies Building Industry and History of Castles Verlag R. Piper & Co., Munich 1912.
  • Hans Prutz : The orders of knights . Weltbild-Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-8289-0287-1 (Reprint of the original edition: The religious orders of knights. Their position on the ecclesiastical, political, social and economic development of the Middle Ages . Bechtermünz-Verlag, Berlin 1908).
  • Conrad Rethwisch : The appointment of the Teutonic Order against the Prussians (inaugural dissertation to obtain the philosophical doctorate at the Georg-August-Universität zu Göttingen). Moeser, Berlin 1868 ( full text ).
  • Jürgen Sarnowsky : The German Order . Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-53628-1 .
  • Hermann Schreiber : Prussia and the Baltic States under the crusaders. The history of the Teutonic Order . Katz, Gernsbach 2003, ISBN 3-925825-83-5 .
  • Bruno Schumacher : History of East and West Prussia . 3. Edition. Holzner, Würzburg 1957.
  • Wolfgang Sonthofen: The German Order . Weltbild, Augsburg 1995 (1990), ISBN 3-89350-713-2 .
  • Max Toeppen : The administrative districts of Prussia under the rule of the German order . In: New Prussian Provincial Papers . Volume 11, Königsberg 1857, pp. 1-33 and pp. 88-123.
  • Marian Tumler: The German Order in becoming, growing and working until 1400 . Panorama-Verlag, Vienna 1954.
  • Maike Trentin-Meyer for the German Order Museum - text by Udo Arnold : German Order 1190–2000 - A guide through the German Order Museum in Bad Mergentheim , Spurbuchverlag, 2004, ISBN 3-88778-212-7 .
  • Johannes Voigt : The time from the submission of the Prussians in 1283 to Dieterich von Altenburg's death in 1341 . Bornträger, Königsberg 1880 ( History of Prussia, from the earliest times to the fall of the rule of the Teutonic Order . Volume 4. PDF, 25.9 MB ).
  • Oliver Volckart : The coinage policy in the monastic country and Duchy of Prussia from 1370 to 1550 . In: German Historical Institute Warsaw. Sources and Studies . Vol. 30. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1996, ISBN 978-3-447-03841-6 .
  • Ewald Volgger (Hrsg.): The rules of the Teutonic Order in the past and present . Deutschordens-Verlag, Lana 1985.
  • Johann Matthias Watterich : The establishment of the Teutonic Order State in Prussia . Leipzig 1857 ( full text )
  • Jaroslaw Wenta: Medieval culture and literature in the Teutonic Order State in Prussia. Life and afterlife . Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika, Toruń 2008.
  • Marcus Wüst: Studies on the self-image of the Teutonic Order in the Middle Ages. (Sources and studies on the history of the Teutonic Order, vol. 73) . Weimar 2013, ISBN 978-3-89739-771-2 .
  • Uwe Ziegler: Cross and Sword. The history of the Teutonic Order . Böhlau, Cologne a. a. 2003, ISBN 3-412-13402-3 .
  • Dieter Zimmerling: The German order of knights . Econ-Verlag, Düsseldorf u. a. 1988, ISBN 3-430-19959-X .

Fiction

  • Henryk Sienkiewicz : Krzyżacy ; [The Crusaders]; 1900.
  • Ernst Wichert : Heinrich von Plauen . Historical novel from the German East. Schild-Verlag, Munich 1959 (2 volumes, reprint of the edition of the German Book Association Berlin, 1881)
  • Ernst Wichert : The mayor of Thorn. Historical novel from the German East. Verlag "Der Büchermarkt", Berlin 1938 (reprint of the edition of the German Book Association Berlin, 1886)

Web links

Commons : Teutonic Order  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Jürgen Sarnowsky : "All in all, so many elements in the regional rule of the Teutonic Order in Prussia can be traced back to the basic structures of a spiritual knightly order. This explains the apparent 'modernity' of its administration. The special achievement of the order did not lie in the 'anticipation' of modern forms of administration, rather it consisted in the successful adaptation of the order structures for the establishment of its own territory. ”In: The German Order - Development and Structures in the Middle Ages ; Published as: The German Order: Development and Structures in the Middle Ages (lecture at the annual meeting of the Society of Friends of the Technical University of Danzig in Wernigerode, October 6, 1993), o. O., o. J. [1996], 18 p .
  2. Prussian Catechism of 1545
  3. ^ Dieter Zimmerling: The German order of knights. P. 61.
  4. ^ Dieter Zimmerling: The German order of knights. P. 62.
  5. ^ Dieter Zimmerling: The German order of knights. P. 63.
  6. Tomasz Jasinski: Kruschwitz, Rimini and the foundations of the Prussian order country . In: Document studies on the early days of the Teutonic Order in the Baltic Sea region . tape 8 . Marburg 2008, p. 129-153 .
  7. Note: While German research has regarded the contract as undoubtedly genuine since August Seraphim's investigation , Polish research, following the historian Max Perlbach , considers it to be a forgery. (After Hans-Jürgen Karp: Borders in East Central Europe during the Middle Ages - A contribution to the history of the origin of the border line from the border line , Böhlau Verlag, 1972, page 31.)
  8. Andreas Kossert : Masuria - East Prussia's forgotten south. Siedler Verlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-88680-696-0 , p. 24.
  9. ^ Andreas Kossert: Masuren ... , Berlin 2001, p. 24.
  10. a b Dieter Zimmerling: The German Order , p. 108.
  11. Named after the Chronicle of Nicolaus von Jeroschin in: Theodor Hirsch, Max Toeppen, Ernst Strehlke: Scriptores rerum Prussicarum. The historical sources of the Prussian prehistoric times up to the fall of the order. Volume 1, p. 363.
  12. Dieter Zimmerling: The German Order , p. 111
  13. Due to a later misinterpretation by the chronicler Peter von Dusburg, the error arose around the name Quercz that the knights of the order had built a "tree castle" on an oak (Latin Quercus ) as the first bastion in the Kulmer Lande; in: Dieter Zimmerling: The German Order , p. 112.
  14. Dieter Zimmerling: The German Order , p. 114.
  15. Dieter Zimmerling: The German Order , p. 115.
  16. ^ Description of the situation in Livonia
  17. The Prussian cities of Danzig and Elbing only appear in the imperial registers at the beginning of the 16th century, after they freed themselves from the sovereignty of the order and placed themselves under that of the Polish crown. (Comparison of Wikisource and Imperial Register , lists from 1422, 1521, 1532 and 1663)
  18. Dieter Zimmerling: The German Order , p. 166 ff.
  19. ^ The Teutonic Order State
  20. ^ Ernst Wichert : Heinrich von Plauen in the Gutenberg-DE project
  21. ^ Ernst Wichert : The mayor of Thorn in the Gutenberg-DE project