Teutonic Knights
one of the three military-religious orders of knighthood founded during the period of the Crusades. Certain merchants of Bremen and Lübeck, witnessing the sufferings of the wounded Christians before Acre in 1190 were so moved with compassion that they erected tent hospitals for them.
There had been a German hospital in Jerusalem from 1128 to 1187; and the new arrangement at Acre was in some sort a continuance of this, being called the Hospital St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem. The new hospital, the attendants and founders of which formed themselves into a monastic order with the same rules as the Knights Hospitallers of St. John, found a patron in Duke Frederick of Swabia and through him secured the countenance of his brother the Emperor Henry VI., and the confirmation of the Pope (1191). Seven years later it was converted into a knightly or military the Pope (1191). Seven years later it order; and the change was stamped with the pa papal approval in 1199. The knights, in addition to the usual monastic vows, bound themselves to tend the sick and wounded, and wage incessant war on the bound themselves to tend the sick and in addition to the usual monastic vows, heathen. Their distinguishing habiliment was a white mantle with a black cross. heathen. Their distinguishing habiliment About the year 1225 the Duke of Masovia (in Poland) invited the Teutonic Knights to help him against the heathen Prussians. The grand-master, Hermann experienced little difficulty in establishing themselves in the territories of the heathen. Twelve years later they were strengthened by the absorption into their order of the Brethren of the Sword, a military order which had been formed to order of the Brethren of the Sword, a strengthened by the absorption into their the Livonians, Esthonians, and Courconvert to Christianity with the sword military order which had been formed to croachments of the knights roused the Prussians to bitter opposition. A fierce warfare was then carried on for nearly TEUTONIC PEOPLES a quarter of a century; but by 1283 the knights lying between the Vistula and the Memel, and as heirs of the extinct Brethren of the Sword they had also extensive poshts were masters of the territory subduing the Prussians, the order ensubduing the Prussians, the order entered on a hundred years' contest against blow was struck at the knights by the the Lithuanians. But a most serious tered on a hundred years' contest against blow was struck at the knights by the conversion of the Lithuanians to Christianity and the accession (1386) of their prince to the throne of Poland. raison d'être-fighting against the heathen-the order began to decline. the period of its prosperity, however, it From this time, having lost their main its own exertions and by the encourage- politics of Baltic countries; and both by had acted as the principal force in the ment it gave to the Hanseatic traders it had acted as the principal force in the During politics of Baltic countries; and both by ization and manners throughout what are was the means of spreading German civilnow the Baltic states. ization and manners throughout what are through the terrible defeat inflicted on them by the Poles and Lithuanians at Tannenberg in 1410. A desperate atthrough the terrible defeat inflicted on The order the alienation of the esteem and affection of their subjects in East Prussia, which they could only retain as a fief of (1466) in the loss of West Prussia and Poland. In 1525 the order was secularwhich they could only retain as a fief of tion of their subjects in East Prussia, Poland. In 1525 the order was seculartary Duke of Prussia under the suzerainty of Poland. The headquarters of the order for it still possessed several estates scattered throughout the German empire and in one or two other countrieswas fixed at Mergentheim in Swabia, and its possessions were reorganized in 12 bailiwicks. Thus it existed till 1801, when the estates W. of the Rhine were annexed by France; in 1809 the order was entirely suppressed by Napoleon in all the German states. This left only a couple of bailiwicks in Austria and one at Utrecht; and these still exist, sev in both countries. The Austrian branch, reorganized in 1840, justifies its existence by maintaining an organization for the care of the wounded in war. severely aristocratic applied: (1) to the High Germans, including the German inhabitants of Upper and Middle Germany and those of Switz-