By Gregory Leighton | Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, Toruń (NAWA-Ulam Fellow) & Editorial Board Member, Ordines Militares. Colloquia Torunensia Historica Historical
Historical Overview
The Ordensland was a theocracy ruled by the Teutonic Order, which covered the regions of present-day Poland, Lithuania, Russia (Kaliningrad oblast), Latvia, and Estonia. Spanning ca. 177,000 km2, it bordered Russia, the Baltic Sea, Rus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. In June of 1228, Konrad of Mazovia (d. 1247) called upon Hermann von Salza (r. 1210–1239), Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, to protect his duchy’s borderlands against Prussian incursions. This was confirmed in three sources: The Treaty of Kruschwitz (4 June 1230), Pope Gregory IX’s Golden Bull of Rieti (3 August 1234), and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II’s Golden Bull of Rimini (1235). The latter codified the Order’s power in the region, granting full control of any lands to be conquered. The Teutonic Knights were then called north, to Livonia (on the eastern shores of the Baltic sea), following the defeat of the Sword Brothers (fratres milicie Christi de Livonia), founded in 1201–02 on the model of the Templars, at the Battle of Saule (22 September 1236). On 12 May 1237, the Teutonic Knights absorbed the remaining members of the Sword Brothers. They were to be subject to the existing divisions of land that were laid out at the foundation of the Sword Brothers: 2/3 of the conquered lands were to go to the Bishops of Livonia, while the remaining 1/3 were to go to the brothers. The tensions between the two groups lasted until the secularization of the Livonian Branch of the Teutonic Order in 1561.
The Order’s territory increased almost immediately after they arrived in the region, with the foundation of Thorn (1231), Kulm (1232), Marienweder (1234), and other strongholds. The armies of seasonal crusaders from Germany and the Holy Roman Empire conquered lands to the north and east. An administrative structure followed, with the foundation of the Prussian bishoprics of Kulm, Pomesania, Warmia, and Sambia in 1243. There was also considerable resistance. From 1242–49 and from 1260–74, the Prussians revolted. The first uprising, led by Duke Swantopolk II of Pomerania (d. 11 January 1266) was settled by the Treaty of Christburg issued on 7 February 1249. This obligated the Prussians to accept Christianity and refurbish churches destroyed in the revolt. The second, known as the Great Prussian Uprising, occurred after the Order’s defeat at the Battle of Durben (13 July 1260). Led by Herkus Monte, a Prussian nobleman, the fourteen-year rebellion threatened the hegemony of the Order and sparked a sustained preaching campaign throughout Europe, overseen by the Dominicans and Franciscans. Following its suppression in 1274, the remainder of the Prussian territories were systematically conquered by 1283. To the north, Livonia was formally conquered by ca. 1290.
From this point until ca. 1412, efforts were directed toward subjugating the Lithuanians. The 14th century also saw the peak of the Teutonic Order’s administration and power, particularly under the tenure of Grand Masters, Winrich von Kniprode (1352–82) and Konrad von Jungingen (1393–1407). The Order’s headquarters was established in 1309 at Marienburg (Malbork), named after its patron saint and reflective of the strong religious identity of its territorial lordship. Popular exports of items such as falcons, amber, honey, beer, and other goods to Europe, in addition to the import of goods and works of art from regions such as Bohemia and Italy, reflect the Ordensland’s considerable trade networks and economy. Nobility from Spain, Italy, and England also came to participate in the Reisen: the annual campaigns against the Lithuanians. These expeditions blended the chivalric culture of contemporary knighthood with the rhetoric and framework of crusading, in addition to serving as a steady stream of financial revenue. The popularity of these expeditions also reflects the international characteristic and environment of the region.
In 1386, Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania, converted to Christianity, and he received baptism in the following year. These events triggered a crisis within the Ordensland. On 15 July 1410, the Teutonic Order, led by Ulrich von Jungingen (r. 1407-1410), was defeated at the Battle of Tannenberg by the forces of the Kingdom of Poland, mercenaries, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The First Peace of Thorn (1 February 1411) brought about economic instability from which the region would not recover, particularly the condition of the release of hostages and payment of ransoms by the Order amounting to 100,000 Bohemian schok. The region of Samogitia, in the Lithuanian highlands, was the subject of conflict between the Order, Lithuania, and Poland throughout the 1410s and 1420s. Moreover, the Prussian cities sought independence from the Order’s yoke, leading to the rise of the Prussian Federation in 1440. The ensuing struggle, the Thirteen Year’s War (1454–66), was concluded by the Second Peace of Thorn (19 October 1466). The scope of the Ordensland had shrunk considerably, as the Kulmerland, Danzig, in addition to the castle of Marienburg, now belonged to the Kingdom of Poland. The Grand Masters were required to swear an oath of loyalty to the Polish kings. In 1525, under Albert Brandenburg of Ansbach (r. 1510–68), the Teutonic Order was secularized. Thirty-six years later, the same occurred in Livonia under Gotthard Kettler (r. 1561–87).
The history of the Ordensland benefits from a myriad of sources produced within and outside of the Order’s milieu. Chronicles include Peter von Dusburg’s Chronicon terre Prussie (ca. 1326), and a translation of this into Middle High German by Nicolaus von Jeroschin (ca. 1331). For Livonia, there is the Livländische Reimchronik (ca. 1290), written by a member of the Order, in addition to the Chronicon Lyvoniae of Hermann von Wartberge (ca. 1378). Wigand von Marburg, a herald in the service of the Order, composed his chronicle of Prussia in ca. 1394. The anonymous ältere Hochmeisterchronik (ca. 1433–40), the Geschichte von wegen eines Bundes (ca. 1462), the Annales seu chronici incliti regni Poloniae of Jan Długosz (ca. 1480), and smaller chronicles edited in the 5th and 6th volume of Scriptores rerum Prussicarum (Leipzig, 1874; Frankfurt am Mainz, 1968) document the region’s history in the 15th and 16th century. Extensive collections of edited charters and letters, in addition to castle inventories (the so-called Ämterbücher) survive, providing ample evidence for the study of trade and international relations. Perhaps most importantly, there remain considerably archival materials in Berlin, Toruń, and Gdańsk, Tallin, Riga, St Petersburg, and Vilnius waiting for editions and publication, thus highlighting the potential of future scholarship on the region.
Key Issues and Debates
The basis for any investigation into the Teutonic Order’s Prussian territories remains the 9-volume work of Johannes Voigt (1786–1823), Professor of History at the University of Königsberg and Director of the Prussian Privy State Archives, Die Geschichte Preußens von den ältesten Zeiten bis zum Untergange der Herrschaft des Deutschen Ordens. Though dated in its approaches and conclusions, it remains an excellent overview of major historical events. For Livonia, the works of Leonid Arbusow the Elder (1848–1912), and Leonid Arbusow the Younger (1882–1951) are critical source editions and research materials on the history of medieval Livonia.
Throughout the 20th century, the research was framed within the context of Ostforschung. This held the view that the German colonists of Eastern and East-Central Europe brought civilization and culture to the region, known as the Kulturträgertheorie. Typical examples of this can be seen in Walther Ziesemer’s article “Geistiges Leben des Deutschen Ordens in Preußen” (1911), Kurt Forstreuter’s “Fragen der Mission in Preußen von 1245 bis 1260” (1960), Erich Weise’s “Der Heidenkampf des Deutschen Ordens” (1963 & 1964), and the works of Fritz Gause. In the 1970s and 1980s, a greater bond between east and west was created with the institution of the Ordines Militares. Colloquia Torunensia Historica conference, hosted at the Nicholas Copernicus University in Toruń under the leadership of Zenon Huber Nowak, Udo Arnold, and Marian Dygo. The biennial publication of the conference proceedings continues to be one of the most exciting and comprehensive bodies of scholarly literature on the topic of the Ordensland, with papers available in German and English and an archive of past issues available in open access format online. At the same time, Anglophone works on the region also appeared, namely William Urban’s The Prussian Crusade (1975), and Eric Christiansen’s The Northern Crusades: The Baltic and the Catholic Frontier, 1100–1525 (1980). These remain classics for students today, offering broad overviews of the region written in an accessible style.
The 1990s and 2000s witnessed stronger interest in the spirituality of the Teutonic Order and the religious life of the Ordensland, as well as the spread of the idea of crusading to the northeastern frontiers of Europe. Scholars revisited the extensive literary works of the Order and brought new interpretations forward about the inner life of the Teutonic Knights. The works of Mary Fischer, particularly her translation of Nicolaus von Jeroschin’s The Chronicle of Prussia (2010) deserve special mention here, for this brought to light the rich literary catalogue of the Teutonic Order and the role of such literature in forming a communal identity among the brethren. Alan V. Murray’s collections of studies published in 2001, 2009, and 2014, respectively, have been instrumental in highlighting the work of Eastern European scholars to a broader audience. These were Crusade and Conversion on the Medieval Baltic Frontier, 1150-1500, The Clash of Cultures on the Medieval Baltic Frontier, and The North-Eastern Frontiers of Medieval Europe: The Expansion of Latin Christendom in the Baltic Lands. These volumes have succeeded in increasing access to the rich field of scholarship on the Teutonic Order in Livonia and in Prussia by experts in the field.
Edited collections of studies have thus been instrumental in bringing to the fore and in dialogue the work of scholars working in languages such as Polish, German, Latvian, and others to a wider readership. In 2013 appeared the volume Sacred Space in the State of the Teutonic Order in Prussia, edited by Jarosław Wenta and Magdalena Kopczyńska, the first work (to my knowledge) in English to tackle questions of church and sacred space in the Baltic, a region with no prior shrines to Christianity before the crusades. Two years later, Roman Czaja and Andrzej Radzymiński’s The Teutonic Order in Livonia and Prussia: The Political and Ecclesiastical Structures, 13th-16th Century was published. This work is an extremely useful handbook for students and researchers just introduced to the region who would like a fresh approach to its history, with each chapter written by leading Polish and German researchers and including useful tables of church leaders in Livonia and Prussia, Grand Masters and Officials of the Teutonic Order, maps, a concordance of placenames, and a bibliography for each entry. This trend of edited collections has been one of the main strengths in the historiography of the Teutonic Order and the medieval Baltic region. These works provide the most recent trends in research from experts whose works might normally appear primarily in German or Polish.
The inner life and spirituality of the Teutonic Order is a field of interest that continues to be at the forefront of Polish, German, and more recently, English studies. A main goal of this effort has been to link the crusading movement in the Baltic to other theatres, thus removing the earlier, nationalist trends of the 20th century. Janusz Trupinda’s 1999 study, Ideologia krucjatowa w kronice Piotra z Dusburga [Crusade Ideology in the Chronicle of Peter von Dusburg], contextualized Peter von Dusburg’s text with narratives of the First Crusade. Krzysztof Kwiatkowski’s 2012 book, Zakon niemiecki jako “corporatio militaris” [The Teutonic Order as a military corporation], offers a thorough consideration of the inner mentality of the Teutonic Order with special attention to warfare and crusading. Marcus Wüst’s Studien zum Selbstverständnis des Deutschen Ordens im Mittelalter (2013) studies the self and group image of the Teutonic Order and the manifestation of this throughout its entire literary and historical catalogue. The incorporation of the Baltic, and its reflection within this group identity, has been the subject of publications by Torben K Nielsen, Kurt Villads Jensen, and Gregory Leighton.
Scholarly investigations and trends will only continue to grow with respect to the Teutonic Order’s Baltic territories. Each year, more studies emerge that show how this region was a lively and integral part of the medieval world, as opposed to an outpost removed from the whole of Latin Christianitas. The potential for future work and scholarly collaboration in the field is limitless as more sources are made available in the form of source editions and translations, and scholars continue collaborative projects.
Further Reading
Arnold, Udo. “Die Marienburg auf dem Weg zum Machtzentrum des Deutschen Ordens.” In Castrum sanctae Mariae. Die Marienburg als Burg, Residenz und Museum, edited by Arno Mentzel-Reuters and Stefan Samerski, 15–46. Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 2019.
This article is a great overview of the history of the Teutonic Order’s castle of Marienburg (Malbork). It offers a history of the Order and its arrival in Prussia that is typical of one of the leading, if not the leading, historian of the Teutonic Order for the past generation.
Czaja, Roman, and Andrzej Radzymiński, eds. The Teutonic Order in Prussia and Livonia: The Political and Ecclesiastical Structures, 13th–16th Centuries. Toruń: Scientific Society in Toruń, 2015.
This is a superb handbook in English that covers the history of the Ordensland from leading experts in the field. Particularly rare is the coverage of both regions from a military and ecclesiastical perspective, making it extremely helpful for students and scholars just introduced to the region, evidenced in the maps and lists of officials, members of the Teutonic Order, and other helpful material.
Kreem, Juhan, ed. Das Leben im Ordenshaus: Vorträge der Tagung der Internationalen Historischen Kommission zue Erforschung des Deutschen Ordens in Tallinn 2014. Weimar: VDG, 2019.
This collection of studies from leading historians of the Teutonic Order is a wonderful example of the newest approaches to the study of the Order: namely the role played by liturgy and the study of ‘daily life’ within the Order, in addition to its international connections. It also will benefit readers because it studies the history of the Teutonic Order not only in Prussia and Livonia, but also Germany, Italy, the Low Countries and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Paravicini, Werner. Die Preußenreisen des europäischen Adels. 3 vols. Sigmaringen: Jan Thorbecke, 1981–1995; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2019.
Paravicini’s series covers virtually every aspect of this period in the Ordensland’s history, from military, economic, and religious impacts to perceptions of the region over roughly a century. In doing so, he demonstrates the unique place of the region within the history of Medieval Europe.
Päsler, Ralf G. Deutschsprachige Sachliteratur im Preußenland bis 1500. Untersuchungen zu ihrer Überlieferung. Köln: Böhlau, 2003.
One of the unique aspects of the Teutonic Order’s history is its extensive production of historical and literary texts. Päsler’s book is an in-depth yet approachable study of the development of historical writing in Prussia roughly until its secularization, in addition to a useful catalogue of manuscript material.
Pluskowski, Aleksander, ed. Environment, Colonization, and the Baltic Crusaders States. Terra Sacra I & Ecologies of Crusading, Colonization, and Religious Conversion in the Medieval Baltic. Terra Sacra II. Turnhout: Brepols, 2019.
Pluskowski’s two-volume series is a tour de force of the history of the Ordensland from the perspective of material culture. A fantastic contribution is the incorporation of environmental data to the analysis of the region’s history in Livonia and Prussia, from leading figures in the field.
Selart, Anti. Livonia, Rus’ and the Baltic Crusades in the Thirteenth Century. Leiden: Brill, 2015.
This book is a translation of a book written by Selart in German and published in 2007 as Livland und die Rus im 13. Jarhundert. It offers a succinct and comprehensive summary of church relations in Livonia until c. 1300, namely the conflicts and struggles between the church of Riga and the Teutonic Knights. Most unique is Selart’s familiarity with and use of Russian sources to study the region.
Selart, Anti, and Mathias Thumser, eds. Livland – eine Region am Ende der Welt? Forschungen zum Verhältnis zwischen Zentrum und Peripherie im späten Mittelalter. Köln: Böhlau, 2017.
Selart and Thumser’s collection outlines the history of Livonia and the role of the Teutonic Order in its incorporation into Western Christendom. Key studies are those of Alexander Baranov and Gustavs Strenga for the early history of the Order’s Livonian branch and the communication of the events in the area to Europe.
Von Jeroschin, Nicolaus. The Chronicle of Prussia by Nicolaus von Jeroschin. A History of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, 1190–1331. Translated by Mary Fischer. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2010.
Nicolaus von Jeroschin’s Chronicle of Prussia is one of the most important primary sources for the history of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia in the fourteenth century. Dr. Fischer’s translation and commentary has been instrumental in opening the field to students and scholars just encountering the history of the Teutonic Order and the Baltic region. One of the few primary sources available in English for the region of Prussia, Dr. Fischer’s choice to translate the text in a prose version, as opposed to the original poetic form of the chronicle, makes the text more approachable.
