7. Military orders in relations of power and in relations with the authorities
The issue of military orders has always attracted the attention of Polish historians. For obvious reasons, the greatest interest has always aroused the Teutonic Order, but the achievements of Polish medieval studies also include research on other military orders, both those that left their mark on history in their universal dimension, such as the Templars and the Hospitallers, and those whose activities did not go beyond the local or regional framework, to mention only the Order of Dobrzyń and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. The aim of the proposed section is to provide a venue for discussing the history of military orders as, on the one hand, subjects of power and, on the other hand, objects of the pursuit of authority in different periods, places and socio-cultural contexts. Within the framework of the subject matter thus outlined, the perspective of the historiography of military orders will also be able to be included.
The paper analyzes the actions of the Teutonic Order in Hungary and Prussia in the context of their efforts to establish their own state. It discusses the reasons for the Order’s arrival in Burzenland, invited by Andrew II, and in the Chełmno land, invited by Conrad of Masovia. The Order’s policies toward secular and ecclesiastical authorities will be examined, particularly its attempts to gain independence, which led to conflict with the Hungarian king and the knights' expulsion in 1225. The second part focuses on the Prussian mission, considering how experiences in Burzenland influenced the Order’s strategy. Methods of territorial expansion, Christianization, and administrative development will be analyzed. The conclusion explains why the attempt to create a Teutonic state in Hungary failed, while in Prussia, it led to the formation of a powerful political entity.
The paper addresses an important issue in the history of law concerning the Kruszwica privilege and the introduction of Chełmno and Lubeck law as key elements in the process of the establishment and consolidation of the Teutonic State in Prussia. It will present the current state of research on the ongoing discussion about the authenticity of the Kruszwica privilege, which has been taking place since 1873. I will attempt to present Chełmno and Lubeck laws as an innovative regulatory system that contributed to the development of urban centers and significantly influenced the strengthening of the economic and political foundations of the Order's power, as well as the formation of a corporate social model in the cities within the Teutonic state's borders in Prussia. This analysis aims to demonstrate how law, administration, and the establishment of a corporate model in urban centers such as Toruń, Chełmno, Elbląg, and Gdańsk had a real impact on the consolidation of the Order`s power.
Losing the Holy Land in 1291 deprived the Hospitallers of their properties therein, as well as their primary purpose. This necessitated finding a cause that, in the eyes of their contemporaries, justified their continued operation and possession of extensive benefices. The construction of its own navy was crucial in capturing the Dodecanese from 1306 onward, ensuring dominance in this part of the Mediterranean, an effective defense of the Order's State and control of the region's trade routes. It also restored Rhodes' role as a vital transit port. Among other tasks, it protected Christian ships, fighting pirates and Muslim fleets. Licensed by the Order, Corso brought significant profits to the Treasury, and the obligation of Rhodes residents to serve on the galleys made the fleet and its service key to the subjects and the Knights themselves. It was an effective tool for the Order to maintain subordinate territories, force obedience of subjects and political concessions on neighbors.
Each of the three great orders of chivalry in Central Europe built its structure in a different way. On the one hand, this depended on the customs that gradually developed in the West, but on the other hand it reflected the local situation and the emphasis that the orders placed on their estates in Central Europe. The Hospitallers, who first appear in Central Europe in the second half of the 12th century (Prague, Mailberg), built a solid structure throughout the 13th century, eventually leading to the creation of two prioratus, a German one with eight and a Bohemian one with four lower units (Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Austria). The houses of the Order of the Teutonic Knights, whose origins are linked to King Přemysl Ottokar I by his brother Vladislaus Henry, in Bohemia and Moravia, were organized into the so-called Ballei, which depended on the Provincial Master in Prussia and later on the Grand Master. The Knights Templar belonged to the union of Germany and the Slavic countries, and
In the studies on the Teutonic Order in Prussia, the issue of power within the corporation has been analyzed in previous research almost exclusively from a structural perspective, i.e. the “organs of power”, both central and local (territorial), have been studied. Researchers focused a.o. on the functioning of individual central and local offices, the structure of local administrative districts and its changes in the Order’s dominion (Herrschaft) in Prussia. The presented paper, in accordance with the general idea of the panel, attempts to frame the practice of the Teutonic Order’s officials not in structural approach, but rather from the perspective of interactionism. Using the example of the commanders of Ragnit, the various power relations that these officials entered and created both within their own religious corporation and in their “external” social environment will be analyzed.
Before his death, Casimir IV Jagiellon recommended his Polish subjects elect his son, John I Albert, as king. The royal council invited the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Johann von Tiefen, to participate in the election of the new ruler, as per the conditions of the Peace of Thorn (1466), which recognized the Grand Master as a "prince and advisor to the king and the Kingdom."
Queen Dowager Elisabeth also wrote a letter to the Grand Master, encouraging him to support John I Albert, as the prince had rivals for the throne. The head of the Order set out for the election but turned back, officially citing illness. In reality, he had received information about internal conflicts within the Jagiellonian dynasty, in which he did not wish to become involved.
Consequently, his relations with King John I Albert were later strained. The 1492 election was the only event in which a Grand Master of the Teutonic Order was expected to participate as a ruler dependent on Poland.
Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie
The attitude of the last Capetian French kings towards the main military orders is generally seen through the prism of the Templars’ trial initiated in 1307 by the arrest of the brothers by order of Philip the Fair (1285-1314). For this reason, most of the scholars assume that this monarch as well as his three sons and successors were also hostile to the Hospitallers. However, a reconsideration of the available sources leads to different conclusions about the relations between French kings and the order which was supposed to be a leader of the new crusade.
The fight for political supremacy over Riga between knightly orders (originally the Livonian Knights and after 1237 its legal successor, the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order) lasted almost throughout the entire period of the so-called Former Livonia (until 1561) and was often bloody. One of its culminating points were the peace terms imposed on Riga after over 30 years of war (March 30, 1330). Riga had to pay homage to the Order, admit a representative of the Order to the city council, renounced half of the revenues from exercising jurisdiction to the Order, gave the Order a plot of land in the city for the construction of a new monastic castle, was to send a unit of 25 men-at-arms on the Order's expeditions and undertook to fund 5 perpetual vicarages, each worth 6 silver fines, with the right of patronage belonging to the Order to commemorate those killed in the war. The entry of the Order into the city was done throught the hole in city walls as an additional oppression.
The question of how the issuers of the charter for Kulm and Thorn, who were the highest dignitaries of the German Order, conceived of their authority has already been raised in historiography. However, previous studies of the charter have paid little attention to the influence of canon law on its text, despite the fact that its issuer was a religious community. This raises the question of whether, and to what extent, the norms of this law were taken into account by the Order as a subject of authority. An important research question is also the extent to which the privilege took into account the religious charisma of the German Order as a source of its authority. It is known that elements of this charisma were present in the chancery language used by the Order as a subject of authority in the 13th century. These questions are at the heart of our research.
This paper will concern the circumstances of bringing the Templars to Poland, based on medieval written sources. The axis of the discussion will be the analysis of the above-mentioned issues in relation to the prerogatives of power that the district princes had at their disposal. Particular emphasis will be placed on the role of Henry I the Bearded and Władysław Odonic - as those princes who made special contributions to the arrival of the Templars to Poland. The following issues will be analyzed: the princes' motives for bringing the order, the chronology of the arrival of the Templars, the grants made by the princes, as well as the benefits resulting from the arrival of the order to Poland. The summary will include the most important conclusions and research conclusions.
The purpose of this paper is to outline the evolution of the relationship between the Military Order of Calatrava and the rulers of the Kingdom of Castile (since 1230 the Kingdom of Castile and León) during the second half of the 12th and first half of the 13th centuries. The talk will discuss the contribution of the Castilian monarchs to the establishment and development of the aforementioned religious congregation in its first decades. In addition to economic and military issues, the attempts of the Crown of Castile to interfere politically in the internal affairs of the Order will also be presented. The analysis will be completed by a reflection on the influence of the Castilian kings, as one of the external entities, on the formation of the plans for the activities of the Order of Calatrava outside the Iberian Peninsula (Holy Land, Apennine Peninsula, Kingdom of France, Gdańsk Pomerania) and the implementation of some of these intentions.
Due to the Prussian neighborhood, the rulers of Eastern Pomerania from the Sobieslawic dynasty actively participated in the endowment of knightly orders that established their outposts in the Polish-Prussian and Pomeranian-Prussian borderlands. These included representatives of the Order of St. John, the Calatrawens, the Dobrzyn brothers or the Teutonic Knights. Relations between these orders and the dukes of East Pomerania were arranged in various ways. Periodic cooperation sometimes turned into sharp conflict. The princes then sought to remove the influence of the knightly orders in their dominions.
