The Teutonic Knights

The third or Teutonic Order, called also the Knights of St. Mary of Jerusalem, was German, and none but Germans of noble birth were admitted to membership. Shortly after the capture of Jerusalem, a German merchant and his wife, living in the city, threw open their house for the benefit of the sick and distressed of their own nation. Their work of charity was brought to the notice of the Patriarch, and he added a chapel to the humble hospital, which was called the chapel of St. Mary, hence their name. Some distinguished Germans contributed to the support of the work begun by their countrymen, and in the year 1119 the Teutonic Order was founded, which received the sanction of Pope Calixtus II., and soon won an enviable fame. The Teutonic Knights were celebrated for their services in the civilization of the countries on the shores of the Baltic sea. They defended Christianity against the heathen Prussians, and converted the inhabitants of the territory between the Vistula and the Niemen rivers, also establishing there the German language, customs, and civilization. In the year 1309, the residence of the Grand Master was established at Marienburg, from which, as a center, the Order became almost as dominant in the North as the Templars in the South. The annual revenue of the Order was at this time estimated to be 800,000 marks, or $320,000. By the fifteenth century the Order had reached its climax. But, just as it was in the cases of the Hospitalers and the Templars, the Teutonic Order soon showed the disastrous effect of luxury and power. The humble pretensions were forgotten by the haughty German barons who controlled the brotherhood. Dissensions arose as the precursors of decline, and in 1525 the Order was but a shadow of its former self. After an existence of nearly seven centuries, it was finally abolished by Napoleon (1809).