Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order

The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (german: Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens; la, Magister generalis Ordo Teutonicus) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the grand master of other military orders and the superior general in non-military Roman Catholic religious orders. ''Hochmeister'', literally "high master", is only used in reference to the Teutonic Order, as ''Großmeister'' ("grand master") is used in German to refer to the leaders of other orders of knighthood.

An early version of the full title in Latin was ''Magister Hospitalis Sanctae Mariae Alemannorum Hierosolymitani''. Since 1216, the full title ''Magister Hospitalis Domus Sanctae Mariae Teutonicorum Hierosolymitani'' ("Master of the Hospital House of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Germans of Jerusalem") was used.

The offices of ''Hochmeister'' and ''Deutschmeister'' (''Magister Germaniae'') were united in 1525. The title of ''Magister Germaniae'' had been introduced in 1219 as the head of the bailiwicks in the Holy Roman Empire, from 1381 also those in Italy, raised to the rank of a prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1494, but merged with the office of grand master under Walter von Cronberg in 1525, from which time the head of the order had the title of ''Hoch- und Deutschmeister''. From 1466 to 1525, the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order were vassals and princes of the Polish Crown.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms representing the grand master (''Deutschmeisterwappen'') is shown with a golden cross fleury or cross potent superimposed on the black cross, with the imperial eagle as a central inescutcheon.
The golden cross potent overlaid on the black cross becomes widely used by the 14th century, developing into a golden cross fleury by the 15th century.
A legendary account attributes the introduction of the cross potent to John of Brienne, King of Jerusalem, who granted the master of the order this cross as a variation of the Jerusalem cross, while the fleur-de-lis was supposedly granted on 20 August 1250 by Louis IX of France. While this legendary account cannot be traced back further than the early modern period (Christoph Hartknoch, 1684) there is some evidence that the design does indeed date to the mid 13th century.

Before the Reformation

Compared to other medieval governments, transfer of power within the Teutonic Knights was run efficiently. Upon the death of a grand master, the vice master called a capitulum composed of the leading officers of the order. The general chapter would select a twelve-person electoral college composed of seven knights, four sergeants, and one priest. Once a majority-candidate for grand master was chosen, the minority electors would concede to support unanimity. These elections usually provided a succeeding grand master within three months.

Candidates for the position of grand master had experience as senior administrators for the order and were usually chosen on merit, not lineage.Christiansen, 204 This changed only after the order had entered a steady decline, with the selection of Frederick of Saxony and Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, members of the powerful Wettin and House of Hohenzollern dynasties.

When the Teutonic Knights were originally based in Acre in Outremer, the grand masters spent much of their time at the papal and imperial courts. The grand masters were most powerful after the order's 13th century conquest of Prussia during the Northern Crusades and the creation of the militarized State of the Teutonic Order, which lasted until 1525 (from 1466 to 1525 as part of the Kingdom of Poland as a fief).Górski, p. 96-97, 214-215 After the order's capital moved from Venice to Malbork (Marienburg) in 1309, the grand master's power was at its height. He had ultimate control over Prussia, which gave him command over the Prussian commanders. When the general chapter would meet in Elbląg (Elbing), he was able to use this influence to ratify administrative measures he proposed. The grand master also served as the castellan of Marienburg and was aided by the order's treasurer. He was also a member of the Hanseatic League, allowing him to receive some of the league's custom dues.

Excavations in the church of Kwidzyn (Marienwerder) performed in 2007 yielded the skeletal remains of three Grand Masters of the late medieval period, Werner von Orseln (1324–30), Ludolf König von Wattzau (1342–45) and Heinrich von Plauen (1410–13). The church had been known as the burial place of the bishops of Pomesania, but the discovery of the grand masters' burials was unexpected. The bodies had been buried in gold-painted wooden coffins draped in silk robes.

Since the 1466 Second Peace of Toruń, the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order were vassals of the Kingdom of Poland, and every Grand Master of the Teutonic Order was obliged to swear an oath of allegiance to the reigning Polish king within six months of taking office. The Grand Masters were also princes and counselors of the Polish kings and the Kingdom of Poland. The State of the Teutonic Order was a part of Poland as a fief.

Leaders of the early Brotherhood, 1190–1198

The Teutonic Order as a hospice brotherhood in Outremer:

Grand Masters of the Order, 1198–1525

The Teutonic Order as a spiritual military order had a total of 37 grand masters between 1198 and 1525.

Several armorials of the 15th and early 16th century depict the coat of arms of the grand masters. These include the ''Chronica'' by Ulrich Richenthal, an armorial of St. Gallen kept in Nuremberg, an armorial of southwest Germany kept in Leipzig and the Miltenberg armorial. Conspicuously absent from these lists are three grand masters, Gerhards von Malberg (1241–1244) and his successors Heinrich von Hohenlohe (1244–1249) and Gunther von Wüllersleben (1250–1252), so that pre-modern historiographical tradition has a list of 34 grand masters for the time before 1525 (as opposed to 37 in modern accounts).

:1. 1198–sometime before 1208 Heinrich Walpot von Bassenheim
:2. documented for 1208 Otto von Kerpen
:3. 1208–1209 Heinrich von Tunna
:4. 1209–1239 Hermann von Salza. As a friend and councillor of emperor Frederick II, Hermann achieved the recognition of the order as of equal status with the older military orders of the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar by Pope Honorius III. In 1237, he also oversaw the incorporation of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword into the Teutonic order.
:5. 1239–1240 Konrad von Thüringen
:  (6.) 1240–1244 Gerhard von Malberg
:  (7.) 1244–1249 Heinrich von Hohenlohe
:  (8.) 1249–1252
:6. (9.) 1252–1256 Poppo von Osterna (the pretender Wilhelm von Urenbach (1253–1256) was chosen in opposition to Poppo von Osterna).
:7. (10.) 1256–1273 Anno von Sangershausen
:8. (11.) 1273–1282 Hartmann von Heldrungen
:9. (12.) 1282 or 1283 –1290 Burchard von Schwanden
:10. (13.) 1290–1297 Konrad von Feuchtwangen. After the fall of Acre, Konrad moved the Order's headquarters to Venice.
:11. (14.) 1297–1303 Gottfried von Hohenlohe
:12. (15.) 1303–1311 Siegfried von Feuchtwangen, of the same family as his predecessor Konrad von Feuchtwangen. Siegfried moved the order's headquarters to Prussia in 1309.
:13. (16.) 1311–1324 Karl von Trier
:14. (17.) 1324–1330 Werner von Orseln
:15. (18.) 1331–1335 Luther von Braunschweig (Lothar)
:16. (19.) 1335–1341 Dietrich von Altenburg
:17. (20.) 1342–1345 Ludolf König von Wattzau
:18. (21.) 1345–1351 Heinrich Dusemer
:19. (22.) 1351–1382 Winrich von Kniprode
:20. (23.) 1382–1390 Konrad Zöllner von Rotenstein
:21. (24.) 1391–1393 Konrad von Wallenrode
:22. (25.) 1393–1407 Konrad von Jungingen
:23. (26.) 1407–1410 Ulrich von Jungingen
:24. (27.) 1410–1413 Heinrich von Plauen
:25. (28.) 1414–1422 Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg
:26. (29.) 1422–1441 Paul von Rusdorf
:27. (30.) 1441–1449 Konrad von Erlichshausen
:28. (31.) 1449 or 1450–1467 Ludwig von Erlichshausen Ludwig von Erlichshausen's first year in office is given as 1449 on the Teutonic Order's German site and 1450 on the Austrian site.
:29. (32.) 1467–1470 Heinrich Reuß von Plauen
:30. (33.) 1470–1477 Heinrich Reffle von Richtenberg
:31. (34.) 1477–1489 Martin Truchseß von Wetzhausen
:32. (35.) 1489–1497 Johann von Tiefen
:33. (36.) 1497–1510 Frederick, Duke of Saxony
:34. (37.) 1510–1525 Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach

After the Reformation

The last ''Hochmeister'', Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, converted to Lutheranism and, with the consent of his overlord and uncle, King Sigismund I of Poland, turned the State of the Teutonic Order into the secular Duchy of Prussia per the Treaty of Kraków, which was sealed by the Prussian Homage in Kraków in 1525. The commanderies in the autonomous Livonian Terra Mariana likewise were lost by 1561, as that region also became Protestant. However, the Order retained its bailiwicks in the Holy Roman Empire (Germany and Italy), which had been administered by the ''Deutschmeister'' since 1219.

As the Order was now limited to its possessions in the German kingdom, incumbent ''Deutschmeister'' Walter von Cronberg was also appointed ''Hochmeister'' by Emperor Charles V in 1527. The administrative seat was moved to Mergentheim Castle in Franconia. The ''Hoch- und Deutschmeister'' was ranked as one of the ecclesiastical Princes of the Holy Roman Empire until 1806; when Mergentheim fell to the newly established Kingdom of Württemberg, their residence was relocated to the ''Deutschordenshaus'' in Vienna. The dual title lasted until in 1923, when the last secular Grand Master, Archduke Eugen of Austria, resigned from office.

A Franconian of the Imperial Army was formed under Count Palatine Francis Louis of Neuburg in 1696; organized as 4th Infantry Regiment in 1769 and deployed at Vienna, it was known as the Lower Austrian ''Hoch- und Deutschmeister'' regiment from 1814. Chiefly known for its popular military band, the regiment's tradition was adopted by the Wehrmacht 44th Infantry Division in 1938 and today is maintained by the of the Austrian Armed Forces.

Hoch- und Deutschmeister, 1527–1929

* 1527–1543 Walter von Cronberg
* 1543–1566 Wolfgang Schutzbar
* 1566–1572 Georg Hund von Wenkheim
* 1572–1590 Heinrich von Bobenhausen
* 1590–1618 Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria
* 1619–1624 Charles of Austria, Bishop of Wroclaw
* 1625–1627
* 1627–1641
* 1641–1662 Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria
* 1662–1664 Archduke Charles Joseph of Austria
* 1664–1684 Johann Caspar von Ampringen
* 1685–1694 Ludwig Anton von Pfalz-Neuburg
* 1694–1732 Francis Louis of Palatinate-Neuburg
* 1732–1761 Prince Clemens August of Bavaria
* 1761–1780 Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine
* 1780–1801 Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria
* 1801–1804 Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
* 1804–1835 Archduke Anton Victor of Austria (office becomes hereditary to the Imperial House of Austria)
* 1835–1863 Archduke Maximilian of Austria-Este
* 1863–1894 Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria
* 1894–1923 Archduke Eugen of Austria (end of hereditary status)
* 1923–1929 Norbert Klein ( Bishop of Brno from 1916 until 1926)

1929–present

Time of the Teutonic Order as a clerical Roman Catholic religious order
* 1929–1933: Norbert Klein
* 1933–1936: Paul Heider
* 1936–1948: Robert Schälzky
* 1948–1970: Marian Tumler
* 1970–1988: Ildefons Pauler
* 1988–2000: Arnold Wieland
* 2000–2018: Bruno Platter
* 2018–present: Frank Bayard

See also

* Grand master (order)
* List of grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller
* Grand Masters and Lieutenancies of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
* Grand Masters of the Order of Saint Lazarus
* List of grand masters of the Knights Templar
* Mergentheim ''(History)'', a former residence

Notes

References

* Arnold, Udo (ed.), ''Die Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens 1190-1994''. Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte des Deutschen Ordens 40 = Veröffentlichungen der Internationalen Historischen Kommission zur Erforschung des Deutschen Ordens 6. Marburg, 1998.
*Borchert Friedrich, "Die Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens in Preußen." In: ''Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung'', 6 October 2001.
*
*Urban, William, ''The Teutonic Knights: A Military History''. Greenhill Books. London, 2003. .

External links

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