Walter von Cronberg (before 14804 April 1543) was the 38th Grand Master of the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

, from 1527 to 1543.

Biography

Von Cronberg hailed from a rather poor family of knights from Kronberg Castle near

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. He joined the Teutonic Order in 1497 and held the post of a tax collector in the Komturei of Mergentheim from 1499. He became the Komtur of Frankfurt in 1504. During the times of his predecessor, Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, von Cronberg was the legate to King Sigismund I (the Old) of Poland. In 1517, he founded the Brotherhood of St. Sebastian and, in 1526, he was chosen ''Deutschmeister'' (the Master of the German branch of the Order). In 1525, when Albert had converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

, von Cronberg declared himself the next Grand Master. His claim was based on a

statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

of Werner von Orseln from the 14th century, which stated that in the case of the absence of the Grand Master, the Master of one of the other branches of the Order would resume the position. However, this decision was met with some resistance from the Master of the Livonian branch,

Wolter von Plettenberg Wolter or Walter von Plettenberg ( – February 28, 1535) was Master (''Teutonic Order#Landmeister, Landmeister'') of the Livonian Order from 1494 to 1535, and one of the greatest leaders of the Teutonic Knights. He was an important early B ...

, who also laid a claim to this function. The conflict was averted by Emperor Charles V, who settled the matter in 1527 in favour of von Cronberg, declaring him "Administrator of the Office of Grand Master". Also, the claim of the Grand Master to Albert's

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

was renewed. As no control could be exercised there, the Grand Master's seat was moved from

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

to the seat of the Deutschmeister in southern Germany, Mergentheim, near

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. From 1530, von Cronberg dedicated himself to save the Catholic character of the Order. He was unsuccessful, however, in preventing further

secularization In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

of the Teutonic Order in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, with increasingly more knights breaking the oath, by conversion to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

or disobedience to the Catholic Grand Masters.

References

1470s births 1545 deaths People from Kronberg im Taunus Grand masters of the Teutonic Order {{Germany-noble-stub