The Teutonic Knights had received the right to colonize Prussia as early as 1226, but the Order continued to prioritize the Holy Land for decades after that. The Mongol threat to Europe, however, forced the Teutonic Knights to increasingly divert resources to the Baltic frontier. Gradually, perhaps even unconsciously, the emphasis of the Order shifted. What had started as a necessity, slowly became policy. Dr. Schrader looks at the last years of the Teutonic Knights in the Holy Land.
In 1254 Pope Innocent IV granted the Teutonic
Knights the right to give secular knights willing to fight the Mongols the same
spiritual privileges as those who took the cross to fight in the Holy Land. The
fight against the Mongols was effectively raised to a “crusade.” Even recruits to the Teutonic Knights were no
longer required to serve first in the Holy Land; they could go into service
directly in the Baltic. Increasingly,
German knights and noble families turned their attention to the Baltic. After 1250 there was never again large contingents of armed pilgrims to the
Holy Land.
Not that the Teutonic Order entirely gave up on the Holy
Land. It was in the last half of the 13th century that the Order
made a number of major acquisitions. Yet
significantly these came primarily through purchases from the secular lords of
Outremer. The Baron of Sidon essentially gave up entirely, selling his lands to
the Templars and Teutonic Knights. Even John d’Ibelin, Count of Jaffa and
Ascalon (son of Philip d’Ibelin the former regent of Cyprus, grandson of Balian
d’Ibelin, the defender of Jerusalem in 1187) sold or leased entire lordships
and castles to the Teutonic Knights. After the Battle of La Forbie (1244) an exodus
of ordinary people out of the remaining crusader states had started. Hope of a
Christian recovery was waning.
In 1271, the Teutonic Knights first and mightiest castle,
Starkenburg (or Montfort), fell to the Mamluks. It was the same year in which
the Hospitallers lost Krak de Chevaliers and the Templars lost Castel Blanc.
But Starkenburg was also the Teutonic Knight’s headquarters. Morton writes:
It
appears that the fall of Montfort was turning point in the policy of the
Teutonic Knights. It is significant that shortly after the loss of the
stronghold, [the Master of the Teutonic knights] Arno [von Sangershausen]
created a new castle named Montfort in Prussia. (Morton, p. 125)
Thereafter, no master of the Teutonic Knights spent much
time in the Holy Land either. The focus had shifted definitively and finally to
the Baltic frontier.
In the final two decades of crusader presence in the Levant,
the Teutonic Knights played a cooperative and supportive role, often
mediating disputes between other actors, but nothing could stop the juggernaut
of Mamluk aggression. When Acre fell in 1291, the Teutonic Knights, like the
Templars, died to the last man. The HQ of the Teutonic Knights was moved
initially to Venice and a presence was maintained on Cyprus until at least 1300,
but before long the HQ moved to Marburg and the Teutonic Knights focus turned
exclusively to the Baltic theater.
Principle source: Morton, Nicholas. The Teutonic Knights in the Holy Land, 1190-1291. Boydell Press, 2009.
I blame the divisiveness of Christendom. If the Kings of Christendom hadn't been busy trying to steal each other's territories, they could have mounted sufficient forces.
ReplyDeleteAnd that pattern continues into modern times.