Spiritual Combat Revisited
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Spiritual Combat Revisited List Price: $14.95  |
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Fr. Robinson has done a great service in revitalizing Lorenzo Scupoli-s classic, Spiritual Combat, so that contemporary Catholics can rediscover this rich work that has served many generations of Catholics... |
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Spiritual Combat Revisited.: An article from: Catholic Insight List Price: $5.95 Sale Price: $5.95 |
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This digital document is an article from Catholic Insight, published by Catholic Insight on April 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1549 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page... |
Who were the Teutonic Knights
The Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's Hospital in Jerusalem was one of the three major military-religious Orders that emerged in the 12th and 13th century, along with the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller.
Having their traces in the early years of the 12th century, around 1128, when a German couple built a hospital in Jerusalem to accommodate poor and sick pilgrims of German origin or language, the Teutonic Knights were devoted to Virgin Mary. Around 1190, after the siege of Acre, Germans from Bremen and Lubeck established a field hospital to take care of German soldiers. Soon, under the command of the chaplain of Duke Frederick of Swabia, the hospital changed into a religious Order on the model of Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. The religious Order was approved by Pope Clement III in 1191. The Teutonic Knights were put under the protection of Pope Celestine III and were named Hospital of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem.
In 1198, the purpose of Teutonic Knights altered. Although they were originally established as a religious Order, a ceremony held in front of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the King of Jerusalem, the Head of the Crusaders and the Masters of the Templars, established the Teutonic Knights as a military Order. In 1199, when the Fourth Crusade was launched, the Papal Bull of Pope Innocent III confirmed this change.
In 1211, the Order was invited by King Andrew of Hungary to establish a colony on the border of Transylvania and fight against the Cumans, who were a constant threat both to the Byzantine Empire and Hungary. The Order was granted extensive autonomy over the territories they besieged with the implication to Christianize the population.
The distinct German character of the Teutonic Knights and the protection they received by the German emperor Frederick II enabled them to declare a de facto independence from the Order of Saint John. In 1213, the Order received its first Imperial grant from Otto VI, and Frederick II granted his confirmation in 1214. Further acknowledgment of this independence came in the mid-14th century by the Holy See.
From their early years, the Order engaged heavily in a mission of conquering land and reinforcing independent territory. Particularly, under the Magistery of Grand Master Hermann von Salza, the possessions and wealth of the Order grew incredibly fast because he was well-favored both from the Pope and the Emperor Frederick II. Von Salza received thirty two Papal confirmations and grants and nearly thirteen Imperial confirmations which enabled the Order’s properties to expand to Slovenia, Bavaria, Prussia, Bohemia, Austria, Switzerland, France, Hungary, Greece, Romania, Spain, Sicily, Armenia, Cyprus, and the Holy Land. To honor his Mastership, the King of Jerusalem gave a gold cross to Von Salza and, in 1214 he was granted membership of the Imperial Court.
In 1217, Pope Honorius III launched a crusade against the Prussian pagans and in 1225, Duke Conrad of Massovia appealed for assistance to the Order. Von Salza was offered to become Master of Culm and Dobrzin provided the Order would retain any Prussian lands the knights would capture. The campaign against the Prussian pagans lasted nearly fifty years.
The Teutonic Order played a key role in the Christianization of North Eastern Europe. However, its impact on the southeastern borders was less effective. In the mid-13th century, Europe was intimidated by the threat of Mongol invasion. Expanding from their infertile land between China and Russia to the West was a fatal experience for the populations that were found in their way. Mongols destroyed villages, burned towns, murdered men and children and raped women. In 1240, the Mongol hordes destroyed Kiev in Ukraine and turned towards Hungary and Poland.
Despite their alliance with Grand Duke Nevsky of Russia in 1260, the Teutonic Knights did not manage to fully engage in the struggle against the Mongols. They had to face internal problems or to deal with the new uprising threat of Lithuanians. Inevitably, in 1265, with Christendom and the Crusades steadily on retreat, the Teutonic Order suffered great losses at the battle of Sephet. This defeat led the Order to make peace with their rival Orders, the Templars and the Hospitallers, in order to uphold their rule.
In 1291, immediately after the defeat at the battle of Acre, the Order retreated to Cyprus and then to Venice under the command of Conrad von Feuchtwangen. In the commandery of Santa Trinita, von Feuchtwangen tried to demonstrate to his fellow Italian knights the military skills he acquired while combating the Prussian barbarians. However, because his efforts proved inadequate, he preferred to focus on the reconciliation of the differences between the Masters in the several provinces which, inevitably, led to the divisions of the later years.
In 1308, the capture of Brandenburg in the Duchy of Pomerelia created an open conflict with Poland, which had been an ally against the Prussians and Lithuanians. However, as Poland also claimed the province, the Poles turned overnight into determined enemies of the Order. Having control in the area allowed the Order to have borders with the Holy Roman Empire. Meanwhile, in 1307, the persecution and eradication of the Knights Templar had worried the Order, but if it maintained control in Pomerelia it could move its headquarters to Marienburg, out of the reach of secular powers. Similarly like it had happened with the Templars, the Pope began to investigate possible misconduct by the Teutonic Knights. In such a turbulent environment, the Order managed to sign the Treaty of Kalisz, in 1343, which ended the war with Poland allowing to the Order to keep Pomerelia.
From 1337 to 1407, the Teutonic Knights reached the peak of their worldwide prestige and hosted plentiful European crusaders and nobility. Their greatest achievement was the conversion of Lithuania into Christianity with the baptism of Grand Duke Jogaila into Roman Catholic in 1386. In 1407, the territorial expansion of the Order included Prussia, Estonia, Pomerelia, Livonia, Neumark, Samogitia, Courland, Gotland, Dago and Osel, all around the Baltic Sea area.
In 1410, the Order was defeated at First Battle of Tannenberg by the Poles and Lithuanians in the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War. Marienburg was besieged; Grand Masters of the Order fell on the battlefield and the Order signed the First Peace of Thorn, in 1411, to retain some of its territories. However, the damage on the reputation had already been done.
In 1454, the Prussian Confederation declared the Thirteen Year’s War against the Order. The Order, defeated once again, signed the Second Peace of Thorn, in 1466, recognizing the Polish crown’s rights over Western Prussia. Subsequently, the Order moved its headquarters to Koenigsberg because Marienburg was handed over to the armed forces.
With the Order completely ousted, Prussia converted to Lutheranism, in 1525, and transferred the rights of the Order’s remaining Prussian territories to the people.
Stripped of all significance, the Order managed to retain its territories in Livonia and the Holy Roman Empire. The Teutonic Knights continued in Catholic Germany until 1810, when the remaining assets were secularized.
The Teutonic Knights continued to exist in Austria. In 1929, they were converted into a Roman Catholic Order under the name Deutscher Orden (German Order). When the Nazis besieged Austria, the Order was censored from 1938 to 1945, although some of its symbols were used for propaganda purposes.
In 1990, the Teutonic Knights were established as a charitable institute incorporating several hospitals and sponsoring excavations and tourism projects in Israel. Currently, the Order provides primarily religious/spiritual guidance in Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, Czech Republic and Slovenia and physical care/accommodation in German-speaking communities outside Germany. In that sense, the Order has revisited its 12th century roots.
About the Author
I work as a financial and investment advisor but my passion is writing, music and photography. Writing mostly about finance, business and music, being an amateur photographer and a professional dj, I am inspired from life.
Being a strong advocate of simplicity in life, I love my family, my partner and all the people that have stood by me with or without knowing. And I hope that someday, human nature will cease to be greedy and demanding realizing that the more we have the more we want and the more we satisfy our needs the more needs we create. And this is so needless after all.
