1226-1309 1409-1525






to the left :
The Coat of Arms
of the Teutonic Order
source : Teutonic Order Homepage



The Teutonic Order, 1309-1409



Over the years the order conquered Prussia. In 1309, the Order, asked to intermediate in a dispute over the rule of Pommerellen, occupied and annexed the territory, including the port city of DANZIG, which, now dominated by a German city council, was to control Poland's wheat exports, a major commodity. Under King Kasimir the Great Poland finally emerged as a united state able to fend off the Order's expansion. The Polish-Lithuanian Dynastic Union of 1386 took the Teutonic Order by surprise, as it meant the baptism of the hitherto pagan Lithuanians. This deprived the order of it's raison d'etre. To make matters worse, both the pope and the Emperor chose the side of the Poles and Lithuanians.
The Order still was the dominant military power in the eastern Baltic. A war over which dynasty should rule in Sweden had led to the rise of piracy, the island of GOTLAND in 1397 having been a major pirate's nest. The Teutonic Order, closely allied with the Hanseatic League, equipped an expedition and invaded Gotland in 1398, ending piracy. This led to diplomatic disputes with Denmark; Danish king Erik of Pommern and the Danish Riksdag claimed Gotland. In 1409, the Order turned Gotland over, for having the expenses of their expedition paid.




Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order, 1225-1308
1303-1311
1311-1324
1324-1330
1331-1335
1335-1341
1342-1345
1345-1351
1351-1382
1382-1390
1391-1393
1393-1407
1407-1410 		Siegfried von Feuchtwangen
Karl von Trier
Werner von Orselen
Luther von Braunschweig
Dietrich von Altenburg
Ludolf Koenig
Heinrich Dusemer
Winrich von Kniprode
Konrad Zoellner von Rothenstein
Konrad von Wallenrod
Konrad von Jungingen
Ulrich von Jungingen

EXTERNAL
FILES 		The Teutonic Order, from Catholic Encyclopedia
Timeline of the Teutonic Order, from ORB
A Brief History, from the Teutonic Order Homepage
The Teutonic Order of Holy Mary in Jerusalem, by Guy Stair Sainty, detailed history
Timeline Northeast Prussia, from euronet
DOCUMENTS


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on November 11th 2004

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