Teutonic Order

Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem
Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem
	The coat of arms in the style of the 14th century
Active	c. 1190 – present
Allegiance	Holy See; (c. 1190 – present); Austria; (1945–present); Germany; (1949–present); Czech Republic; (1993–present) Historical Holy Roman Empire (1190–1806) ; Kingdom of Jerusalem (1190–1291) ; Kingdom of Sicily (1191–1484) ; Kingdom of Cyprus (1197–1350) ; Kingdom of Bohemia (1198–1918) ; Republic of Venice (1209–1500) ; Kingdom of Hungary (1211–1225; 1429–1432; 1702–1731) ; State of the Teutonic Order (1226–1525) ; Terra Mariana & Livonian Confederation (1237–1561) ; Kingdom of Poland (1466–1525) ; Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1559–1561) ; Austrian Empire & Austria-Hungary (1804–1918) ; German Empire (1871-1918) ; Kingdom of Bavaria (1805–1809) ; Kingdom of Württemberg (1805–1809) ; Confederation of the Rhine (1806–1809) ; Grand Duchy of Baden (1806–1809) ; Grand Duchy of Hesse (1806–1809) ; Republic of German Austria & First Austrian Republic (1918–1934) ; First & Second Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1939) ; Federal State of Austria (1934–1938) ;
Type	Catholic religious order; (1192–1810 as military order)
Headquarters	Acre (1190–1291); Venice (1291–1309); Marienburg (1309–1466); Königsberg (1466–1525); Mergentheim (1525–1809); Vienna (1809–present);
Nickname(s)	Teutonic Knights, German Order
Patron	Virgin Mary; Saint Elizabeth of Hungary; Saint George;
Attire	White mantle with a black cross
Commanders
First Grand Master	Heinrich Walpot von Bassenheim
Current Grand Master	Frank Bayard

The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society c. 1190 in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. Its members have commonly been known as the Teutonic Knights, having historically served as a crusading military order for supporting Catholic rule in the Holy Land and the Northern Crusades during the Middle Ages, as well as providing military protection for Catholics in Eastern Europe.

Purely religious since 1810, the Teutonic Order still confers limited honorary knighthoods.^[2] The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order, a Protestant chivalric order, is descended from the same medieval military order and also continues to award knighthoods and perform charitable work.^[3]

^ "Deutscher Orden: Brüder und Schwestern vom Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem". www.deutscher-orden.at.
^ Redazione. "La Santa Sede e gli Ordini Cavallereschi: doverosi chiarimenti (Seconda parte)".
^ Riley-Smith, Jonathan Simon Christopher (1999). The Oxford History of the Crusades. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192853646. Teutonic knights are still to be found only in another interesting survival, Ridderlijke Duitse Orde Balije van Utrecht (The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order). Like the Hospitaller Bailiwick of Brandenburg, this commandery turned itself into a noble Protestant confraternity at the time of the Reformation.

[1] "Deutscher Orden: Brüder und Schwestern vom Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem". www.deutscher-orden.at.

[2] Redazione. "La Santa Sede e gli Ordini Cavallereschi: doverosi chiarimenti (Seconda parte)".

[Riley-Smith1999-3] Riley-Smith, Jonathan Simon Christopher (1999). The Oxford History of the Crusades. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192853646. Teutonic knights are still to be found only in another interesting survival, Ridderlijke Duitse Orde Balije van Utrecht (The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order). Like the Hospitaller Bailiwick of Brandenburg, this commandery turned itself into a noble Protestant confraternity at the time of the Reformation.

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