Grand Master of the Teutonic Order


The grand master of the Teutonic Order is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the grand master of other military orders and the superior general in non-military Roman Catholic religious orders. Hochmeister, literally "high master", is only used in reference to the Teutonic Order, as Großmeister is used in German to refer to the leaders of other orders of knighthood.
An early version of the full title in Latin was Magister Hospitalis Sanctae Mariae Alemannorum Hierosolymitani. Since 1216, the full title Magister Hospitalis Domus Sanctae Mariae Teutonicorum Hierosolymitani was used.
The offices of Hochmeister and Deutschmeister were united in 1525. The title of Magister Germaniae had been introduced in 1219 as the head of the bailiwicks in the Holy Roman Empire, from 1381 also those in Italy, raised to the rank of a prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1494, but merged with the office of grand master under Walter von Cronberg in 1525, from which time the head of the order had the title of Hoch- und Deutschmeister. From 1466 to 1525, the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order were vassals and princes of the Polish Crown.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms representing the grand master is shown with a golden cross fleury or cross potent superimposed on the black cross, with the imperial eagle as a central inescutcheon.
The golden cross potent overlaid on the black cross becomes widely used by the 14th century, developing into a golden cross fleury by the 15th century.
A legendary account attributes the introduction of the cross potent to John of Brienne, King of Jerusalem, who granted the master of the order this cross as a variation of the Jerusalem cross, while the fleur-de-lis was supposedly granted on 20 August 1250 by Louis IX of France. While this legendary account cannot be traced back further than the early modern period there is some evidence that the design does indeed date to the mid 13th century. Each quarter divided by black cross could be fitted with either coat of arms of the Teutonic Order or the personal coat of arms of the grand master, the imperial eagle have also added coat of arms on chest between 18th–20th centuries.

Before the Reformation

Compared to other medieval governments, transfer of power within the Teutonic Knights was run efficiently. Upon the death of a grand master, the vice master called a capitulum composed of the leading officers of the order. The general chapter would select a twelve-person electoral college composed of seven knights, four sergeants, and one priest. Once a majority-candidate for grand master was chosen, the minority electors would concede to support unanimity. These elections usually provided a succeeding grand master within three months.
Candidates for the position of grand master had experience as senior administrators for the order and were usually chosen on merit, not lineage. This changed only after the order had entered a steady decline, with the selection of Frederick of Saxony and Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, members of the powerful Wettin and House of Hohenzollern dynasties.
When the Teutonic Knights were originally based in Acre in Outremer, the grand masters spent much of their time at the papal and imperial courts. The grand masters were most powerful after the order's 13th century conquest of Prussia during the Northern Crusades and the creation of the militarized State of the Teutonic Order, which lasted until 1525. After the order's capital moved from Venice to Malbork (Marienburg) in 1309, the grand master's power was at its height. He had ultimate control over Prussia, which gave him command over the Prussian commanders. When the general chapter would meet in Elbląg, he was able to use this influence to ratify administrative measures he proposed. The grand master also served as the castellan of Marienburg and was aided by the order's treasurer. He was also a member of the Hanseatic League, allowing him to receive some of the league's custom dues.
Excavations in the church of Kwidzyn (Marienwerder) performed in 2007 yielded the skeletal remains of three Grand Masters of the late medieval period, Werner von Orseln, Ludolf König von Wattzau and Heinrich von Plauen. The church had been known as the burial place of the bishops of Pomesania, but the discovery of the grand masters' burials was unexpected. The bodies had been buried in gold-painted wooden coffins draped in silk robes.
Since the 1466 Second Peace of Toruń, the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order were vassals of the Kingdom of Poland, and every Grand Master of the Teutonic Order was obliged to swear an oath of allegiance to the reigning Polish king within six months of taking office. The Grand Masters were also princes and counselors of the Polish kings and the Kingdom of Poland. The State of the Teutonic Order was a part of Poland as a fief.

Leaders of the early Brotherhood, 1190–1198

The Teutonic Order as a hospice brotherhood in Outremer:
NameReignBornDeathNotes
Sibrand119011571191
Konrad1190–1192
Gerhard1192
Heinrich1193/1194Prior
Ulrich1195–1196
Heinrich1196preceptor

Grand Masters of the Order, 1198–1525

The Teutonic Order as a spiritual military order had a total of 37 grand masters between 1198 and 1525.
Several armorials of the 15th and early 16th century depict the coat of arms of the grand masters. These include the Chronica by Ulrich Richenthal, an armorial of St. Gallen kept in Nuremberg, an armorial of southwest Germany kept in Leipzig and the Miltenberg armorial. Conspicuously absent from these lists are three grand masters, Gerhards von Malberg and his successors Heinrich von Hohenlohe and Gunther von Wüllersleben, so that pre-modern historiographical tradition has a list of 34 grand masters for the time before 1525.
NameReignBornDeathNotes
11Heinrich Walpot von Bassenheim1198–sometime before 120824 Sep 1200
22Otto von KerpenDocumented for 12081208
33Heinrich von Tunna1208–12091209
44Hermann von Salza1209–1239 116520 March 1239As a friend and councillor of emperor Frederick II, Hermann achieved the recognition of the order as of equal status with the older military orders of the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar by Pope Honorius III. In 1237, he also oversaw the incorporation of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword into the Teutonic order.
55Konrad von Thüringen1239–1240 120624 July 1240
-6Gerhard von Malberg1240–1244 1200After 1245
-7Heinrich von Hohenlohe1244–1249 120015 July 1249
-8Gunther von Wüllersleben1249–12523 or 4 May 1252
69Poppo von Osterna1252–12566 Nov 1266 or 1267The pretender Wilhelm von Urenbach.
710Anno von Sangershausen1256–12738 July 1273
811Hartmann von Heldrungen1273–128219 Aug 1282
912Burchard von Schwanden1282 or 1283–12901310Burchard von Schwanden's first year in office is given as 1282 on the Teutonic Order's German site and 1283 on the Austrian site.
1013Konrad von Feuchtwangen1290–1297Before 12304 July 1296After the Acre (1291)|fall of Acre], Konrad moved the Order's headquarters to Venice.
1114Gottfried von Hohenlohe1297–1303126519 Oct 1310
1215Siegfried von Feuchtwangen1303–13111311Of the same family as his predecessor Konrad von Feuchtwangen. Siegfried moved the order's headquarters to Prussia in 1309.
1316Karl von Trier1311–1324126511 Feb 1324
1417Werner von Orseln1324–1330 128018 Nov 1330
1518Luther von Braunschweig1331–1335 127518 April 1335Also spelled Lothar
1619Dietrich von Altenburg1335–1341Oct 1341
1720Ludolf König von Wattzau1342–1345Between 1280 and 12901348 or later
1821Heinrich Dusemer1345–1351 12801353
1922Winrich von Kniprode1351–138213101382
2023Konrad Zöllner von Rotenstein1382–1390 132520 Aug 1390
2124Konrad von Wallenrode1391–1393 1330s23 July 1393
2225Konrad von Jungingen1393–1407 135530 March 1407
2326Ulrich von Jungingen1407–141015 July 1410
2427Heinrich von Plauen1410–14131360
2528Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg1414–1422 13701429
2629Paul von Rusdorf1422–1441 13851441
2730Konrad von Erlichshausen1441–14491390 or 13951449
2831Ludwig von Erlichshausen1449 or 1450–1467 14104 April 1467Ludwig von Erlichshausen's first year in office is given as 1449 on the Teutonic Order's German site and 1450 on the Austrian site.
2932Heinrich Reuß von Plauen1467–1470 14002 Jan 1470
3033Heinrich Reffle von Richtenberg1470–147714151477
3134Martin Truchseß von Wetzhausen1477–148914353 Jan 1489
3235Johann von Tiefen1489–149725 Aug 1497
3336Frederick, Duke of Saxony1497–151026 Oct 147314 Dec 1510
3437Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach1510–152517 May 149020 March 1568

After the Reformation

The last Hochmeister, Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, converted to Lutheranism and, with the consent of his overlord and uncle, King Sigismund I of Poland, turned the State of the Teutonic Order into the secular Duchy of Prussia per the Treaty of Kraków, which was sealed by the Prussian Homage in Kraków in 1525. The commanderies in the autonomous Livonian Terra Mariana likewise were lost by 1561, as that region also became Protestant. However, the Order retained its bailiwicks in the Holy Roman Empire, which had been administered by the Deutschmeister since 1219.
As the Order was now limited to its possessions in the German kingdom, incumbent Deutschmeister Walter von Cronberg was also appointed Hochmeister by Emperor Charles V in 1527. The administrative seat was moved to Mergentheim Castle in Franconia. The Hoch- und Deutschmeister was ranked as one of the ecclesiastical Princes of the Holy Roman Empire until 1806; when Mergentheim fell to the newly established Kingdom of Württemberg, their residence was relocated to the Deutschordenshaus in Vienna. The dual title lasted until in 1923, when the last secular Grand Master, Archduke Eugen of Austria, resigned from office.
A Franconian of the Imperial Army was formed under Count Palatine Francis Louis of Neuburg in 1696; organized as 4th Infantry Regiment in 1769 and deployed at Vienna, it was known as the Lower Austrian Hoch- und Deutschmeister regiment from 1814. Chiefly known for its popular military band, the regiment's tradition was adopted by the Wehrmacht 44th Infantry Division in 1938 and today is maintained by the of the Austrian Armed Forces.

Hoch- und Deutschmeister, 1527–1929

1929–present

Time of the Teutonic Order as a clerical Roman Catholic religious order
NameReignBornDeathNotes
Norbert Klein1929–193325 Oct 186610 Mar 1933Bishop of Brno from 1916 until 1926
Paul Heider1933–1936
Robert Schälzky1936–1948
Marian Tumler1948–1970
Ildefons Pauler1970–1988
Arnold Wieland1988–2000
Bruno Platter2000–201821 March 1944
Frank Bayard2018–present11 Oct 1971