Herman von Salza cast a long shadow over the history and development of the Teutonic Knights. In 1291, and possibly beyond, the Teutonic Order was still very much the institution he had created. Many twentieth-century works discuss his life and these tend to lavish praise upon his character and achievements. wojtecki describes him as ‘epochmachenden’ (epoch-making), Urban as ‘brilliant’, Arnold as ‘one of the famous diplomatists of the thirteenth century’, Militzer as ‘one of the most important politicians of his generation’. In some ways this study has followed a similar pattern, although the affairs of the Holy Land are more conducive to a discussion of the problems he resolved rather than the victories he gained. Despite this, Herman was a man like any other and the flaws in his policies seem to have appeared shortly after his death.

when Herman took control of the Order, it was an institution which had been built upon four vital cornerstones: the support of pilgrims and noblemen from across Germany, the patronage of the German emperors (both Hohenstaufen and welf), the approval of the papacy and the encouragement of the magnates of the Latin East. In time, Herman built upon all four of these areas of patronage to create an order which was at the heart of imperial, papal and Levantine politics and which could offer comprehensive assistance to pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land.