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10 - Control, Co-ordination and Supply

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2012

Nicholas Morton
Affiliation:
Swansea University
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Summary

The diplomatic and military roles of the Teutonic Knights in the Baltic and the Holy Land required an international administrative support network in western Christendom. In their early years, the brethren received gifts of money and property from both pilgrims and secular and ecclesiastical patrons from western Christendom. Over time, as the lands granted to the Order multiplied, they began to be grouped by area into administrative units or commanderies. These were then gathered into provincial or national districts under the authority of a local commander or Landkomtur, in much the same way as the Templars and Hospitallers. The commanders of the most important territories (Germany, Prussia and Livonia) were then raised above the other regional officers with a change in their title from Landkomtur to Landmeister (although this distinction was not made in the statutes). Each of the territories was exploited to produce resources from agriculture, taxation, donations or raw materials which could then be channelled to support the Order's medical and military commitments. Subsequent growth in these provinces was achieved with further benefactions and also through the purchase or exchange of property. This chapter discusses how the Teutonic Knights' administrative structure developed to facilitate the collection and movement of resources to the Latin East and how these goods were, in turn, utilised upon arrival. It will also show how the institution was administered and governed in the Latin East and how well the brethren adapted their statutes to reflect their expanding commitments in Prussia and Livonia.

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Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2009

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