The diplomacy of the Teutonic Knights at the curia

Abstract

The Teutonic Knights were a major power in the Baltic from the 13th to the 16th c. They maintained this status despite small numbers, the relative poverty of their lands, and the strength of their combined enemies because they made skillful use of the advantages inherent in their organization. First and foremost, as a crusading order, they had superior discipline and military training, did not suffer the agonies of divided inheritances, family feuds, or waiting for a minor ruler to come of age, and they did not have to play the complicated game of marital politics. Secondly, they were able to centralize their government and tax their subjects in a manner that was the envy of their many crusading guests. And lastly, they had ties to the Holy Roman Empire and the Church that permitted them to call upon the Emperor and the Pope for aid. This latter connection, that of the Teutonic Order to the popes, was of great importance to Baltic history because the crusade could not have been sustained over the centuries without papal approval and assistance; and this assistance was obtained only because the Teutonic Knights had a diplomatic service which was superior to that of all its enemies combined. The investigation of the diplomatic service of the Teutonic Order takes us back to the very origins of modern diplomacy. Historians are practically unanimous in declaring Renaissance Italy the birthplace of the resident ambassador; and it is with the resident ambassador that most of the ideas and customs associated with diplomacy came into being.1 The diplomat representing the Teutonic Order who followed the papal curia was present long before the Italian states sent their first ambassador, and he remained with the court permanently while the representatives of other religious orders came and went. Therefore, the Teutonic Orderacting out of its concern to protect its interests in Baltic politics against complaints from Poland, Denmark, Sweden, the cities and estates under its governance, the Hanseatic League, the Archbishop of Riga, the Bishops