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Teutonic Order State
The State of the Teutonic Order (german: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, ; la, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; lt, Vokiečių ordino valstybė; pl, Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called () or (), was a medieval Crusader state, located in Central Europe along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. It was formed by the knights of the Teutonic Order during the 13th century Northern Crusades in the region of Prussia. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword merged in 1237 with the Teutonic Order of Prussia and became known as its branch, the Livonian Order, while their state (''Terra Mariana'') became a part of the Teutonic Order State. At its greatest territorial extent, in the early 15th century, it encompassed Chełmno Land, Courland, Gotland, Livonia, Neumark, Pomerelia (Gdańsk Pomerania), Prussia and Samogitia, i.e. territories nowadays located in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Following the battles of Grunwald in 1410 and Wilkomierz in 1435 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal allegiance, services and/or payments. The fees were often lands, land revenue or revenue, revenue-producing real property like a watermill, held in feudal land tenure: these are typically known as fiefs or fiefdoms. However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including governmental office, rights of exploitation such as hunting, fishing or felling trees, monopolies in trade, money rents and tax farms. There never did exist one feudal system, nor did there exist one type of fief. Over the ages, depending on the region, there was a broad variety of customs using the same basic legal principles in many variations. Terminology In ancient Rome, a "benefice" (from the Latin noun , meaning "benefit") was a gif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latin Language
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the Roman Republic it became the dominant language in the Italy (geographical region), Italian region and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire. Even after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, fall of Western Rome, Latin remained the common language of international communication, science, scholarship and academia in Europe until well into the 18th century, when other regional vernaculars (including its own descendants, the Romance languages) supplanted it in common academic and political usage, and it eventually became a dead language in the modern linguistic definition. Latin is a fusional language, highly inflected language, with three distinct grammatical gender, genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), six or seven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landmeister In Livland
Landmeister in Livland was a high office in the Teutonic Order. The Landmeister administered the Livonia of the Teutonic Order. These lands had fallen to the Teutonic Order in 1237 by the incorporation of the former Livonian Brothers of the Sword. The seat of the Landmeister was castle Wenden. The Landmaster's function in Livonia lasted until 1561, when in aftermath of Livonian War the last Landmeister Gotthard Kettler relinquished the northern parts of the Mastery and in the Union of Vilna secularized the part still left to him and, as the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, took fief from the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II Augustus. The non-recognition of this act by Pope, Holy Roman Empire and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order had no factual effect. History The office of the Livonian Landmaster was the successor to the Lord Master of the Order of the Sword Brothers. With the integration of the remains of the Order of the Sword Brothers in 1236 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landmeister Of Prussia
Landmeister of Prussia was a high office in the Teutonic Order. The Landmeister administered the land of Prussia of the Teutonic Order. It was in existence as a separate office from 1230 to 1309, later being held in union with the office of Grand Master until 1525. History The office was created at the same time as the beginning of the conquest and the forcible Christianization of the Prussians in the summer of 1230. The first Landmeister, Hermann von Balk, received the Kulmer Land from the Duke Konrad I of Masovia as the nucleus of the Teutonic Orders in Prussia and started advancing north along the Vistula river. His successors completed the conquest of the country under considerable setbacks and established the protection of the districts and the defeat of rebellious Prussians in fortified houses, the forerunners of the later brick fortresses known as Ordensburgs. The last Landmeister of Prussia residing in Elbing was Heinrich von Plötzke. In 1309, after the death of Pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Masters Of The Teutonic Knights
The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (german: Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens; la, Magister generalis Ordo Teutonicus) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the Grand master (order), grand master of other Military order (religious society), military orders and the superior general in non-military Religious order (Catholic), Roman Catholic religious orders. ''Hochmeister'', literally "high master", is only used in reference to the Teutonic Order, as ''Großmeister'' ("grand master") 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 Alemanni, Alemannorum Hierosolymitani''. Since 1216, the full title ''Magister Hospitalis Domus Sanctae Mariae Teutons, Teutonicorum Hierosolymitani'' ("Master of the Hospital House of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Germans of Jerusalem") was used. The offices of ''Hochmeister'' and ''Deutschmeister'' (''Magister Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terra Mariana
Terra Mariana (Medieval Latin for "Land of Mary") was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia ( nds, Oolt-Livland, liv, Jemā-Līvõmō, et, Vana-Liivimaa, lv, Livonija). It was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade, and its territories were composed of present-day Estonia and Latvia. It was established on 2 February 1207, as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire, but lost this status in 1215 when Pope Innocent III proclaimed it as directly subject to the Holy See. The papal legate William of Modena divided Terra Mariana into feudal principalities: the Duchy of Estonia (dominum directum to the king of Denmark); the Archbishopric of Riga; the Bishopric of Courland; the Bishopric of Dorpat; the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek; and territories under the military administration of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. After the 1236 Battle of Saule, the surviving members of the Brothers merged in 1237 with the Teutonic Order of Prussia and became known as the Li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gotthard Kettler
Gotthard Kettler, Duke of Courland (also ''Godert'', ''Ketteler'', german: Gotthard Kettler, Herzog von Kurland; 2 February 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia. Biography Kettler was born near Anröchte, Kreis Soest, of an old Westphalian noble family and the ninth child of the German knight Gotthard Kettler zu Melrich (mentioned 1527–1556) and his wife Sophie of Nesselrode. Gotthard's older brother Wilhelm Kettler was bishop of Münster from 1553 to 1557. Kettler enlisted in the Livonian order around 1537 and became a knight. In 1554 Gotthard Kettler became Komtur of Dünaburg (Daugavpils), and in 1557 Komtur of Fellin (Viljandi). In 1559, during the Livonian War (1558–1582) he succeeded Wilhelm von Fürstenberg as a Master of the Teutonic Order in Livonia. When the Livonian Confederation came under increasing pressure from Ivan IV of Russia, Kettler converted to Lutheranism and secularised Semigallia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert, Duke Of Prussia
Albert of Prussia (german: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the secularized state that emerged from the former Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights. Albert was the first European ruler to establish Lutheranism, and thus Protestantism, as the official state religion of his lands. He proved instrumental in the political spread of Protestantism in its early stage, ruling the Prussian lands for nearly six decades (1510–1568). A member of the Principality of Ansbach, Brandenburg-Ansbach branch of the House of Hohenzollern, Albert became Grand Master, where his skill in political administration and leadership ultimately succeeded in reversing the decline of the Teutonic Order. But Albert, who was sympathetic to the demands of Martin Luther, rebelled against the Roman Cat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann Von Salza
Hermann von Salza (or Herman of Salza; c. 1165 – 20 March 1239) was the fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1210 to 1239. A skilled diplomat with ties to the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope, Hermann oversaw the expansion of the military order into Prussia. Biography Hermann von Salza was born to a dynasty of ministeriales of the Thuringian landgraves, probably at Dryburg Castle in Langensalza. With Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia he may have already taken part in the 1189/91 Siege of Acre, where the Teutonic Order was founded. He possibly also joined Landgrave Hermann I and the Henneberg count Otto von Botenlauben on the Crusade of 1197 and witnessed the coronation of King Amalric II of Jerusalem. The crusade was aborted upon the death of Emperor Henry VI, whereafter the Teutonic Knights were re-established as a military order under Grand Master Heinrich Walpot von Bassenheim to secure the conquered estates of the Holy Land. The precise time of Herm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark (money)
The mark was a currency or unit of account in many states. It is named for the mark unit of weight. The word ''mark'' comes from a merging of three Teutonic/ Germanic words, Latinised in 9th-century post-classical Latin as ', ', ' or '. It was a measure of weight mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout Europe and often equivalent to . Considerable variations, however, occurred throughout the Middle Ages. As of 2022, the only circulating currency named "mark" is the Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark. List of currencies named "mark" or similar "Mark" can refer * to one of the following historical German currencies: ** Since the 11th century: the , used in the Electorate of Cologne; ** 1319: the , minted and used by the North German Hanseatic city of Stralsund and various towns in Pomerania; ** 1502: the , a uniform coinage for the ''Wends'' () Hanseatic cities of Lübeck, Hamburg, Wismar, Lüneburg, Rostock, Stralsund, Anklam, among others, who joined the W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization.O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 ''sui iuris'' churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies located around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The bishopric of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, a small enclave of the Italian city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish Language
Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In addition to being the official language of Poland, it is also used by the Polish diaspora. There are over 50 million Polish speakers around the world. It ranks as the sixth most-spoken among languages of the European Union. Polish is subdivided into regional dialects and maintains strict T–V distinction pronouns, honorifics, and various forms of formalities when addressing individuals. The traditional 32-letter Polish alphabet has nine additions (''ą'', ''ć'', ''ę'', ''ł'', ''ń'', ''ó'', ''ś'', ''ź'', ''ż'') to the letters of the basic 26-letter Latin alphabet, while removing three (x, q, v). Those three letters are at times included in an extended 35-letter alphabet, although they are not used in native words. The traditional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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