Between radicalism and tolerance: Characterising the rule of a militarised Christian theocracy in the medieval Baltic

Summary

The Teutonic Order, the last of the major military orders founded in the Holy Land in the twelfth century, developed a strong, centralised hierarchy once it redirected its efforts to crusading in the Baltic. After the initial period of crusading was over, its fortified monasteries were built with consistent regularity, and the Order adopted a top-down, corporate approach to controlling the conquered territories, under the leadership of the Grand Master. However, despite this centralisation, degrees of autonomy within its ranks are evident across its lands, which can be linked to the variable ecological and cultural contexts encountered by its commanders and lesser officials. The Order was able to overcome ‘discrepancies’ between its own castles though its supra-national network, which connected the smallest frontier outpost with regional convents and the central headquarters at Marienburg. In this respect as a colonising corporation it adapted extremely well to the environment of the eastern Baltic. However, its relationships with the indigenous population and Christian colonists were more adhoc, and resulted in the persistence of pre-Christian religion alongside the introduced Christian infrastructure. This paper considers the evidence for this tension between regulation and toleration within a society dominated by a militarised Christian theocracy.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• North and South: New Directions in Medieval European Archaeology

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