The Five Grossgebietiger of the Teutonic Order
The five Grossgebietiger — the “great officers of the realm” — were the five senior officials of the Teutonic Order, ranking immediately below the Hochmeister or Grand Master in the Order’s constitutional hierarchy. The five officers were the Grand Commander, the Grand Marshal, the Grand Hospitaller, the Grand Trapier, and the Grand Chancellor. Each held a defined territorial command, a defined functional portfolio, and a defined seat at the chapter general, and the five officers together formed the executive council that conducted the day-to-day business of the Order between the formal sessions of the chapter general.
The five offices were an important innovation of the Teutonic Order, and the equivalent officers of the Hospitallers and the Templars were neither as numerous nor as clearly defined. The Teutonic Grand Hospitaller, was a more substantial figure than his counterparts in the other two great military orders. The offices are described in the Statuten of the Order, and the five officers were, in the full form of the constitution, the heads of the five territorial divisions of the Prussian state of the Order.
The Grand Commander
The Grand Commander (Grosskomtur) was the senior of the five Grossgebietiger. The Grand Commander was the lieutenant of the Grand Master, the deputy presiding officer of the chapter general, the head of the central commandery of Christburg, and the commander of the Order’s forces in the Grand Master’s absence. The Grand Commander was, in the constitutional theory of the Order, the principal minister of the Grand Master, and exercised substantial authority in the day-to-day administration of the Order’s affairs.
The Grand Commander held the central commandery of Christburg, the administrative centre of the Order’s central government. The Grand Commander was the second most powerful figure in the Order, and several Grand Masters of the late medieval period had previously served as Grand Commander.
The Grand Marshal
The Grand Marshal (Grossmarschall) was the second of the five Grossgebietiger. The Grand Marshal was the commander of the eastern Prussian commandery of Königsberg, the principal base for the Order’s Lithuanian campaigns, and the marshal of the Order’s field army. The Grand Marshal was, in the constitutional theory of the Order, the principal military officer of the Order, and exercised substantial authority in the planning and conduct of the Order’s military operations.
The Grand Marshal’s commandery included the castle of Königsberg, the town of Königsberg, the Samland peninsula, the territory of the Natangian and Sambian tribes, and a substantial part of the eastern frontier. The Grand Marshal led the Order’s forces in the principal campaigns against the Lithuanians and the Poles, and was assisted by marshals of the household, the stables, the armoury, and the field forces.
The Grand Hospitaller
The Grand Hospitaller (Grossspittler) was the third of the five Grossgebietiger. The Grand Hospitaller was the head of the commandery of Elbing, and was responsible for the Order’s hospitals, its charitable foundations, and the estates that financed them. The Grand Hospitaller was, in the constitutional theory of the Order, the principal charitable officer of the Order.
The Grand Hospitaller’s commandery included the castle of Elbing, the town of Elbing, the surrounding district, and a substantial number of dependent granges. The Grand Hospitaller was responsible for the administration of the Order’s hospitals in the Prussian state, in the Livonian state, and in the German bailiwicks, and for the administration of the Order’s hospices, almshouses, and other charitable institutions.
The Grand Trapier
The Grand Trapier (Gross-trappier) was the fourth of the five Grossgebietiger. The Grand Trapier was the head of the wardrobe (Traperia) of the Order, and was responsible for the Order’s heraldic and ceremonial regalia, the manufacture of the brethren’s habits, and the storage of arms and armour. The Grand Trapier was, in the constitutional theory of the Order, the principal logistic officer of the Order.
The Grand Trapier held no fixed territorial command, but had a substantial office in the Marienburg, the headquarters of the Order, and a substantial staff in the principal commanderies. The Trapier’s responsibilities included the manufacture of the brethren’s habits and vestments, the storage of the arms and armour, the storage of the Order’s ceremonial regalia, and the custody of the Order’s banner and seal. The Trapier’s office was, the forerunner of the modern quartermaster general’s department.
The Grand Chancellor
The Grand Chancellor (Grosskanzler) was the fifth of the five Grossgebietiger. The Grand Chancellor was the head of the chancery of the Order, and was responsible for the Order’s diplomatic correspondence, the custody of the Order’s archives, the secretariat of the chapter general, and the administration of the Order’s legal affairs. The Grand Chancellor was, in the constitutional theory of the Order, the principal legal and diplomatic officer of the Order.
The Grand Chancellor was, in the customary practice of the Order, a priestly brother, not a knight-brother. The Grand Chancellor was the only one of the five Grossgebietiger who was, in the customary practice, drawn from the priestly estate, and the office , was the principal office held by the priestly estate in the senior administration of the Order. The Grand Chancellor was assisted by a substantial staff of notaries, scribes, and archivists.
The Constitutional Position of the Five Officers
The five Grossgebietiger were appointed by the Grand Master, on the nomination of the chapter general, and they held office at the Grand Master’s pleasure. A Grossgebietiger could be transferred from one office to another by the Grand Master, and a Grossgebietiger could be dismissed by the Grand Master. The five officers were, constitutionally, no more than the ministers of the Grand Master, and could not, in theory, act without the consent of the Grand Master.
In practice the five officers were a central element of the constitutional balance of the Order. The five officers were the principal executive officers of the Order, and conducted the day-to-day business of the Order between the formal sessions of the chapter general. The five officers were also a substantial check on the personal authority of the Grand Master, and could, in many cases, refuse to support a Grand Master whose conduct they disapproved of. The constitutional position of the five officers was, in this sense, a central element of the Order’s constitutional monarchy.
Sources
- Boockmann, Hartmut. Der Deutsche Orden: Zwölf Kapitel aus seiner Geschichte. Munich: Beck, 1981.
- Favreau-Lilie, Marie-Luise. Die Ritterbrüder im livländischen Zweig des Deutschen Ordens. Cologne: Böhlau, 2003.
- Strehlke, Ernst, ed. Tabulae ordinis Theutonici. Berlin: Weidmann, 1869.
Related Reading
For the constitutional context, see the parent pillar on the structure and daily life of the Order and the article on the hierarchy of the Order. For the supreme magistrate, see the article on the election of the Grand Master. For the formal statutes, see the article on the Statuten of the Order. For the regional commands, see the article on convent castles. For the Order’s territorial framework, see the pillar on the Teutonic state in Prussia.