Election of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
The supreme magistrate of the Teutonic Order, the Hochmeister or Grand Master, was elected for life by the chapter general of the knight-brothers. The procedure for the election was set out in detail in the Statuten of the Order, and the procedure was one of the most carefully regulated constitutional processes of the medieval Latin Church. The Grand Master was, constitutionally, the creature of the chapter general, and the chapter general could depose a Grand Master who had been duly elected.
The Grand Master held office until death, until resignation, or until deposition. Resignations were rare, but depositions were not unknown, and several Grand Masters of the late medieval period were deposed for failure of conduct in office. The most notable case was Heinrich von Plauen, deposed in 1413 for his conduct during the aftermath of Grunwald.
The Chapter General
The election was the principal constitutional act of the chapter general. The chapter general was the supreme constitutional body of the Order: a deliberative assembly of the senior knight-brothers, meeting in the chapel of the Order’s headquarters at the Marienburg, and empowered to elect the Grand Master, to admit new knight-brothers, to dispose of the Order’s major fiefs, to declare war, to make peace, and to pass binding statutes. The chapter general met, in theory, once a year; in practice it met less often, and the Grand Master was sometimes elected at a less formal gathering.
The chapter general that elected the Grand Master was attended by the outgoing Grand Master (in the rare case of a re-election), the five Grossgebietiger, the regional Komture, and the knight-brothers resident at the headquarters. The customary place for the election was the chapel of the Marienburg. The chapter general had to be properly convoked by the Grand Master, or, in the case of a vacancy, by the Grand Commander.
The Constitutional Requirements
The candidate for the office of Grand Master was required to satisfy a number of constitutional conditions. The candidate was required to be a knight-brother of the Order in good standing, professed for a minimum of ten years, of legitimate birth, of unimpeachable moral character, of sound physical and mental health, and at least thirty-five years of age. The candidate was not, by the strict letter of the constitutions, required to be of any particular family, but in practice the Grand Masters were drawn from the high German aristocracy and from the ministerial classes of the Empire.
The constitutions did not, exclude the priestly brothers from the office of Grand Master, but the customary practice, from the early thirteenth century, restricted the office to the knight-brothers. The last priestly brother to hold the office was Heinrich von Hohenlohe, who served from 1240 to 1243, and the office was thereafter reserved, in practice, to the knight-brothers. The exclusion of the priestly brothers from the supreme magistracy was one of the most important constitutional decisions of the Order’s early history.
The Voting Procedure
The voting procedure was set out in detail in the Statuten. After the nomination of the candidates, the chapter general proceeded to a formal vote. The vote was taken by a show of hands, and the candidate who received a majority of the votes of the brethren present was declared elected. In the case of a tie, the Grand Commander, or the most senior of the five Grossgebietiger in the case of a vacancy, had a casting vote.
The voting procedure was supplemented, in some cases, by a process of compromissum — a procedure in which the chapter general appointed a small committee of senior brethren to make the election, on behalf of the chapter. The procedure of compromissum was particularly useful in the case of a contested election, and the procedure was used, for example, in the election of 1309, when the chapter general appointed a committee of seven senior brethren to choose between the principal candidates.
The Installation Ceremony
The Grand Master-elect was installed in his office in the chapel of the Order’s headquarters, in a solemn ceremony that involved the reading of the Statuten, the swearing of the customary oath, and the symbolic investiture with the Order’s regalia. The ceremony began with the formal presentation of the Grand Master-elect to the chapter general by the Grand Commander, who then made a formal profession of faith, swore the customary oath, and was conducted to the principal seat of the chapel. There he was formally invested with the seal of the Order, the chain of office, the ceremonial sword, the mitre, and the gloves.
The installation ceremony was followed by a solemn Mass, celebrated by the senior priestly brother of the chapter general, at which the Grand Master received the customary blessing. The Mass was followed by a formal meal in the refectory, at which the Grand Master presided. The whole ceremony was an important public event, and was attended, in many cases, by representatives of the neighbouring princes, by ambassadors of the great powers, and by delegations from the towns of the Prussian state.
The Constitutional Significance of the Election
The election of the Grand Master was, in the constitutional theory of the Order, the principal instrument by which the chapter general controlled the supreme magistracy. The Grand Master was, constitutionally, no more than the presiding officer of the chapter general, and the Grand Master could not, in theory, act without the consent of the chapter general. The election was, in this sense, a substantial limitation on the personal authority of the Grand Master, and the limitation was reinforced by the constitutional procedure for deposition.
The constitutional significance of the election was, however, complicated by the practical realities of the Order’s government. The Grand Master was, in practice, the principal political figure of the Order, and the Grand Master exercised substantial personal authority in the day-to-day administration. The constitutional tension between the Grand Master and the chapter general was a constant feature of the Order’s political life, and the tension was a central element of the constitutional crises of the late medieval period. The election was, in the end, the principal means by which the Order ensured the constitutional continuity of the supreme magistracy.
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 formal statutes, see the article on the Statuten of the Order. For the five principal officers, see the article on the five Grossgebietiger. For the early grand masters, see the biography of Hermann von Salza. For the broader constitutional framework, see the pillar on the history of the Order.