Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens
Coat of arms of a Grand Master
Incumbent Frank Bayard since 22 August 2018
Reports to	Holy See
Seat	Acre (1190–1291) Venice (1291–1309) Marienburg (1309–1466) Königsberg (1466–1525) Mergentheim (1525–1809) Vienna (1809–present)
Term length	Six years
Formation	1198
First holder	Heinrich Walpot von Bassenheim

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Thegrand master of the Teutonic Order (German:Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens;Latin:Magister generalis Ordo Teutonicus) is the supreme head of theTeutonic Order. It is equivalent to thegrand master of othermilitary orders and thesuperior general in non-militaryRoman Catholic religious orders.Hochmeister, literally "high master", is only used in reference to the Teutonic Order, asGroßmeister ("grand master") is used in German to refer to the leaders of other orders of knighthood.

An early version of the full title inLatin wasMagister Hospitalis Sanctae MariaeAlemannorum Hierosolymitani. Since 1216, the full titleMagister Hospitalis Domus Sanctae MariaeTeutonicorum Hierosolymitani ("Master of the Hospital House of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Germans of Jerusalem") was used.

The offices ofHochmeister andDeutschmeister (Magister Germaniae) were united in 1525. The title ofMagister Germaniae had been introduced in 1219 as the head of the bailiwicks in theHoly Roman Empire, from 1381 also those in Italy, raised to the rank of a prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1494, but merged with the office of grand master under Walter von Cronberg in 1525, from which time the head of the order had the title ofHoch- und Deutschmeister.^[1] From 1466 to 1525, the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order were vassals and princes of thePolish Crown.^[2]

The coat of arms representing the grand master (Deutschmeisterwappen) is shown with a goldencross fleury orcross potent superimposed on the black cross, with theimperial eagle as a central inescutcheon.The golden cross potent overlaid on the black cross becomes widely used by the 14th century, developing into a golden cross fleury by the 15th century.A legendary account attributes the introduction of the cross potent toJohn of Brienne, King of Jerusalem, who granted the master of the order this cross as a variation of theJerusalem cross, while thefleur-de-lis was supposedly granted on 20 August 1250 byLouis IX of France. While this legendary account cannot be traced back further than the early modern period (Christoph Hartknoch, 1684) there is some evidence that the design does indeed date to the mid 13th century.^[3] Each quarter divided by black cross could be fitted with either coat of arms of the Teutonic Order or the personal coat of arms of the grand master, the imperial eagle have also added coat of arms on chest between 18th–20th centuries.

Compared to other medieval governments, transfer of power within the Teutonic Knights was run efficiently. Upon the death of a grand master, the vice master called acapitulum composed of the leading officers of the order. The general chapter would select a twelve-person electoral college composed of seven knights, four sergeants, and one priest. Once a majority-candidate for grand master was chosen, the minority electors would concede to support unanimity. These elections usually provided a succeeding grand master within three months.^[5]

Candidates for the position of grand master had experience as senior administrators for the order and were usually chosen on merit, not lineage.^[6] This changed only after the order had entered a steady decline, with the selection ofFrederick of Saxony andAlbert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, members of the powerfulWettin andHouse of Hohenzollern dynasties.

When the Teutonic Knights were originally based inAcre inOutremer, the grand masters spent much of their time at thepapal andimperial courts.^[7] The grand masters were most powerful after the order's 13th century conquest ofPrussia during theNorthern Crusades and the creation of the militarizedState of the Teutonic Order, which lasted until 1525 (from 1466 to 1525 as part of the Kingdom of Poland as afief).^[8] After the order's capital moved fromVenice toMalbork (Marienburg) in 1309, the grand master's power was at its height. He had ultimate control over Prussia, which gave him command over the Prussian commanders. When thegeneral chapter would meet inElbląg (Elbing), he was able to use this influence to ratify administrative measures he proposed.^[6] The grand master also served as thecastellan of Marienburg and was aided by the order'streasurer. He was also a member of theHanseatic League, allowing him to receive some of the league's custom dues.^[9]

Excavations in the church ofKwidzyn (Marienwerder) performed in 2007 yielded the skeletal remains of three Grand Masters of the late medieval period,Werner von Orseln (1324–1330),Ludolf König von Wattzau (1342–1445) andHeinrich von Plauen (1410–1413). The church had been known as the burial place of thebishops of Pomesania, but the discovery of the grand masters' burials was unexpected. The bodies had been buried in gold-painted wooden coffins draped in silk robes.^[10]

Since the 1466Second Peace of Toruń, the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order were vassals of the Kingdom of Poland, and every Grand Master of the Teutonic Order was obliged to swear an oath of allegiance to the reigning Polish king within six months of taking office.^[8] The Grand Masters were also princes and counselors of the Polish kings and the Kingdom of Poland.^[2] The State of the Teutonic Order was a part of Poland as afief.^[8]

The Teutonic Order as ahospice brotherhood inOutremer:

The Teutonic Order as a spiritualmilitary order had a total of 37 grand masters between 1198 and 1525.

Several armorials of the 15th and early 16th century depict the coat of arms of the grand masters. These include theChronica by Ulrich Richenthal,^[12] an armorial of St. Gallen kept in Nuremberg,^[13] an armorial of southwest Germany kept inLeipzig^[14] and the Miltenberg armorial.^[15] Conspicuously absent from these lists are three grand masters, Gerhards von Malberg (1241–1244) and his successors Heinrich von Hohenlohe (1244–1249) andGunther von Wüllersleben (1250–1252), so that pre-modern historiographical tradition has a list of 34 grand masters for the time before 1525 (as opposed to 37 in modern accounts).^[16]

The lastHochmeister, Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, converted toLutheranism and, with the consent of his overlord and uncle, KingSigismund I of Poland, turned the State of the Teutonic Order into the secularDuchy of Prussia per theTreaty of Kraków, which was sealed by thePrussian Homage inKraków in 1525. The commanderies in the autonomous LivonianTerra Mariana likewise were lost by 1561, as that region also became Protestant. However, the Order retained its bailiwicks in the Holy Roman Empire (Germany andItaly), which had been administered by theDeutschmeister since 1219.

As the Order was now limited to its possessions in the German kingdom, incumbentDeutschmeisterWalter von Cronberg was also appointedHochmeister by EmperorCharles V in 1527. The administrative seat was moved toMergentheim Castle inFranconia. TheHoch- und Deutschmeister was ranked as one of the ecclesiasticalPrinces of the Holy Roman Empire until 1806; when Mergentheim fell to the newly establishedKingdom of Württemberg, their residence was relocated to theDeutschordenshaus inVienna. The dual title lasted until in 1923, when the last secular Grand Master,Archduke Eugen of Austria, resigned from office.

A FranconianTeutschmeister regiment [de] of theImperial Army was formed underCount Palatine Francis Louis of Neuburg in 1696; organized as 4th Infantry Regiment in 1769 and deployed at Vienna, it was known as theLower AustrianHoch- und Deutschmeister regiment from 1814. Chiefly known for its popularmilitary band, the regiment's tradition was adopted by the Wehrmacht44th Infantry Division in 1938 and today is maintained by the1st Jäger Battalion [de] of theAustrian Armed Forces.

Time of the Teutonic Order as a clericalRoman Catholic religious order

• Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order
• Grand master (order)
• Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus
• Grand masters and lieutenancies of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
• List of grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller
• List of grand masters of the Knights Templar
• Mergentheim(History), a former residence

• Arnold, Udo (ed.),Die Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens 1190–1994. Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte des Deutschen Ordens 40 = Veröffentlichungen der Internationalen Historischen Kommission zur Erforschung des Deutschen Ordens 6. Marburg, 1998.
• Borchert Friedrich, "Die Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens in Preußen." In:Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung, 6 October 2001.
• Christiansen, Erik (1997).The Northern Crusades. London: Penguin Books. p. 287.ISBN 0-14-026653-4.
• Urban, William,The Teutonic Knights: A Military History. Greenhill Books. London, 2003.ISBN 1-85367-535-0.

• Deutscher-Orden.de."Die Hochmeister" (in German). Archived fromthe original on 2007-02-05. Retrieved2007-03-31.

• Grand masters of the Teutonic Order
• Lists of grand masters

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• CS1 Latin-language sources (la)
• CS1 interwiki-linked names
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• Short description with empty Wikidata description
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• Articles containing Latin-language text
• CS1 German-language sources (de)