"Heinrich of Latvia, narrating in the II chapter of his chronicle (see "Approx. Collection," volume I, p. 90) as Bishop Albert of Livonia in the fourth year of his bishopric, that is, in the spring of 1202, left several pilgrims and with left for Germany with others (§ 1), just as his brother Engelbert then arrived in Riga from the ecclesiastical Neumünster (§ 2) and soon after was elected (§ 3) probst of the cathedral chapter, transferred a year ago from Ikskul to Riga (§ 4); narrating how Albert built a Cistercian monastery in Dinaminda and ordained his brother Theodoric of Toreids as an abbot (§ 5) - continues: § 6. At this time, the named brother Theodoric, foreseeing the treachery of the Livs and the ability to resist the mass of pagans, and also in order to increase the number of believers and preserve the church among the pagans, he established the knightly order of the brothers of the army of Christ, to whom Pope Nikentius III gave the charter of the tamiliers (templars).

No matter how accurate the story of the modern chronicler seems at first glance, but a closer assessment of it raises doubts, especially when compared with the evidence of other sources, both at the expense of the founder of the order, and about the time of foundation. We must not lose sight of the fact that Henry of Latvia narrates here about events that took place before his personal presence and knowledge of events, he therefore draws his information from stories or from documents, probably from both sources, therefore it is impossible not to compare his testimony with other evidence. The very story of Heinrich the Latvian gives rise to doubts about the reliability of the sequence of events he cited. Not only in § 4 of the VIth chapter, Henry jumps back to the previous year, but also in § 5 of his Bishop Albert, who left Livonia (§ 1) and has not yet returned home (VII, 1), founds the Dynamo monastery; even more so: Heinrich repeats the news of the founding of this monastery and the consecration of Theodoric as its abbot three years later, not paying attention to his previous message and not explaining, not even mentioning it. If from the words "at this time" with which the chronicler connects (§§ 5 and 6) one assumes that the foundation of the order followed simultaneously with the foundation of the monastery, then nothing is gained for an exact indication of the year of foundation. Against the simultaneity of the founding of the monastery and the establishment of the order is the fact that the monastery was founded by the bishop, and the order opposite by brother Theodoric in the absence of the bishop.

It seems possible to us to resolve these contradictions by assuming that in front of the chronicler, when he drew §§ 3, 5 and 6 of the VIth chapter, there was a bull of Inokentius III, in which the three above-named institutions of the cathedral chapter, the Dynamond monastery and the order are mentioned almost in the same order and in such a way that it is possible to judge their simultaneity. Then the narrative of Georikh would be only a paraphrase of this bull. But even this bull does not give any reliable information for determining the time of the founding of the order, because it lacks an indication of the year of the high priesthood of the pope. But as it is marked: Rome apud S. Petrum, IV idus Octobris, it is very likely that this bull belongs to 1204, perhaps even to 1202, and since the establishment of the order, as we have already seen, took place during the absence of Albert from Livonia, then it followed in the time interval not earlier than the spring of 1202 to the spring of 1203 and not later than the middle of 1204.

In the annals of Heinrich of Latvia, according to the manuscript of Zamoysky, brother Theodoric of Toreidsky is indicated as the founder of the order. In the later texts of the chronicle, the establishment of the order is attributed to Bishop Albert with the abbot, brother Theodoric (Dietrich), and also in the bull of Innocent III mentioned above, Albert is called the founder of the order. The Livonian rhymed chronicle, on the other hand, tells that the pope gave Bishop Albert the commission to establish “a spiritual life (ein geistliches Leben zu stiften, verses 595-600). Hermann Wartberg attributes the establishment of the order even directly to Pope Innocent III, with which the so-called later Hochmeister chronicle also agrees. However, these last testimonies, except for their later origin, are not very plausible for the reason that the case in question is judged biased and, as it turns out below, completely biased. Therefore, they cannot shake the testimony of Heinrich of Latvia, confirmed by another contemporary Alberich, who, however, is mistaken in calling Theodoric (Dietrich) a bishop, which he was much later.

If we then accept for certain that the order was founded by brother Theodoric (Dietrich), then it must seem extremely strange that such an important step as the foundation of a knightly order was not made by Albert himself, but by a monk who at that time occupied only a subordinate position. The case becomes, however, plausible if we assume that the foundation was made during the absence of Albert from Livonia, by Theoderic, as his deputy. But even with this assumption, it is hardly possible that Theodoric acted on his own initiative. With greater plausibility, it can be assumed that the establishment of the order was conceived earlier either by Albert alone, or together with Theodoric, and that the latter, in the absence of Albert, only set about implementing this plan, brought to light the projected order, or, as our chronicler puts it, put (instituit) of some brothers of the knightly order of Christ, that is, he established the order in deed.

II. The beginning of the order. His appointment. Fundamentals of its management.

“Without any doubt, the order at its beginning was insignificant and the number of its members is not large. We also do not find that persons from especially noble families entered the order at first. Not earlier than as soon as in 1205 we see him taking part in the military campaign against the pagan natives, and thus proceeding to fulfill their mission, the latter consisting in the protection and defense of the newly established Christian churches in Livonia and in the subjugation and conversion of its enemies to Christianity.

Therefore, in the entire structure of the order we find two elements: military and religious. In relation to the latter, the charter of the temple order (templars) was prescribed by the pope for leadership; this charter also served as the basis for secular and military administration, insofar as it was applicable to local conditions. On the basis of this charter, the brothers of the order were divided into three categories: brothers-knights, brothers-priests and brothers-employees. They were headed by the order master, to whom several lower chiefs and officials were subordinate. The brother knights were assigned a special attire, with special marks to distinguish them from the templars; they fought under their own banner. The brothers of the other two categories were assigned to each a special garment. The order was dependent on the bishops in whose dioceses its possessions lay. When in 1207 the number of order brothers increased significantly, they claimed a part of the conquered land, which was granted to Bishop Albert by the German emperor and the empire as ruler of the land. The bishop gave them a third of the land, however, in the spirit of that time, only in the form of fief. With the establishment of new bishoprics, the order entered into a similar agreement with their prelates, and thus acquired, little by little, greater possessions of land, which, towards the end of its existence, it increased by some conquests. The more the power of the order increased in this way, the stronger became its desire to free itself from subordination to the bishops. He begged for and repeatedly received approval from the emperor for possession of lands, both ceded by the bishop and independently conquered, but still did not achieve the desired goal, because when he merged with the Teutonic (German) order from 1237, the pope determined with perfect accuracy the continuation of the former dependence orders from the Livonian bishops."

III. Names of the order and its members.

"The very first and without a doubt the most correct name of the members of the order, found by Henry of Latvia and also used in modern papal bulls and imperial letters, was: "Fratres militiae Christi" or abbreviated "Fratres militiae", often with the addition "in Livonia" or " de Livonia". This name was translated as "brothers of chivalry (or rather knightly service) of Christ". Less often, but also from a long time ago, the name "Milites Christi" and equivalent to it "Milites Dei" is found in in the annals of Alberich and Arnold Lubecksky, as the German "Gottes Ritter" is found in the Livonian rhymed chrovik, and the Russian "God's nobleman" is found in the contract between the Smolensk Mstislav with Visby and Riga of 1229. The name of the swordsmen "Swert brüdere" is not found in any modern historical document, but only in a rhymed chronicle and in the chronicles of the German order; this name, taken from the sword, which was in the coat of arms of the order and on raincoats of order brothers, became the most common. Although in some of the later originals of the chronicle of Henry of Latvia the expression “Fratres gladiferi” is found in one place, this expression is obviously a later addition. Only in the middle of the 16th century does the name appear: "Fratres ensiferi". In some bulls of Pope Gregory IX, the brothers of the order are called "Fratres militia etempli de Livonia" or "Fratres, templariorum ordinem in Livonia profitentes". All these names, however, refer only to the first category of order brothers, to the brothers of the knights.

To designate all brothers of the order, the order in its entirety as a corporation, a special expression is extremely rare in the sources. In one charter of Emperor Otto IV we find the name "Conventus Christi militum"; in the charter of Emperor Frederick II - "Magister domus militiae Christi"; in the Prussian chronicle of Peter Duzburgsky - "Magister de ordine militum Christi". However, the word "ordo" calls the corporation immediately after its establishment, not only Pope Innocent III, but the order itself gives itself the title "ordo & collegium fratrum militiae Christi". As a rule, everywhere in the sources where the whole order is concerned, one finds “Fratres militiae Christi” or “Magister & fratres militiae (Christi)”, or “Magister militiae & fratres eius”. One could look at the word "Militia" as a definition of a corporation, if, as already noted, it would not be more accurate to translate it as "knightly service." Therefore, it cannot be justified that modern historians simply use the expression "Knighthood" to define the order as a corporation. It actually has a broader meaning, and already at that time in Livonia there were other knights and other chivalry that did not belong to the order. But also the name "Order knighthood", strictly speaking, cannot refer to the entire order, because not all brothers of the order were knights of the order; but since the knights of the order were the most important and powerful class, the part was taken for the whole, and in their name they gave the name of the whole corporation.

With the current use of the language, it is most appropriate to call the entire corporation an order, namely the order of swordsmen, while its members are generally order brothers and distinguish between them: brothers of knights or order knights, brothers of priests or order priests and serving brothers or order servants.

IV. Order charter.

“The order of the sword-bearers was prescribed the charter of the order of the Templars. This charter, compiled by the famous Cistercian abbot Bernhard of Clairvaux in 1128, on the basis of the charter of the order of St. Benedict, contained in the ssb some rules of the charter of the Cistercians. This charter, in its primitive form, does not exist; the oldest copy of it has quite a few additions from later times, which, however, do not go back before 1180. This list of the statute, consisting of 72 items, is written in Latin and printed first in Miraei deliciae ordinum equestrium (Cologne 1613) p. 226 and next, as well as in the history of the Order of the Templars by W. F. Wilke, vol. II (Leipzig, 1827. 8.), pp. 203-222.

In addition to this real order charter, the Templars also had detailed statutes, which were included in the charter already in the XII century and expanded it with petty definitions. The only original known now of the Templar charter bears the title: "Les retraits et les etablissements de la maison du Temple", it contains quite a few additions, reaching the end of the 13th century. It is published in the Provencal dialect and is divided into 31 chapters. German translation of his Fr. Munter placed in the work: Statutenbuch des Ordens der Tempelherren (vol. I, Berlin 1794. 8). In this translation, the individual chapters of the original have been put in order, divided into eight books, with the inclusion in their proper places of the issued clauses of the old statute.

There can be no doubt that the above-mentioned Latin order charter served as a guide for the brothers of the Order of the Sword. However, it is more than likely that the sword-bearers also followed the statutes - Ketraits - as far as they belong to the beginning of the XIII century and do not contradict the old charter, especially since these statutes supplement the charter in relation to many decrees that did not yet exist at the time the main charter was drawn up and appeared only during the twelfth century. Therefore, in the following story, which, however, should be limited to only the main features, due attention will be paid to the statutes.
V. Order vows.

Whoever wants to be a brother of the order must first of all make the following four vows for the rest of his life:

1) A vow of obedience. He obliges the brother to complete renunciation of his own will and to unconditional and immediate obedience and execution of the orders of the order master or his deputy. Without the permission of these chiefs, the brother does not dare to leave the dwellings of the order, neither receive nor write letters, even to his parents. He cannot accept any parcels from his parents earlier, until he reports to the master. However, order leaders are not subject to this last rule.

2) The vow of chastity forbids the brothers to have intercourse with the female sex. It forbids even to stare at a woman's face, not to mention the fact that it forbids kissing a woman, not excluding mothers and sisters.

3) By vow of poverty, no brother dared to own any property; especially he did not dare to have or carry money with him without permission. Everything that a member of the order has or acquires belongs to the order as a corporation, therefore everything received by a brother by gift or will must be transferred to the order master or order chapter. Without the permission of the elders, none of the brothers dares to change or demand any thing from the other, even the most insignificant value. No brother dares to have a lock on his suitcase or chest. Only traveling brothers, magisters and commanders are excluded from this.

4) These three vows, obligatory for all spiritual and knightly orders in general, were supplemented by the Templars and the Order of the Swordsmen with a fourth vow: to devote your whole life to the fight against the infidels.

1. In general.

"Although the order charter prescribes that persons wishing to join the order be subjected to a test (Noviciat) before they are accepted, the duration of which depends on the discretion of the master, but this rule was almost not carried out among the Templars, especially in recent times. How much the brothers observed it -sword-bearers - unknown; however, it can be assumed that while the need to increase the number of brothers was urgent - and this was likely before the collapse of the order - the test time was greatly reduced. For the same reasons, the rule of the order charter not to accept children and minors into the order was undoubtedly observed swordsmen are stricter than those of the Templars, since the first thing was most important to acquire husbands who could immediately join the battle.

Each brother is obligated to be present at daily and hourly services, unless this is prevented by some official duties assigned to him by the chief in another place and the great fatigue or serious illness caused by their performance. From the beginning of the last Vespers (Complete) until the first Matins (Prime), each brother must observe a deep silence, which can be interrupted only in extreme cases. On the performance of prayers, the observance of holidays and fasting days, etc., the order statutes contain especially many detailed rules.

Brothers should live in peace with each other, but also look after each other. If someone notices a mistake in another, he should reproach him for it; if this does not help, he must repeat the admonition in the presence of the third brother, and if this also proves unsuccessful, then repeat the admonition before the convention meeting. Old and weak brothers should be honored, treated with respect, and with regard to their bodily needs, as far as the charter allows, they should be kept less strictly. Sick brethren should be diligently cared for in special hospital rooms; only the master may, if he is ill, remain in his room.

All brothers have a common dwelling in the houses (castles) of the order. They eat, not excluding both the master and the other bosses, at the common table. At the meal, the priest brother reads a holy lesson, so that the brothers keep silence all the better.

The attire of the brothers should be simple, of the same color, depending on the categories: white, black or brown - and made of coarse fabric (burellum); just as there should be a bed for sleeping. Each brother receives the necessary things from the reserves of the order house. Worn clothes, as soon as they are replaced by new ones, are given to brothers of a lower rank or to the poor. Exactly the same is done with military weapons. The hair on the head must be cut short and the beard must also be cut short.

In pleasure, the brothers, according to their vows, namely, the vow of poverty, were limited. The charter forbade hunting, and specifically hunting with birds of prey; even a brother did not dare to accompany a brother who went hunting with a bird of prey.

2. Brothers knights.

"The knight brothers or order knights constituted the first, most important ruling class of order brothers, of which the highest order dignitaries were elected alone.

Whoever wanted to be a knight had to answer with an oath the following questions proposed to him: 1) that he comes from a knightly family and that his father was a knight or could be one; 2) that he was born in a lawful marriage and 3) that he is not married; 4) that he does not belong to any other order and did not take any initiation; 5) that he has no debts that he could not pay out of his property; 6) that he is healthy and not infected with any secret disease, and finally, 7) that he did not make or promise a gift to anyone, that is, from the Templars, with the aim of becoming a member of the order through him. When all these requirements were satisfied, the candidate had to give order vows and then, in the assembled chapter, he was solemnly accepted into the order, and the master laid on him the cloak of the brother of the knights and girded him with a lace. However, the one who was accepted in advance had to win the title of knight, since the brother of the order could not be granted a knight. Each knight brother received from the order full armament with all accessories: a shield, a sword, a spear and a club. He had at his disposal three horses and a squire for servants. The weapon had to be good and durable, but as simple as possible, without any decoration. The attire consisted of a long white caftan with a notch at the top and a white cloak, especially distinguishing the brothers of the knights, on which the Templars wore a red cross on the chest on the left side, the lower end of which was longer than the other three. On the white cloak of the brothers of the knights of the sword was a red sword and above it the cross of the Templars. The sound of the sword should not only distinguish the brothers of the sword from the temple knights, but also show that they are not subordinate to the latter."

3. Priest brothers.

"For acceptance into the rank of priestly brothers, the same conditions were required as for knight brothers, with the exception of only the first and fourth, because they did not need to be of a knightly family, but for that they had to take the priesthood earlier. Between vows there seems to have also been a fourth, on the fight against the infidels.The solemn initiation was preceded by the recitation of certain psalms.

The order dress received by the priest from the master consisted of a narrow and buttoned white caftan with a red cross on the chest. The priest brothers had to shave their beards. They were only entitled to food and clothing from the order. However, the other brothers had to especially honor them, they received the best dresses of the order, sat at the table next to the master and were served first. Not a single brother dares to confess to any other, but not an order priest, and only from him can he receive absolution of sins.

From these order priests, who performed their duties in order castles and houses, accompanied members of the order on campaigns, it is necessary to distinguish clerics who were appointed priests in the church located in the order areas, and were not supposed to be brothers of the order.

4. Ministering brethren.

"The serving brothers of the Order of the Sword in the native chronicles and charters are called "servi fratrura militiae", and in their entirety are called "familia fratrum militiae", the serving brothers were called "famuli" or "fratres servientes" by the Templars. When they were accepted, they were asked the same questions Like brother knights, however, they could not be of a knightly family.The recipient had to certify that he was no one's servant or slave.After the ensuing acceptance, they had to swear allegiance to the order.

It is very likely that in the Order of the Swordsmen, as well as in the Order of the Temple Knights, the serving brothers were divided into two divisions: the brothers of the squires, fratres armigeri, and the brothers of artisans, fratres opifices. The first probably belonged to the brothers' arrows and crossbowmen, which were probably and often mentioned by Heinrich of Latvia; the latter included less honorable ones: blacksmiths, cooks, bakers and domestic servants.

The attire of the serving brothers consisted of a caftan (for squires - from chain mail) of dark, black or brown color, Templars with a red cross; it is very likely that the sword-bearing brothers also added a sword in this category. Each had a horse at his disposal, and the squire brothers had light weapons. The latter also ate at the same table with the knights and priests, and in all respects they treated them like brothers. From them, the brothers knights received squires, who rode in front of them on military campaigns, carried their belongings and led horses.

5. Fellows of the order.

"In addition to the listed members, under the Order of the Swordsmen, as well as under the Templars, there were other members who did not give any vows, but enjoyed the benefits of the order. They also included married brothers who probably met as exceptions. The burgher of Riga even had the right to “go to the order” if he took with him all his movable and immovable property. , in burial in the cemeteries of the order, in the service of memorial services, etc. Probably, such brothers were not forbidden to speak at any time from the order, but then probably followed by the retention of part of the contributed property.

They founded states and dictated their will to European monarchs. The history of knightly orders began in the Middle Ages and has not been completed to this day.

Order of the Knights Templar

Date of founding of the Order: 1119 year.
Interesting Facts: The Templars, the Templars - the most famous knightly order, the history and mysteries of which are devoted to many books and films. The topic of the “curse of Jacques de Molay” is still actively discussed by fans of conspiracy theories.

After the expulsion from Palestine, the Templars switched to financial activities and became the richest order in history. They invented checks, ran a lucrative usury business, and were Europe's top lenders and economists.

On Friday, October 13, 1307, by order of the King of France, Philip IV the Handsome, all the French Templars were arrested. The order was officially banned.
The Templars were accused of heresy - of denying Jesus Christ, that they spit on the crucifix, kissed each other in an obscene manner and practiced sodomy. In the "proof" of the last point, it is still customary to mention one of the emblems of the templars - two poor knights sit on the same horse, which served as a symbol of the non-covetousness of the knights of the order.

Warband

Order foundation date: 1190 year.
Interesting Facts: The motto of the Teutons is "Help-Protect-Heal". Initially, the order was engaged in this - helping the sick and protecting the German knights, however, at the beginning of the 13th century, the military history of the order began, it was associated with an attempt to expand the Baltic states and Russian lands. These attempts ended, as we know, unsuccessfully. The "black day" of the Teutons was the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, in which the combined forces of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania inflicted a crushing defeat on the Order.
Deprived of its former military ambitions, the Teutonic Order was restored in 1809. Today he is engaged in charity and treatment of the sick. The headquarters of the modern Teutons is located in Vienna.

Order of the Dragon

Order foundation date: 1408.
Interesting Facts: Officially, the Order of the Dragon was founded by King Sigismund I of Luxembourg of Hungary, but in the Serbian folklore tradition, the legendary hero Milos Obilic is considered its founder.
The knights of the order wore medallions and pendants with images of a golden dragon with a scarlet cross curled into a ring. In the family coats of arms of the nobles who were members of the order, the image of a dragon usually framed the coat of arms.
The Order of the Dragon included the father of the legendary Vlad Tepes, Vlad II Dracul, who got his nickname just because of his membership in the order - dracul in Romanian means "dragon".

Order of Calatrava

Order foundation date: 1158 year.
Interesting Facts: The first Catholic order founded in Spain was created to defend the fortress of Calatrava. In the 13th century it became the most powerful military force in Spain, capable of fielding between 1,200 and 2,000 knights. In its heyday, under Chiron and his son, the order controlled 56 commanderies and 16 priories. Up to 200,000 peasants worked for the order, its net annual income was estimated at 50,000 ducats. However, the order did not have complete independence. The title of grandmaster, since the time of Ferdinand and Isabella, has always been worn by the Spanish kings.

Hospitallers

Order foundation date: around 1099.
Interesting Facts: The hospitable order, the Hospitallers, the Knights of Malta, or the Johnites, is the oldest spiritual order of chivalry, which received its unofficial name in honor of the hospital and the church of St. John the Baptist. Unlike other orders, the Hospitallers accepted female novices into their ranks, and all men who joined the order were required to have a title of nobility.

The order was international, and its members, according to the linguistic principle, were divided into seven langs in the Middle Ages. Interestingly, the Slavic languages ​​belonged to the Germanic lang. The 72nd Grand Master of the Order was the Russian Emperor Pavel the First.

Despite the vow of non-possession, the Hospitallers were one of the richest knightly orders. The French army during the capture of Malta by Napoleon caused damage to the order of almost three tens of millions of lire.

Order of the Holy Sepulcher

Order foundation date: 1099 year.
Interesting Facts: This powerful order was created during the First Crusade and the emergence of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Its king stood at the head of the order. The mission of the order was to protect the Holy Sepulcher and other holy places in Palestine.

For a long time, the Grand Masters of the Order were Popes. It was not until 1949 that the title was transferred to members of the Curia of the Vatican.
The order still exists today. Its members around the world are representatives of royal families, influential businessmen, political and scientific elite. According to a 2010 report, the number of the order exceeded 28,000 members. Its headquarters is in Rome. More than $50 million was spent on the order's charitable projects between 2000 and 2007.

Order of Alcantara

Order foundation date: 1156.
Interesting Facts: The order was originally created as a partnership to protect the frontier fortress of San Julian de Peral in Spain against the Moors. In 1177 the partnership was elevated to a knightly order; he undertook to wage eternal war with the Moors and defend the Christian faith.
King Alfonso IX in 1218 gave the order the city of Alcantara, where he settled under the new name. Prior to the occupation of Spain by the French in 1808, the order held 37 counties with 53 towns and villages. The history of the order was full of twists and turns. He grew rich and poor, he was abolished several times and restored again.

Order of Christ

Order foundation date: 1318 year.
Interesting Facts: The Order of Christ was the successor of the Knights Templar in Portugal. The order is also called Tomar - after the name of the Tomar castle, which became the residence of the Master. The most famous Tomarian was Vasco da Gama. On the sails of his ships is a red cross, which was the emblem of the Order of Christ.
Tomarians were one of the main pillars of royal power in Portugal, and the order was secularized, which, of course, did not suit the Vatican, which began to present its own Supreme Order of Christ. In 1789, the order was finally secularized. In 1834, the nationalization of his property took place.

Order of the Sword

Order foundation date: 1202.
Interesting Facts: The official name of the order is the Brotherhood of the Warriors of Christ. The knights of the order received the nickname "sword-bearers" because of the swords depicted on their cloaks under the pawed Templar cross. Their main goal was to capture the Eastern Baltic. By agreement in 1207, 2/3 of the occupied lands went into the ownership of the order.
The Russian princes prevented the plans for the eastern expansion of the sword-bearers. In 1234, in the battle on Omovzha, the knights suffered a crushing defeat from the Novgorod prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, after which Lithuania, together with the Russian princes, began campaigns on the lands of the order. In 1237, after the unsuccessful Crusade against Lithuania, the swordsmen joined the Teutonic Order and became the Livonian Order. It was defeated by Russian troops in the Livonian War in 1561.

Order of Saint Lazarus

Date of founding of the order: 1098
Interesting Facts: The Order of Saint Lazarus is notable for the fact that initially all of its members, including the Grand Master, were lepers. The order got its name from the place of foundation - from the name of the hospitals of St. Lazarus, located not far from the walls of Jerusalem.
It is from the name of this order that the name "infirmary" comes from. The knights of the order were also called "lazarites". Their symbol was a green cross on a black cassock or cloak.
At first, the order was not military and was engaged exclusively in charitable activities, helping lepers, but from October 1187, the lazarites began to participate in hostilities. They went into battle without helmets, their faces, disfigured by leprosy, terrified enemies. Leprosy in those years was considered incurable and lazarites were called "living dead".
In the battle of Forbia on October 17, 1244, the order lost almost all of its personnel, and after the expulsion of the crusaders from Palestine, it settled in France, where it is still engaged in charity work.

HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF THE Sword. F.G. BUNGE (SUMMARY)

A source:

Collection of materials and articles on the history of the Baltic region.Volume II. Riga, 1879.
Spelling partially modernized (http://annals.xlegio.ru/balt/small/bunge.htm)

The beginning of the order. His appointment. Fundamentals of its management.

B Without any doubt, the order of the sword-bearers at its beginning was insignificant and the number of its members is not large. We also do not find that persons from especially noble families entered the order at first. Not until 1205 do we see him taking part in a military campaign against the pagan natives and thus embarking on his mission. The latter consisted in guarding and defending the newly established Christian churches in Livonia and in conquering and converting her enemies to Christianity.
Therefore, in the entire structure of the order we find two elements: military and religious. In relation to the latter, the charter of the temple order (Templars) was prescribed by the pope for leadership; this charter also served as the basis for secular and military administration, insofar as it was applicable to local conditions. On the basis of this charter, the brothers of the order were divided into three categories: brothers-knights, brothers-priests and brothers-employees. They were headed by the order master, to whom several lower chiefs and officials were subordinate. The brother knights were assigned a special attire, with special marks to distinguish them from the templars; they fought under their own banner. The brothers of the other two categories were assigned to each a special garment. The order was dependent on the bishops in whose dioceses its possessions lay. When in 1207 the number of order brothers increased significantly, they claimed a part of the conquered land, which was granted to Bishop Albert by the German emperor and the empire as ruler of the land. The bishop gave them a third of the land, however, in the spirit of that time, only in the form of fief. With the establishment of new bishoprics, the order entered into a similar agreement with their prelates, and thus acquired, little by little, large possessions of land, which, towards the end of its existence, it increased by some conquests. The more the power of the order grew, the stronger became its desire to free itself from subordination to the bishops. He begged for and repeatedly received approval from the emperor for possession of lands, both ceded by the bishop and independently conquered, but still did not achieve the desired goal, because when he merged with the Teutonic (German) order from 1237, the pope determined with perfect accuracy the continuation of the former dependence orders from Livonian bishops.

The name of the order and its members.

The very first and without a doubt the most correct name of the members of the order, found by Henry of Latvia and also used in modern papal bulls and imperial letters, was: “ Fratres militiae Christi" or abbreviated " Frbuttres militiae", often with the addition of " in Livaboutnibut" or " de Livonia". This name was translated "brothers of chivalry (or rather knightly service) of Christ." Less common, but also from a long time, it is found, attached in the old days to the Templars, the name " Milites Christi” and the equivalent “Milites Dei” This name is found in the annals of Alberich and Arnold Lubecksky, as the German “Gottes Ritter” is found in the Livonian rhymed chronicle, and the Russian “God’s nobleman” is found in the agreement of the Smolensk Mstislav with Visby and Riga from 1229 . The name of the sword-bearers "Swert brüdere" is not found in any modern historical document, but only in the rhymed chronicle and in the chronicles of the German order; this name, taken from the sword, which was in the coat of arms of the order and on the cloaks of the brothers of the order, became the most common. Although in some of the later originals of the chronicle of Henry of Latvia, the expression is found in one place: “ Fratres glbutdiferi", but this expression is obviously a later addition. Only in the middle of the 16th century does the name appear: “ Frbuttres ensiferi". In some bulls of Pope Gregory IX, the brothers of the order are called " Fratres militiaetempli de Livonibut" or " Fratres, templariorum ordinem in Livonia profitentes". All these names, however, refer only to the first category of order brothers, to the brothers of the knights.
To designate all brothers of the order, the order in its entirety as a corporation, a special expression is extremely rare in the sources. In one letter of Emperor Otto IV we find the name " Conventus Christi militum"; in the charter of Emperor Frederick II - "Magister domus militiae Christi"; in the Prussian chronicle of Peter Duzburgsky - "Magister de aboutrdine militum Christi. However, the word "ordo" calls the corporation immediately after its establishment, not only Pope Innocent III, but the order itself gives itself the title "ordo & collegium fratrum militiae Christi". As a rule, everywhere in the sources where the whole order is concerned, one finds “Fratres militiae Christi” or “Magister & fratres militiae (Christi)”, or “Magister militiae & fratres eius”. One could look at the word "Militia" as a definition of a corporation, if, as already noted, it would not be more accurate to translate it as "knightly service." Therefore, it cannot be justified that modern historians simply use the expression "Knighthood" to define the order as a corporation. It actually has a broader meaning, and already at that time in Livonia there were other knights and other chivalry that did not belong to the order. But also the name "Order knighthood", strictly speaking, cannot refer to the entire order, because not all brothers of the order were knights of the order; but since the knights of the order were the most important and powerful class, the part was taken for the whole, and in their name they gave the name of the whole corporation.
With the present use of language, it is most appropriate to call the whole corporation an order, namely, an order swordsmen, but its members in general order brothers and distinguish between them: knight brothers or order knights, priest brothers or order priests And serving brothers or order servants.

Order charter.

The order of the sword-bearers was prescribed the charter of the order of the Templars. This charter, drawn up by the famous Cistrian abbot Bernhard of Clairvaux in 1128, on the basis of the order charter of St. Benedict, contained some of the rules of the Cistercian statute. This statute, in its primitive form, does not exist; its oldest list has quite a few additions from later times, which, however, do not go back before 1180. This list of the statute, consisting of 72 items, is written in Latin and first printed in Miraei deliciae ordinum equestrium (Cologne 1613) p. 226 et seq., as well as in the history of the Knights Templar by V. F. Wilke, vol. II (Leipzig, 1827. 8.), pp. 203-222.
In addition to this real order charter, the Templars also had detailed statutes, which were included in the charter already in the XII century and expanded it with petty definitions. The only original of the Templar charter now known is entitled: "Les retraits et les etablissements de la maison du Temple", it contains quite a few additions, reaching the end of the 13th century. It is published in the Provencal dialect and is divided into 31 chapters. German translation of his Fr. Munter placed in the work: Statutenbuch des Ordens der Tempelherren (vol. I, Berlin 1794. 8). In this translation, the individual chapters of the original have been put in order, divided into eight books, with the inclusion in their proper places of the issued clauses of the old statute.
There can be no doubt that the above Latin order charter served as a guide for the brothers of the Order of the Sword. However, it is more than likely that the sword-bearers also followed the statutes - Ketraits - as far as they belong to the beginning of the 13th century and do not contradict the old charter, especially since these statutes supplement the charter in relation to many decrees that did not yet exist at the time the main charter was drawn up and appeared only during the twelfth century. Therefore, in the following story, which, however, should be limited to only the main features, due attention will be paid to the statutes.

Order vows.

Whoever wants to be a brother of the order must first of all make the following four vows for the rest of his life:
1) Vow of obedience. He obliges the brother to complete renunciation of his own will and to unconditional and immediate obedience and execution of the orders of the order master or his deputy. Without the permission of these chiefs, the brother does not dare to leave the dwellings of the order, neither receive nor write letters, even to his parents. He cannot accept any parcels from his parents earlier, until he reports to the master. However, order leaders are not subject to this last rule.
2) vow of chastity forbids brothers to have intercourse with the female sex. It forbids even staring at a woman's face, not to mention that it forbids kissing a woman, not excluding mothers and sisters.
3) By vow of poverty no brother dared to have any property; especially he did not dare to have or carry money with him without permission. Everything that a member of the order has or acquires belongs to the order as a corporation, therefore everything received by a brother by gift or will must be transferred to the order master or order chapter. Without the permission of the elders, none of the brothers dares to change or demand any thing from the other, even the most insignificant value. No brother dares to have a lock on his suitcase or chest. Only traveling brothers, magisters and commanders are excluded from this.
4) These three vows, obligatory for all spiritual and chivalric orders in general, were supplemented by the Templars and the Order of the Sword-bearers by the fourth vow: to devote one's entire life to the fight against infidels.

Order brothers.

Although the statute of the order prescribes that persons wishing to enter the order must be subjected to a trial (Noviciat) before their acceptance, the duration of which depends on the discretion of the master, but this rule was almost not observed at all among the Templars, especially in recent times. To what extent the sword-bearing brothers observed it is unknown; however, it can be assumed that while the need for an increase in the number of brothers was urgent - and so it was likely before the disintegration of the order - the time of the test was greatly reduced. For the same reasons, the rule of the order charter not to accept children and minors into the order was undoubtedly observed more strictly among the swordsmen than among the Templars, since the first thing was most important to acquire husbands who could immediately join the battle.
Every brother is obligated to be present at daily and hourly services, unless this is hindered by some official duties assigned to him by his superior in another place and the great fatigue or serious illness caused by their performance. From the beginning of the last Vespers (Complete) until the first Matins (Prime), each brother must observe a deep silence, which can be interrupted only in extreme cases. On the performance of prayers, the observance of holidays and fasting days, etc., the order statutes contain especially many detailed rules.
Brothers should live in peace with each other, but also look after each other. If someone notices a mistake in another, he should reproach him for it; if this does not help, he must repeat the admonition in the presence of the third brother, and if this also proves unsuccessful, then repeat the admonition before the convention meeting. Old and weak brothers should be honored, treated with respect, and with regard to their bodily needs, as far as the charter allows, they should be kept less strictly. Sick brethren should be diligently cared for in special hospital rooms; only the master may, if he is ill, remain in his room.
All brothers have a common dwelling in the houses (castles) of the order. They eat, not excluding both the master and the other bosses, at the common table. At the meal, the priest brother reads a holy lesson, so that the brothers keep silence all the better.
The attire of the brothers should be simple, of the same color, depending on the categories: white, black or brown - and made of coarse fabric (burellum); just as there should be a bed for sleeping. Each brother receives the necessary things from the reserves of the order house. Worn dresses, as soon as they are replaced by new ones, are given to brothers of the bearing category or to the poor. Exactly the same is done with military weapons. The hair on the head must be cut short and the beard must also be cut short.
In pleasure, the brothers, according to their vows, namely, the vow of poverty, were limited. The charter forbade hunting, and specifically hunting with birds of prey; even a brother did not dare to accompany a brother who goes hunting with a bird of prey.

Knight brothers.

Brothers knights or order knights constituted the first, most important ruling class of order brothers, of which the highest order dignitaries were elected alone.
Whoever wanted to be a knight had to answer with an oath the following questions proposed to him: 1) that he comes from a knightly family and that his father was a knight or could be one; 2) that he was born in a lawful marriage and 3) that he is not married; 4) that he does not belong to any other order and did not take any initiation; 5) that he has no debts that he could not pay out of his property; 6) that he is healthy and not infected with any secret disease, and finally, 7) that he did not make or promise a gift to anyone, that is, from the Templars, with the aim of becoming a member of the order through him. When all these requirements were satisfied, the candidate had to give order vows and then in the assembled chapter was solemnly accepted into the order, and the master laid on him the cloak of the brother of the knights and girded him with a lace. However, the one who was accepted in advance had to win the title of knight, since the brother of the order could not be granted a knight. Each knight brother received from the order full armament with all accessories: a shield, a sword, a spear and a club. He had at his disposal three horses and a squire for servants. The weapon had to be good and durable, but as simple as possible, without any decoration. The attire consisted of a long white caftan with a cutout at the top and a white cloak, which especially distinguishes the brothers of the knights, on which the Templars wore a red cross on the chest on the left side, the lower end of which was longer than the other three. On the white cloak of the brothers of the knights of the sword was a red sword and above it the cross of the Templars. The sign of the sword should not only distinguish the brothers of the sword from the temple knights, but also show that they are not subordinate to the latter.

Priest brothers.

To be accepted into the rank of priest brothers, the same conditions were required as for knight brothers, with the exception of only the first and fourth, because they did not need to be of a knightly family, but for that they had to take the clergy earlier. Between the vows, it seems, a fourth was also issued, about the fight against the infidels. The solemn initiation was preceded by the reading of certain psalms.
The order dress received by the priest from the master consisted of a narrow and buttoned white caftan with a red cross on the chest. The priest brothers had to shave their beards. They were only entitled to food and clothing from the order. However, the other brothers had to especially honor them, they received the best dresses of the order, sat at the table next to the master and were served first. Not a single brother dares to confess to anyone other than an order priest, and only from him can he receive absolution of sins.
From these order priests, who performed their duties in order castles and houses, accompanied members of the order on campaigns, it is necessary to distinguish clerics who were appointed priests in churches located in order areas, and were not supposed to be brothers of the order.

Serving Brothers.

The serving brothers of the Order of the Sword in the native chronicles and letters are called "servi fratrura militiae", and in their entirety are called "familia fratrum militiae", the serving brothers were called "famuli" or "fratres servientes" by the Templars. When they were accepted, they were asked the same questions as the knight brothers, but they could not be of a knightly family. The recipient had to certify that he was no one's servant or slave. After the ensuing acceptance, they had to swear allegiance to the order.
It is very likely that in the Order of the Swordsmen, as well as in the Order of the Temple Knights, the serving brothers were divided into two divisions: squire brothers, fratres armigeri and artisan brothers, fratres opifices. The first probably belonged to the brothers' arrows and crossbowmen, which were probably and often mentioned by Heinrich of Latvia; the latter included less honorable ones: blacksmiths, cooks, bakers and domestic servants.
The attire of the serving brothers consisted of a caftan (for squires - from chain mail) of dark, black or brown color, the Templars with a red cross; it is very likely that the sword-bearing brothers also added a sword in this category. Each had a horse at his disposal, and the squire brothers had light weapons. The latter also ate at the same table with the knights and priests, and in all respects they treated them like brothers. From them, the knight brothers received squires, who rode in front of them in military campaigns, carried their belongings and led horses.

Brothers of the Order.

In addition to the listed members, under the Order of the Sword, as well as under the Templars, there were other members in the form of fellow "Confratres" who did not give any vows, but enjoyed the benefits of the order. They also included married brothers who probably met as exceptions. When accepting meetings, they did not pay attention to the title of the applicant. The Riga burgher even had the right to “go to the order” if he took with him all his movable and immovable property. The benefits or advantages enjoyed by such brothers consisted mainly in attending divine services in the order churches, namely in the case of an interdict, in burial in the cemeteries of the order, in serving memorial services, etc. Probably such brothers were not forbidden to speak at any time from the order , but then probably followed by the retention of part of the contributed property.

Ranks and positions of the order.

Order Master.

At the head of the order was the Order Master, Magister fratrum militiae Christi, or Magister militiae for short. Although Henry of Latvia mentions the first master of the Brothers of the Sword, Venno, only in 1208, after 4 or 5 years. after the foundation of the order, however, there is no doubt that he was appointed head of the order from its very establishment, because a knightly order, based on the model of the Templars, is unthinkable without a supreme head. The master was chosen by the brothers of the order from among the knights of the order; the choice did not need approval. The place of residence of the master was Riga. He had at his disposal four horses, which he could choose for himself, and for service a squire from a noble family. To him was appointed in the same way as the Grand Master of the Templars, the order priest - "chaplain", who probably corrected the post of secretary or chancellor and kept the order seal. The seal depicted the emblem of the order: a sword, over which there was a cross, and had an inscription around: (S) D (omini) MAGISTRI ET FR (atru) M MILICIE CRI (sti).
All brothers were obliged to obey the master. The master generally had unlimited power, however, in certain important cases, he had to follow the advice of his convention or chapter of the order. He did not have the key to the order's treasury. However, he was allowed to give gifts to strangers, that is, persons not belonging to the order, of moderate value in money, weapons and armor, horses, etc.
In the war, he had the power of a commander not only in relation to the order brothers, but he was also - at least from the time of the election of the second master Volkvin in 1208 - the commander-in-chief of the entire Christian army in Livonia.

Order conventions and chapters.

The brothers living in the same order house or castle made up convention, headed by the highest order dignitaries living there, or the master, or trustees. The meetings of the brothers of the convention, in which the affairs of the order were discussed and decided, were called chapters and occurred, as it seems, not regularly and at a certain time, but as needed. The master of the order was not obliged to gather all the brothers of his convention for an ordinary chapter, but he could choose those whom he considered the most capable and prudent. If it was necessary to solve the most important matters, then he was obliged to convene the entire brotherhood of the order for the so-called general chapter. Among these most important cases were: the reception of order brothers, the appointment of high order dignitaries, the alienation of lands, the undertaking of a military campaign and the conclusion of a truce or peace. But even in these cases the chapter did not have a decisive vote; on the contrary, the order master was left, after listening to the chapter, to do what he considered the best and most expedient.

Order region.

The Livian rhymed chronicle, the chronicle of Hermann Wartberg and the German Hochmeister chronicle, as well as a large number of chroniclers following them, indicate that at the very establishment of the order, either the pope or Bishop Albert decreed that the order should be given a third part or even a part of the conquered land in hereditary possession . More plausible, however, and more accurately documented is the story of Heinrich of Latvia that only in 1207, next, a few years after the founding of the order, when the number of his brothers increased, the order demanded from Bishop Albert as a reward for his "work" to give him a third of the land both conquered and still to be conquered.
Since Bishop Albert and the order could not come to an agreement between themselves on the division of lands, therefore they submitted the issue of this division to the court of Pope Innocent III, who in 1210 awarded the order to provide a third of the already conquered land of Livs and Lets; on the account of the lands still subject to subjugation, the order was obliged to agree with the bishops newly appointed to those lands, while the pope retained the right to further orders. In accordance with this, first of all, the division of the lands of the Livs and Lets was undertaken, and the order got a third along the left bank of the Aa to the Dvina. After the establishment of the Dorpat bishopric, in 1224 half of the lands were given to the order, namely the western part of the bishopric - the areas of Sakala, Nurmegunde, Moxa and half of Vaigi. At the founding of the Ezel bishopric in 1228, the order received from him a third of the lands, of which some were on the islands of Ezele and Monet, and the rest in Vic. In the same way, in the bishoprics of Semigalle and Courland, the order received a third of their lands from each, but nothing positive is known about the time of this division, as well as about the position and boundaries of these thirds. Be that as it may, the order received more than a third, about 36 percent. conquered land, while the remaining incomplete two-thirds were distributed among five bishops. But even more: in 1227, the order took away from the Danes the Estonian districts: Harrien, Virland and Ierven, of which they did not give anything to a single bishop, and thereby extended their territory to such an area that was equal to almost all the episcopal possessions put together. The Order's possessions stretched from the Gulf of Finland and the Narova to the other side of the Dvina, for the most part within continuous borders.

External relations of the order.

Bishops in general.

The main difference in the political position between the Order of the Templars and the Order of the Sword was that the former stood outside any episcopal judicial power, while the latter, on the contrary, even in relation to its secular power, was subordinate to the diocesan bishops. Therefore, as soon as the Order of the Sword-bearers became stronger to some extent, its main aspiration was aimed at freeing itself from episcopal dependence. This striving soon led to mutual intrigues, then to disagreements, and finally, after the union of the Sword-bearers with the powerful Teutonic Order, to a final break, since the latter, which until then, like the Order of the Templars, enjoyed independence, was set a condition for merging dependence in the Livonian possessions from the bishop, as it existed under the sword-bearers.
Almost continuous internal strife and boring lawsuits before emperors and popes have been the main content of the external and internal history of Livonia for more than two centuries. These strife and litigation - the details of which are not relevant here - are mentioned here only to note that the chroniclers of the order, obviously from the desire to prove the primitive independence of the order from the bishops, even the superiority of the former over the latter, represent the mutual relationship of the order to the bishops falsely, even quite perverted. They are especially wrong when they assert that the order immediately upon its founding received part of the land in eternal, free possession, that the order was taken under the protection (direct) of the papal throne, that Bishop Albert immediately after the founding of the order became a member of it.
On the contrary, the relation of the order to the bishops, as described by a contemporary of Heinrich of Latvia and confirmed by other documents, was of a completely different kind. The Order of the Sword-bearers took possession of part of the land as an episcopal fief and had to obey the bishops. And this attitude should have been maintained not only towards the first award, to Bishop Albert of Riga, but also towards the bishops of Derpt and Ezel, and no doubt also towards the bishops of Semigalle and Courland. This attitude was not, as many people think, canceled or changed by the imperial letters of protection and privileges received by the order. On the contrary, it was together clearly transferred to the Teutonic Order when the Order of the Sword was attached to it and was subsequently repeatedly recognized as the first. Only in 1360 did the Archbishop of Riga renounce his fief over the order. The same refusal, no doubt, followed at the same time, if not earlier, on the part of the other bishops, although there is no documentary evidence of this.

Relationship with dad.

Popes in general had incomparably greater political influence than the emperor on Livonia. By the time the Order of the Sword was founded, under Pope Innocent III, the Roman throne had reached the highest point of its power and power. The pope was generally considered not only the spiritual, but also the secular head of all Christianity. But Livonia became especially close to him when she converted to Christianity. His efforts contributed most of all to the introduction of Christianity in this region; the new landowners were exclusively of the clergy; Bishop Albert consecrated the whole of Livonia to the Blessed Virgin Mary. As a result, the pope considered himself the real main ruler of the country and declared Livonia the property of the Roman throne. Therefore, all controversial issues, especially between the order and the bishops, turned to his papal court: the pope resolved disputes either directly himself or through his legates - and these decisions form the basis of the entire political structure of the country.

Connection of the Order of Brothers of the Sword with the Teutonic Order.

By the end of the third decade of the 13th century, the order of the sword-bearers reached the highest point of its power by occupying Danish Estonia, but at the same time the number of its enemies increased. First of all, the order had to expect an attack by Denmark, which was still strong at that time, and a new seizure of Estonia; on the eastern border, the Russians were only waiting for an opportunity to return the part of the land of the Estonians and Lets taken from them, in the south the chickens and Semigalls were not yet completely conquered, and behind them the predatory people of the Lithuanians threatened with their devastating raids. These dangers - not a little increased by the unreliability of the defeated natives, especially the Estonians - prompted the order master Volkvin, probably already in 1231, to decide to unite his order with the Teutonic Order, which at that time undertook the conquest of Prussia. Negotiations about this, however, dragged on for six years, delayed in part by various doubts of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Hermann Salz, in part, and mainly, by the measures taken against the Swordsmen by King Voldemar II of Denmark. Only the fatal defeat of the sword-bearers, which they suffered from the Lithuanians at Saul in Courland on September 22, 1236, decided the matter. On May 12, 1237, in Viterbo, Pope Gregory IX, together with Grand Master Hermann Salza, performed a solemn act of merging the Order of the Brothers of the Sword with the Teutonic Order, and the pope released the two knights of the Sword who were present from the charter of their order, ordering them to take off their former order attire and put on white cloaks with black crosses of the Teutonic order knights.
So the Order of the Sword, as an independent institution, ended its existence after almost thirty-three years of famous existence.†

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Books

• Order of the Swordsmen against Russia. The First German Campaign to the East, Mikhail Bredis. At the very beginning of the 13th century, German knights landed in the Baltic, ready to plunder and seize new lands. It was the Order of the Sword, which became the first wave of the military "onslaught on the East" ...

In this interpretation, the symbol of faith and the cult of morality are relegated to the background, and the knight of faith, the order of believers and the cult of uncompromising religious struggle, which replace the symbol of faith and the essence of morality, come to the fore.

Alexander Afanasiev. Wisdom, or the moral philosophy of common sense.

Concerning the specifics of the spread of the Christian faith among the German peoples, the famous German philosopher and historiosopher Walter Schubart, who was caught by the Soviet occupation in the Baltic states and disappeared in the Stalinist Gulag (1897-194?), emphasized in his fundamental work "Europe and the soul of the East" (Europa und die Seele des Ostens.-Luzern: Vita Nova, 1938) that there the gospel teaching ran into unexpectedly unyielding ground. According to the philosopher, Christianity took root among the Germans extremely slowly, in separate territories and under the auspices of bloody swords. According to Schubart, the forced conversion of the Germanic pagans to a new faith (carried out mainly with the support of the troops of the Frankish kings from the Merovingian dynasties, and then the Carolingians who replaced them on the throne) did not at all indicate an innate propensity for the Germans to Christianity. The new doctrine was implanted in the course of the military actions of Christians against the pagans, and where it sprouted, it immediately became militant. Already in the Saxon epic of the 9th century. "Geliand" ("Savior") Jesus Christ - the Savior of the world, born in the "castle of Bethlehem" ("burg Bethlehem") - appears in the form of a militant "duke" (that is, the governor - the leader of the Host of Heaven). And it is no coincidence that the anonymous author of Heliand describes in such detail, with obvious approval and even admiration, the well-known Gospel episode in the Garden of Gethsemane, when the Apostle Peter cuts off the ear of the servant of the high priest of Jerusalem with a sword, who came to take custody of Jesus Christ.

The Christ of the Utrecht Psalter (written about A.D. 830) rides across the sky in a war chariot drawn by four white horses and victoriously brandishes a flaming torch over the heads of his defeated enemies. For the Germans, the Christian God becomes “a stronghold, reliable defense and weapon” (long before Martin Luther, the initiator of the Reformation in Germany, sang in such expressions of Jesus Christ much later in his famous psalm). The Christian biographer of the Frankish king Clovis from the Merovingian house wrote about this German "New Constantine" that when Clovis heard about the betrayal of Judas and the suffering of Christ at his baptism, he exclaimed that if he had been nearby then, together with his Franks, he would have repaid for this is a "blood vengeance" for the Jews.

It is curious that the author of the biography of Clovis, being a humble Christian monk, frankly rejoiced at the words of the militant Frankish king, emphasizing: “Thus he proved the depth of his faith, confirmed his devotion to Christianity.”

There is a clear example of the Germanic, or "Nordic", understanding of Christianity of the late 5th - early 6th century A.D., but this, basically, has always been the case. Among the Germans, the evangelical religion of love for one's neighbor turned into a cult of the sword, comparable to the militant cult of the ancient Aryan god Mithra, the “Invincible Sun” (Latin: Sol Invictus), who came from Iran (Persia), who was so revered by the Roman including the future Baptist of the Empire - the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles King Constantine (by the way, it is not by chance that in late ancient and early medieval Christianity, Jesus Christ also received a similar epithet - "The Sun of Truth"). Among the Germans, Christianity quickly became militarized, or, in Russian, paramilitary. The fruit of this Christian-militant spirit was, first of all, the knightly Orders of the German East (including the Order of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, which will be discussed in our brief essay), where the monastery turned out to be united with a fortress, and the monastic community - with a military structure . And the Baltic pagans, whom the militant monk-knights in the name of Christ removed their heads from their shoulders, must have been surprised at how differently the gospel commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself” can be interpreted.

According to many authors of past years and the modern era, the warlike spirit of the Germans violated the basic idea of ​​Christianity. They believed (and still believe) that the Christian teaching, although it does not exclude struggle, allows struggle only with spiritual weapons. And since, according to the proponents of this view, the intolerant spirit of Roman law (which was fully inherited by the Roman Catholic Western Church) and the warlike temperament of the Germans spread throughout the West (including Poland), Europe initially provided an unfavorable ground for Christian doctrine.

Meanwhile, such a point of view seems, at least, not entirely accurate. Holy Scripture and sacred tradition instruct the Christian not to respond with force to the evil addressed personally to him. But sometimes a Christian finds himself in situations in which he is simply obliged to use force - to protect the Faith, the Fatherland and his neighbor (precisely because he is obliged to love the latter, like himself). A truly flawless analysis of this issue is contained in the book of the Russian philosopher, ideologist of the White Cause, Professor I.A. Ilyin, which is called “On resistance to evil by force” (Berlin, 1925). Professor Ilyin cites in this book the wise advice of Orthodox saints: "Live peacefully with friends and with enemies, but only with your enemies, and not with the enemies of God." By the way, the holy Metropolitan Filaret of Moscow, at one time, sharpened this formula to the utmost, commanding Orthodox Christians: “Love your enemies, hate the enemies of God and beat the enemies of the Fatherland”!

Let us conclude this brief introduction to our miniature about the knights of the Sword with only two (but truly textbook) examples of such protection of the shrine from desecration:

1) Christ, by force driving out merchants and money changers from the Temple;

2) Warrior-monks Alexander-Peresvet and Rodion-Oslyabya, sent by the Holy Reverend Sergius of Radonezh to help the Holy Blessed Prince Dmitry Donskoy and martyred in mortal combat with the enemies of Christ and Christianity on the Kulikovo field.

All this must be remembered before pronouncing your sentence on medieval Christians, who, in their own way, understood the gospel covenant of enlightening lost souls with the light of the true Faith for the sake of their salvation from eternal hellish torments.

After the assassination of the second Bishop of Livonia (formally - Riga) Berthold by the rebellious Letts (Latvians) in 1198, Albert von Buxgevden (Bugsgevden), who was appointed to replace him, considered the help of ordinary "seasonal" crusaders who came to the Baltic states for a while (to atone for yet another sins by participating in a holy war against the infidels) is insufficient, and in 1202 he founded the Order of the Sword, or the Order of Brothers of the Sword, finally approved by Pope Innocent III in 1204, to fight the Livonian pagans on a permanent basis. By the way, the true and full name of this spiritual and chivalrous Order, created on the model of the Templars (templars), sounded somewhat different: “Brothers of the chivalry (army) of Christ in Livonia” (fratres Militiae Christi de Livonia).

It is interesting that, according to the Russian historian N.I. Osokin, the author of The History of the Albigensians and Their Times, a little earlier, by papal decree, another “Christian Army” (Militia Christi) was established, which acted against the Albigensian heretics (Catars) in Languedoc (present-day Southern France) and also used as an emblem, a red "martyr's" cross.

As for the Livonian “knights of Christ”, they were nicknamed “sword-bearers” (Latin: Gladiferi, Ensiferi, German: Schwertbrueder. i.e. literally “brothers of the Sword”), because on their robes, reminiscent of Cistercian and consisting of white a caftan (half-caftan) and a white cloak, under a caftan (half-caftan, tunic) sewn on the chest and on the left shoulder of the cloak, a red cross, like that of the templars (later replaced by a red six-pointed or eight-pointed star), was placed the image of the originally red sword with the point down, and later - two crossed swords, also red. The same emblem - a red sword and a red cross (star) above it were placed on shields, spear ensign flags and horse blankets of members of the Order of the Sword.

As the order chronicler Henry of Latvia (Latvian) wrote in his “Chronicle of Livonia” (Livlaendische Reimchronik): “... brother Theodoric (or Dietrich, rector of the monastery of the monastic Order of the Cistercians in Tradene-Toreide-Turaide - V.A.). foreseeing the treachery of the Livs and fearing that otherwise it would be impossible to resist the mass of pagans, in order to increase the number of believers and preserve the Church among the infidels, he established a certain brotherhood of knights (warriors) of Christ, to which Mr. Pope Innocent (Innocent III - V.A.) gave the charter of the Templars (Templars - V.A.) and a sign to be worn on clothes - a sword and a cross, ordering to be subordinate to your bishop (Bishop of Riga Albert von Buxgevden - V.A.)”.

The obverse of the main order banner of the sword-bearers was decorated with the image of the Most Holy Theotokos with the Divine Infant Jesus in her arms, the reverse - the image of St. Mauritius with the Holy Spear, leaning on a shield. Under the first master of the gladifers, who was called in German "Geermeister" (military commander) Venno (Vinno, Viino, Weingold, Weingold, Fyungold) von Rohrbach, the Bishop of Riga in 1207 ceded to the Swordsmen in full ownership a third of Christian Livonia and the Baltic lands not yet baptized .

The main residence of the swordsmen was the castle of Wenden (in Latvian: Cesis, in Estonian: Vynnu, in Russian: Kes), the former and the burial place of the order masters, the first of which, the above-mentioned Venno von Rohrbach, was killed by a knight of his own order, a certain "brother" Wikbert, who harbored a grudge against him for unjust imprisonment, and hacked to death, along with the master, also the confessor of the order "brother" Johann). The Order of the Swordsmen, which did not have much military power, was a small brotherhood of knights, who arrived for the most part from the German region of Westphalia, intended to ensure the Christianization of Livonia. In general, the members of the order, like the "Teutons", Johnites, Templars, Dobrintsy, etc., were divided into "brothers-knights", "brothers-priests" ("brothers-clerics") and "serving brothers". Nevertheless, the sword-bearers, however, not only on their own, but in alliance with the Danish crusaders and with the Bishop of Riga, managed to baptize all of Livonia (Livland) and Estonia (Estland) by 1229, as well as part of Kuronia (Courland). However, the Bishop of Riga, who founded this knightly Order, tried - like the Patriarch of Jerusalem in relation to the military-monastic Orders of the Templars and St. John - to turn it into his own army.

But the prince of the church failed to achieve what he wanted. After only a few years, the Order of the Brothers of the Sword began to pursue an independent policy aimed at protecting its own power interests, and entered into a period of protracted conflicts with the bishop.

Over time, the leadership of the Order of the Swordsmen came to the conclusion that uniting with the successfully conquering Prussian pagans, the much larger and more privileged Teutonic Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary, would only benefit the swordsmen. The second (and last) master of the swordsmen, Volkvin (Volkvin, Volkovin, Folkuin) von Naumburg zu Winterstatten (Winterstetten), negotiated a merger with the Teutonic Order of the Ever-Virgin Mary.

The "Great Cunktator" - the Hohmeister (Supreme Master) of the "Teutons" Hermann von Salza lingered for years. Finally, he sent his envoys to Livonia to get acquainted with the state of affairs there. When visiting the possessions of the “sword-bearing brothers”, the envoys were by no means delighted, because “they did not like the way of life of the latter, who intended to live according to their own will and did not follow the rules of their own charter” (quote from the report on this inspection trip of the Teutonic knight Hartmann von Geldrungen , who later became Grand Master of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary). He probably did not like not only the freer way of life of the sword-bearers, but also their desire to preserve a certain independence when united with the “Teutons” and prevent the Teutonic Order from being completely absorbed (as we will see later, such a complete absorption did not happen).

However, on September 22, 1236, the army of the “Brothers of the Sword” (which, by the way, included, along with the local Baltic contingents, a large detachment of Orthodox Russian horse archers from Pskov - 200 people!) Was due to the betrayal of their treacherous allies - baptized Curonians ( Korsi, Kuronov, Kurov) - was utterly defeated by Lithuanian pagans on the Saule River in the Latvian region of Zemgalia (and not in the Lithuanian Siauliai region, as many write and think!). Many fugitives were exterminated by unbaptized Semigallians. Only the urgent intervention of the Teutonic Order could save the swordsmen. Therefore, on May 12, 1237, the Pope of Rome, with one stroke of the pen, included the survivors of the defeat of the “Brothers of the Sword” into the Teutonic Order.

Immediately, the “landmeister” (provincial master) of Prussia Hermann Balk (Balk, Balke, Falke or Valk) was sent to Livonia - by the way, the ancestor of the last St. Petersburg mayor A.P. Balka - at the head of either 54 or 60 Teutonic knights (of course, accompanied by squires, "serving brothers", hired shooters, etc.). They very soon established calm in the country and completed the Christianization of Courland. Since then, the landmeister, herrenmeister or geermeister, that is, the “military (provincial) master” (lat.: magister provincialis), who ruled the former Livonian sword-bearing brothers, was not elected by them, but was appointed Supreme Master of the Teutonic Order in Prussia, and the capital of the Gladifers was the city of Riga. They replaced the former emblem on their cloaks with a black Teutonic cross.

The "Landmaster" of the Livonian "Teutons" wore around his neck, as a sign of his position, a special chain, to which was hung a golden image of the Patroness of the Teutonic Order, the Most Holy Theotokos, with the Mother of God Jesus in her arms, decorated with multi-colored enamel, and the coat of arms of the Teutonic Order served as the base of the throne of the Blessed Virgin. with a straight black cross on a white field, and the links of the “Landmeister chain” are double golden swords (in memory of the origin of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order from the Order of the Swordsmen).

The strongest castle in the domain of the former Order of the Sword was considered to be Kokenhausen (Kokengusen, in Russian: Kukenoys or Kukeynos), whose three walls with powerful towers on the east side were like steps of a wall on a steep mountain.

Here we would like to make one important remark. Although the Order of the Swordsmen, created by the Archbishop of Riga and approved by the Pope of Rome, merged with the Teutonic Order in 1237, this merger turned out to be quite formal. Both spiritual and chivalrous brotherhoods remained in fact largely independent states that pursued an independent policy. And it is no coincidence that the Livonian landmaster Konrad von Vietinghof (en) did not provide the Supreme Master of the Prussian "Teutons" Konrad von Jungingen, who was invaded in 1410 by the combined armies of Poland and Lithuania, limited himself, according to some sources, to sending help to "elder brother ”, on the eve of the decisive battle near Tannenberg (Grunwald, Zalgiris), at best, only one single “banner”. Some historians generally deny any participation of the troops of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order in the battle of Tannenberg. In favor of the last point of view speaks, among other things, the following circumstance. Among the nobles (grossgebitigers, or gebitigers, not grossbeguters, as the modern Belarusian compiler and plagiarist A.E. Taras calls them, who cannot even correctly copy from historians, whose intellectual property he shamelessly appropriates!) Of the Teutonic Order, who fell in the battle of Tannenberg, and among the order banners captured by the Poles in this battle, there was not a single Livonian.

On the other hand, the Prussian "Teutons", with the exception of occasional assistance to the Livonian "Teutons" who were defeated by Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich near Derpt in 1234, from his son - Prince Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky - at Lake Peipus in 1242 and from the Lithuanian prince Mindovg under Durba (not) in 1260, they never entered into an open armed confrontation with North-Eastern Russia (future Muscovy, and later - Russia). Little of! By force of circumstances, the Prussian “Teutons”, who held back the forces of Lithuania and Poland in the West, turned out to be natural strategic partners of the Grand Dukes of Moscow.

The Smolensk regiments (“banners”), so praised by our domestic historians and publicists, brought by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander-Vitovt in 1410 near Tannenberg and taking the brunt of the heavy cavalry of the Prussian “Teutons” and their allies, fought under the banners of a non-Russian, and the Lithuanian prince and did not consist of Russians, but of Lithuanian subjects. And after the crushing defeat inflicted on the Teutonic Order of the Ever-Virgin Mary at Tannenberg, all the energy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania united with the Polish Kingdom turned ... against the Moscow Principality (future Russia). In the course of a bitter struggle that continued for many years against this common enemy for the "Teutons" and Muscovites, caused by similar interests in maintaining their territorial integrity, the Teutonic Order officially turned to the sovereigns of Moscow for military and financial assistance. In 1519, a bilateral treaty of alliance was concluded in Moscow, signed from the “Teutonic” side by the Hohmeister Margrave Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach of the Hohenzollern family, and from the Russian side by the Grand Duke of Moscow and Sovereign of All Russia Vasily III. However, the anti-Catholic Reformation, which had won by that time in Germany and spread to the Baltic states, led to the abolition of the state of the Teutonic Order in East Prussia and did not allow bilateral cooperation to grow stronger, which at first seemed very promising.

Due to the progressive financial weakness of the Hochmeisters after 1410 (due to the need to pay a huge indemnity to victorious Poland and pay salaries to mercenaries, the need for which constantly increased, as the number of crusader volunteers, the so-called. "Guests of the Order", in connection with the baptism of Lithuania, which was no longer considered pagan - at least from the point of view of the Pope), branches of the Teutonic Order - German (German), Prussian and Livonian - were increasingly moving away from each other. The matter went so far that in 1431, Hohmeister Paul von Rusdorff, in his message to the Procurator General (the ambassador of the Teutonic Order at the papal court), wrote as if it were something taken for granted that he, the Hohmeister, was a Livonian master and master of Germany ( "Deutschmeister") independently manage each of his own territory, subject only to him. At the same time, it should be noted that Hochmeister Rusdorf only stated in his message the tendency towards isolation, which has long been characteristic of the branches of the Order of the Virgin Mary. The consequence of the ideas set forth in the message of Hochmeister Rusdorf to the Procurator General of the "Teutons" and firmly rooted in all three branches of the Teutonic Order, was the characteristic practice of the 15th century for the masters of these three branches to recruit their order "brothers" separately. Anyone who wanted to go to Prussia and join the ranks of the Prussian branch of the Order of the Virgin Mary there could no longer be transferred to the balley (balage) or command (commandership) of the Teutonic Order, which was subordinate to the master of Germany ("Holy Roman Empire of the German nation").

The situation was similar with Livonia. If the order "brother" was transferred from Prussia to Livonia, then usually as a punishment. Thus, if the Teutonic Order during the reign of Hochmeister Rusdorf did not yet threaten to completely split, its unity was already under threat.

After the "Landmeister" Voltaire (and not "Walter", as is often incorrectly written) von Plettenberg (1494-1535), who successfully repulsed (mainly due to the superiority of the order troops in artillery and handguns) the offensive of the troops of the Grand Duke of Moscow and the Sovereign of All Russia, John III, in 1513 provided the Teutonic Order with a large amount of money necessary for the war with Poland, the then Supreme Master - the above-mentioned Margrave Albrecht of Brandenburg-Ansbach from the Hohenzollern family, in gratitude provided the successors of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword even more, than before, independence within the framework of the Teutonic Order and quite officially returned to them the ancient right to choose their own “geermeister”.

In fairness, it should be noted that in reality the Livonian "Teutons" themselves regained this right much earlier, back in 1470. against the rebellious secular knights and cities subject to the Order of Prussia and supporting the latter Poland, finally lost power over Livonia, the Livonian "Teutons" in 1470 on a "non-alternative basis" (in modern terms) elected Johann Volthus von Gerze as the only candidate for the "Landmaster". The Hochmeister had to recognize their choice and approve this "no alternative candidate" for the post of master of Livonia.

The Livonian "Landmeister" Voltaire von Plettenberg, elected and approved in office by the Hochmeister in 1494, like the Supreme Master Albrecht von Hohenzollern, supported the Reformation that penetrated Livonia from Germany and even joined the Schmalkalden Union of Protestant German princes in 1531, who raised the sword against their overlord - the lord of the "Holy Roman Empire" and King of Spain Charles I of Habsburg, about whom they said that "the sun never sets" in his possessions.

Since 1557, the victorious campaigns of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible began in Livonia. Gotthard von Ketteler (Kettler, Kettler), elected in 1559 by the Livonian "geermeister", having despaired of getting help from the Emperor and the German princes, surrendered himself in 1560 under the protection of the Polish-Lithuanian state, in 1561 he resigned his dignity, took off his order vestments, ceded Livonia to Lithuania and received Courland and Zemgalia from the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the Polish King Sigismund August, laying the foundation for the dynasty of the Dukes of Courland.

In conclusion, it seems necessary to mention the existence on the Iberian Peninsula of the Order of the Sword-bearers of St. James of Compostela (Order of St. James and the Sword, also called the Order of Santiago). Members of the Order of the Sword of St. James (which had two branches - Spanish and Portuguese) wore white cloaks and tunics with the image of a straight red sword (espada) point down (later turned into a red lily-shaped cross with the lower end passing into the blade of the sword).

This is the end and glory to our God!

ATTACHMENT 1

LIST OF MASTERS ("GEERMEISTERS" OR "HERRENMEISTERS") OF THE ORDER OF THE BROTHER Sword

1202-1209 - Venno (Weingold, Winno, Wingold, Fyungold) von Rohrbach

1209-1236 - Volkvin (Folkuin, Volkvin) von Naumburg zu Winterstatten (Winterstetten)

1236-1237 - Rutger (acting "herrenmeister" of the gladifers)

APPENDIX 2

LIST OF "LANDMEASTERS" (ZEMSK, LAND OR PROVINCE, MASTER) OF THE TEUTON ORDER (HOUSE) OF THE Blessed Virgin Mary in Livonia

1237-1238 - Hermann Balck;

1238-1241 - Dietrich von Grüningen (Gruningen);

1241-1242 - Andreas von Felben (Velven);

1242-1246 - Dietrich von Grüningen (secondary);

1246-1248 - Heinrich von Heimberg;

1248-1253 - Andreas von Felben (secondary);

1253-1254 - Ebergard von Sayn (Zayn) - acting (acting) "Landmeister";

1254-1257 - Anno von Sangershausen;

1257-1260 - Burkhard von Gornghausen (Gernghausen, Gerngguzen, Gorngusen);

1261 Georg von Eichstätt;

1261-1263 - Wernher von Breithausen;

1263-1266 - Konrad von Mandern;

1267-1270 - Otto (n) von Lauterberg;

1270 Andreas von Westphalen (acting);

1270-1273 - Walter von Nordeck;

1273-1279 - Ernst von Ratzeburg;

1279-1280 - Gerhard von Katzenelnbogen (Katzenellenbogen);

1280-1281 - Konrad von Feuchtwangen;

1281-1282 - Man (e) gold von Sternberg;

1282-1287 - Wilhelm von Niendorf;

1288-1289 - Konrad von Gattstein;

1290-1293 - Balthasar Golte;

1293-1295 - the position of "landmaster" remained vacant;

1295-1296 - Heinrich von Dinklage;

1296-1298 - Bruno;

1298-1307 - Gottfried von Rogge;

1307-1309 - the position of "landmaster" remained vacant;

1309-1322 - Gerhard von York;

1322-1324 - Konrad Kesselgut (acting);

1324-1328 - Reimar Hane;

1328-1340 - Eberhard von Monheim;

1340-1345 - Burkhard von Dreyleben;

1345-1359 - Gosvin von Gerreke (Guericke);

1359-1360 - Andreas von Steinberg (acting)

1360-1364 - Arnold von Vitingowe (Vitingof);

1364-1385 - Wilhelm von Frimersheim;

1385-1388 - Robin von Eltz;

1388-1389 - Johann von Ole;

1389-1401 - Wennemar von Bruggeney;

1401 Bernhard Gövelmann (acting);

1401-1413 - Konrad von Vietinghoff (en);

1413-1415 - Dietrich Tork;

1415-1424 - Siegfried Lander von Spanheim (Sponheim);

1424 Dietrich Krah (acting)

1424-1433 - Cisse (Kisse) von dem Rutenberg;

1434-1435 - Frank Kirskorf;

1435-1437 - Heinrich von Boeckenförde-Schüngel;

1437-1438 - Gottfried von Ruthenberg (acting);

1438-1439 - Heinrich Fincke (Wincke) von Overberg (acting)

1439-1450 - Heinrich Fincke (Wincke) von Overberg;

1450 Gottgard von Plettenberg (acting);

1450-1469 - Johann von Mengede-Ostgof;

1469-1470 - Johann von Krickenbeck (acting);

1470-1471 - Johann Volthus (Walgauz) von Gerze (Geerze);

1471-1472 - Bernhard von der Borch (acting);

1472-1483 - Bernhard von der Borch;

1483-1485 - Johann Freytag von Loringofen (acting);

1483-1485 - Johann Freytag von Loringofen;

1494-1535 - Voltaire von Plettenberg (life: 1450-1535)

(in 1501-1502 the duties of "Landmeister" were performed by Wennemar von Delvig);

1535-1549 - Hermann von Bruggeney (Bruggeney);

1549-1551 - Johann von der Recke;

1551-1557 - Heinrich von Gal(l)en;

1557-1559 - Johann Wilhelm von Furstenberg;

1559-1561 - Gottgard Kettler (Ketler, Ketteler) - Secular Duke of Courland
from 1561 to 1587).

During periods in which the position of the Livonian "Landmeister" remained vacant, the management of the Livonian order state of the "Teutons" was carried out directly by the department of the Supreme Master ("Hochmeister") of the "Teutons" from Prussia.

APPENDIX 3

LIST OF THE LIVON "LANDSHARSHALS" OF THE TEUTON ORDER OF THE Blessed Virgin Mary

1237–1239: Rutger

1241: Werner;

1279: Gerhard von Katzenelnbogen;

1300: Heinrich;

1306: Kuno;

1316: Heinrich;

1324–1328: Johann Ungnade

1330: Emeko Gake;

1342, 1347–1349: Bernhard von Oldendorf;

1354–1375: Andreas von Steinberg

1375–1385: Robin von Eltz

1387–1393: Johann von Ole

1395–1404: Bernhard von Gövelmann

1410: Hermann Fincke (Wincke):

1417–1420: Gerhard Wrede

1420–1422: Walrabe von Gunsbach

1422–1427: Dietrich Krah

1427–1431: Wernher von Nesselrode

1432–1434: Frank Kierscorff

1434–1435: Heinrich von Böckenförde, nicknamed Schungel;

1435–1441: Gottfried von Rozhenberg

1441–1448: Heinrich von Gortleben

1450–1461: Gottgard von Plettenberg

1462–1468: Gerhard von Mallinckrodt

1468–1470: Johann von Krickenbeck, nicknamed Spohr (Dispute);

1470–1471: Lubbert von Farssem (Warssem);

1471: Bernhard von der Borch;

1472–1488: Konrad von Herzenrode

1489–1494: Voltaire von Plettenberg

1495–1501: Heinrich von der Bruggen

1502–1529: Johann von dem Bröhle, nicknamed Plater;

1529–1535: Hermann von Bruggenei, nicknamed Hasenkamp;

1535–1551: Heinrich von Galen

1551–1556: Caspar von Münster (Jasper von Münster);

1556–1558: Christoph von Neuhof, alias Ley;

1558–1560: Philip Schal(l) von Belle