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Description

This is the main, Eastern gate and towers of the medieval, crusader castle of Szymbark (Poland). Located on the edge of a large, 25 m. deep lake, this imposing, red-brick fortress was built on the once pagan, Prussian land of Pomesania which was conquered by the armies of the Baltic crusades in the 13th C. Unlike most castles in the region, however, it did not belong directly to the Teutonic knights. Instead, in 1250 it was agreed that after the conquest of pagan Prussia, much of the land of Pomesania, including Szymbark, was to be given to the newly created bishopric of the same name. These lands were to became a nominally independent principality ruled by its bishop and his cathedral chapter. Both institutions vigorously set to repopulate and modernize the lands attributed to them. They burdened surviving, local Prussians with heavy taxes and invited Western, predominantly German settlers to repopulate the desolated countryside and to built new towns and villages in the region. Despite some upheavals caused by Prussian uprisings, Pomesania soon became a wealthy and stable realm that yielded enough profit so that both the bishop and the Pomesanian chapter could afford to built monumental, red-brick castles, like Szymbark.

The Teutonic knights, however, were anxious to see a new, potentially rival power enjoy the profits of their Prussian, crusader conquest. Thus, Teutonic officials designed a way to bring Prussian dioceses, such as Pomesania, under the Order’s rule. The knights forced the chapter of the bishopric to follow Teutonic rule – this meant that all of the clerics that made the Pomesanian chapter had to also be members of the Teutonic Order. These clerics were responsible for choosing new bishops of Pomesania which meant that the Teutonic Order had firm control and could freely choose who was to rule over Pomesania. This arrangement not only consolidated Teutonic power in the region but also offered a unique career path to those members of the Teutonic Order who were priests, not knights. Traditionally, all of the military orders were dominated by knights; they held all the important offices, served as commanders, made strategic decisions and controlled most of the revenues. Priests and women within each military order, including the Templars, Hospitallers and the Teutonic knights, had secondary roles with little influence over the wealth and the policies pursued by their orders. The adoption of the Teutonic rule by Prussian diocesan chapters changed that imbalance: from now on, Teutonic priests could obtain positions of power – they controlled the wealth attributed to the formally independent principalities such as Pomesania. If they were skilled and lucky, they could even become bishops, thus, rivaling the prestige and influence of knights holding the most powerful offices within the Teutonic Order. They commanded not only wealth but also military power, secular knights and soldiers levied from the lands under their control. Priests were no longer second class members of the organization and the castle of Szymbark, financed and commanded by clerics of the Pomesanian cathedral chapter, stands as a testimony of their ‘knightly’ status.

Description

This is the main, Eastern gate and towers of the medieval, crusader castle of Szymbark (Poland). Located on the edge of a large, 25 m. deep lake, this imposing, red-brick fortress was built on the once pagan, Prussian land of Pomesania which was conquered by the armies of the Baltic crusades in the 13th C. Unlike most castles in the region, however, it did not belong directly to the Teutonic knights. Instead, in 1250 it was agreed that after the conquest of pagan Prussia, much of the land of Pomesania, including Szymbark, was to be given to the newly created bishopric of the same name. These lands were to became a nominally independent principality ruled by its bishop and his cathedral chapter. Both institutions vigorously set to repopulate and modernize the lands attributed to them. They burdened surviving, local Prussians with heavy taxes and invited Western, predominantly German settlers to repopulate the desolated countryside and to built new towns and villages in the region. Despite some upheavals caused by Prussian uprisings, Pomesania soon became a wealthy and stable realm that yielded enough profit so that both the bishop and the Pomesanian chapter could afford to built monumental, red-brick castles, like Szymbark.

The Teutonic knights, however, were anxious to see a new, potentially rival power enjoy the profits of their Prussian, crusader conquest. Thus, Teutonic officials designed a way to bring Prussian dioceses, such as Pomesania, under the Order’s rule. The knights forced the chapter of the bishopric to follow Teutonic rule – this meant that all of the clerics that made the Pomesanian chapter had to also be members of the Teutonic Order. These clerics were responsible for choosing new bishops of Pomesania which meant that the Teutonic Order had firm control and could freely choose who was to rule over Pomesania. This arrangement not only consolidated Teutonic power in the region but also offered a unique career path to those members of the Teutonic Order who were priests, not knights. Traditionally, all of the military orders were dominated by knights; they held all the important offices, served as commanders, made strategic decisions and controlled most of the revenues. Priests and women within each military order, including the Templars, Hospitallers and the Teutonic knights, had secondary roles with little influence over the wealth and the policies pursued by their orders. The adoption of the Teutonic rule by Prussian diocesan chapters changed that imbalance: from now on, Teutonic priests could obtain positions of power – they controlled the wealth attributed to the formally independent principalities such as Pomesania. If they were skilled and lucky, they could even become bishops, thus, rivaling the prestige and influence of knights holding the most powerful offices within the Teutonic Order. They commanded not only wealth but also military power, secular knights and soldiers levied from the lands under their control. Priests were no longer second class members of the organization and the castle of Szymbark, financed and commanded by clerics of the Pomesanian cathedral chapter, stands as a testimony of their ‘knightly’ status.