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Between 1190 and 1525, the Teutonic Order (the third major military religious order after the Temple and the Hospital) maintained extensive possessions in Italy.
This volume examines the history of the Order's Italian branch, arguing that it served as an intermediary between East and West, as well as North and South. It reflects on the reasons for the Teutonic Order's success and the persistence of its settlement, particularly its ability to adapt to various and changing political and economic contexts, and its talent in garnering the support of the local population. Not only focusing on political, diplomatic, economic and religious history but also considering the history of art and architecture, spirituality, prosopography and everyday life, this book portrays the Teutonic Order in Italy as an example of medieval coexistence, collaboration and crossing borders.
This book will a useful study for scholars interested in Medieval Italy, cross-cultural history and the military religious orders of the medieval period.
List of contents
Introduction: A border crossing subject
Sources, Historiography
Part I: The Structures
Chapter 1: The settlement
The first steps
The era of Frederick II
Chapter 2: Southern Italy
Bailiwick of Sicily
Bailiwick of Apulia
Chapter 3: Northern and Central Italy
Bailiwick of Lombardy
Rome and Central Italy
Part II: Politics and Administration
Chapter 4: The rule of the grand master in Italy
The last years of Frederic II and the aftermath of his death
The Fall of Acre and its consequences
Chapter 5: The Italian branch of the Order under the rule of the master of Germany
The takeover
The way to the crisis: end of the fourteenth and first half of the fifteenth century
Chapter 6: The loss of the Order's Italian possessions
Southern Italy
Northern Italy
Part III: Teutonic brethren and their activities in Italy
Chapter 7: The brethren
Overview
Origins and careers
Chapter 8: Spirituality and moral
Moralia
Immoralia
Chapter 9: Order's familiars and confratres
The familiars' institution
Collaboration with minority groups
Chapter 10: The economic strategies of the Teutonic Order
Overview
The strategies
Chapter 11: Art, architecture and everyday life
Buildings and artworks
Everyday life
Conclusion: Connecting and adapting
Bibliography, Illustrations
About the author
Kristjan Toomaspoeg is Professor of Medieval History at the Università del Salento, Lecce (Italy). His research focuses on the military orders, medieval Southern Italy and frontier history. His publications include Les Teutoniques en Sicile (1197–1492) (2003), Decimae: Il sostegno economico dei sovrani alla Chiesa del Mezzogiorno nel XIII secolo (2009), and À travers le regard de l’Autre: Réflexions sur la société médiévale européenne (2018, with José Albuquerque Carreiras and Giulia Rossi Vairo).
Summary
Between 1190 and 1525, the Teutonic Order maintained extensive possessions in Italy.
