Teutonic Order

I don't get how their Grand Master just converted to Protestantism and made himself Duke of Prussia. Why didn't his knights just kill him?

I don't care about war-side of things, foreigner policy, I already know about that. I want to know about domestic policy.

They tried. He was too powerful.

>impose huge taxes on everyone
>still refuse to pay mercenaries during war
>they turn against you
>also your own population turns against you and beg polish kang to liberate them
they were pretty greedy desu

Can you expand on that

they needed money for castles

The territory was under Polish rule. The Orden attempted anoter revolt against Poland. But the Kaiser didn't support them so after 4 years of war he made peace with Poland and then transformed the land.
The Orden voted a new Hochmeister and the Kaiser declared Reichsacht but since the territory was polish controlled and he protestant he didn't g.a.f.

How was the grandmaster elected? what right did the knights have?
I've heard that knights couldn't own property, is that true?

>impose huge taxes on everyone No, taxes were only introduced after the defeat of 1410, and even then they brought only a significant amount of money in 1411 and 1412.

Teutonic Knights were a monastic a corporation, and their structure was heavily modelled after that of the Templars and Knights Hospitallers. The regulations that governed the life of the military orders derived straight from the Rules of Saint Benedict and Saint Augustine, although the Teutons eventually adopted also some regulations from the Rule of Dominican Order, with whom they were on friendly terms.

During the first century of its existance, the nature of Teutonic Order was very similar to that of the other military orders - while they were emassing the landholding throughout catholic Europe, their priority was always the struggle in the Levant. Even during the period of the rapid expansion of the Order in Prussia and Livonia, the Grandmasters treated the affair on the Baltic coast merely as a sideshow, and their visits in Prussia remained extremely rare events. I don't believe there was a single visit of the Grandmaster in Livonia during this period. This also meant that Grandmaster's power up north was limited and highly contested by the local structrues of the Order. The real control lied at that time in the hands of Landmasters (there were three: of Germany, of Prussia and of Livonia), who were elected by the assemblies of knights from their respective provinces.

Things rapidly change after the fall of Akkon (1291), which forced the Grandmaster to relocate to Venice; and then after the conquest of Danzig and the downfall of the Templars (which scared the living shit out the Knights). At that point residence of the Grandmaster is moved from Venice to Marienburg in Prussia. From now on the Teutonic Order mutates into a de facto kingdom.

I'll finish this later

That's a very shitty map.

>Early Lebensraum
Retard.

Because?

Borders of Lithuania/Teutonic Order are inaccurate.

>riding horses in snow to battle
what kind of madness is this?

Concerning the election: dying grandmaster had a right to designate one of the brothers as his temporary substitute (although the other brothers could oppose grandmaster's choice and pick someone else for the job). The deputy had more or less the same authority as the grandmaster, but his main task was to prepare the election of the new GM. The election was not dissimilar to that of the other monastic orders, and took a form of a chapter. Since 14th century the election's took place in Marienburg. The electoral chapter gathered brothers from all around Europe, representing the vast landholdings of the Order.
The electoral chapter started with the beforementioned deputy GM picking one brother to be the 'Chairman'. The chairman picked a second brother. Now both of them picked the third one. The three of them picked the fourth and so on until there were 13 electors, who were to choose the new grandmaster. There were rules about the structure the electorial 13; they were supposed to represent as many provinces of the Order as possible in a fair manner; 1 had to be a priest, 4 had to be half-brothers and 8 had to be knights. The chairman proposed a candidate for the office while other electors debated and voted. When a candidate gathered normal majority of votes (so at least 7), he was elected a new grandmaster. There was no appeal from the electors' choice.

Remember that one time the Pope commanded the Order to return lands they stole from the Poles and they ignored him?
Remember that one time when Poles instead of slaughtering the Order decided to turn the issue over onto a Reich court and Teutons arrived with falsified documents and bribed the judges?
>just eternal kraut things

>Be brought by a Polish duke to convert pagan Prussians
>Go on a genocide run and conquer Prussian lands
>Be a greedy germ and turn against your christian ally, Poland. Steal his port of Danzig
>Poland is sick of you and converts last pagan Balts peacefully
>Go on autistic spergout and tell everyone in the west how Poles are false christians
>Invade Poland
>Get btfo by Poland
>50 years later your citizens get tired of your shit and ask Polish king for protection
>After 13 year war, get btfo by Poland again
>Give Poland back most lands you stole
>Over another 50 years later, chimp out again
>After getting btfo again, become Polish subject, and convert to protestantism
>Become dutchy of Prussia, the eternal germ.

Best part is today Prussia is split in half between Russia and Poland, with no G*rms left. Good riddance.