Auswahl der wissenschaftlichen Literatur zum Thema „Teutonic Knights. Commandery of Cologne“

The Teutonic Knights and Women in the 16th century Livonia Amount of information on women in the castles of the Teutonic Order in Livonia is scarce. From the 16th century there is evidence about the female housekeepers (low-ger. mayersche) in the manors and smaller castles of the commandery of Fellin. The artisans and servants of the Order were not bound to the vow of celibacy, some of them certainly had families and lived in the castles. The knights in Livonia participated in worldly activities such as weddings in the sixteenth century. Moreover, in some cases it could be shown that the knights were organizers of these events. This involved not only initial match-making but also guiding through the actual event as well. On these occasions it can be shown, how deeply the knights were involved in organizing the family affairs of their relatives: be that the guardianship of a mother or betrothal of a sister. Female relatives of the knights sometimes also visited Livonia. Several critics of the Order also single out the concubines of the brethren. The number of knights, who are known to have had concubines in the sixteenth century is not small. We do not know much about the forms of the relationships or eventual cohabitation. Most of the information is on the children born of these relationships, whose subsistence was taken care of.

This research is dedicated to two rare cycles of monumental painting from the second half of the 14th century, in the interior of Königsberg (Kaliningrad) Cathedral and St. Catherine’s Church in Arnau (Rodniki, Kaliningrad region). Although these monuments are almost completely lost, their reconstruction based on available photo documents, sketches, and descriptions carries a special value towards understanding the visual intertextuality of the Speculum humanae salvationis iconographic program in the symbolic context of the architectural space of the two churches. Contrary to the monumental cycles of Europe sharing this iconography, here in these two the zoning of space for knights and townspeople plays an important role. The study concludes that the manuscript miniatures from Wolfenbüttel HAB 2805 and the East Prussian mural cycles have a common protograph of the “Italian” or “mixed” type in an abbreviated edition (“Cologne group”), which can be traced back to an earlier prototgraph (of the “Italian” type), used in the Darmstadt Codex Hs. 2505. The interest of the patrons in the iconographic program, which preaches the dignity of the priesthood, could be associated with the relationship between the clergy of the Samland diocese and the Teutonic Knights engaged in northern crusades.

Golub Castle has aroused the interest of researchers since the 19th century. In the 1960s, in connection with its planned reconstruction, architectural and archaeological research was carried out, the results of which, however, were not fully realised. In 1989, further archaeological surveys were carried out to verify the question of the earlier settlement. From the current research it can be concluded that there was no early medieval stronghold in the place of the later castle. However, there was settlement until the 11th century. The next traces derive only from the time when Golub was taken over by the Teutonic Knights in 1293. It can be concluded from the sources that they erected a temporary wooden watchtower, which was the seat of the procurator in 1304. It is uncertain whether it was situated in the same location as the castle, although perhaps it is associated with a layer of burning, documented under the high castle. It is also unclear whether the original moat and embankment, protecting the outer ward from the west, should be associated with this structure. Around 1305 a commandery was established in Golub and the construction of a brick castle began. This saw the employment of the old Culm measure and the geometric ad quadratum method. The four-wing convent house was built according to a homogeneous plan, but it was implemented in stages typical for this type of building in Prussia. First, a peripheral curtain wall was built, then the main and subsequent wings. Modifications were made during the process of construction, abandoning, among others, the building of the Bergfrid. From the west, the castle was protected by a walled moat and parcham. Initially the outer bailey was constructed of timber and earth, on a trapezoidal plan and protected by the aforementioned moat and embankment. It was not until around the mid-14th century that the brick perimeter of the outer ward with towers was built, expanding them to the west and southeast. Inside, there were farm buildings, known from modern sources and archaeological excavations. At the end of the 14th century, two cylindrical fire towers were built in front of the west facade of the convent house, and at the beginning of the 15th century, two houses were inserted between them. The last works carried out by the Teutonic Knights in the castle were related to its reconstruction after the war of 1422.