The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society c. 1190 in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. Its members have commonly been known as the Teutonic Knights, having historically served as a crusading military order for supporting Catholic rule in the Holy Land and the Northern Crusades during the Middle Ages, as well as providing military protection for Catholics in Eastern Europe.
The Order's Marienburg Castle, Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights, now Malbork, Poland
Hermann von Salza, the fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (1209–1239)
Tannhäuser in the habit of the Teutonic Knights, from the Codex Manesse
Frederick II allows the order to invade Prussia, by P. Janssen
Religious order (Catholic)
In the Catholic Church, a religious order is a community of consecrated life with members that profess solemn vows. They are classed as a type of religious institute.
Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the mendicant Order of Friars Minor, as painted by El Greco.
The Hieronymite monks.
Thomas Schoen 1903, OCist.
Saint Bruno of Cologne, founder of the monastic Order of Carthusians, as painted by Nicolas Mignard.
