Die Eingliederung der Deutschordensballei Koblenz in die Struktur des Kölner Erzstifts

Abstract

The integration of the Koblenz bailiwick of the Teutonic Order in the structures of the Archbishopric of Cologne

The chronological scope of the article covers the period from the first half of the 13th c. to the mid-15th c., whereas the territorial scope – the commanderies of Koblenz, Cologne and Muffendorf. The research is based on the documents stored in the Historical Archive of the City of Cologne. The article tackles the issue of the independence of the Teutonic Order against the Archbishop of Cologne, who attempted to integrate the Teutonic Order with the structures of the Archbishopric of Cologne; however, in accordance with the papal privileges, the Teutonic Knights were subordinated to the Holy See. The paper consist of three parts which discuss three means of the policy of the Archbishop towards the Teutonic Knights. First, the means of such an integration was to include the official of the archbishop in the procedure of bestowal of the parishes to the priestbrothers. The presented candidate for the parish priest was obliged to take an oath to the Archbishop. Secondly, the Archbishop preferred to use his own jurisdiction over the papal jurisdiction. Thirdly, the Archbishop demanded payments from all the orders residing in his diocese. Despite these, the members of the Teutonic Orders could override these three means by addressing the Holy See directly. On the basis of this research, the author puts forward a thesis that the Teutonic Order was far less independent than it has been assummed so far.