The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society c. 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 supplying military protection for Catholics in Eastern Europe.
Purely religious since , the Teutonic Order still confers limited honorary knighthoods. Thus the term "Teutonic" echoes the German origins of the order Theutonicorum in its Latin name. After the capture of Acre they took over a hospital in the city in order to take care of the sick and began to describe themselves as the Hospital of St. Mary of the German House in Jerusalem. After Christian forces were defeated in the Middle East, the Order was moved to Burzenland southeastern Transylvania in to help defend the southeastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Cumans.
The Order invited German planters to help build up settlements to provide support. As the Order pushed back the invaders, the settlements expanded. King Andrew II of Hungary became concerned he was losing influence.
So, in , after Pope Honorius III's papal bull claiming his authority over the Order's territory in Transylvania and its tax exemption toward the king, Andrew expelled the Order.
The Order's next assignment concerned Konrad I of Masovia , who was settling a frontier around Prussia , a region named for the Prussians who lived there. Along with Konrad's forces, the Order pushed back the Prussians and began to push further to conquer and Christianize them.
