No.809
The fraternity which preceded the formation of the Order was formed in the year 1191 in Acre, Israel by German merchants from Bremen and Lübeck. 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.[6] Pope Clement III approved it and the Order started to play an important role in Outremer (the general name for the Crusader states), controlling the port tolls of Acre. In 1211, during the second, much weaker Crusader kingdom in the Holy Land, but still long before its final demise in 1291, the Order was "invited" to the Burzenland (southeastern Transylvania) 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 1225, 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.
____________________________
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.
