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Hermann von Salza
Hermann von Salza (or Hermann of Salza) (c. 1165 – March 20, 1239) was the
fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1210 to 1239. A
skilled diplomat with ties to the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope, Hermann
oversaw the expansion of the military order into Prussia.
Hermann von Salza was born to a dynasty of ministerial of the Thuringia
landgraves, probably at Dryburg Castle in Langensalza. With Landgrave Louis III
of Thuringia he may have already taken part in the 1189/91 Siege of Acre, where the
Teutonic Order was founded. He possibly also joined Landgrave Hermann I and
the Henneberg count Otto von Botenlauben on the Crusade of 1197 and witnessed
the coronation of King Amalric II of Jerusalem. The crusade was aborted upon the
death of Emperor Henry VI, where after the Teutonic Knights were- re-established
as a military order under Grand Master Heinrich Walpot von Bassenheim to secure
the conquered estates of the Holy Land. The precise time of Hermann's entry into
the Order is unknown, but he first appears as Grand Master at the coronation of
Count John of Brienne as King of Jerusalem in 1210. As such he may have spent
some time in the Mediterranean Sea region during the first year of his rule. During
this period the activities of the Knights were extended from Spain to Livonia.
The Hohenstaufen Dynasty - Page 101 of 200