theater 689of brief prayers, MASS, military duties, and, for monks,
FASTING, personal poverty, and vows of obedience. The
head of the order was an elected grand master, who was
assisted by a grand commander and a general chapter.
Any WARFAREwas entrusted to a marshal. The grateful
Frederick II in 1226 by the Golden Bull of Rimini had
granted them seigniorial rights, including taxation of cus-
toms, a mint, a market, and the BANto enforce peasant
labor. This allowed the Teutonic Order, as did the bish-
oprics and abbeys of the empire, to form territorial states,
as in East Prussia from the 13th century, and to become a
regional political, economic, and religious power.
COLONIZATION AND DECLINEFrom then on the knights’ history was basically confined
to PRUSSIA. They were instrumental in great planned colo-
nization movements that settled perhaps 400,000 people
in their newly carved out domain. In the course of their
progress east, the Teutonic Knights were stopped in the
penetration of Russia in 1242 or 1243 at Lake Pevipus by
the troops of Prince Alexander NEVSKY. The grand master
then established himself in Marienburg from 1309. After
the knights took Pomerania, their progress eastward was
halted by a crushing defeat at the Battle of Tannenberg or
Grünwald in 1411 in a confrontation with Ladislas II
Jagiello of LITHUANIAand POLAND. By 1466 their power
was reduced to East Prussia as vassals to the king of
Poland.
See also CHIVALRY; HANSEATIC LEAGUE; LIVONIA;
LÜBECK; MILITARY ORDERS.
Further reading:William L. Urban, The Baltic Cru-
sade,2d ed. (1975; reprint, Chicago: Lithuanian Research
and Studies Center, 1994); William L. Urban, The Prus-
sian Crusade(Lanham, Md.: University Press of America,
1980); Michael Burleigh, Prussian Society and the German
Order: An Aristocratic Corporation in Crisis c. 1410–1466
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984); Eric
Christiansen, The Northern Crusades: The Baltic and the
Catholic Frontier, 1100–1525(1980; reprint, New York:
Penguin Books, 1997); Alan Forey, The Military Orders:
From the Twelfth to the Early Fourteenth Century(Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 1992); Helen Nicholson,
Love, War and the Grail(Leiden: Brill, 2001).
textiles Textiles in the Middle Ages were made from
vegetable and animal materials. Flax was produced in the
humid regions of northwestern Europe and was much
prized for the production of high-quality linen cloth.
Cotton was grown and was an object of commerce in
Mediterranean regions. Hemp was used to make up
household linen of mediocre quality and was commer-
cially produced for ropes and sails. Wool from the 12th
century was the object of long- and mid-distance com-
merce. English wool and Mediterranean merino were
considered to be the best. Luxury fabrics. Flemish textiles
were initially produced in the LOWCOUNTRIESand BRA-
BANT, but NORMANDY,ENGLAND, the LANGUEDOC, Rous-
sillon, CATALONIA, and ITA LY were also centers of
production of increasingly better-quality fabrics. Cloth
manufacture and the weaving industry were major activi-
ties in many towns in the later Middle Ages, with some
production done in the countryside.
Flourishing first in the Sassanian and Byzantine East,
the rearing of silkworms and the preparation of SILKthread
reached the West through the Muslim world, in SPAINand
SICILY. From there it spread to towns all over Europe, but
especially in Spain, northern Italy, and AVIGNON, many of
which became well known for its production.
See alsoCLOTHING AND COSTUME;FLORENCE;LUCCA;
SILK AND SILK ROADS; TAPESTRY.
Further reading: Elisabeth Crowfoot, Textiles and
Clothing: c. 1150–c. 1450 (London: H.M.S.O., 1992);
Désirée G. Koslin and Janet E. Snyder, eds., Encountering
Medieval Textiles and Dress: Objects, Texts, Images(New
York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002); John H. A. Munro, Tex-
tiles, Towns and Trade: Essays in the Economic History of
Late-Medieval England and the Low Countries(Aldershot:
Variorum, 1994); Annemarie Stauffer, Textiles of Late
Antiquity (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art,
1995); Thelma K. Thomas, Textiles from Medieval Egypt,
A.D. 300–1300(Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museum of Natural
History, 1990).theater Theater in the Middle Ages began with simple
forms usually in LATINsponsored by the church. This
eventually led to a wide variety of VERNACULARand secu-
lar productions in the later Middle Ages which included
real characters. The plays were performed out of doors,
not necessarily next to a church, and were sponsored by
lay organizations such as CONFRATERNITIES and craft
GUILDS. They often included popular and courtly enter-
tainment such as dancing, games, festivals, and folk ritu-
als, with performances of professional minstrels, dancers,
jugglers, and acrobats, singly or in roving bands.
Most theatrical activity was not approved by the
CLERGYsince their control of the content was allegedly
minimal, although many clerics actually participated in
their production, particularly as writers. The medieval
theater remained, however, heavily didactic. Even the
more secular productions were full of the dramatic prob-
lems of the human condition and the relation of
humankind to GOD. The tales depicted in medieval the-
ater reinforced moral teachings rather than dealing with
doctrinal problems or the discussion of the issues found
in SERMONSand other forms of religious instruction. They
were especially concerned with the consequences of SIN
and the value to the individual of the VIRTUES.
See also DRAMA; FABLES AND FABLIAUX OR COMIC
TALES;HROTSWITHA OFGANDERSHEIM; MORALITY PLAYS;
MYSTERY AND MIRACLE PLAYS; YORK PLAYS.