Teutonic Order in the Kingdom of Sweden, 1237–1467

Livonian Master’s Largest Overseas Estates.

We, Johann von Mengede, also called Osthoff, brother of the Teutonic Order, Master in Livonia, do hereby publicly acknowledge and attest in this letter to all who see, hear, or read it, that we – with the full knowledge, intent, and consent of our honourable fellow brethren – have sold to the noble and illustrious well-born Lord Erik Axelsson, knight of Languno, and his rightful heirs, the below-described properties situated in Sweden, which our Order has from of old held and enjoyed there…

These words signed the end of the Teutonic Order’s estates in Sweden, transferred to a local nobleman in 1467. The properties in mainland Sweden dated to the mid-13th century, when Karl Ulfsson bequeathed his worldly possessions to the Order of the House of St. Mary. Unexpectedly, the Order accepted this grant and set out to increase its presence in Sweden.

How did the Order’s estates in Sweden develop? How were Swedish nobles involved with this process? And how were anti-Teutonic interests able to lay a trap which the unwary Commander Gert van Welij sprang during a Riksdag meeting in 1461?

This title focusses on those 230 years in the relations between the local higher officials of the Order in Sweden and Swedish nobility. The centre of the Order’s rule in Sweden, the manorial residence of the commanders of Årsta, is explored alongside two important religious centres: the local parish church at Österhaninge and Our Lady’s Chapel in Strängnäs Cathedral.