The Order of St. John is considered the oldest of the knightly orders. Initially, it was a fraternity at hospital of St. John the Baptist, in 1113, transformed into a convent. Around 1120, several French knights took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience before the Patriarch of Jerusalem, according to the rule of St. Bernard; they also swore to fight for their faith. This is how the order of the poor knights of the temple, the Templars, was created. The knights of the monks undertook to defend the pilgrims and protect the pilgrimage routes.
The Third Crusade, which lasted from 1189 to 1192, was connected with the founding of the Order of the Hospital of Our Lady of the German House in Jerusalem. During the siege of Akka, the German knights of the cross established an association at the hospital that looked after the wounded and sick. The hospital was soon taken over by the hospital fraternity, soon approved by Pope Clement III.
In 1198, an Order of Knights was created from the brotherhood, which was granted numerous lands. From then on, an additional duty of the monks was also to fight the infidels. The knights’ garment was a white cloak crossed with a black cross, which distinguished them from the Knights of St. John, wearing black garments with a white Maltese cross, and the Templars with a red cross.
After the failures of the crusade, the order began to decline. The regression was prevented by Hermann von Salza – the 4th Grand Master in office in the years 1209-1239, the actual creator of the order’s power. Through diplomatic activities, he obtained privileges and goods from the popes and Roman emperors, thanks to which the Order became an economic and political power. He was aware that the gains in Palestine were impermanent and he tried to acquire new territories to establish a monastic state. The first destination was Transylvania, where the Hungarian king Andrew II invited the order to defend its eastern frontiers against the nomadic tribes of fishermen. However, when the Teutonic Knights wanted to get rid of the fief yoke of the Hungarian crown, King Andrew chased them away. Then came the invitation from Konrad Mazowiecki.