Knights of Christ of Prussia

The duke built a castle on the Vistula, called Dobrzyn, and provided enough resources and a manor farm, called Zcedelitz, and [the Knights of Christ of Prussia] came to be known as "from the castle of Dobrzyn". And the Knights agreed with the duke: whatever land they gained from the heathens, they would divide equally. Such was the description of the agreement made in 1228 between Duke Konrad of Mazovia and Kuyavia and Master Bruno of the Knights of Christ of Prussia in the 13th century chronicle of the Teutonic Order, so called Hermann von Salza's Report on the Conquest of Prussia. Yet, the Knights of Christ would relinquish their autonomy only a few years later to join the Teutonic Order, giving up their hard-won privileges and territory. Was this because-as the chroniclers of the Teutonic Order would write-the Knights of Christ were poor fighters and unskilled in the art of war? As an organization that did not thrive in the exigent winds of history, it would be