ORDINES◆ MILITARES COLLOQUIA TORUNENSIA HISTORICA XXIII Yearbook for the Study of the Military Orders ! " # $ ISSN (print) "$&'-!""$ / ISSN (online) !*+#-',#! DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/OM.2018.009 pp. 235–271 R E. B *1 Departement Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis / Departmment of History and Art History Faculteit Geesteswetenschappen / Faculty of Humanities Universiteit Utrecht / Utrecht University Drift 6 3512 BS Utrecht The Netherlands
[email protected] THE RELIGIOUS IDENTITY OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER BAILIWICK OF UTRECHT, 1560!2006 K"#$% history; military orders; Early Modern and Modern History; Teutonic Order; Calvinism; Aristocratic Distinction; Charity; Netherlands A&%'()' The radical amendments to its statutes in +--4 notwithstanding, the Teutonic Order Bailiwick of Utrecht is still defined by its Protestant outlook and its roots in ancient nobility, an identity that dates back nearly four centuries. Between ;4;< and ;4=-, despite having remained Catholic over a remarkably long period, it had broken with the central order in Germany, becoming an institution for Reformed, married noblemen. The ad - mission requirements were four noble quarters and membership of the Reformed church. In this way, the order fitted seamlessly within the structures of the Dutch Republic. In the revolutionary period after ;JQ<, the order sought to survive by keeping a low profile. In ;V;; Napoleon dissolved the Bailiwick. After the restoration of Dutch independence, this measure was reversed by King William I. In the new kingdom, adherence to the old admission criteria demarcated the old nobility not only from the new aristocracy, but also from the old Catholic nobility in the South. After the rupture of the kingdom in ;VX- and the introduction of the liberal constitution in ;V=V – which introduced a parliamentary system, abolished the rights of the aristocracy and brought equal - ity of religions – the Protestant nobility assumed a leading role in the defence of traditional values.