The Order of the Hospital of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the German House in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, was founded during the third Crusade to the Holy Land in 1190. Initially, it operated as a brotherhood of Acre hospitalists - in 1198, after receiving the rule, the brotherhood was transformed into a knightly order. The knights' conventions involved in the crusades were religious assemblies made up of knights monks. The Teutonic Order was one of three such assemblies alongside the Templars and the Knights of Saint John.
