Castra Terrae Culmensis – the daily life of knights of the Teutonic Order in the light of recent research

This article presents the results of a long-term archaeological and environmental studies research conducted by the Institute of Archaeology at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń in 2005‒2018 on castles in Papowo Biskupie, Radzyń Chełmiński, Kowalewo Pomorskie, Unisław, Starogród, Lipienek, Bierzgłowo, Wąbrzeźno and Grudziądz. The research was interdisciplinary and included also non-invasive, geoarchaeological, HGIS, archaeobotanical and archaeozoological studies. Their results were used not only to discuss the chronology of the origins of building activity and the model of the development of defensive architecture, but also to reconstruct selected elements of daily life. The daily life of the inhabitants of the Teutonic Order’s castles was conditioned by many elements related primarily to their monastic rule. However, the daily existence of the knights was also strongly influenced by the natural conditions affecting the location and position of the castles, as well as the external environment, including the architecture of the space in which the daily elements of life took place. In addition to the Rule and monastic statutes, archaeological findings uncovered in the course of the archaeological research provide interesting clues that also speak about the conditions of life, work, prayer and duties of members of the Order.