Ludwig von Erlichshausen (1410–1467) was the 31st Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights

Teutonic Knights

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

, serving from 1449/1450 to 1467.

As did his uncle and predecessor Konrad von Erlichshausen

Konrad von Erlichshausen

Konrad von Erlichshausen was the 30th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1441 to 1449.Konrad came from Ellrichshausen in Swabia, now part of Satteldorf in Baden-Württemberg...

, Ludwig came from Ellrichshausen in Swabia

Swabia

Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...

, now part of Satteldorf

Satteldorf

Satteldorf is a town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....

 in Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

.

Ludwig was aide to Grand Master Paul von Rusdorf

Paul von Rusdorf

Paul von Rusdorf was the 29th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1422 to 1441.The Treaty of Melno was one of von Rusdorf's first acts; it brought stability to the Order and its relations, but fighting resumed in 1431 with the Polish-Teutonic War...

 1436-40, Komtur

Komtur

Komtur was a rank within military orders, especially the Teutonic Knights. In the State of the Teutonic Order, the Komtur was the commander of a basic administrative division called Kommende . A Komtur was responsible for the alimentation of the Knights by the yield from the local estates, he...

 of Schönsee (Wąbrzeźno)

Wabrzezno

Wąbrzeźno is a town in Poland, in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, about 35 km northeast of Toruń. It is the capital of the Wąbrzeźno County...

 near Thorn (Toruń)

Torun

Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....

 (1442-47), and Komtur of Mewe (Gniew)

Gniew

Gniew is a town situated on the left bank of the Vistula River, in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It is located at around .-History:The first recorded mentions of Gniew appear in written documents from the first half of the 13th century, one of which refers to the region as Terra Gymeu...

 (1446-50). After the death of his more compromising uncle in 1449, Ludwig became Grand Master in 1450, despite being of limited ability and bad temper.

His uncompromising stance towards the Prussian Confederation

Prussian Confederation

The Prussian Confederation was an organization formed in 1440 by a group of 53 gentry and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia to oppose the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. It was based on the basis of an earlier similar organization, the Lizard Union...

 made the Prussian cities ask the Polish king for support, which led to the outbreak of the Thirteen Years' War in 1454 between the Order and the Polish-supported Prussian Confederation.

As the Order was short on cash since the expensive First Peace of Thorn (1411), Ludwig had to hand over the Order's headquarter Marienburg Castle to his mercenaries in lieu of pay during the war. In turn, they sold it to the Polish king who seized the castle in June 1457. The Order had to move its capital to Königsberg

Königsberg

Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...

. In 1454/1455, the Neumark

Neumark

Neumark comprised a region of the Prussian province of Brandenburg, Germany.Neumark may also refer to:* Neumark, Thuringia* Neumark, Saxony* Neumark * Nowe Miasto Lubawskie or Neumark, a town in Poland, situated at river Drwęca...

 was first pawned, then sold to the Electorate of Brandenburg by the Treaties of Cölln and Mewe

Treaties of Cölln and Mewe

The Treaties of Cölln and Mewe, concluded in 1454 and 1455, transferred the Neumark from the Teutonic Order state to the Electorate of Brandenburg. The Teutonic Knights had received the area as a pawn from Brandenburg in 1402, and as a possession in 1429...

.

Their former capital of Marienburg was not the only loss, however, as the Order had to cede other areas in the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466: Pomerelia

Pomerelia

Pomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia lay in eastern Pomerania: on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and west of the Vistula and its delta. The area centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...

, Culmerland, Warmia

Warmia

Warmia or Ermland is a region between Pomerelia and Masuria in northeastern Poland. Together with Masuria, it forms the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship....

, and a part of Pomesania

Pomesania

Pomesanians were one of the Prussian clans. They lived in Pomesania , a historical region in modern northern Poland, located between the Nogat and Vistula Rivers to the west and the Elbląg River to the east. It is located around the modern towns of Elbląg and Malbork...

 including Marienwerder

Kwidzyn

Kwidzyn is a town in northern Poland on the Liwa river, with 40,008 inhabitants . It has been a part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously in the Elbląg Voivodeship . It is the capital of Kwidzyn County.-History:...

(now Kwidzyn).

Ludwig died at Königsberg.