Eberhard von Sayn

Eberhard von Sayn, sometimes Eberhardus de Seyne or Everart de Saine (died 1258), was a Teutonic Knight, Grosskomtur, Landmeister and finally Grand Marshal of the Teutonic Order from 1251 to 1254.

Biography Eberhard von Sayn came from a family of counts whose ancestral seat was Sayn Castle, in Rhineland-Palatinate and north of Koblenz. It is assumed that Eberhard may have been the grandson of Count Eberhard II von Sayn, founder of the cadet branch of the family.

It is not known when Eberhard joined the Teutonic Order, but appeared in sources for the first time in 1249, when he was already a great commander. At that time he was in Palestine, acting in place of Grand Master Heinrich von Hohenlohe who was not present in Palestine. In Prussia he took over from the absent Landmeister Dietrich von Grüningen, while in Livonia he replaced Landmeister in Livland Andreas von Felben.

The first province he visited was Prussia, where on 1 October 1251 he ordered the rebuilding of the destroyed Toruń and Chełmno. The next stage of Eberhard's mission was in Livonia, where he remained from summer 1252 to spring 1254.

After his success in arranging the internal affairs of the two monastic provinces, Eberhard von Sayn resigned from the post of Landmeister of Prussia and probably returned to the Holy Land.