The Sariant-Brothers (German: Sariantbrüder; “Serving Brothers”) of the Teutonic Order, called Gray Cloaks (German: Graumäntler) by the color of their clothes, were recruited from commoners, but nonetheless were full members of the Teutonic Order. In wartime they performed the functions of sergeancy, analogous to modern non commissioned officers, leading militia units from the lands belonging to the Order or mercenary units. They fought not only on foot, but also in mounted formation. It was the Sariant-Brothers who made up the bulk of the Order’s army. According to The Rule and Statutes of the Teutonic Knights, in peacetime Sariant-Brothers occupied lower administrative positions than Knight-Brothers.
The military outfits of Sariant-Brothers were similar to those of Knight-Brothers, with the difference that their surcoats and cloaks were gray. The armament of Sariant-Brothers (swords, spears, daggers, battle axes, maces) was good, comfortable and of high quality, almost in no way inferior to those of Knight-Brothers.
Speaking about Sariant Brothers uniforms, the following should be noted. There is a widespread mistaken idea that Sariant-Brothers of the Teutonic Order wore a Tau-shaped Cross on their gray surcoats and cloaks. In reality, those Sariant-Brothers, who, like Knight-Brothers, joined the Order along with all their property (movable and immovable) and took the same three monastic vows as Knight-Brothers, were full members of the Order (although not of noble birth) and therefore they rightfully wore a full Latin Cross on their clothes. They wore the same cross on their shields, which, unlike their clothes, were painted not in gray, but in white, like those of the Knight-Brothers. A Tau-cross was worn not by Sariant-Brothers, but by those who will be described below.
Half-Brothers
There was another, completely different, category of members of the Teutonic Order, the so-called Half-Brothers (German: dienende Halbbrüder; dienende Brüder). They were pious Christians who joined the Order along with all their property and took three monastic vows, but were not obliged to perform military service, but were involved in economic activity in the order estates and trading stations — agriculture, cattle breeding, handicrafts, trade (for example, amber, fish, grain or livestock, etc.). They had the right to bring not necessarily a lifelong but a temporary vow to serve the Order. These Teutonic "business executives" wore coats and gray cloaks with a half-cross.
The semi-brothers were called upon by the order to arms only in the most extreme cases, for example, in the case of a sudden attack by the enemy on the order possessions in which these half-brothers were working, or in the case of an acute shortage of manpower (for example, after a serious defeat of the order troops that had suffered heavy losses). At the usual time, half-brothers were freed from military service and were not counted in the Order of the Order.