History UsefulNotes / TheTeutonicKnights

** BadassArmy: Mostly played straight; membership of several [[LeeroyJenkins reckless idiots]] and [[DirtyCowards cowardly allies]] led to a few exceptions, and their most crushing defeats. However, they were one of the greatest epitomes of a [[MasterOfAll combined-arms force]], mixing the raw power of Western heavy troops with discipline not seen since the [[TheGloryThatWasRome Principate]].

* Henryk Sienkiewicz's ''Krzyżacy'' (''Literature/TheKnightsOfTheCross''). The Teutonic Knights are (almost to the last man) AlwaysChaoticEvil stand-in for Germans, Poles are all noble and brave, and there is [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch a decent guest of the Order]] who is there to be repulsed by how the Knights turn out to be. In case you haven't already guessed, it was written around the time when UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} was being ruled by the [[TheSoundOfMartialMusic Austrians]] and [[{{Prussia}} Prussians]] ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and the]] [[TsaristRussia Russians]]).

The very success of the Order brought about its downfall. Having substantially converted the heathen populace of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, they came into jurisdictional conflict with the now converted natives, particularly after 1386, when Jogaila, the leader of the Lithuanians, was baptized and became the Christian King Władysław Jagiello of Poland. Recriminations and open warfare between the Order and the Poles were the result, with the latter gradually gaining the upper hand. The defeat in the battle of Grunwald (German name: Tannenberg, 15 July, 1410) and a rebellion by the local nobility and cities aided by a Polish intervention (1455-1466) resulted in the Order sustaining large territorial losses and having to accept Polish suzerainty over the part of East Prussia they retained. Due to the loss of Marienburg, the Order had to move its residence to Königsberg (modern Kaliningrad).

The worst challenge to the Order, however, came with the Protestant Reformation. In 1525, the Grand Master, Albert of Brandenburg, having converted to Lutheranism, repudiated his vows and seized upon the lands of the Order, doing homage for them to his uncle, King Sigismund I of Poland, and making himself the first Duke of {{Prussia}}. Many of the knightly brethren followed suit, while others remained faithful to Catholicism. The Grand Mastership thereafter reverted to the ''Landmaster'' within the Kingdom of Germany, who became known as the ''Hoch und Deutschmeister''.

The ''Deutsche Orden'' (Latin, ''Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum'' (OT) or the "Order of the House of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem") is a Roman Catholic and monastic religious order, more commonly known as "'''The Teutonic Knights'''." They are considered to be the ancestor for the popular set of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_virtues virtues]] known as ''GermanicEfficiency''. Traditionally founded ''c.'' 1190 A.D. by merchants from Bremen and Lübeck in Acre as a hospital service for Germans in the Holy Land, by 1198 it imitated the older crusading orders, the [[TheKnightsHospitallers Hospitallers]] and [[TheKnightsTemplar Templars]], in acquiring knightly brothers whose original mission was to protect pilgrims, but who soon expanded their activities to include military actions against Muslim enemies of the Crusading states. Like the Templars, whose rule they substantially adopted, they wore as their habit a white mantle with a cross, but a black rather than a red one. (It would be some time before the form was standardized into the „''Tatzenkreuz''‟ or "Cross patée" version borne today;)

After the decline of the Crusader States in [[TheHighMiddleAges the early thirteenth century]], they sought other fields of operation. Under the most important of the early Grand Masters ''Hochmeister''‟, literally "High Master"), Hermann von Salza (1209-1239), a [[TheSixteenLandsOfDeutschland Thuringian]] knight who was a favorite of both [[ThePope Pope Gregory IX]] and of the [[HolyRomanEmpire Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II]], the Order expanded first into the so-called „''Burzenland''‟ of Transylvania, and then, after their expulsion therefrom by the King of Hungary, into the Baltic area at the request of Conrad, Duke of Masovia, to crusade against the heathen ''Pruzzi'' (a people speaking a now-extinct language related to Lithuanian and Latvian) -- after Hermann had carefully made sure that all lands conquered by the Order were to be administered by it. This was the foundation of the so-called „''Ordensstaat''‟ (or "Order-state"). After the fall of Acre in 1291, the Grand Masters moved their residence first to Venice, and then in 1309 to the Marienburg (now ''Malbork'' in Poland).

The ''Deutsche Orden'' (Latin, ''Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum'' (OT) or the "Order of the House of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem") is a Roman Catholic and monasticreligious order, more commonly known as "'''The Teutonic Knights'''." They are considered to be the ancestor for the popular set of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_virtues virtues]] known as ''GermanicEfficiency''. Traditionally founded ''c.'' 1190 A.D. by merchants from Bremen and Lübeck in Acre as a hospital service for Germans in the Holy Land, by 1198 it imitated the older crusading orders, the [[TheKnightsHospitallers Hospitallers]] and [[TheKnightsTemplar Templars]], in acquiring knightly brothers whose original mission was to protect pilgrims, but who soon expanded their activities to include military actions against Muslim enemies of the Crusading states. Like the Templars, whose rule they substantially adopted, they wore as their habit a white mantle with a cross, but a black rather than a red one. (It would be some time before the form was standardized into the „''Tatzenkreuz''‟ or "Cross patée" version borne today;)

After the decline of the Crusader States in [[TheHighMiddleAges the early thirteenth century]], they sought other fields of operation. Under the most important of the early Grand Masters („''Hochmeister''‟, literally "High Master"), Hermann von Salza (1209-1239), a [[TheSixteenLandsOfDeutschland Thuringian]] knight who was a favorite of both [[ThePope Pope Gregory IX]] and of the [[HolyRomanEmpire Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II]], the Order expanded first into the so-called „''Burzenland''‟ of Transylvania, and then, after their expulsion therefrom by the King of Hungary, into the Baltic area at the request of Conrad, Duke of Masovia, to crusade against the heathen ''Pruzzi'' (a people speaking a now-extinct language related to Lithuanian and Latvian) -- after Hermann had carefully made sure that all lands conquered by the Order were to be administered by it. This was the foundation of the so-called „''Ordensstaat''‟ (or "Order-state"). After the fall of Acre in 1291, the Grand Masters moved their residence first to Venice, and then in 1309 to the Marienburg (now ''Malbork'' in Poland).

The ''Deutsche Orden'' (Latin, ''Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum'' (OT) or the "Order of the House of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem") is a Roman Catholic and monasticreligious order, more commonly known as "'''The Teutonic Knights'''." Today, they are considered to be the ancestor for the set of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_virtues virtues]] known as ''GermanicEfficiency''. Traditionally founded ''c.'' 1190 A.D. by merchants from Bremen and Lübeck in Acre as a hospital service for Germans in the Holy Land, by 1198 it imitated the older crusading orders, the [[TheKnightsHospitallers Hospitallers]] and [[TheKnightsTemplar Templars]], in acquiring knightly brothers whose original mission was to protect pilgrims, but who soon expanded their activities to include military actions against Muslim enemies of the Crusading states. Like the Templars, whose rule they substantially adopted, they wore as their habit a white mantle with a cross, but a black rather than a red one. (It would be some time before the form was standardized into the „''Tatzenkreuz''‟ or "Cross patée" version borne today;)

The worst challenge to the Order, however, came with the Protestant Reformation. In 1525, the Grand Master, Albert of Brandenburg, having converted to Lutheranism, repudiated his vows and seized upon the lands of the Order, doing homage for them to his uncle, King Sigismund I of Poland, and making himself the first Duke of {{Prussia}}. Many of the knightly brethren followed suit, while others remained faithful to Catholicism. The Grand Mastership thereafter reverted to the ''Landmaster'' within the Kingdom of Germany, who became known as the ''Hoch- und Deutschmeister''‟ thenceforth.

The Teutonic Knights, who were actually an organization dedicated to conversion rather than colonization (even if they did mix the two together), were later appropriated by the most radical of German nationalists as representatives of the fabled „''Drang nach Osten''‟ ("Drive to the East"). (Note that in some older works, this is [[ValuesDissonance actually viewed as a positive characterization]].) This has led to the real Teutonic Knights, nasty people as they may have been, like most mediæval warriors, being subjected to a HistoricalVillainUpgrade or worse, as an example showing that AllGermansAreNazis. Ironically, despite the Nazis appropriating the Teutonic Order's symbols for its propaganda, the Order itself, which, by 1930s, was dedicated purely to peaceful endeavors, was violently suppressed during the Third Reich. It was reconstituted only with the defeat of the Nazis in 1945 and currently has about 1,000 members providing spiritual guidance and care for the physically infirm, mostly in German speaking lands.

->''Throughout the history of the ''Deutschritter'' the German genius is very evident, [[DichterAndDenker romantic idealism]] implemented with [[KnightTemplar utter ruthlessness]].''

The ''Deutsche Orden'' (Latin, ''Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum'' (OT) or the "Order of the House of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem") is a Roman Catholic religious order, more commonly known as "'''The Teutonic Knights'''." Traditionally founded ''c.'' 1190 A.D. by merchants from Bremen and Lübeck in Acre as a hospital service for Germans in the Holy Land, by 1198 it imitated the older crusading orders, the [[TheKnightsHospitallers Hospitallers]] and [[TheKnightsTemplar Templars]], in acquiring knightly brothers whose original mission was to protect pilgrims, but who soon expanded their activities to include military actions against Muslim enemies of the Crusading states. Like the Templars, whose rule they substantially adopted, they wore as their habit a white mantle with a cross, but a black rather than a red one. (It would be some time before the form was standardized into the „''Tatzenkreuz''‟ or "Cross patée" version borne today;)

As the various Prussian tribes were conquered, the Order settled the land with German colonists, developing a powerful and sophisticated civilization outside the borders of the HolyRomanEmpire (though at least at first under nominal suzerainty of the Emperor), which was controlled wholly by the representative of the Order in each particular territory -- the „''Landmeister''‟) and gradually integrating the natives into it. After the conquest of Prussia had been completed, the Order expanded eastward, throughout [[TheLateMiddleAges the 14th and 15th centuries]] -- or at least tried to.

The worst challenge to the Order, however, came with the Protestant Reformation. In 1525, the Grand Master, Albert of Brandenburg, having converted to Lutheranism, repudiated his vows and seized upon the lands of the Order, doing homage for them to his uncle, King Sigismund I of Poland, and making himself the first Duke of {{Prussia}}. Many of the knightly brethren followed suit, while others remained faithful to Catholicism. The Grand Mastership thereafter reverted to the ''Landmaster'' within the Kingdom of Germany, who became known as the „''Hoch- und Deutschmeister''‟ thenceforth.

Outside Germany, the Kingdom of {{Prussia}} is often seen as a direct successor of the Order State, which overlooks that after Reformation the the Duchy became an unremarkable principality, that the nucleus of what became the Kingdom of Prussia lay in Brandenburg (the kingdom was named "Prussia", because it was inherited by the rulers of Brandenburg in the 17th century and lay outside the borders of the Holy Roman Empire, which allowed the Margrave of Brandenburg to declare himself "King in Prussia"). "Prussian militarism" also only came about as a consequence of the devastation of the country during the UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar; up until then Brandenburg and Prussia had actually been less militaristic than some of its neighbors, most notably Sweden, Poland, and Bavaria.

From the time of the Reformation to the end of World War I, the Teutonic Order was largely a preserve of the Habsburg monarchy. Notable (and generally temporary) Grand Masters would include the Archduke Maximilian III of Austria, Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria, and Archduke Charles of Austria-Teschen. After the abdication of the last [[HolyRomanEmpire Holy Roman Emperor]], many of the holdings of the Order in Germany were seized by Napoleon and his allies, though some were regained after his fall in 1815, particularly in lands ruled by the Habsburgs. After the fall of the Austrian monarchy, Archduke Eugene of Austria-Teschen, in order to preserve the Order, resigned his position as the last secular „''Hoch- und Deutschmeister''‟ and reconstituted it as a purely religious body, rededicating it to its original purpose of hospital work. In this form, the Teutonic Order has survived up to the present day, though its crusading days are long over.

The Teutonic Knights, who were actually an organization dedicated to conversion rather than colonization (even if they did mix the two together), were later appropriated by the most radical of German nationalists as representatives of the fabled „''Drang nach Osten''‟ ("Drive to the East"). (Note that in some older works, this is [[ValuesDissonance actually viewed as a positive characterization]].) This has led to the real Teutonic Knights, nasty people as they may have been, like most mediæval warriors, being subjected to a HistoricalVillainUpgrade or worse, as an example showing that AllGermansAreNazis.

Ironically, despite the Nazis appropriating the Teutonic Order's symbols for its propaganda, the Order itself, which, by 1930s, was dedicated purely to peaceful endeavors, was violently suppressed during the Third Reich. It was reconstituted only with the defeat of the Nazis in 1945 and currently has about 1,000 members providing spiritual guidance and care for the physically infirm, mostly in German speaking lands.

** In Russia and some other post-Soviet states, they are also known under the moniker "Dog-knights" (Псы-рыцари). This name springs from JosephStalin failing his history lessons and not recognizing a typo when the German word "Rittersbunde" (knight unions) was mistyped as "Rittershunde" (broken: knight dogs). Everyone in the USSR repeated the same mistake after him.

* Thurim in ''ComicBook/RequiemChevalierVampire'' used to be one, though he was already evil then.

[-[[caption-width-right:300:[[http://www.g-rava.it/opere/medio_evo/55_La%20carica%20dei%20Teutonici%20al%20lago%20Peipus_eng.htm image]] by [[http://www.g-rava.it/ Guiseppe Rava]]]]-]

* The Teutonic Order appears in ''CrusaderKings'' when the player starts fighting the Baltic pagans, but isn't a playable nation.

* It also appears in ''EuropaUniversalis'', in which it ''is'' a playable nation and one of the more popular. The Livonian brothers are vassals and allies of the Teutonic Order.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': The Quincies are very heavily influenced by the history of the Teutonic Knights. When Uryuu first shows up in his Quincy uniform, he's compared to a priest and his attacks and magical chants are performed in German. Although Uryuu states the Quincies are heavily focused on archery, he's been well-trained in other military weapons. As with the Teutonic Knights, the Quincy traditions have ended up PuttingOnTheReich, turning away from their archery focus and becoming a highly organised, highly efficient and very ruthless military organisation led by a Grand Master who serves a [[AGodAmI holy]] [[TheEmperor Emperor]]. The last Quincy free of the Vandenreich is a [[CombatMedic Hospital Director]], a callback to the original leadership of the early Teutonic Knights being Hospital Masters instead of Grand Masters.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': The Quincies are very heavily influenced by the history of the Teutonic Knights. When Uryuu first shows up in his Quincy uniform, he's compared to a priest and his attacks and magical chants are performed in German. Although Uryuu states the Quincies are heavily focused on archery, he's been trained to a high level in a wide variety of military weapons. As with the Teutonic Knights, the Quincy traditions have ended up PuttingOnTheReich, turning away from their archery focus and becoming a highly organised, highly efficient and very ruthless military organisation led by a Grand Master who serves a [[AGodAmI holy]] [[TheEmperor Emperor]]. The last Quincy free of the Vandenreich is a [[CombatMedic Hospital Director]], a callback to the original leadership of the early Teutonic Knights being Hospital Masters instead of Grand Masters.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': The Quincies are very heavily influenced by the history of the Teutonic Knights. When Uryuu first shows up in his Quincy uniform, he's compared to a priest and his attacks and magical chants are performed in German. Although Uryuu states the Quincies are heavily focused on archery, he's been trained to a high level in a wide variety of military weapons. As with the Teutonic Knights, the Quincy traditions have ended up PuttingOnTheReich, turning away from their archery focus and becoming a highly organised, highly efficient and very ruthless military organisation led by a Grand Master who serves a [[IAmGod holy]] [[TheEmperor Emperor]]. The last Quincy free of the Vandenreich is a [[CombatMedic Hospital Director]], a callback to the original leadership of the early Teutonic Knights being Hospital Masters instead of Grand Masters.

Ironically, despite the Nazis appropriating the Teutonic Order's symbols for its propaganda, the Order itself, now dedicated purely to peaceful endeavors, was violently suppressed during the Third Reich.

The Teutonic Knights, who were actually an organization dedicated to conversion rather than colonization (even if they did mix the two together), were later appropriated by the most radical of German nationalists as representatives of the fabled „''Drang nach Osten''‟ ("Drive to the East"). (Note that in some older works, this is [[ValuesDissonance actually viewed as a positive characterization]].) This has led to the real Teutonic Knights, nasty people as they may have been, like most mediæval warriors, being subjected to a HistoricalVillainUpgrade or worse, as an example showing that AllGermansAreNazis.

Outside Germany, the Kingdom of {{Prussia}} is often seen as a direct successor of the Order State, which overlooks that after Reformation the the Duchy became an unremarkable principality, that the nucleus of what became the Kingdom of Prussia lay in Brandenburg (the kingdom was named "Prussia", because it was inherited by the rulers of Brandenburg in the 17th century and lay outside the borders of the Holy Roman Empire, which allowed the Margrave of Brandenburg to declare himself "King in Prussia"). "Prussian militarism" also only came about as a consequence of the devastation of the country during the UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar; up until then Brandenburg and Prussia had actually been less militaristic than some of its neighbors, most notably Sweden and Bavaria.

From the time of the Reformation to the end of World War I, the Teutonic Order was largely a preserve of the Habsburg monarchy. Notable (and generally temporary) Grand Masters would include the Archduke Maximilian III of Austria, Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria, and Archduke Charles of Austria-Teschen. After the abdication of the last [[HolyRomanEmpire Holy Roman Emperor]], many of the holdings of the Order in Germany were seized by Napoleon and his allies, though some were regained after his fall in 1815, particularly in lands ruled by the Habsburgs. After the fall of the Austrian monarchy, Archduke Eugene of Austria-Teschen, in order to preserve the Order, resigned his position as the last secular „''Hoch- und Deutschmeister''‟ and reconstituted it as a purely religious body, rededicating it to its original purpose of hospital work. In this form, the Teutonic Order has survived up to the present day, though its crusading days are long over.

* PuttingOnTheReich: The Nazis stole some of their imagery, such as a stark black-and-white cross, leading to OlderThanTheyThink. Eisenstein also put their foot-soldiers in rather WorldWarI-looking helmets.

!!Works Associated With The Teutonic Knights:

* On ''AxisPowersHetalia'' the [[MoeAnthropomorphism character]] {{Prussia}} ''was'' the Teutonic Order before becoming Brandenburg-Prussia. At least one strip shows him and several Teutonic Knights in battle with Poland. He "grows up" having gained Baltic territory -- his child-form interacts with Hungary and gallivants around the Burzenland.

* Thurim in ''RequiemChevalierVampire'' used to be one, though he was already evil then.
* Heinrich Himmler creates the New Teutonic Order (essentially a BadassArmy that rivals the SS) in the AlternateHistory comic book ''{{Block 109}}''. The Castle of Marienburg is used as the HQ of this Order, just like during the Middle Ages in real life.

** In the novel ''RedStormRising'', this film is shown on Russian TV shortly before the main FalseFlagOperation (detonating a bomb at the Kremlin and blaming WestGermany).

* {{Warhammer}}: Inner Circle Knights of the Empire. They even sport the same insignia - black cross on white.

Outside Germany, the Kingdom of {{Prussia}} is often seen as a direct successor of the Order State, which overlooks that after Reformation the the Duchy became an unremarkable principality, that the nucleus of what became the Kingdom of Prussia lay in Brandenburg (the kingdom was named "Prussia", because it was inherited by the rulers of Brandenburg in the 17th century and lay outside the borders of the Holy Roman Empire, which allowed the Margrave of Brandenburg to declare himself "King in Prussia"). "Prussian militarism" also only came about as a consequence of the devastation of the country during the ThirtyYearsWar; up until then Brandenburg and Prussia had actually been less militaristic than some of its neighbors, most notably Sweden and Bavaria.

----

* In TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} the Black Templars are some kind of futuristic Teutonic Order. They are dressed in black and white with crosses of the same color. They love to fight with [[{{BFS}} Swords]], have sometimes altered, more mediæval looking helmets and are very fanatic. One of their High Marshals is called "Sigismund" and they've got other [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign German names]] like "Gervhart" or "Helbrecht." Even among the other Space Marines they're the best example of {{Warrior Monk}}s.

* The Teutons are a playable faction in ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII''. Teutonic Knights are their faction-specific unit.
** And they kick ass in melee combat. They'll get destroyed by archers, though.

* Henryk Sienkiewicz's ''Krzyżacy'' (''Literature/TheKnightsOfTheCross''). The Teutonic Knights are (almost to the last man) AlwaysChaoticEvil stand-in for Germans, Poles are all noble and brave, and there is [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch a decent guest of the Order]] who is there to be repulsed by how the Knights turn out to be. In case you haven't already guessed, it was written around the time when UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} was being ruled by the [[TheSoundOfMartialMusic Austrians]] and [[{{Prussia}} Prussians]] ([[AndZoidberg and the]] [[ImperialRussia Russians]]).

* FalseFriend: The nations opposing the Knights tend to remember them as such. Theirs' and the Knights' versions of the same deals not matching each other and stuff.
* FeudalOverlord: Of course.

* Heinrich Himmler recreates the Order as a BadassArmy in the AlternateHistory comic book ''{{Block 109}}''.

[[redirect:TheTeutonicKnights]]