The Last Years of the Teutonic Knights

The Last Years of the Teutonic Knights
Author: William Urban
Publisher: Greenhill Books
Total Pages: 455
Release: 2018-11-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1784383589

“The most comprehensive account available of the final years of the crusading military order” from the acclaimed author of Medieval Mercenaries (Baltische Historiche Kommission). The Battle of Grunwald was one of the largest battles in Medieval Europe and was the most important in the histories of Poland and Lithuania. It was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish-Lithuania-Teutonic War between the alliance of the Kingdom of Poland (led by King Jagiello) and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (led by Grand Duke Vytautas) against the German-Prussian Teutonic Knights (led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen) and with the assistance of Sigismund, then King of Hungary and Croatia. The Teutonic Knights, a crusading military order, were defeated and most of their leaders were killed or taken prisoner. This defeat would mark the beginning of their decline and they would never again regain their former power. Following the battle, the balance of power shifted in Central and Eastern Europe and so came the rise of the Polish-Lithuanian union as the dominant political and military force. In this compelling account the action takes place in Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia and Germany. There are bloody battles; fascinating characters; intrigue; betrayals; sex; unexpected twists of fate; religious heresy and a smattering of saints. There is also the monumental end of one era making way for the beginning of another. While there has long been interest on the crusades outside of the Holy Land, this book is unique in the sheer breadth and depth of its research. “A must-read for those seeking scholarly work on this pivotal period of European history.” —Journal of Military History

The Teutonic Knights

The Teutonic Knights
Author: William Urban
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781848326200

"First published in Great Britain in 2003 by Greenhill Books, Lionel Leventhal Limited"--Title page verso.

Teutonic Knight

Teutonic Knight
Author: David Nicolle
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2007-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781846030758

Osprey's study of Teutonic Knights from 1190 to 1561. The Military Order of Teutonic Knights was one of the three most famous Crusading Orders; the others being the Templars and the Hospitallers. Like these two, the Teutonic Knights initially focused upon the preservation of the Crusader States in the Middle East. Wielding their swords in the name of their faith, the crusading knights set out to reclaim Jerusalem. Unlike the Templars they survived the crises of identity and purpose which followed the loss of the last Crusader mainland enclaves in the late thirteenth century and, like the Hospitallers, they managed to create a new purpose - and a new field of combat - for themselves. Whereas the Hospitallers focused their energies in the eastern Mediterranean battling against Muslim armies, the Teutonic Knights shifted their efforts to the Baltic, to the so-called Northern Crusades against pagan Prussians and Lithuanians and, to a lesser extent, against Orthodox Christian Russia. As a result the Order of Teutonic Knights became a significant power, not only in the Baltic but in north-central Europe as a whole. Paradoxically, however, it was their fellow Catholic Christian Polish neighbours who became their most dangerous foes, breaking the Order's power in the mid-fifteenth century. The Teutonic Knights lingered on in what are now Estonia and Latvia for another century, but this was little more than a feeble afterglow. This title will examine this fascinating military and religious order in detail, revealing the colourful history of the crusades within Europe itself which inexorably changed the future of the continent.

The Teutonic Knights in the Holy Land, 1190-1291

The Teutonic Knights in the Holy Land, 1190-1291
Author: Nicholas Edward Morton
Publisher:
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2009
Genre: History
ISBN:

A detailed study of the Teutonic Knights in the Holy Land, covering both their military and administrative affairs. The Teutonic Order was founded in 1190 to provide medical care for crusaders in the kingdom of Jerusalem. In time, it assumed a military role and played an important part in the defence of the Christian territories in the EasternMediterranean and in the Baltic regions of Prussia and Livonia; in the Levant, it fought against the neighbouring Islamic powers, whilst managing their turbulent relations with their patrons in the papacy and the German Empire. Asthe Order grew, it colonised territories in Prussia and Livonia, forcing it to address how it distributed its resources between its geographically-spread communities. Similarly, the brethren also needed to develop an organisational framework that could support the conduct of war on frontiers that were divided by hundreds of miles. This book - the first comprehensive analysis of the Order in the Holy Land - explores the formative years of this powerful international institution and places its deeds in the Levant within the context of the wider Christian, pagan and Islamic world. It examines the challenges that shaped its identity and the masters who planned its policies. Dr NICHOLAS MORTON is Lecturer in History at Nottingham Trent University.

Tannenberg 1410

Tannenberg 1410
Author: Stephen Turnbull
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 95
Release: 2011-03-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1846036445

A slim, yet detailed volume on the downfall of the Teutonic Knights, featuring battlescene maps and illustrations throughout. By 1400 the long running conflict between the Order of Teutonic Knights and Poland and Lithuania was coming to a head, partly as a result of the Order's meddling in the internal politics of its neighbours. In June 1410 King Wladislaw Jagiello of Poland invaded the Order's territory with a powerful allied army including all the enemies of the Teutonic Knights – Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, Bohemians, Hungarians, Tartars and Cossacks. This book recounts how, when the armies clashed on the wooded, rolling hills near the small village of Tannenberg, the Teutonic Knights suffered a disastrous defeat from which their Order never recovered.

Crusade and Conversion on the Baltic Frontier 1150–1500

Crusade and Conversion on the Baltic Frontier 1150–1500
Author: Alan V. Murray
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2017-07-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 1351947141

This volume represents a major contribution to the history of the Northern Crusades and the Christianization of the Baltic lands in the Middle Ages, from the beginnings of the Catholic mission to the time of the Reformation. The subjects treated range from discussions of the ideology and practice of crusade and conversion, through studies of the motivation of the crusading countries (Denmark, Sweden and Germany) and the effects of the crusades on the countries of the eastern Baltic coast (Finland, Estonia, Livonia, Prussia and Lithuania), to analyses of the literature and historiography of the crusade. It brings together essays from both established and younger scholars from the western tradition with those from the modern Baltic countries and Russia, and presents in English some of the fruits of the first decade of historical scholarship and dialogue after the collapse of the Iron Curtain. The depth of treatment, diversity of approaches, and accompanying bibliography of publications make this collection a major resource for the teaching of the Baltic Crusades.

The Teutonic Knights

The Teutonic Knights
Author: Captivating History
Publisher: Captivating History
Total Pages: 102
Release: 2021-10-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781637165065

Who were the Teutonic Knights? The Teutonic Knights were established to help the sick and injured in the Holy Land in a similar vein as the Knights Hospitaller. Once they were battle-tested in war, however, they were commissioned to be full-fledged fearsome warriors, fighting for the cause of Christendom. Those causes would have the Teutonic Knights leave the Holy Land altogether when they were redeployed to Eastern Europe. Soon the knights were attempting to subdue pagans, extending their presence throughout the Baltic by way of a string of fortresses. Their fate would rise and fall with the political and ideological situations that were prevalent in the European continent. The rise of both Poland and Lithuania would come to threaten the Teutonic Order, and the climactic Battle of Tannenberg in 1410 would have repercussions that would reverberate for centuries to come. This book follows the meteoric rise, the climactic fall, and the many years of rebirth undergone by the Teutonic Knights. From Jerusalem to the modern-day charitable organizations headed by the order, this text covers the complete history of the Teutonic Knights in full. Here in this book, you will discover: How the Teutonic Order was formed Their mission in the Holy Land Their Crusades in the Balkans and the Baltic How the Protestant Reformation affected the order And a whole lot more! Scroll up and click the "add to cart" button to learn more about The Teutonic Knights!

The Oxford History of Poland-Lithuania

The Oxford History of Poland-Lithuania
Author: Robert I. Frost
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 650
Release: 2018-07-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 0192568140

The history of eastern European is dominated by the story of the rise of the Russian empire, yet Russia only emerged as a major power after 1700. For 300 years the greatest power in Eastern Europe was the union between the kingdom of Poland and the grand duchy of Lithuania, one of the longest-lasting political unions in European history. Yet because it ended in the late-eighteenth century in what are misleadingly termed the Partitions of Poland, it barely features in standard accounts of European history. The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385-1569 tells the story of the formation of a consensual, decentralised, multinational, and religiously plural state built from below as much as above, that was founded by peaceful negotiation, not war and conquest. From its inception in 1385-6, a vision of political union was developed that proved attractive to Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenians, and Germans, a union which was extended to include Prussia in the 1450s and Livonia in the 1560s. Despite the often bitter disagreements over the nature of the union, these were nevertheless overcome by a republican vision of a union of peoples in one political community of citizens under an elected monarch. Robert Frost challenges interpretations of the union informed by the idea that the emergence of the sovereign nation state represents the essence of political modernity, and presents the Polish-Lithuanian union as a case study of a composite state. The modern history of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus cannot be understood without an understanding of the legacy of the Polish-Lithuanian union. This volume is the first detailed study of the making of that union ever published in English.

The Chronicle of Prussia by Nicolaus Von Jeroschin

The Chronicle of Prussia by Nicolaus Von Jeroschin
Author: Taylor & Francis Group
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2021-09-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9781032179865

This is the first English translation of the 'Chronicle of Prussia', which was written by Nicolaus von Jeroschin, in middle German verse, during the period from 1330 to 1341. It is a history of the Teutonic Knights, encompassing the period between the foundation of the order, in 1190, and 1331. The translator's introduction sets the work in its historical and cultural context. The text was written at the instigation of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, to make an account of the ethos and history of the order's conquest of Prussia available 'to all German people'. Its purpose was to remind the order's knight brothers and its supporters of its origins and past achievements, but above all it was intended to establish the legitimacy of Prussia as a locus for crusades, setting the scene for the order's 'golden age' in the second half of the fourteenth century. The chronicle's content is divided into three sections: it opens with a description of the founding of the order in Acre. There follows a discourse on the nature of spiritual and earthly warfare, which echoes the ideology of crusading warfare first articulated by Bernhard of Clairvaux in his treatise De laude novae militiae. The final, longest, section recounts the wars of the Teutonic Knights against the Prussians and Lithuanians from 1230 until the narrative breaks off abruptly in 1331. The chronicle is the main historical source document for the period it covers and was widely disseminated during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It is also an engaging and lively account of warfare and colonisation on the eastern frontier of Latin Christianity.