The
Teutonic Order was a
crusading order of knights under religious vows who were formed at the end of the
12th century in
Palestine for the crusades to take and hold
Jerusalem for
Christianity. They were based at
Acre. They later transferred their area of interests to the
Baltic Sea and
Prussia. It had many wars against
Poland and
Lithuania. The biggest battle of the Teutonic Knight was
Battle of Grunwald, which they lost and never restored their power afterwards. In 1525, the grand master of the order, [Albrecht Hohenzollern of Brandenburg]
? converted to Lutheranism and swore allegiance to the Polish king, who made him the Duke of Prussia. The new Grand Magistery was then established in Wuertemberg
?.
see
- Knights Templar
- [Knights of Malta]?
- [Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem]?
The Order and its relations with its neighbours (especially Poland) are the
main motive in a novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz Krzyzacy
(The Teutonic Knights).
/Talk
External links