The Teutonic Knights

One of my major interests as far as I can remember is that of Medieval History.  I have always loved the romanticism that goes along with the Chivalric Code of the medieval knights and the tales of great honor and deeds.  I have a strong connection  to this myself because of a long family history with knighthood.  I am myself actually a living breathing knight.  Not the same kind of Chivalric Order once formed to go on Crusades to the Holy Land, but one that is based on the other aspect of knighthood, protecting and helping those in need.  If you have never heard of the Knights of Columbus, I would suggest exploring who they are and what they mean.

There were once hundreds of different orders during the medieval period that would go on different Crusades all over Europe and the Middle East.  These include Orders such as the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers, and Teutonic Knights.  The Teutonic Knights are to me one of the most interesting Chivalric Orders created.

Back in the day, many of the knights spoke only the romantic languages, z.B. French, Italian, Spanish.  This was fine for those leaders that were from these different countries, because even if you second in command didn't come from where you were, at least you could kinda get the point across.  This however became a very big problem when the Deutsch Ritter finally entered the fight.  Battles were fought with half the army not having a clue what the plan was.  This needed to be changed.

At the end of the 12th Century, the Pope decided that he needed a Holy Order for the Germanic speaking knights.  In 1190 AD, the Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, or more simply, the Teutonic Knights were born.  These Catholic Knights fought in many conflicts ranging from the Holy Land to the Baltic.  They acted as both holy warriors and battle field hospitals during these different campaigns.