Teutonic Knight: 1190–1561

Osprey Warrior #124

by David Nicolle, Graham Turner (Illustrator)

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.

Genres: History, Medieval, Nonfiction, Military History, World History, Military Fiction

64 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2007

About the author

David C. Nicolle is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages, with a particular interest in the Middle East.

Reviews

[Koit · Rating 2 out of 5]

While Ospreys may be an acquired taste, what one should find in one of these really shouldn’t surprise the reader (at least negatively). For a description of the “warrior” knight, this book really doesn’t mention anything useful. Both of Mr Turnbull’s Teutonic Knights’ castles book were far more informative while this one barely mentions a battle.

What Mr Nicolle’s work does, however, is give a relatively decent administrative history of the Order. This is very much focussed on the beginnings — almost none of the complexity of the later periods is described — although this comment could actually be made on the entire book: the focus is on the 13th century and everything that came after is a blur, barely mentioned (at best) or not even described (typically).

One of the more interesting notes (and again on the German Order’s administrative capacity) I found was the proverb, “If you are so clever, go and deceive the lords of Prussia”. Beyond this, the author also relies on both the Chronicle of Henricus de Lettis and the Older Rhymed Chronicle which are to be expected — but no great conclusions are drawn from these. Some interesting notes on travel times in the Baltic are made, however, both for the Knights’ armies as well as their supporting naval troops.

Overall, this Osprey misses its mission statement and while it could be counted as a relatively decent story of the Teutonic Knight, 1190-1346, it doesn’t described the Order beyond this time in the detail it deserves.

This review was originally posted on my blog.

[Shane Kiely · Rating 4 out of 5]

One stop shop for all the major elements that composed the Teutonic Knights weapons & campaigns. A good rough history of the major events of the Northern crusades as well.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides what I would call a thumbnail sketch of the Teutonic Knights. It describes their organization, history, and equipment, but really does not go into any great depth in any area. Nonetheless, it's a decent book with very good illustrations, all of which are explained in detail.