The Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages was often hesitant to use force in fulfilling its missions in secular society. First, the doctrine calls for forgiveness of sinners, but at the same time it must not forget to protect the victims. Therefore, it is one thing to forgive penitent robbers, and it is another thing to ignore the behavior of robbers. Similarly, the church opposes priests taking up arms and encouraging believers to resolve private disputes through peaceful means; but at the same time, the church must support the secular monarch, because the monarch is responsible for protecting the priest and his followers from foreign attacks and domestic violence.
Talking about knights today, we may think of the elegant gentleman's demeanor and the handsome guys in fairy tales, and knights are actually a very important aristocratic class in European society. Knights generally refer to warriors who can fight for the lord, that is, nobles who serve in military service in exchange for the lands of the fief. The knight system did not completely decline until the 17th century. The most popular among the knights in Europe is the more than two hundred years of the Crusade era, and the three knights are even more famous.
The most brilliant one of the Crusades was the Third Crusade. The British King Richard the Lionheart, the holy French monarch Louis IX, the Holy Roman Empire’s red-bearded Barbarossa Emperor, and the European continent’s secular monarchs, Britain, France and Germany, collectively dispatched them. The most unlucky is the Barbarossa of Shinra, close to the Holy Land, but drowned in a small water puddle.
The Germans believed that the red beard emperor did not really die, but swayed on the European continent in another form, waiting for the next coming, which is somewhat similar to the twelve imams of the Shia Islam. This situation is very common in Eurasia, where the religious atmosphere is strong.
The people of the Holy Roman Empire believed that Barbarossa died in order to save the Holy Land and will be resurrected in the future. The accident of Barbarossa caused the huge army of Shinra to stop advancing. However, there are always people with devout beliefs that are not reconciled, and some of the Shinra soldiers choose to continue to march towards the holy land.
This part of the soldiers from the Holy Roman Empire also participated in the religious wars in the Third Crusade. Of course, the protagonist this time is not them, not even the already famous Knights Templar and the Knights Hospital. The Lionheart and Saladin are the real protagonists. These German-speaking Shinra soldiers gathered together and were recovering from their wounds in the Hospital Knights. The rudimentary community of the Teutonic Knights was formed.
After Jerusalem was completely conquered by Muslims, the crusade-style knights no longer existed in the Holy Land, and the early communities of the Teutonic Knights moved to Akka. During the Akka War, these German-speaking people actively practiced the oath of the Crusaders and won praise for saving the dead and healing the wounded. Pope Celestine III recognized these German-speaking people, and the Teutonic Knights officially took the stage.
Later generations, the ancestors are the true portrayal of the Teutonic Knights, the red cross of the Knights Templar on a white background, the majestic and powerful, and their reputation and wealth have increased day by day. After returning to Frank from the Holy Land, they lost In order to gain value, it became the restraining force of the Frankish king, and he died miserably. The Knights Hospitality went smoothly, and today it has become one of the observer nations of the United Nations, but compared to the Teutonic Knights, it is a grade.
The Teutonic Knights knew that they didn't have much room for development in Jerusalem, and they were determined to find a new stage. In the book "Teutonic Knights" by American writer William Urban, there are also pen and ink about the actions of the Teutonic Knights in the Holy Land, and most of the authors have set their sights on the north. The addition of this part of the content makes the Teutonic knights more flesh and blood. After all, the Holy Land is the original intention of the establishment of the Knights.
The Teutonic Knights were formed in the model of the Hospitaller Knights. In terms of military affairs, they were modeled after the Knights Templar. The advantage of the latecomer is that the Teutonic Knights can fully learn from the experience of their predecessors. The glory of the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller in the Holy Land has attracted Crusaders from various countries. The early religious colors of these two knights are Extremely heavy, this combination of monks and fighters is an extension of the power of the Pope.
The establishment of the Teutonic Order and the canonization of the Grand Captain were also the instructions of the Pope. However, most of the Teutonic Knights were German-speaking Shinra soldiers. William Urban believed that this kind of relatively closed soldier composition, although let The Teutonic Knights are not as colorful as the first two knights, but they are most secular.
Secularization is the biggest feature of the Teutonic Knights. At that time, the largest emperor of Europe and the Teutonic Knights also had a lot of contacts. The Teutonic Knights could get a sense of sacredness in the religious sense from the Pope. This is for Christians. The Crusades are very important; of course, the special relationship between the Teutonic Knights and the Emperor Shinra also allowed them to obtain the Emperor's Golden Certificate.
The German-speaking Teutonic knights turned their eyes to the Eastern European plains, and there was a focus in their vision, and blind spots would inevitably appear. The Teutonic Knights tasted the sweetness of an independent fief for the first time in Eastern Europe. The Knights had a double endorsement in Eastern Europe. The Catholic Pope needed the Teutonic Knights to conquer the pagans in Eastern Europe. The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire also needed Teutonic. The knights opened up their territory.
The support of the Pope and the emperor gave the Teutonic Knights more resources. The situation in Jerusalem is so intertwined. Christians, Muslims and Jews will not easily give up here. Once the Crusaders have achieved success, they will use multiple forces to check and balance; Eastern Europe is not the case. In this way, compared to the European Christian world at that time, it was still a large barren land.
The tracing of European countries generally begins with the conversion of all people to Christianity. Eastern Europe’s polytheistic beliefs and animism are still very marketable, and the conquest here will not cause constraints from the “owners”. The pope is happy to spread the gospel of Christ further, and the emperor is happy to make it his own territory.
Many of the images of Germany today come from a place where the people who came out of this place ended the internal fragmentation of the Shenluo, and also injected more national characteristics into the German nation. Prussia is a symbol of Germany. At the time when the Teutonic knights slaughtered, it was not part of the Shinra. At this time, the Prussians were not later Prussians. These ancient Prussians were typical pagans. Chinese.
The Teutonic Order is the latest one to be established, but this Knight Order has experienced more large-scale war scenes than the temple and the hospital combined. The source of this sentence is the war between the Teutonic Knights and the Ancient Prussians. One can imagine how bloody the Teutonic Knights experienced.
Under the baptism of war, the Teutonic knights became the most powerful military force in Northern Europe. At the time of the decline of the first two knights, the Teutonic Knights completed the transformation and became the Teutonic Knight State dominating the Baltic Sea. William Urban's book "Teutonic Knights" describes this transformation in a particularly detailed manner. From the perspective of the pope and the emperor, he interprets the internal reasons for the establishment of the Teutonic Knights.
The protagonists of "Teutonic Knights" are naturally these knights, but these knights are involved in a wide range of areas that the first two do not have. As the translator of this book, Mr. Lu Dapeng, said, such a book is not just an English. The world’s writings also involve the languages and cultures of Germany, Prussia, Baltic, Poland, and Lithuania. The author of this book, William Urban, is an authoritative figure in the study of the Crusades and the above-mentioned regions, and tells us the uniqueness of these regions in a simple and simple way. Cultural values.
Why was Hitler’s plan to advance eastward in World War II called Tannenberg’s revenge? Why did the Germans have a unique attitude towards the Battle of Tannenberg? The book "Teutonic Knights" used a whole chapter to review this battle. The German persistence or the wishful thinking of outsiders, why did the Teutonic Knights have the most profound influence on the Germans afterwards?
As a Chinese, it is difficult to understand the meaning of European religion. The Teutonic knights use their religious beliefs as the endorsement of their lives. Countless young people have joined the knights. They strictly abide by the precepts of poverty and obedience, and live almost proletarian lives. What is their motivation? In William's pen, we can see this group of devout Christians whose dedication is in pursuit of achievement in the religious sense. They would rather be the guardians of Jesus and the spreaders of religion during the most precious years of their lives. Even if they have nothing, they will be respected by the people around them when they are about to die.
It has always been said that the Crusaders are a group of out-and-out bandits, blindly pursuing the wealth of the Holy Land, and the Crusades were robbing Muslims. The home game of the Teutonic Knights in the later period was on the coast of the Baltic Sea, where there is no wealth of the holy land, and there are no wealthy Muslims. The ancient Prussians did not even have their own language and script, they were still in the stage of primitive society. William believes that the Teutonic Knights enlisted in the army for various reasons, the main reason being to complete the salvation of the soul.
After the Teutonic Knights had their own land and military armaments, they became the No. 1 Northern European hegemon. It stands to reason that with such a unique geographical position, their large group leader will inevitably expand frantically. However, the Teutonic Knights appeared more as Christian monks. When the arch rival Daugas of Lithuania took the initiative to accept the Christian faith, the Teutonic Knights retracted the cross sword and took out the Bible and the cross.
The establishment of the Baltic States and the formation of the nation are sandwiched between the Germans and the Slavs. What is their early history of struggle?
What is the origin of the rapid rise of the Prussian region into the spiritual core of Germany? What is the influence of Prussia on the Germans?
As representatives of religion and secularity, what role did the pope and emperor play in the era of the Crusades? What is the positioning of the Knights in the eyes of the two?
How much blood was involved in the conquest of pagans in the Catholic world? What is your attitude towards heresy? How powerful is religion in Europe?
How magnificent is the century-old history of the Teutonic Knights? What does true chivalry look like?
The answer can be found in the book "Teutonic Knights-A Military History". William Urban used detailed citations and expositions to pierce the fog of modern nationalism and restore a wonderful but little-known thing in European medieval history. Chapter.
The book combs through the history of the Teutonic Knights from the rise to the decline, during which dramatic scenarios emerge one after another, such as the Battle of the Ice Lake in 1242 and the fiasco of the Knights at Tannenberg, but the focus is still on its maintenance of territory year after year. Control, fight against small groups of enemy harassment and looting, and launch a holy war against enemies who do not believe in Catholicism.
The life, creed, and actions of the German Crusaders in the Middle Ages, as well as the 500-year history of the Teutonic Knights, are thus vividly presented.