The Teutonic Knights

Rise and Fall of a Religious Corporation

Aleksander Pluskowski

• Publisher: Reaktion Books
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781789148688
• eBook ISBN: 9781789149043
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: European Medieval History
• Index: History

A gripping account of the rise and fall of the last great medieval military order. This book provides a concise and incisive introduction to the knights of the Teutonic Order, the last of the great military orders established in the twelfth century. The book traces the Order's evolution from a crusader field hospital into a major territorial ruler in northeastern Europe. Notably, the knights constructed distinctive fortified convents, including their headquarters in Western Christendom's largest castle. The narrative concludes with the Order's fifteenth-century decline due to the combined effects of a devastating war with Poland-Lithuania and the Protestant Reformation. The result is an accessible overview of this pivotal corporation in European history.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• Introduction
• 1 The German Hospital of the Third Crusade: The Origins of the Teutonic Order
• 2 Expansion and Loss in the Thirteenth Century: The Teutonic Order in the Holy Land
• 3 A New Frontier: The Teutonic Order in Transylvania
• 4 Holy War and Conquest: The Teutonic Order’s Crusades in Prussia and Livonia
• 5 Territorial Lords: The Teutonic Order’s Rule in the Baltic
• 6 Power and Faith: The Teutonic Order’s Fortified Convents
• 7 Crusading in the Wilderness: The Teutonic Order’s Wars against Lithuania
• 8 Defeat and Decline in the Fifteenth Century
• 9 The Reformation and the End of the Teutonic Order’s Rule in the Baltic
• 10 The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Religious Corporation
• REFERENCES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• INDEX