The Ebony Cross and the Sacred Eagle (Era I)

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The Ebony Cross and the Sacred Eagle

Era I: Der Größtekreuzzug​

The Greatest Crusade​

Introduction

The Teutonic Order, later the Prussian Gottreich, was and is part of the greatest nation the world has ever seen. In its eight centuries of existence, the Teutonic Order rose from the ashes of the First Crusade to become part of the most powerful nation on the face of the Earth.

“He who lives for his cause is a messenger. He who fights for his cause is murderer. He who dies for his cause is a martyr.”
-Silberner Drache, 13th-Century Teutonic philosopher

“The Catholic faith is the sacred word of god. It must be spread, by whatever ways and means necessary, to all four corners of the Earth.”
-Ludwig von Erlichshausen, 31st Grand Master of the Ordenstaat

“The people of Prussia must be concerned with one thing and one thing only: das Elfenbein-Kreuz und der heilige Adler.”
-Unknown​

TABLE OF CONTENTS​

---Chapter I, Part I: the Founding
-Chapter I, Part II: the Prussian Crusade
-Chapter I, Part III: Deus Vult!​

​

---Chapter II, Part I: Turning Point​

-Chapter II, Part II: Battle is Joined​

---Chapter III, Part I: Ludwig von Erlichshausen (1449–1467)​

-Chapter III, Part II: Heinrich Reuß von Plauen (1467–1470)​

---Chapter IV: Heinrich Reffle von Richtenberg (1470-1477)​

---Chapter V: Martin Truchseß von Wetzhausen (1477-1489)​

-Chapter V, Part II: Martin Truchseß von Wetzhausen (1477-1489)​

-Chapter V, Part III: Martin Truchseß von Wetzhausen (1477-1489)​

---Chapter VI: Johann von Tiefen (1489-1497)​

-Chapter VI, Part II: Johann von Tiefen (1489-1497)​

-Chapter VI, Part III: Johann von Tiefen (1489-1497)​

-Chapter VI, Part IV: Johann von Tiefen (1489-1497)​

---POD Article I: The Burgundian Wars (1474-1477)
---POD Article II:The Life of Mandek Szczepan (1403-1413)
---POD Article III:The Black Sheep Hordes (1300-1515)​

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7492354&postcount=208

---Chapter VII: Werner König von Insterburg (1497-1511)​

-Chapter VII, Part II: Werner König von Insterburg (1497-1511)​

-Chapter VII, Part III: Werner König von Insterburg (1497-1511)​

-Chapter VII, Part IV: Werner König von Insterburg (1497-1511)​

-Chapter VII, Part V: Werner König von Insterburg (1497-1511)​

-Chapter VII, Part VI: Werner König von Insterburg (1497-1511)​

---Chapter VIII: Alexander von Rahmel (1511-1525)​

-Chapter VIII, Part II: Alexander von Rahmel (1511-1525)​

-Chapter VIII, Part III: Alexander von Rahmel (1511-1525)​

-Chapter VIII, Part IV: Alexander von Rahmel (1511-1525)​

-Chapter VIII, Part V: Alexander von Rahmel (1511-1525)​

-Chapter VIII, Part VII: Alexander von Rahmel (1511-1525)​

---Chapter IX: Walther von Mergentheim (1525-1541)​

-Chapter IX, Part II: Walther von Mergentheim (1525-1541)​

---Chapter X: The Great Holy War (1540-1553)​

-Chapter X, Part II: The Great Holy War (1553-1555)​

---Chapter XI: The “Reformation” Redux (1400s-1508)​

-Chapter XI, Part II: The War of the League of Pavia (1508-1512)​

-Chapter XI, Part III: The Ecclesiastical Renaissance (1482-1549)​

---Chapter XII: The War of the Swabian League (1550-1620)​

-Chapter XII, Part II: The Great Holy War, Continued (1557)​

-Chapter XII, Part III: The Great Holy War, Continued (1557-1558)​

-Chapter XII, Part IV: The Capitulary Oligarchy (1558)​

---Chapter XIII: The Fall of Shahmirza (1558-1560)​

-Chapter XIII, Part II: The Skull Throne (1560-1562)​

-Chapter XIII, Part III: Last of the Caliphs (1562-1563)​

APPENDIX I --- CULTURE AND GEOPOLITICS​

---Continental Overview - 1516​

---Minor Nations Overview -- 1516​

Cultural Exposition I: On the Heresy of Dievas (1400-1500)​

 

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Chapter I, Part I – the Founding
1143- 1210​

The founding of the Teutonic Order has its roots in the First Crusade, having originally being formed in a Jerusalem hospital. In 1143 pope Celestine II sent a special order to the Knights Hospitaller. They were to take control of a small German hospital in the then-occupied Jerusalem.

In this hospital, many German pilgrims and Crusaders were housed. These men could not speak the local languages, or Latin. Most only spoke the local Germanic dialect from their area of Europe.

And although the Knights Hospitaller was not a formally German establishment, Celestine II commanded that in this one particular hospital, the prior and brothers of the domus Teutonicorum should always themselves be Germans. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, this order led to a strong tradition of German-led religious institutions in Palestine. These institutions would play a vital role in the re-conquest of the Holy Lands centuries after the crusades.

The Knights Hospitaller administered the hospital until the loss of Jerusalem in 1187. They then were evacuated to the Crusader camps outside Acre for the duration of the siege.

As the brutal siege of Acre progressed, the Teutonic Order began to gain some coherence. The strain of life in hostile, violence-prone terrain united the men of the Order. They fought together, and treated their own wounded, buried their own dead.

In 1192, with the conclusion of the siege of Acre, Celestine III granted Augustinian Rule to the Teutonic Order. Initially modeled after the Knights Templar, the Teutonic knights transformed to a military order in 1198. Their leader eventually became known as the magister hospitalis, or Grand Master.

The Teutonic Knights soon received Papal orders to lead crusades to recapture Jerusalem and defend the Holy Land from Muslim infidels. To aid this task, Grand Master Hermann von Salza (1209-1239) increasingly militarized the Knights and purchased the castle of Starkenberg. This fortress, lying northeast of Acre, was a vital strongpoint in the link between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea.

Starkenberg was made the seat of the Grandmasters in 1229. This was necessary so the leader of the Knights could be close at hand to defend their position from the Muslims. However, the position of the Grandmaster’s seat in reality mattered little. And it did not help when the Teutonic Knights were overwhelmed in the Siege of Starkenberg. Following the Muslim conquest of the fort in 1271, the seat of the Grandmaster was returned to Acre.

The Teutonic Knights now only controlled Acre, and a castle near Tarsus, Armenia. Following the loss of Starkenberg, the Holy Roman Empire donated many small parcels of land to the Teutonic Knights. Now they controlled castles in Germany, Italy, Greece, and other area of Palestine. This was in a great deal thanks to Hermann von Salza, who was a close friend of Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor of the day. This friendship with Frederick II also was instrumental in the elevation of von Salza to the status of Reichsfürst (Prince of the Empire).

This title brought the Teutonic Knights onto the same plane as the legendary Knights Templar, as well as the Knights Hospitaller who had initially spawned the Teutonic Knights.

In 1225 Frederick was to be crowned King of Jerusalem. He chose the Teutonic Knights to serve as his escorts in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. During the coronation, von Salza read Frederick’s proclamations in both French and German.

But despite this obvious favoritism by the Holy Roman Emperor, the Teutonic Knights were never as influential in the Holy Land as the Templars and Hospitallers.​

 

[Cyrus_The_Great]

Wonderful background for what looks like an excellent AAR. I heard you were good and am sure to be following .

 

[canonized]

Hooray duggan ! Welcome to the EU3 section ! I'm very much looking forward to this !

P.S. that's one pissed off looking eagle you have there ...

 

[Duke of Wellington]

This is bound to be excellent if you're other AAR is anything to judge by. I shall of course follow this with relish. Great to see you writing in the EUIII forum. I've just added this to the library is 1453 the right starting date for the game or would 1143 suit better?

 

[unmerged(61606)]

well, I am starting the history at the start of the Teutonic Order, but the game started in 1453.



also, my main priority right now is Kathmandu Can do, so this will be updated less freqently...

 

[Graymane]

Great intro, looking forward to more =)

 

[unmerged(63836)]

Alternative successful history of Teutonic Knights? This should be interesting

 

[unmerged(61606)]

Alternative successful history of Teutonic Knights? This should be interesting

that's exactly what it is.



This AAR is just part one, which takes place from 1143 (ish) - 1800

Part Two takes place 1800-1900

Part Three is 1900 - 1950

 

[Cyrus_The_Great]

that's exactly what it is.



This AAR is just part one, which takes place from 1143 (ish) - 1800

Part Two takes place 1800-1900

Part Three is 1900 - 1950

That sounds like it will be really interesting. A knightly order still a nation in the 20th century will be very interesting.

 

[unmerged(64704)]

ANOTHER RCDUGGAN AAR!!!!!!!!!!

YESSSSS!!!!!

subscribed! I am onboard immediatley.

 

[unmerged(61606)]

ANOTHER RCDUGGAN AAR!!!!!!!!!!

YESSSSS!!!!!

subscribed! I am onboard immediatley.

thanks..

next update is written... it is longer, will be up tomorrow or the nextday

 

[Prinz Wilhelm]

This is great , Subscribed!

 

[Dysken]

Great start, I'll be reading this.

 

[Nikolai]

Great start indeed.

 

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just so's ya know, I have the next update all finished. after updating KcD I will work on getting this up.

 

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Chapter I, Part II – The Prussian Crusade
1126- 1343​

In 1126, the Duke of Masovia, Konrad I, sent a plea to the Teutonic Knights. He requested assistance in defending the northern border of his duchy from the pagan Baltic Old Prussians. He also allowed the Knights to use Chełmno Land (Culmerland) as a base for the campaign.

Shortly after receiving the request, Hermann von Salza accepted. He expressed his belief that Prussia would serve as an excellent training ground for the Knights. They would need this for fighting crusades against Muslims in the Outremer (the Holy Land).

After being defeated in his attempt to create a Teutonic state in present-day Hungary, von Salza wanted to wait for Imperial orders before embarking on a new European Crusade. This was given to him in the Golden Bull of Rimini, issued by Frederick II in 1226.

“Brother Konrad had offered and promised to furnish brother Hermann, Honorable Master of the Holy Hospital of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem [Teutonic Order]...with the Chełmno Land between his march and the Prussians and equip them well, so they may take Preussenland [Terra Prussiae] in possession... we recognize the fact, that this land is included in the realm of the empire, we trust the judgement of the Master... we recognize all land in Prussia as an ancient right of the empire ...”
–Golden Bull of Rimini, Frederick II, 1226​

This official statement imbued von Salza with the power and casus beli to begin the Prussian Crusade. He now had the imperial privilege for the conquest—and subsequent possession—of Prussia.

With the assimilation of the Order of Dobrzyń, von Salza (in one of his last acts as Grand Master) began the Crusade.

Although Hermann von Salza died in 1239, the crusade continued. Under the fifth Grand Master, Conrad of Thruingia, Knights were sent into the wild, untamed Prussian lands.

(the pagan Old Prussian tribes circa 1200. Area in red is approximation of Teutonic Knights' camp)​

The next fifty years would be a half-century of blood, terror, and death. The Teutonic Knights waged a horrific war of Christianization. All Old Prussians who resisted baptism were slaughtered or exiled.

Word of this brutal treatment spread to the other tribes. As Teutonic Knights moved into the land of the Yotvingians, they were plagued by vicious guerilla attacks. According to official Teutonic chroniclers, captured Teutonic Knights faced a nightmarish fate.

The actual fate varied from tribe to tribe, but all were very similar. Captured Teutonic Knights would be bound to a long pole of wood or bone. They would be borne to the shrine of whatever local god the tribe worshipped. Then, the Knights would be burnt alive inside their armor.

There were also some rumors of cannibalism occurring after, with tribesmen consuming the roasted Knight flesh. However, it is doubtful that these deeds were actually committed. In a few isolated places where there actually was cannibalism of Teutonic Knights, it was entirely due to the actions of the Knights themselves.

When the Teutonic Knights would move in to baptize and Christianize the Old Prussians, they would also take a great deal of each tribe’s food stores. So if they refused to convert to Christianity, the survivors of the Knight’s wrath were left starving. It should come at little surprise that they resorted to killing and eating their enemies in desperation.

But cannibalism notwithstanding, the Old Prussians were fighting a losing struggle. They were extremely decentralized, with not even a rudiment of a unifying government. So the various Baltic tribes could not band together to resist the Teutonic Knights. Once they converted to Christianity, the Knights left them relatively alone.

Because of this early persecution, the Baltic tribes were driven into smaller, more centralized communities. They would survive for centuries, almost autonomous, to become one of the most legendary and mysterious subgroups of Teutonic culture.

Under the authority of Pope Gregory IX, the Teutonic Knights were to rule the Old Prussian lands under a sovereign state. This state, known as the Ordenstaat, would have dynamic borders for its entire future.

(Growth of the Teutonic State from 1225 to 1250)​

The initial territory granted by Konrad of Masovia the small Chełmno Land area. By 1250 the Knights had Christianized a large (by the standard of the day) amount of land northeast of the Chełmno Land. The Knights founded cities around castles built at Lidzbank, Kwidzýn, Malbork, Elblag, and Pregnore.

In 1237 the Teutonic Knights inherited the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, thus expanding their territory into Latvia and Estonia. However, some areas of Old Prussia would remain unconquered and pagan.

But the rest of the territory was now Christian. Although it was by the sword as opposed to voluntary, there was still a large amount of territory waiting to be incorporated into the realm of Christendom. This was tasked to William of Modena, a Papal official.

William divided Teutonic Prussia into four bishoprics. These were Culmerland, Pomesania, Warmia, and Sambia. These were to be organized under the Archbishop of Riga, who was himself based in Visby on the island of Gotland.

The borders of the mid-13th century Ordenstaat would remain almost static until the beginning of the 1300s.

But somewhere between 1303 and 1307 (sources differ), the Ordenstaat entered into a regional war between Poland and Brandenburg. In any case, Władysław I also called “Władysław I the elbow high,” called on the Teutonic Knights for aid in the war.

Soon after entering the war, the Teutonic Order, led by Landmeister Heinrich von Plötzke, seized the city of Gdańsk (later renamed Danzig). All Brandenburgers were immediately driven out.

With the job they had been hired for completed, Grand Master Siegfried von Feuchtwangen presented King Władysław with a bill for the Ordenstaat’s reward for assistance. Von Feuchtwangen asked for 10,000 silver marks. However, Władysław only agreed to give the Teutonic Knights 300 marks.

Following this ridiculously low offer, the Knights completely occupied Gdańsk, with a noticeable increase in dissent. There were several uprisings over the next few months, all of which were bloodily suppressed by the Teutonic Knights. These suppressions came at a great cost, especially to the German working class.

Slightly less than a year after the occupation, Margrave Waldemar, the ruler of Brandenburg, grew weary of prolonged war. He offered peace to the Ordenstaat. The Teutonic Knights was sold—for a hefty 10,000-mark price—Brandenburg’s claims on Pomerelia. There was now a land connection between the Ordenstaat and the Holy Roman Empire. This allowed reinforcements and supplies to travel from Vorpommern (Hither Pomerania) to Prussia.

An example of just how vulnerable Knightly orders were was demonstrated dissolution and persecution of the Knights Templar in 1307. The Teutonic Knights wanted to avoid the same fate. So two years later, in 1309, the capital of the Ordenstaat was moved out of Venice and to Malbork, a town on the Nogat River, a distributary of the Vistula.

(the Vistula river in light blue and major distributararies in darker blue)​

To further increase the effectiveness of the Teutonic Knights, the positions of Landmeister and Grand Master were merged. This new ruler-general now had much more control over the Ordenstaat. The Knights’ fears were justified when Pope Clement V ordered an investigation into the Knights on an allegation of serious misconduct. These claims were falsified through the able defense of hired jurists.

But the result of this was an alienated pope, and a Papacy issuing legal threats to the Teutonic Knights. Pope Clement V promised them a similar fate to the Knights Templar.

There was a drawback to the transaction with Brandenburg, however. This controversial business deal would bring the Ordenstaat into conflict with Poland. As Pomerelia came under Teutonic domination, the Poles renewed their claim on the region. War was ignited.

The first Polish-Teutonic War, beginning in 1320, was fought over Polish claims to the province of Danzig. However, this war was inconclusive, and the peace was fragile. War again broke out in 1333. This war lasted for a decade.

After ten years of bloody, brutal fighting, the Teutonic Knights emerged victorious. In the Peace of Kalisz in 1343, the king of Poland agreed to recognize Teutonic hegemony over Pomerelia and Culmerland. In addition, Poland renounced its claims on the region. However, the Knights had to make a concession. Kuyavia and Dobrzyń Land were returned to Poland.

This war was a boost to the Ordenstaat and a blow to polish honor. It would leave them brooding, lusting for revenge. But the peace remained—albeit somewhat uneasy—between Poland and the Ordenstaat for the next fifty years.​

 

[Duke of Wellington]

A fascinating prelude and summary there. Despite being a Christian order it would surely be easy to create a story that they worshipped blood the amount of it they let.

 

[Prinz Wilhelm]

nice update. So the Teutons were close to death as the Templars

 

[canonized]

Interesting start to the Teutonic Order . How much of that was historical and how much wasnt' btw ?