Deutscher Orden-Reenactment, Poland, Sanok-Mrzygłód, 2010
Teutonic Knights, a crusading military order for the forced conversion to Catholicism in the Holy Land and the Baltics during the Middle Ages, are often depicted in popular culture.
In the chapbookDes dodes dantz, printed in Lübeck in 1489 and in a 1649 watercolour from the Dance of Death cycle by Albrecht Kauw in the cemetery of the Dominican convent of Bern, a Teutonic Knight is one of the representative figures cut down by Death. The knight is notably treated as a particularly dignified character in both, which likely derive from a common source.
In the book cycle "The Mongoliad" the Teutonic Knights and some similar rivals are the central characters on a quest to kill the Khan of the Mongols.[2]
In the 1967 Nick Carter spy novel, The Bright Blue Death, the Teutonic Knights are a neo-Nazi paramilitary organization intent on overthrowing the West German government
The Teutonic Knights briefly appear in the seventh chapter of The Lady of the Lake, the fifth installment of the Witcher Saga from author Andrzej Sapkowski. Princess Cirilla, a traveler of space and time, encounters them while jumping between worlds.
Politics
Emperor William II of Germany posed for a photo in 1902 in the garb of a brother of the Teutonic Order, climbing up the stairs in the reconstructed Marienburg Castle.[3]
German nationalism often invoked the imagery of the Teutonic Knights, especially in the context of territorial conquest from eastern neighbours of Germany and conflict with nations of Slavic origins, who were considered to be of lower development and lacking in culture. The German historian Heinrich von Treitschke used imagery of the Teutonic Knights to promote pro-German and anti-Polish rhetoric. Such imagery and symbols were adopted by many middle-class Germans who supported German nationalism. During the Weimar Republic, associations and organisations of this nature contributed to laying the groundwork for the formation of Nazi Germany.[3]
During World War II, Nazi propaganda and ideology made frequent use of the Teutonic Knights' imagery, as the Nazis sought to depict the Knights' actions as a forerunner of the Nazi conquests for Lebensraum.[citation needed]Heinrich Himmler tried to idealize the SS as a 20th-century incarnation of the medieval knights.[citation needed] The modern Order, however, was banned in the Third Reich in 1938, due to long-standing belief of both Hitler and Himmler that Catholic military-religious orders were untrustworthy and politically suspect as subordinates of the Vatican, and representatives of its policy.[4]
The Soviet/Russian heavy metal band Aria's song "Ballada o Drevnerusskom Voïnie"/"Ballad of an Ancient Russian Warrior" (1987, "Geroy Asphalta"/"Hero of a Speedway") depicts the Battle of the Ice.
In the popular anime Hetalia the character Prussia spends a certain amount of time as a personification of the Teutonic Ordenstaat.
The Teutonic Knights have a small role in Michele Soavi's gothic horror film The Church from 1989. They massacre an entire village in Germany whom they believe to be evil devil worshippers and witches.
Reenactment and roleplaying
The Teutonic Knights are recreated by many re-enactment groups around the world. Many historical and fantasy fighting groups recreate the Teutonic Order, an example are the Teutonic Knights of Daghorhir which encompass two separate units in New York and Texas respectively.[5]
In countries such as England, Poland, and Estonia, the popularity of reenactments of the Teutonic Order has increased with organizations recreating the Order's fights in battle demonstrations, living history exhibits and of course battle reenactments commemorating some of the Knights' famous battles.[6][7][8]
References
^Chaucer, Geoffrey; Canterbury Tales, 'General Prologue' II 43-6, 51-4. This likely reflects the participation by Henry, Earl of Derby (son of Chaucer's patron John of Gaunt) in the reysas of 1390-1391 and 1392-1393.
