In movies and pictures we often see hordes of the Teutonic Knights wearing white cloaks and shields with a black Latin cross on them. In fact, the Teutonic Knights were too few to carry out such a mission as the Christianization of the Baltic region on their own. Even in the fateful Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg), which determined the destiny of the Teutonic Order itself, the number of the Teutonic Knights, i.e. the Order's full members who had the right to wear white cloaks with a black Latin cross on them, did not exceed 250 (of whom 203 died in the battle). Actually the majority of the Northern Crusaders were not the members of the Teutonic Order. They were the so-called "guests" or "pilgrims", i.e. secular volunteers from all over Europe who took part in the military campaigns launched by the Teutonic Knights. Besides them, there were secular noble vassals of the Teutonic Order. Till the end of the 14th century such guest knights and secular vassals formed the armies of the Northern Crusaders and constituted the bulk and strike force with which the Christianization of Prussia and Lithuania was carried out.
The Teutonic Knights, being the full members of the Teutonic Order, used to wear different forms of the Teutonic Cross depending on a particular rank.
In the earlier periods of the Teutonic Order's history the then Grand Masters wore the same Latin black cross as the rest members of the Order but with a thin silver frame along its perimeter.
In later periods the Teutonic Order's Grand Masters wore a wider Latin cross, with the golden Jerusalem cross on it, with French fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys (i.e. stylized lilies) on its ends, and in the centre of the Cross a square Spanish shield was placed, containing the Holy Roman Empire's black eagle, but it was single-headed.
The golden Jerusalem cross was granted by Guy de Lusignan, the stylized lilies were granted by Louis IX (Saint Louis), the shield with the Holy Roman imperial eagle was granted by Friedrich II von Hohenstaufen.
A Komtur (i.e. a Commander of a province, castle or city in the possession of the Order) wore a black Latin cross of a bigger size than those worn by the ordinary members of the Order.
As to guest knights, they did not have the right to wear the Teutonic Order’s symbols on their shields or clothes. They wore their own coats of arms and fought under their own banners.
The secular vassals of the Teutonic Order wore their own coats of arms and carried their own banners. Sometimes they are depicted with the shields with their own coats of arms combined with those of the Teutonic Order, which is not right.
On the other hand, they had the right to carry separate attributes granted by the Teutonic Order with its symbols on them (pointed with the arrows in the pictures below).