History of the Northern Crusades

1. The Great Banner of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (argent, a cross potent Or fimbriated sable overall on an escutcheon Or a double headed eagle displayed sable). The commander of the unit: Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen, 1407-1410; he fell at Tannenberg. Under the leadership of the Grand Master were there most illustrious knights and aristocrats. 2. The Lesser Banner of the Grand Master (smaller than the Greater Banner but otherwise identical without slits and "ribbons"). Used as the standard of the vanguard of the army...

13. The Banner of the Prussian vassals from the land of Kulm (barry wavy of four argent and gules, in chief and a Latin cross sable). The commander: Komtur von Thorn Johann von Seyn, Graf von Veynde (he also led the unit No. 23); died in the battle. 14. The Banner of the Komturei and Castle of Graudenz (argent, a bulls head couped affronty sable, ringed and armed argent). The commander: Komtur Wilhelm von Helfenstein, who was killed at Tannenberg. The unit was composed of the knights and folk from Graudenz...

27. The Banner of the city of Brunsberg (Braunsberg); per fess argent and sable, two crosses patty (pattée) counterchanged. The unit was composed of city-folk, vassals and some hired help. The name of the commander is unknown. 28. The Banner of the militia of Franconia composed of German guest knights, who came at their own expense to help the Order; fought under their own banner (agent, a crossbow bolt and a bird blunt bolt in cross gules). The name of the commander is unknown 29. The Banner of the Swiss guest knights (gules, a wolf or a fox statant palewise argent, langued sable)...

39. The Banner of the city of Mewe (a crossbow bolt and a bird blunt crossbow bolt argent). The unit was composed of the Teutonic Knights and the guest knights from Franconia (80 lances fournies). The commander: Komtur of Mewe was Komtur Segemunt von Ramungen, who died in the battle. 40. The Banner of the city of Heiligenbeil (sable, a broadax argent). The name of the commander is unknown. 41. The Banner of the city of Brunsberg (azure, a lion rampant queue forchee barry gules and argent, armed and crowned sable)...

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)...

In the 13th century the campaigns to the shores of the Baltic were waged within the framework of the Crusading movement. The high spirit of its participants was evident, believing that they were performing a God-pleasing mission to the highest degree and conscious of themselves as an instrument of God. A constant influx of military reinforcements from Western European countries was necessary to keep the captured territory. Almost every year Bishop of Riga Albert von Buxthoeven went to Germany to recruit pilgrims...

The consequences of that Russian campaign proved to be very difficult for the Sword-Bearers: most of their possessions were lost. Coupled with considerable human losses, it dealt a serious blow to the military might of the Order. However, as further events showed, this blow was not devastating. Already in September of the same year, the Sword Brothers headed by Master Volkwin joined the united army of the Bishopric vassals, the Livonians and Latgalians, as well as the pilgrims under the command of Albrecht II...

Before turning to the topic of the merger of the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, let us look haw this process is described in the following chronicles. In The Chronicle of the Prussian Land by Peter of Dusburg: Brother Volkwin [Volkwin von Naumburg zu Winterstätten], who was the second Master of the Order of the Sword Brothers in the Livonian land, had been sending messengers to Brother Hermann von Salza, the Grand Master of the Teutonic House [the Teutonic Order] for six years in order to consolidate the two Orders...

As The Chronicle of Novgorod, 1016-1471 (hereinafter The Novgorodian Chronicle) states, the Battle of the Neva was fought between the troops of Novgorodian Rus’ led by Prince Alexander of Novgorod and the forces of the Swedes and their Norwegian allies led by Birger Magnusson, the Jarl (Duke) of Sweden, on the banks of the River Neva on July 15, 1240. It is represented by Soviet/Russian historians as the culmination of the Swedish aggressive Crusade against Rus’. According to The Novgorodian Chronicle,...

According to The Chronicle of Novgorod, 1016-1471 (hereinafter The Novgorodian Chronicle), a battle between the forces of Novgorodian Rus’ led by Prince of Novgorod Alexander Nevsky on one side, and the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order on the other side, took place at Lake Peipus on April 5, 1242, and it was called the Battle on the Ice. According to The Novgorodian Chronicle, the battle took the lives of 400 Teutonic Knights and 50 knights were taken prisoner and delivered to Novgorod. However,...

The Sariant-Brothers (German: Sariantbrüder; “Serving Brothers”) of the Teutonic Order, called Gray Cloaks (German: Graumäntler) by the color of their clothes, were recruited from commoners, but nonetheless were full members of the Teutonic Order. In wartime they performed the functions of sergeancy, analogous to modern non commissioned officers, leading militia units from the lands belonging to the Order or mercenary units. They fought not only on foot, but also in mounted formation. It was the Sariant-Brothers who made up the bulk of the Order’s army...