Teutonic Knights in popular culture
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This article is about depictions of the Teutonic Knights
in popular culture.
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
in popular culture.
- The Order and its relations with PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Masovia, and LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
are the main subject of Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning Polish author Henryk SienkiewiczHenryk SienkiewiczHenryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his...
's historical novelHistorical novelAccording to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
The Teutonic KnightsThe Teutonic Knights (novel)The Knights of the Cross or The Teutonic Knights is a 1900 historical novel written by the eminent Polish Modernist writer and the 1905 Nobel laureate, Henryk Sienkiewicz...
, which describes the era of the Battle of Grunwald from the Polish point of view. A Polish film based on the novel, Krzyżacy, was released in 1960. Other books referencing the conflict between the Order and Poland include James A. MichenerJames A. MichenerJames Albert Michener was an American author of more than 40 titles, the majority of which were sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating historical facts into the stories...
's historical novel PolandPoland (novel)Poland is a historical novel written by James A. Michener and published in 1983 detailing the times and tribulations of three Polish families across eight centuries, ending in the then-present day .-Overview:Michener was hired by a television company to travel to a foreign country to shoot a...
and Leo FrankowskiLeo FrankowskiLeo Frankowski was an American writer of science fiction novels. He lived in Russia for four years with his now ex-wife and adopted teenage daughter, but...
's Conrad StargardConrad StargardConrad Stargard is the protagonist and title character in a series of time travel novels written by Leo Frankowski. In them, a Polish engineer named Conrad Schwartz is sent back in time to the 13th century where he has to establish himself and cope with various crises including the eventual...
science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series. Descendants of the Teutonic Knights play an important role in the novel The Ogre, written by the French Goncourt prize winner Michel TournierMichel TournierMichel Tournier is a French writer.His works are highly considered and have won important awards such as the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française in 1967 for Friday, or, The Other Island and the Prix Goncourt for The Erl-King in 1970...
.
- The Order plays an important part of the story in the opera I LituaniI LituaniI Lituani is an opera consisting of a prologue and three acts by Amilcare Ponchielli to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on the historical poem Konrad Wallenrod written by Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz...
by PonchielliAmilcare PonchielliAmilcare Ponchielli was an Italian composer, largely of operas.-Biography:Born in Paderno Fasolaro, now Paderno Ponchielli, near Cremona, Ponchielli won a scholarship at the age of nine to study music at the Milan Conservatory, writing his first symphony by the time he was ten years old.Two years...
(1874), based on Adam MickiewiczAdam MickiewiczAdam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
's poem Konrad Wallenrod (1828).
- The historical drama filmHistorical drama filmThe historical drama is a film genre in which stories are based upon historical events and famous persons. Some historical dramas attempt to accurately portray a historical event or biography, to the degree that the available historical research will allow...
Alexander NevskyAlexander Nevsky (film)Alexander Nevsky is a 1938 historical drama film directed by Sergei Eisenstein, in association with Dmitri Vasilyev and a script co-written with Pyotr Pavlenko, who were assigned to ensure Eisenstein did not stray into "formalism" and to facilitate shooting on a reasonable timetable...
(1938) depicts the defeat of the Teutonic Knights by the Russians in the Battle of the IceBattle of the IceThe Battle of the Ice , also known as the Battle of Lake Peipus , was a battle between the Republic of Novgorod and the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights on April 5, 1242, at Lake Peipus...
(1242).
- German nationalismNationalismNationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
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 TreitschkeHeinrich von TreitschkeHeinrich Gotthard von Treitschke was a nationalist German historian and political writer during the time of the German Empire.-Early life and teaching career:...
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 nationalismNationalismNationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
. During the Weimar RepublicWeimar RepublicThe Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
, associations and organisations of this nature contributed to laying the groundwork for the formation of Nazi GermanyNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
- Emperor William IIWilliam II, German EmperorWilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
of Germany posed for a photo in 1902 in the garb of a monk from the Teutonic Order, climbing up the stairs in the reconstructed Marienburg CastleMalbork CastleThe Marienburg Castle in Malbork is by area the largest castle in the world. It was built in Prussia by the Teutonic Knights, a German Roman Catholic religious order of crusaders, in a form of an Ordensburg fortress. The Order named it Marienburg...
as a symbol of the German Empire's policy.
- During World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Nazi propagandaNazi propagandaPropaganda, the coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of media, was skillfully used by the NSDAP in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany...
and ideologyNazismNazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
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 LebensraumLebensraumwas one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. It served as the motivation for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, aiming to provide extra space for the growth of the German population, for a Greater Germany...
. Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
tried to idealize the SSSchutzstaffelThe Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
as a 20th century incarnation of the medieval knights. 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.
- The black and white colours of the Order became the colours of the state of PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
.
- The Teutonic Knights are featured in a variety of historically-themed computer gamesComputer Games"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
, including Medieval: Total WarMedieval: Total WarMedieval: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Activision. Set in the Middle Ages, it is the second game in the Total War series, following on from the 2000 title Shogun: Total War...
, Medieval II: Total War, in which the Order is equaled with the Templars and the Knights of Saint JohnKnights HospitallerThe Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
in power. In the expansion Medieval II: Total War: KingdomsMedieval II: Total War: KingdomsMedieval II: Total War Kingdoms is the expansion to the 2006 PC game Medieval II: Total War. The expansion was released on 28 August 2007 in the United States and has four new campaigns, focusing on the discovery of the Americas, 13th century Britain and Ireland, and Crusader campaigns in both the...
, a campaign is dedicated to the Order's campaigns. They are featured in Age of Empires II, in which "Teutonic Knights" and "Elite Teutonic Knights" are some of the most powerful armed units in the game. The Order is a playable country in the grand strategy games Europa Universalis IIEuropa Universalis IIEuropa Universalis II is an empire-building, computer strategy game based on European and world history spanning a timeline between 1419 through 1820.-Gameplay:...
and Europa Universalis IIIEuropa Universalis IIIEuropa Universalis III is a grand strategy computer game by Paradox Interactive. The main game was released for Windows on January 2007, and was later ported to Mac OS X by Virtual Programming on 2 November 2007....
. Teutonic Knights are shown to be occupying the city of AcreAcre, IsraelAcre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
in Assassin's CreedAssassin's CreedAssassin's Creed is an award-winning historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The bulk of the game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the plot revolving around a sect known as the Secret Order of...
, which their Grand Master Sibrand is secretly a member of the Knight Templars. They are featured in Empire Earth IIEmpire Earth IIEmpire Earth II, also called EE2, is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Mad Doc Software and published by Vivendi Universal Games on April 26, 2005. It is a sequel to the 2001 bestselling game Empire Earth, which was developed by the now-defunct Stainless Steel Studios...
s German campaign as well.
- The Norwegian black metalBlack metalBlack metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band Dimmu BorgirDimmu BorgirDimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...
used the story of the Teutonic Knights for the music video of their single "The Serpentine OfferingThe Serpentine Offering"The Serpentine Offering" is a single by Dimmu Borgir from their 2007 album In Sorte Diaboli. The European version of the single features an instrumental version of "TheSerpentine Offering" and the North American version, instead, features an...
".
- Author Bruce QuarrieBruce QuarrieBruce Quarrie was an English author and historian. He studied English at Peterhouse College, Cambridge University and graduated with honours in 1968. He became a journalist with the Financial Times and then in 1972 joined Patrick Stephens Limited, a Cambridge specialist publisher, as editor of...
, a historian of the Third Reich, titled his study of the elite Waffen-SSWaffen-SSThe Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
Panzer DivisionPanzer DivisionA panzer division was an armored division in the army and air force branches of the Wehrmacht as well as the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II....
s Hitler's Teutonic Knights.
- The animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series Hetalia: Axis PowersHetalia: Axis Powersis a Japanese webcomic, later adapted as a manga and an anime series, by . The series presents an allegorical trivialisation of political and historic events, particularly of the World War II era, in which the various countries are represented by stereotyped anthropomorphic characters...
references the Order, in which the personification of PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
is shown to be a Teutonic Knight. - Season of the WitchSeason of the WitchSeason of the Witch, also known as Hungry Wives, and Jack's Wife, is George A. Romero's third horror film. Filmed in 1971 and released in 1972, the film is about a housewife who becomes involved in witchcraft...
2011 American action horror fantasy film Nicolas CageNicolas CageNicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
starringas as Teutonic KnightsTeutonic KnightsThe Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
Crusader.