Teutonic Knight: 1190-1561: 12th-16th Centuries (Warrior) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

I have been fascinated by the Knights of the Teutonic Order for several years now, but have been frustrated by the relative lack of attention they have received from Osprey. Finally, they have released a title on the Order and, as is often the case with Osprey, the pictures alone make it well worth one's money!

The author David Nicolle needs little introduction, having established himself as Osprey's most prolific writer on the Middle Ages. Though his speciality is Islamic and Central Asian warfare, he has also written several worthy titles on the armies of medieval Europe. The illustrator Graham Turner also specializes in the Middle Ages, having illustrated Osprey titles on early German Medieval Armies and the Armies of the Caliphates, as well as the Warrior title on the Redcoats.

The Teutonic Order was basically a society of German warriors who carved out their own state in Eastern Europe in the 14th and 15th Centuries. They had their beginnings around the same time the Crusaders' conquests were starting to fall away. Though they spent their early years fighting to save the European state centered on Acre, it was not long before they turned their battle-hungry attentions somewhere else-Eastern Europe, the Slavic-Nomad population of which was still partly pagan. Though they suffered a crippling defeat at Tannenburg in 1410, the Knights continued to hack and batter their way through another century and a half of European history before dividing due to religious tensions and fading out of military importance.

Despite their lack of chivalry and culture compared to the knights farther west, the Teutonic Order represented a high point of medieval military power and versatility, utilizing friendly 'natives' to supply the otherwise lacking light cavalry roles in their armies. They clashed with many diverse foes; the Mamluks, the Poles, the Russians, the Prussians, and the Mongols, among many others.

After summarizing the beginnings and conquests of the Order, Nicolle gives a condensed chronology spanning from the 12th to the 16th Centuries. Their organization, leadership, fortifications, and politics are next examine; included in this section is a list of their Priors and Hochmeisters. Next the recruitment and belief and belonging are examined, and after that their arsenal, training, skills, and campaign and siegecraft procedures. The author thens goes on to their experience of battle adn closes his book with a list of collections and significant historical locations. There is also a detailed bibliography and plate commentary.

The plate artwork is excellent and finely detailed. The first plate depicts a leading knight, accompanied by lightly armored footmen, clashing with a Kipchak warlord. Three others depict the Teutonic Knight as he would have appeared, respectively in the 1200's, 1300's, and late 1400's. Other plates depict the Knights negotiating with a Mamluk general, embarking on a raid in the winter in Eastern Europe, and withstanding a Polish siege after their fierce defeat at Tannenburg. The final plate is perhaps the most useful of all, depicting the contemporary fighting and fencing styles used in Germany.

In short, this is a highly useful addition to Osprey's Warrior series and would be, as always, greatly useful to a wargamer, military uniformist, history teacher, or military enthusiast.

This book by Osprey Publishing presents us with the Teutonic Knight as warrior. We are presented with a brief overview of the chronology of the time, and then offered the organization which supported the Teutonic Knight as well as who he was, what his beliefs were, training, experiences and battles.

This book is laid out much as the rest of the Osprey offerings, loaded with quick facts, condensed history, lots of pictures of areas, castles, gear and more. This book is, like all the rest of the books in this series, a good beginners book for the basics on the Teutonic Knight.

Again, the photographs of the places, the castles, the materials of the time as well as the arms and armament are valuable tools to learning what exactly life was like at that time. The illustrations by Graham Turner give us action scenes that place the knights in the battles, using accurate historical references, costumes and arms and armaments. There are also included illustrations from the time period that add to the flavor of the book. The book truly takes you to the time, places you next to the knight and gives you a good idea of what was going on.

Not to be dismissed is the amount of information that is crammed into the book. David Nicolle does an excellent job of condensing the history to a well rounded overview yet does not bore or sound droll.

There is a great bibliography in the back of the book, along with some nice descriptions of the color plates and there is an index for quick reference.

All in all, a good presentation and a good resource for school kids or just those who are curious about Teutonic Knights. This is an overview of the knight and his times. It should be augmented with further material if you are looking for an indepth study.

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Much of the same information can be found in more lengthier sources, such as Eric Christiansen's excellent The Northern Crusades, but this is a good introduction to the campaigns and history of the Teutonic Knights. As with almost all Osprey titles, the illustrations and color plates are top notch