History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 193, the Baltic Crusades, the Baltic Crusades, the Teutonic Knights.

Hello again.

Last week we saw the end of military incursions into the land of the Wens, which took place in the shadow of the

Crusade of 1147.

This week we are going to leave the Crusades for the moment and take a look at the rise of the

Teutonic Knights, a military order which will be playing a significant role in the Baltic Crusades.

Now back in episode 190 when we were discussing the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Lion and the Holy Roman Empire,

we mentioned that Conrad the third went to the Holy Land on the Second Crusade, an expedition that was, quite frankly,

disastrous for Conrad.

But this bad experience won't deter future emperors from going on Crusade to the Middle East.

In the year 1189, four years after the end of the Wendish Crusade, the forces of the Third Crusade will

muster and we'll head off to the Holy Land.

Back in the year 1152 Conrad died and apparently on his deathbed in an unexpected

move he declared that his successor be not his own six-year-old son, but his nephew, Frederick

Duke of Swabia of the Hoensch-Dauphin Dynasty. Frederick was Julie crowned King of Germany and a couple of years later was

crowned King of Italy and then in 1155 he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.

As we've heard previously, Frederick earned the name Frederick Barbarossa due to his red beard.

So in the year 1189, when the clergy of Western Christendom began preaching the Third

Crusade, Frederick Barbarossa was ready to answer the call.

More than ready in fact.

He had accompanied his uncle Conrad the Third on the Second second crusade so he knew what he was in for.

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