000			01255nam a2200169 4500
010			_a2005282999
020			_a9781853676673
024			_a852015755
050			_aCR4765.U73
082			_a271
100	1		_aWilliam Urban
245	1		_aThe Teutonic Knights
260			_bGreenhill Book
300			_a288 pages
520			_aThis book surveys the gripping history of the knights and relates their rise to power; their struggles against Prussian pagans; the series of wars against Poland and Lithuania; the clash with Alexander Nevsky's Russia; and the gradual stagnation of the Order in the fourteenth century. The book is replete with dramatic episodes - such as the battle on frozen Lake Peipus in 1242, or the disaster of Tannenberg - but focuses primarily on the year-after-year struggle to maintain power, fend off incursions and raiding bands, and to launch crusades against unbelieving foes. And it was the crusade, with knights demonstrating their valour, which chiefly characterised and breathed life into this militant, conquering Holy Order. The narrative charts the rise and fall of the Order, and, in an accessible and engaging style, throws light on a band of knights whose deeds and motives have long been misunderstood.
999			_c15423 _d15423