Teutonic << too TON ihk >> Knights was the name of an organization of German crusaders that arose in Europe during the 1100’s. The Teutonic Knights were organized for service in the Holy Land. They modeled their organization after two earlier crusading orders, the Knights Templars and the Knights Hospitallers (see Knights Templars; Knights Hospitallers).
In the 1200’s, the Teutonic Knights shifted their activities to central Europe, where they tried to convert and control the people of what became Prussia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Their power and influence spread throughout central and eastern Europe.
In the 1300’s, the Teutonic Knights lost much of their power, and finally the Poles and Lithuanians overthrew them. In 1525, the grand master, Albert of Hohenzollern, embraced Protestantism. Albert changed the order from a religious to a civil organization. In 1618, the order’s territory passed to the Hohenzollern elector of Brandenburg.
