Why are there so many different uniforms in the Cross Army?

Three Knights: Knights appeared during the Crusades in the Middle Ages. 1096- 1099 After the first Crusade, four Crusader countries were established. Under the threat of Muslims eyeing up, the Crusader countries are in turmoil. So the Pope organized several monks and knights, namely, the three famous knights in history, namely, the Knights of the Hospital, the Knights Templar and the Teutonic Knights.

Medieval knights are full of mystery and charm, and the life of knights is constantly interpreted by Hollywood as a romantic story that is both true and illusory. In fact, they look like monks and Taoists, but they are soldiers in essence; They quoted the spirit of Jesus in the Bible as a prayer, but they fought. Their weapon is not preaching, but war and peace. The real idea in their hearts is that it is better to take the initiative to eliminate danger than to be killed by the enemy or opponent.

Basic introduction

Knights appeared during the Crusades in the Middle Ages. 1096- 1099 after the first crusade, four crusade countries were established. Under the threat of Muslims eyeing up, the Crusader countries are in turmoil. So the Pope organized several religious knights, namely, the three famous knights in history, namely, the Knights of the Hospital, the Knights Templar and the Teutonic Knights.

Strict centralization is practiced within the Order. The top leader of each regiment is the "Grand Commander", and the leaders of the branch regiments under its jurisdiction are called "branch heads", as well as commanders and stables. Officials below the president of the branch form a general meeting and are subordinate to the general president; The head of the regiment takes orders directly from the Pope and must obey his orders.

The first of the three knights is the Knights of St. John, often called the Knights of the Hospital. It has been called the Order of Malta until now, and it is also called the Order of Rhodes (once stationed in Rhode Island for a long time). Most of its members are knights of Burgundy and knights of northern Italy.

The second is the Templar Knight, the most prominent and powerful knight during the Crusade, but the ending was also very tragic, and the members were basically French knights.

The last one is the Teutonic Knights, whose members are all German nobles. During its stay in Jerusalem, the Teutonic Order was unable to play a practical role because it was attacked from all sides, but later it returned to Europe and left a strong impression on the world in the history of German colonization and eastward migration.

Hospital knight

Hospital knight badge

The full name of Knights Order Hospital is "Knights Order of Sovereign Military Hospitals in Jerusalem, Rhode Island and St. John of Malta", also known as the Knights Order of Malta, which was established in 1099. It was originally established by the French aristocrat Gerard and several companions in a hospital near St. John's Baptist Church in Jerusalem. Its main purpose was to take care of the wounded and pilgrims.

The slogan of Knight Hospital is "Protect faith and help suffering! Defend the faith and help the victims.

The original symbol of the Knights Hospital was an octagonal cross with white characters on a black background. By the middle of13rd century, it was widely used. This octagonal cross is also called "Maltese Cross" because of the name of the Knights.

/kloc-at the beginning of the 0/4th century, the Order had to move to Rhode Island in the eastern Mediterranean in 13 10.

1530, Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire agreed to hand over Malta Island and its nearby Gozo Island to the Knights of Shantang. As a result, the knights established their own country on the island of Malta, officially known as the "Knight State of Malta".

The Turks are obviously uneasy about the return of the knight. 1565, Turks sent troops to attack Malta. At first, this war was similar to the last one in Rhode Island: the knights struggled, most cities were destroyed, and half the knights died. Just when the knights were about to lose their strength, reinforcements came from Spain, and the battlefield situation suddenly took a turn for the better. The Turkish army retreated hastily and lost more than 30,000 people. This great victory brought a period of peace to the Order of Malta.

157 1 year, the Turks thought that the navy was almost developed and set out again in an attempt to disrupt the order. But this time they were even worse: before they arrived in Malta, they met the Spanish armada at sea, and almost all the Turkish fleet was sunk or captured. Since then, the Order of Malta has entered its heyday, and warships marked with Malta's octagonal cross on their sails are rampant in the Mediterranean.

The Order's rule in malta island lasted until18th century. 1798 In June, Napoleon forced the Knights of Shantang to surrender and occupied malta island, and the churches and monasteries of the Knights on the island were looted by the French army. Most members of the Order have gone to Russia. There, Russian Tsar Paul I gave them asylum, and the Order elected Paul I as the new head of the Order.

After leaving malta island, the order lost its territory, but it still exists as an organization.

1834, the Order rebuilt its headquarters in Rome and finally stabilized again. The military mission of the Order has ended, and since then it has mainly engaged in charity.

Today, the Order of Malta remains an observer organization of the United Nations. Its headquarters is in Rome and it enjoys diplomatic power, but the sovereignty of Malta Building still belongs to Italy, not the Order of Malta.

After the Religious Revolution, the Knights of Shantang, a Protestant country headed by Germany, became independent from the headquarters of the Knights, but still maintained the title of the Knights of St. John. The Catholic Order of Malta is the direct successor of the Knights of Shantang.

Knights Templar

The official name of the Knights Templar is "Poor Christ and Solomon Templar". It was founded around118, and its members were mainly crusaders from France.

The symbol of the knights templar.

The founder of the Knights Templar originally lived in a corner of the royal palace in Jerusalem, adjacent to the Church of the Savior, and its original site was a mosque of Arab Islam. It is said that this place used to be the temple of King Solomon, hence the name "Templar Knight", which is sometimes translated as "poor compatriots-Christ and Solomon Templar". Another way of saying this is that it is said that King Baldwin II of Jerusalem at that time designated a part of the courtyard as the residence of French knights in the Jewish Temple, hence the name.

Its members are divided into four categories:

* Knight Knight is the subject of knight. Only knights of the highest rank have the right to wear white robes with red crosses painted on their backs.

Sergeant A sergeant is an infantryman with a rank lower than that of a knight. They are the military forces of the Knights Templar.

The farmer is responsible for managing the property of the order.

* The priest is responsible for religious activities such as prayer.

Their symbol is a red cross.

Privileges granted by the Pope, donations from monarchs and princes, and their territorial expansion and self-reliance enabled them to quickly gather a large amount of wealth. However, as the saying goes, a tree attracts the wind. /kloc-At the end of 0/3, after all the colonies [settlements] established in the east by feudal lords in western Europe were destroyed, the Knights Templar was forced to leave Palestine and move to France, Britain and Spain.

Philip IV, who ruled France at that time, was in dire financial difficulties. Covet the property of the Templars, secretly conspire with Pope Clement V under his protection, accuse the Templars of heresy, and issue a secret order on June 1307+1October13 to arrest all the Templars in France. As a result, a large number of knights templar were tortured to death during the trial, and the organization of the knights templar also collapsed.

13 12, Pope Clement V ordered the formal dissolution of the Knights Templar.

German order

The full name of Teutonic Knights Order is "Knights Order of Saint Mary's Good Church in Jerusalem", or OT for short, and its members are basically German nobles.

Teutonic knight symbol

At the beginning of the Teutonic Knights, the Pope approved them to wear the same white robes as the Templars, but embroidered black crosses on them as the difference between them. Since then, the black cross on a white background has become the symbol of Teutonic knights. The cross on the Teutonic Order's flag is different from the general cross. It leans to the left, not symmetrically.

If everyone pays attention to the flags of the Nordic countries, it is not difficult to find that the flags of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland and other countries all have this left-leaning cross, which is called the Scandinavian Cross.

Although the Teutonic Knight Kingdom perished, the Knight Black Cross was still inherited and continued. On the military flags of the Second Reich, Weimar Republic and the Third Reich, the black cross is an important symbol, representing the military tradition inherited from Teutonic Knights. Iron and blood fell under the cross made of iron and blood.

The slogan of Teutonic Knights is "Helfen, Heilen, Wehren".

The Teutonic Order is the latest of the three knights, but it is the most influential one. It was established in Palestine in 1 198. Mainly composed of German knights, wearing white coats and black crosses. The white cloak is painted with red swords and crosses.

The holy city of Jerusalem was captured by Saladin's army. The Holy See called for the recapture of the Holy City, which was the third crusade.

At that time, Emperor Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire led the German army to Asia Minor first. Unfortunately, the red beard collapsed halfway, and his son, Duke Schwaben, continued his crusade. The Teutonic Order was established in this context.

1 190, the Crusaders finally captured the important town of Acre, where some German knights established medical organizations to do good deeds, which became the Teutonic Knights. But at the beginning of its establishment, there was no military task, just taking care of the wounded.

1 198, the Teutonic Order was transformed into a military order, following the example of the Knights Templar, and implemented the same canon as the Shantang Order.

12 1 1 year, Hungarian king Andrias II invited the knights to help suppress the Kumanins, at the cost of giving them a fief in Burzenland, which is an area of Transilvania (Romanian: Siebenbürgen) in southern Romania today. Historians believe that Andre II did something stupid, lured the wolf into the room and brought the knights to Eastern Europe.

1225, because Teutonic knights tried to establish an independent country on their fief, Andre II deported them. The knights are in trouble again.

However, things soon turned around. At that time, Konrad von Masowien, the Grand Duke of Mazovia, Poland, tried to expand to Kulmerland in the north. As a result, he was defeated by the local indigenous Prussians. His territory did not expand, but was occupied by the Prussians. Conrad was depressed, so he called for a crusade against Cuomo's heretics in the name of religion, but other Polish governors ignored him and seemed to be waiting for a joke. The Prussians there are very fierce, and his army is losing ground. In desperation, Conrad turned to the Teutonic Order for help, hoping that the Order could help him conquer the Prussians.

If Andre II asked the Knights to help him suppress the Kumanlei people because of ignorance, Conrad can only describe it as stupidity when he asked the Knights to help him conquer the Prussians. Of course, other Polish vassals are also involved. If they had helped Conrad earlier, Conrad wouldn't have to invite wolves into the house, and they all became victims in the end. After receiving this invitation, Teutonic Knights readily agreed, but they didn't want to repeat the story in Hungary. Hermann von salza, head of the Knights Order, first went to see Fetley II, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and got a golden edict from the emperor: The Teutonic Knights have the right to occupy the land given by Conrad and the land acquired after conquering the Prussians, and the attack on the territory of the Knights Order will be severely punished by the Holy Roman Empire. With the written guarantee of Fitzgerald II, Teutonic knights will properly occupy the land they conquered. Conrad began to regret it at this time. In order to prevent the Teutonic Knights from taking root next to him, Conrad organized a Knights-Prussian Christian Knights, and personally crusaded against Prussians. This time he failed again. He can't even hold his core territory. Conrad had to bow his head and admit defeat. 1230, in the treaty he signed with the Teutonic Order, he promised that if the Teutonic Order conquered Kummer, he would give the land to the Order forever. In other words, Teutonic knights own Cuomo, not fiefs-the ownership of fiefs still belongs to the monarch. 1234, Pope gregory IX Gregor IX golden decree, acknowledging the ownership of the land conquered by the Knights, and at the same time asking them to Christianize the local aborigines. In this way, the Teutonic Knights got a triple written promise that all they had to do was conquer this land, which was obviously their best.

From 1226, the Teutonic Knights began to conquer Prussia. After more than 50 years of bloody slaughter, by 1285, the Teutonic Order finally completed its conquest. On this land, they established a powerful regime-the Knights Kingdom, and Prussia was the center of the Knights Kingdom. 1237, Livonia and the Knights of Livonia merged and became the other wing of the knight kingdom. Like Prussia, the knights built a series of castles in Livonia as fortifications. Although the Teutonic Order focused its work on the eastern colonization, its activities in Asia Minor did not stop, and its headquarters was always in Ako. 129 1 After the fall of Arco in, the Teutonic Order took the Knights Templar and the Hospital Order to Venice instead of Cyprus. 1309, the headquarters of the Order moved to marienburg, Prussia, and they became a completely independent country.

The expansion of Teutonic knights in the East was not smooth sailing. In April 1242, 1 1 day (5th day of the Russian calendar), the Teutonic Order suffered heavy losses on the glacial lake and was defeated by 16000 Russian troops. The devastating defeat of the Battle of Ice Lake weakened Teutonic Knights, and their continued eastward expansion stopped.

Poland, to the south of the Knights, was originally divided, not an opponent of the Knights. But by the first half of the14th century, Poland was in the position of Vadiswav I, King of Kotek (W? Addis? Oh, I'm arm elbow height, not W? Addis? Under the leadership of aw I Herman, the relationship with the Knights became tense. 1308 The Knights occupied Danzig and Pomeran, which led to a sharp deterioration of relations between the two countries. Even though Poland admitted the Knights' occupation of Pomeran in the 1343 Karisch Peace Treaty, the hostility between the two sides still existed. Poland's hatred of the Knights is an important potential threat to the Knights. Nevertheless, in the second half of14th century, the Knights Kingdom reached its most powerful period under the leadership of Wenrich von Kney Prode (135 1- 1382). 1370, defeated Lithuania, the main force of the Oriental Order.

Faced with the strong pressure of the Knights, Lithuania and Poland gradually came together. 1386, 38-year-old Lithuanian Grand Marquis Iaghello married Polish Queen Hedwig, when she was only 13 years old. The little girl is very poor. According to the records, she is very beautiful and talented, and she can speak five languages-unfortunately, not including the language that her husband can speak. Her husband is not only old but also rude. The poor woman died at the age of 26. After marriage, the Grand Marquis of Lithuania was crowned king of Poland, and Lithuania and Poland formed a United front against the Knights Kingdom.

14 10, a large-scale battle broke out between the Knights and the Polish-Lithuanian alliance near Tanenburg, which was the largest knight war in medieval European history. Knights are not as powerful as allies. Ulrich von Jungingen, head of the Order, was killed in battle. The knights fell into chaos and many knights fled the battlefield. The Allies seized this opportunity to charge and defeated the Cavaliers. The Battle of Tanengbao dealt a devastating blow to the Knights, and its significance was similar to the battle of Harding for the kingdom of Jerusalem. The kingdom of the Knights embarked on the road of decline.

After the foreign war suffered a fiasco, the Knights Kingdom fell into civil strife from top to bottom. The peasants rebelled against the knight's exorbitant taxes and levies. The power struggle within the Order is becoming more and more fierce. Urban and local aristocrats are required to participate in decision-making because they pay high taxes. 1440, 53 nobles and 19 cities established the Prussian Union in marienburg to resist the arbitrary rule of the Knights. 1453, the Prussian Union formed an alliance with Poland, which led to the continuous war in 13, and the second Torun Peace Treaty was not signed until 1466. This peace treaty made the Order lose many territories, including marienburg. Politically, it caused great controversy within the Order, that is, the Order countries should recognize their obedience to Poland. The German Legion hoped for the support of the Holy Roman Empire and the Holy See. 1494, the head of the German regiment admitted to surrender to Maximilian I, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. At this time, the kingdom of the Knights was at the end of its tether.

Luther's religious reform made the Knights once again embark on a watershed in history. 15 1 1 year, aged only 2 1 year, Albright from Brandenburg-Kurmbach of Hornzoren family was elected as the 37th head of the Teutonic Order, and he was also the last head of the Teutonic Order as a military order. 1520, due to albrecht's refusal to surrender to Poland, a war broke out between the Order and Poland, and the Order was defeated. Depressed Albright returned to Germany.

At that time, Germany was undergoing a vigorous religious reform, and Albright was quickly attracted by Luther Protestantism and met Martin Luther, the founder of the religious reform. At Luther's suggestion, he resigned as the leader of Teutonic Knights, secularized the Knights' country, changed it into a principality, carried out religious reform internally, and refused to have vassal relations with Poland externally. Conservative forces within the Order and Catholic nobles in Germany were very dissatisfied with Albert's conversion, but Albert married the daughter of King Fetley I of Denmark, a northern power, in 1527, and the opposition could do nothing about him.

Albright's transformation ended the history of Teutonic Order as a military organization. Prussia, which originally belonged to the order, has been newly educated, Livonia has been occupied by Poland, Estonia has been annexed by Sweden, and the order has no territory of its own. In this situation, the Teutonic Order basically gave up its military mission and focused on managing its own industry. Since then, it has only existed as a religious organization.

1809, after Napoleon invaded Germany, he announced that the Teutonic Order was banned, and the Order only had a place in Austria. It was not until 1834 that the Teutonic Order was able to start its activities again. At this time, most of their industries were secular. 1929, the Teutonic Order was reorganized into a pure religious order, and its name was changed from OT Teutonic Order to DO Deutscher Orden.

The German Order has about 1000 members, mainly engaged in charity, including caring for the sick and the elderly. It is divided into five regions: Italy, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovenia, and its headquarters is located in Vienna, Austria.