The Teutonic
knights were a German order of crusader knights. They were
founded in 1190 and ran a hospital in the Holy Land. As the crusades
in the
Holy Land wound down, the Teutonic
order was transferred to Baltic to help
defend the Kingdom of Poland against the
remaining Pagan tribes of Prussia
and Lithuania. These knights
are pictured in 1226, at the time of the Prussian
Crusade and three of
the Order’s officers are pictured here: the
Hochmeister,
the Ordensmarschall, and a Komptur.
First is
Hermann von Salza, the Hochmeister. The
Hochmeister, which literally
means “high master” in German was the grand master of the order. He was
elected
by all priests, brothers, and half-brothers, knights who did
not take their
full monastic vows, of the Order and
usually served for life. Hermann von
Salza
was Hochmeister from 1210 until his death in 1239. During his time
as master,
he oversaw the annexation of Prussia into the Order’s Land. He was also a
skilled
diplomat, who helped resolve a conflict between Pope
Gregory IX and
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.
Next is the
Ordensmarschall, or Marshal of the Teutonic Order. The
Ordensmarschall was in command of the headquarters at Königsburg
and responsible
for all logistical matters. He was one of
five Großgebietiger,
or high-ranking officers selected to
serve by the Hochmeister.
Lastly, is one
of the lowest rank of the order, a Komptur. He was the
regional
commander of a small patch of land, or commandry. With the
Teutonic conquest
of the Baltic region, the Order tried
to colonize the area by settling Germans
there. And from the time
of the Prussian Crusade until the end of World War II,
Prussia existed
as a German nation.
All three of
the knights are depicted wearing full chain mail armor, developed in
the previous century and remained the mainstay until the
introduction of plates
later in the 13th Century. For helmets
they wear ornate horned great helms.
The great helm was the primary choice for knights in the thirteenth century. These
adornments were depicted in the manuscripts of the time period as being worn
for tournaments. Whether they
were worn into Battle is debatable, either they
were deemed impractical, or they were
worn as a psychological weapon,
designed to
intimidate their opponents.
The Roman
Emperor’s personal bodyguard, the Praetorian Guard were
Rome’s crack fighting men. In peace, they
protected the city of Rome and
the Emperor’s palace. They were in
fact, the only Roman military units
allowed in the
city of Rome itself, during the Imperial period. In war, they
accompanied the Emperor on his campaigns and served as
elite units of
infantry and cavalry. They would also,
if they felt the emperor had become
too tyrannical, assassinate him.
These guardsmen
are depicted in A.D. 41, when they
assassinated the
despised Emperor Caligula. First is the
Praetorian Prefect, the commander
of the Praetorian Guard. He has a knife
drawn, although according to the
varying sources, the attempt was
executed by the co-prefect, a tribune,
and some centurions, and are
described using their swords. The Prefect’s
armor is depicted in a similar manner to a legatus, the commander of a
legion, and other
high-ranking generals in the Roman army. He wears a
brass plated lorica musculata, or muscle cuirass over a leather subarmalis,
as well as a
matching helmet and greaves, or lower leg guards.
Next, is a
Centurion, commander of a century. Although a
century
numbered 100 soldiers in the Republic, as its name suggests, by the time
of
the Empire, that number was reduced to 80. The rank of the
Centurion
is denoted by his sideways crest and his vine
stick, which served two
purposes: to point and
beat insubordinate soldiers. For armor,
Centurions
preferred the older lorica hamata, or chain mail, like the other
officers, he
wears a leather subarmalis.
Finally, are
two ordinary guardsmen. Like other
legionaries of their time,
they wear the newly introduced lorica segmentata, made of
overlapping
iron plates. They differ
from ordinary Roman legionaries however, with
their shields. While the other
legionaries carried the newer square scutum,
the Praetorians
retained the more traditional oval shape, dating back to
the manipular organization during the Republic. Because of the
decorations
found on the Praetorians’ shields, it was believed
that they were black or
dark blue, depicting night sky. This has been
widely disproved and they
more likely would have been red, the most likely
color of the Roman
soldier’s uniform.
All of the
Praetorians are depicted wearing armor, however while inside
the walls of Rome, the Praetorians
were disallowed from wearing armor.
They simply
wore their tunic and carried a sword. This harkened
back
to the tradition of Republican Rome, where the city
was off limits to its
legions, lest the military vies for power which Caesar
broke by marching
on Rome. The Praetorian
Guards would not always follow this rule,
and many
usurper emperors were former Praetorian officers.
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