The Teutonic Knights Quiz | Other People

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which Pope confirmed the Teutonic Knights as a military order in 1198?

Answer: Celestine III

Pope Celestine III is also remembered for excommunicating the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI for keeping Richard Lionheart as a captive and holding him to ransom.

2. Which Grand Master is credited with transforming the Teutonic Order into one equal to the Templars and Hospitallers at the beginning of the 13th century?

Answer: Hermann von Salza

Hermann von Salza (c. 1165-1239) was Grand Master of the Order from 1209-1238. He participated in the Fifth Crusade and was one of the counselors of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, Holy Roman Emperor.

3. What castle was bought by the Teutonic Knights in 1220 in the Holy Land?

Answer: Montfort

Montfort Castle defended the route between the Mediteranean Sea and Jerusalem. The castle was built almost entirely by the Teutonic Knights with contributions from pilgrims and the Pope. Eventually it was conquered by the Mamluks at the end of the 13th century.

4. Who was the patron saint of the Teutonic Knights?

Answer: The Virgin Mary

The patron saint of the Order is revealed by the official Latin name of the order: "Ordo domus Sanct� Mari� Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum" (Engl. "Order of the Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem"). Also, many of the Order's settelments were named Marienburg.

5. Which King of Hungary donated Burzenland, a region in South-East Transylvania, to the Teutonic Knights in 1211?

Answer: Andrew II

Andrew II was directly interested in defending the south-eastern border of Transylvania that was raided by the Cumans, a people of Turkic origin.

Burzenland, which should *not* be confused with Burgenland (for centuries a part of western Hungary and now in Austria), was an area in south-east Transylvania, around Brasov, near the border with Wallachia.

6. Who called upon the Teutonic Knights to defend his lands from the pagan Old Prussians?

Answer: Conrad of Mazovia

The so-called Prussian Crusade lasted for more than 50 years and ended with the forcible christianization of the Old Prussians by fire and the sword, but many revolts broke out against the Teutonic rulers in the following decades.

The Old Prussians were an indigenous ethnic group living in what later became East Prussia and they spoke a Baltic (Balto-Slavic) language which is extinct.

7. Where was the Teutonic expansion in the Novgorod (Russian) lands stopped in 1242?

Answer: The Battle of Lake Peipus

The Teutonic Order was defeated by the Novgorod army led by Alexander Nevsky. This was the only instance of the Teutonic Order penetrating Russian Orthodox lands, and it was unsuccessful.

The Battle of Peipus, also known as the Battle on the Ice, has been much mythologized in Russian popular culture After(and propaganda) and is the subject of the famous film by Sergei Eisenstein "Alexander Nevsky" (1938).

8. Which pagan Lithuanian duke converted to Christianity in order to become King of Poland and started an era of wars with the Teutonic Order?

Answer: Jogaila

After converting to Christianity Jogaila became known as Wladislaw Jagiello. He married Queen Jadwiga of Poland and converted Lithuania to Christianity in 1387.

9. Which order became a branch of the Teutonic Order?

Answer: The Livonian Order

The Livonian Order still retained considerable autonomy after the inclusion from 1237. They brought Livonia, Courland, Samogitia and Estonia under Teutonic control. This corresponded roughly to much of modern Estonia and Latvia.

10. Where were the Teutonic Knights defeated by Poland and Lithuania in 1410?

Answer: The Battle of Grunwald

The coalition of Wladislaw Jagiello, King of Poland and Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, led to a major defeat of the Teutonic Knights commanded by the Grand Master Ulrich von J�ngingen, died in battle. The Battle of Grunwald marks the starting point of the territorial and military decline in the history of the order.

11. What was the greatest fortress of the Teutonic Order, located in modern Poland?

Answer: Marienburg

Marienburg (Polish Malbork) is the greatest Gothic fortress in Europe. It was built from scratch by the Teutonic Order. Eventually, it was conquered by the Poles. Today is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

12. When did Albert of Brandenburg (1490-1568), Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, convert to Lutheranism and transform Prussia into a duchy?

Answer: 1525

Albert of Brandenburg destroyed the territorial base of the Order when he secularized its lands in Prussia. Albert became a duke and a vassal of his uncle, the King of Poland, Sigmund I Jagiello. The Teutonic Order still retained many properties scattered all over Europe, but the hearland of its power was lost forever.

Ducal Prussia was the first country officially to adopt the Refomation and Albert of Brandenburg had the larger coins bearing his head inscribed 'Iustus ex fide vivit' (Engl. 'The just lives by faith') - a most unusual coin inscription.

13. Which Emperor dissolved the Teutonic Order in 1806?

Answer: Napoleon

During the Napoleonic wars, Prussia suffered a severe defeat in 1806 and Napoleon was in a position to dissolve the Order and secularize its remaining possessions and distribute them to his allies.

14. Did the Habsburg dynasty revive the Order after the Napoleon Era?

Answer: Yes

Members of the House of Habsburg were the nominal Grand Masters of the Order in the 19th century and the first quarter of th 20th.

15. The Teutonic Order continues to exist, though only as a religious order, in the 21st century.

Answer: True

In 1929 the Order became purely religious in character (Catholic), existing in Austria and Germany.

Source: Author FrancuDaniel

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The Teutonic Knights Trivia Quiz

Though the Teutonic Order may not be so famous as its contemporary Templars and Hospitallers, its influence left a deep imprint on the future development of the states of the Central Northern Europe.

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