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This miniature is from the famous Codex Manesse, the most comprehensive collection of ballads and epigrammatic poetry in Middle High German language. It depicts a Teutonic Knight with black cross and elaborate helmet.
The Crusades gave new scope for the monastic ideal - men living in a closed community dedicated to God's service. In the 12th century three new orders were founded in the Holy Land - the Knights of the Temple (Templars), the Knights of St John (Hospitallers) and the Teutonic Knights. All took monastic vows but were organized on military lines with a Grand Master as commander in chief.
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