Order of the Teutonic Knights
The black cross was one of the most recognized symbols of the medieval era. They came into being after the first taking of Jerusalem in the First Crusade. They combined hospitaller and templar functions and grew into more than a military order into a virtual independent state. Origins of the order were in the Third Crusade. Survivors of the German part of the Third Crusade reached the Holy Land and joined the French and English. In the city of Acre they established themselves as The Brothers of the German Hospital of Saint Mary. Later the Pope designated them as the Order of the Teutonic Knights, also known as the Teutonic Order. The Teutonic Order negotiated their surrender and the survivors left Acre. From there they went to Cyprus and then the North Crusades in the Baltic to convert the pagan people to Christianity and taking over territory and furs, silver, ivory, and gold. Having achieved their goals reaching as far as the Duchy of Lithuania, the Order succumbed to military defeat at the battle of Tannenberg. (Kremer, 2025)