The Black Cross

Aleksander Pluskowski

A wide-ranging new history of the Baltic Crusades and their legacy Between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, crusading armies unleashed a relentless holy war against the last pagan societies in northern Europe, particularly in the Baltic Sea region. Led by Catholic rulers, churchmen, and, most importantly of all, the warrior monks of the Teutonic Order, they sought to expand Christendom through conquest and conversion. In the process they forged a new world with a profound legacy that resonates into the present. Aleksander Pluskowski traces the broader story of the Baltic Crusades. Pluskowski explores how the construction of castles and towns, and the introduction of new languages, technology, monetary economies, and religion transformed the conquered societies. Moving through the years, we see how the history of the crusades was reinvented in the twentieth century to serve nationalist aims, including those of the Third Reich. Th

Author(s): Pluskowski, Aleksander
Binding: Hardback
Date of Publication: 27/01/2026
Pagination: 480 pages
Series: N/A
Imprint: Yale University Press
Published By: Yale University Press
Book Classification: General & world history|European history|History|Archaeology
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ISBN13\EAN\SKU: 9780300279061