Editing Teutonic Order (section)

===Against Lithuania===
{{main|Lithuanian Crusade}}
The Teutonic Knights began to direct their campaigns against pagan [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]] (see [[Lithuanian mythology]]), due to the long existing conflicts in the region (including constant incursions into the Holy Roman Empire's territory by pagan raiding parties) and the lack of a proper area of operation for the Knights, after the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem at [[Siege of Acre (1291)|Acre in 1291]] and their later expulsion from Hungary.<ref name="SEWARD, 1995">{{cite book |last1=Seward|first1=Desmond |title=The monks of war : the military religious orders |date=1995 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=England |isbn=0140195017 |page=98 |edition=2nd, Rev.|ref=SEWARD, 1995}}</ref> At first the knights moved their headquarters to [[Venice]], from which they planned the recovery of Outremer;<ref>Christiansen, p. 150</ref> this plan was, however, soon abandoned, and the Order later moved its headquarters to Marienburg, so it could better focus its efforts on the region of Prussia. Because "[[Lithuania proper|Lithuania Propria]]" remained non-Christian until the end of the 14th century, much later than the rest of eastern Europe, the conflicts were dragged out over a longer time, and many Knights from western European countries, such as [[England]] and [[France]], journeyed to Prussia to participate in the seasonal campaigns (''reyse'') against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1348, the Order won a great victory over the Lithuanians in the [[Battle of Strėva]], severely weakening them. In 1370 it won a decisive victory over Lithuania in the [[Battle of Rudau]].

Warfare between the Order and the Lithuanians was particularly brutal. It was common practice for Lithuanians to torture captured enemies and civilians. It is recorded by a Teutonic chronicler that they had the habit of tying captured knights to their horses and having both of them burned alive, while sometimes a stake would be driven into their bodies or the knight would be flayed. Lithuanian pagan customs included ritualistic human sacrifice, the hanging of widows, and the burying of a warrior's horses and servants with him after his death.<ref name="SEWARDm 1995">{{cite book |last1=Seward |first1=Desmond |title=The Monks of War: The Military Religious Orders |date=1995 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=England |isbn=0140195017 |page=100 |edition=2nd, Rev.|ref=SEWARD, 1995}}</ref> The knights would also, on occasion, take captives from defeated Lithuanians, whose condition (as that of other war captives in the Middle Ages) was extensively researched by Jacques Heers.<ref name="HEERS, 1981">{{cite book |last1=Heers |first1=Jacques |title=Esclaves et domestiques au Moyen Age dans le monde méditerranéen |date=1981 |publisher=Fayard |location=France |isbn=2213010943 |edition=|ref=HEERS, 1981}}</ref> The conflict had much influence in the political situation of the region and was the source of many rivalries between Lithuanians or Poles and Germans; the degree to which it impacted the mentalities of the time can be seen in the lyrical works of men such as the contemporary [[Archduchy of Austria|Austrian]] poet [[Peter Suchenwirt]].

Overall, the conflict lasted over 200 years (although with varying degrees of active hostility during that time), its front line extending along both banks of the [[Neman River]], with as many as twenty forts and castles between [[Seredžius]] and [[Jurbarkas]] alone.