Grab your copy of the brand-new, utterly thrilling and totally epic historical adventure, Valour!
My new novel, Valour, takes place in southern Hungary of the 1220s, and details a borderland struggle between the religious order that would become the Teutonic Knights and the ravaging Kipchak horsemen of Cumania. But how did this conflict arise, and what happened after Valour ends? Well, make a cuppa, have a seat, and I’ll tell you…
In 1211, King András II of Hungary made a fateful decision that would reshape the southeastern frontier of his realm. Facing relentless raids by pagan horsemen through the Burzenland passes, he invited the Order of Saint Mary to establish a defensive bulwark in this vulnerable region of southeastern Transylvania. The Kipchak-Cuman confederation had been launching devastating raids through the Carpathian passes, exploiting the ineffectiveness of traditional Hungarian defences in this mountainous borderland. The Order of Saint Mary, fresh from their Holy Land campaigns, seemed ideally suited to address this challenge through their combination of military and fortress-building capabilities.
The knights employed heavy cavalry shock tactics supported by fortified positions and crossbow-armed militia, while the Kipchaks relied on their superior mobility and composite bow mastery. By 1220, the Knights had built five major stone castles, quinque castra fortia – Marienburg, Schwarzenberg, Rosenau, Kreuzburg, and Kronstadt – creating an integrated defensive network. Simultaneously, the Order established agricultural settlements to support their military operations. Settlers were invited from what would become known as Germany to live and work the fields of the Burzenland, while dwelling under the protection of the Order of Saint Mary.
After their military successes, the Order expanded eastward beyond the Carpathians into traditional Kipchak territory. This, coupled with the encroaching Mongol armies from the east, led to the ultimate downfall of Kipchak/Cuman society. Many pagans were killed or dispersed, with some fleeing to Hungary and Bulgaria, where they eventually integrated into local populations by converting to Christianity. Others were absorbed into the Mongol Empire’s Golden Horde.
The tactical success of the Order of Saint Mary, however, created the conditions for their political downfall. Their growing autonomy alarmed the local nobility, and in 1225, András II, pressured by Prince Béla IV and numerous Hungarian barons, expelled the Teutonic Knights permanently from Burzenland. Their military effectiveness had become a political liability, as their success threatened the sovereignty of their Hungarian sponsors.
Following their expulsion, the Knights of Saint Mary relocated to Prussia in 1226, where Duke Conrad of Masovia invited them to subjugate the tribal pagan population. Learning from their Hungarian experience, they secured both papal and imperial backing before beginning their most successful and enduring conquest in the Baltic crusades. From there, the Teutonic Brotherhood flourished, still existing in some form to this day.
Isn’t history brilliant!