BYE BYE GAZA - Barry Chamish

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headmaster Hermann von Salza over the Prussian lands
east of the Vistula, the Chelmno Land. At the time he was
crowned Emperor, Frederick had promised to go on crusade.
In preparation for his crusade, Frederick had, in 1225,
married Yolande of Jerusalem, heiress to the Kingdom of
Jerusalem, and immediately taken steps to take control of
the Kingdom from his new father-in-law, John of Brienne.
However, he continued to take his time in setting off, and in
1227, Frederick was excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX
for failing to honor his crusading pledge - perhaps unfairly, at
this point, as his plans had been delayed by an epidemic. He
eventually embarked on the crusade the following year
(1228), which was seen on by the pope as a rude
provocation, since the church could not take any part in the
honor for the crusade, resulting in a second excommunication.
Frederick did not attempt to take Jerusalem by force
of arms. Instead, he negotiated restitution of Jerusalem,
Nazareth, and Bethlehem to the Kingdom with sultan Al-
Kamil, the Ayyubid ruler of the region.
http://www.chivalricorders.org/vatican/teutonic.htm
THE TEUTONIC ORDER OF HOLY MARY IN JERUSALEM
Some forty knights were received into the new Order at its
foundation by the King of Jerusalem and Frederick of
Swabia, who selected their first Master in the name of the
Pope and Emperor. The knights of the new confraternity had
to be of German birth (although this rule was occasionally
relaxed), a unique requirement among the Crusader Orders
founded in the Holy Land. They were drawn predominately
from the noble or knightly class, although this latter obligation
was not formally incorporated into the rule until much later.
Their blue mantle, charged with a black cross, was worn over
a white tunic, a uniform recognized by the Patriarch of