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The Knights of the Cross — Four-Volume Edition

by Henryk Sienkiewicz 4 books in this series

This four-volume edition divides Sienkiewicz’s medieval novel The Knights of the Cross, also translated as The Teutonic Knights. The story follows Zbyszko of Bogdaniec from a reckless vow made for Danusia through captivity, bereavement and the growing war between the Teutonic Order and the Polish–Lithuanian alliance. The fictional family story develops within the political world of Władysław II Jagiełło, Vytautas and the Order’s commanders.

The early volumes focus on Danusia’s abduction and Jurand of Spychów’s suffering at the hands of Teutonic officials. The third volume closes that personal tragedy as open war approaches, and the fourth culminates in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. Sienkiewicz uses chivalric adventure and romance to create a Polish national epic in which the defeat of the Order resolves both a military conflict and the accumulated injuries suffered by his fictional characters.

Reading order

Books in this series (4 books)

The Knights of the Cross, Volume I cover

1. The Knights of the Cross, Volume I

Henryk Sienkiewicz

First published 1900

3.3(38)

At the end of the fourteenth century, the young Polish knight Zbyszko of Bogdaniec returns from war in Lithuania with his uncle Maćko. He meets Danusia, a courtier in the household of Duchess Anna Danuta, and rashly vows to avenge the death of her mother by…

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The Knights of the Cross, Volume II cover

2. The Knights of the Cross, Volume II

Henryk Sienkiewicz

First published 1900

3.6(3)

Zbyszko’s bond with Danusia deepens while her father, Jurand of Spychów, continues a private war against the Teutonic Knights responsible for his family’s suffering. The Order’s officials exploit that hatred by abducting Danusia and sending false demands designed to draw Jurand into their fortress at Szczytno.…

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The Knights of the Cross, Volume III cover

3. The Knights of the Cross, Volume III

Henryk Sienkiewicz

First published 1900

3.8(6)

Zbyszko continues the search for Danusia through territories controlled or influenced by the Teutonic Order. The discovery of the blinded Jurand and the recovery of his traumatised daughter reveal the full cost of the conspiracy at Szczytno. Although Zbyszko succeeds in bringing Danusia away from captivity,…

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The Knights of the Cross, Volume IV cover

4. The Knights of the Cross, Volume IV

Henryk Sienkiewicz

First published 1900

3.6(7)

Open war begins between the Teutonic Order and the allied forces of Władysław II Jagiełło and Vytautas. Zbyszko and Maćko join the campaign as the armies manoeuvre through Prussia towards a decisive confrontation. The personal grievances accumulated across the earlier volumes are absorbed into a conflict…

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