Wow! – I’m stunned (or maybe that should be “pleasantly surprised”) at the impact our facebook page has had: THE MARSCHER LORDS: Brotherhood or Death  has: 804 Likes. 411 Talking About. A lot of interest continues to pour in from both Great Britain & Germany (and people thought chivalry was dead – hah!); quite the contrary actually, it seems there is more of a hunger for it than ever before. Maybe it’s these crazy times we inhabit. Maybe it’s people looking for something (or someone) who truly looked out for others and not only for themselves. Sad to say, the latter does sound a bit old-fashioned, n’est pas?  Well, we can always aspire to greatness. Even if we fall short, at least we’re still trying to be better than we were five minutes ago. The Hochmeisters (Grand Masters) were not infallible in their own right either, for example (from imperialteutonicorder.com) Konrad I of Thuringia ( 1239-1240, was  a “proud, quick, fiery-tempered magnate who once seized the archbishop of Mainz, swung him round, and threatened to cut him in two’ (uhh…maybe a switch to decaf is in order?) . “He stormed, plundered, and set fire to an imperial free town for an affront offered him. However, admonished of his sins he became penitent and reconciled himself by monastic vow to the Pope and mankind about 1234.” Moral of the story? – Everybody falls off the wagon once in awhile. It’s all part of being human, but of Teutonic Knights (and their brothers in the Knights Templar) near superhuman qualities were expected.

GroBmeister Konrad I of Thuringia Coat of Arms

 Of interesting note as one delves into the history of the Order and those that figured prominently in the ranks of the Teutonic Knights was their personal shield, which held their family Coat of Arms. Studying those, you can see where a great many of the famous insignias of the German Army later came from. Some may consider them  tainted with association of  The Third Reich, however that is an ill-informed conclusion. For example, the Totenkopf  or “Death’s Head” symbol often associated with the SS  dates back to a Hussar Regiment formed under Friedrich der GroB (Frederick the Great) during first the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and then the Seven Year’s War (1756-1763).

Hussar from Husaren-Regiment Nr.5 (von Ruesch) in 1744 with the Totenkopf on the mirliton (ger. Flügelmütze).

“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore!”

It’s one of those things: you create a project and then (you hope) it takes on a life of its own. That’s what’s happening with THE MARSCHER LORDS: Brotherhood or Death. The neat thing about this film is that it could be a slice right out of a full length feature film. That’s what attracted the late Charles E. Santacrose as a producer to the film, after his successful production of The Angel  (Paul Hough, Director) a few years ago. Literally it cleaned up with awards at the film festivals. He’d been looking for another project to do, something that he could develop into a feature film and – if possible – a new and exciting franchise. He certainly found it with THE MARSCHER LORDS, but alas, he was unfortunately not able to best the ailments that struck him. He will be sorely missed but very much alive in our hearts. In Memorial, we’re dedicating this film to him in his honor.

And it’s taking off!! That’s why we can post headlines like, “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore!”

We should add that the project will shortly move from kickstarter.com to indiegogo.com. Stay tuned. more to come. Remember to follow us on Twitter @dutchmn007 #marscherlords

GroBmeister (Grand Master) Gerhard von Malberg Coat of Arms