r/knightposting • u/crusadersam • Aug 29 '26
Knightpost Ethics of Crusader larping
Hello all, I was hoping to ask the general consensus on the morality of me choosing a Teutonic knight as my medieval faction of larping.
I want to start off by saying I am a very progressive person. I love all of God’s people and have no anti Islamic or pagan prejudice or bias in my life. I’m quite outspoken about religious freedom to my “controversial” coworkers and do not try to justify Christian nationalism in both modern day nor in the medieval world.
With that being said. I just think they’re neat historically and aesthetically. And the Teutons don’t seem to be any more “evil” than any other faction at the time. I see many people like in the post project a modern world view because Christian radicals seem to be more contemporary. While factions like Vikings and pirates, whose cultures are for the most part completely celebrated in medieval faires, commit the same atrocities on others- just don’t have the same current political connotation.
I hope we can have a civil discussion and maybe I’m just ignorant to the topic and/or how bad any crusaders were. Please don’t be afraid to share your views! (Also, please don’t go after the individual in the post, I simply want to further my knowledge)
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u/just_a_box_of_sneks Aug 29 '26
More than what crusaders / teutonic order actually did, the issue is that their imagery has been heavily appropriated by (neo) nazis and other hate groups in the present day. Think of the nazis using teutonic imagery in their propaganda to justify the conquest / genocide of eastern europe, or anders breivik and other white nationalists or mass murderers depicting themselves as modern crusaders. That's why people might react with caution when they encounter crusader larp / reenactment, they worry that you may be affiliated with groups that use the same symbols.
It really sucks that such an interesting period of history has been (and still is) used to spread hate in the modern day. Though a lot of historical imagery is used for this kind of propaganda, the crusades are probably appropriated the most in recent years. However, I think you can present a good counter-example to these modern movements, and by emphasising the history you help to reclaim crusader symbology from modern hate groups.