With the blessing of the Pope, knights belonging to an order, such as the Knights Templar, were despatched to the Holy Land in unimaginably poor conditions. Thousands were carried off in the Crusades by the fighting and disease. But there were also poets, such as Walther von der Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach or Oswald von Walkenstein, who, despite all the zest for battle, expressed unforgettably in their love songs the grace of certain noble ladies of the castle. It was not only in Europe that brave warriors risked their lives; Mongolian horsemen and Japanese samurai were also prepared to sacrifice themselves for higher ends. The great era of knights ended with the invention of gunpowder and newer battle technology. Their domain, the castle, could no longer withstand this threat, and chivalry foundered. The overwhelming reminder of a romantic period, inextricably linked to the concept of "chivalrous", remains to this day.
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