The novel was written by Sienkiewicz in 1900, when the Polish state, after being partitioned among Russian, Austrian and German empires in the late 18th century, did not exist, and most Poles were living in the Russian occupation zone named Vistula Land, formerly Congress Poland. One of Sienkiewicz's goals in writing "The Knights of the Cross" was to encourage and strengthen Polish national confidence against the occupying powers. To circumvent Russian censorship, he placed the plot in the Middle Ages, around Prussia and the State of the Teutonic Order.