A–Z OF THE LEADING MEDIEVAL MILITARY ORDERS
Alcántara, Calatrava, Hospitallers, Santiago, Sword Brothers, Templars, Teutonic
Knights.
OUTLINE HISTORY
The medieval military orders originated in the Holy Land with the establishment of thekingdom of Jerusalem. There were two main inspirations, firstly the need to protectChristian pilgrims in a hostile environment, and secondly the desire of many Christianknights to live a monastic existence. The orders were given their distinctive form through the efforts of St Bernard, who encouraged them, wrote a rule for the Templars andpersuaded the papacy to grant the rule. The other orders followed a similar patternthereafter, a monastic communal life with military duties in the outside world. The Templars began by protecting pilgrims wishing to bathe in the Jordan. The Hospitallers started by offering hospital and medical services to pilgrims. They were then organised as orders, which soon won respect and support from the west. They were granted lands andcastles and garrisoned some of the most significant crusader castles. Through the history of the crusading kingdom they became something like a regular army always on call. They also developed houses in the west. The end of the kingdom of Jerusalem, with the taking of Acre, led to the orders needing a new raison d’être, which they did not always succeed in finding. The Templars became guardians of royal treasure in their temples in France but attracted the acquisitive interest of Philip IV. He levelled grossly distorted charges against them, persuading his people and the papacy to support him. The Templars were dissolved. The Hospitallers fared better. They made gains from the fall of the Templars. Their medical role stood them in good stead. They moved to new bases, in Crete and then zv3 14 more permanently in Rhodes. Here they withstood two major sieges by Muslims and held on until 1522 when they were forced out to Malta. The third major order, the Teutonic Knights, though claiming early origins, became an order at the end of the 12th century. They had castles in the Holy Land but their major significance was elsewhere. With the fall of Acre they moved their headquarters to Venice and then to Marienburg. They received support from the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of Hungary. They spearheaded the Baltic crusade against pagans. The Sword Brothers were founded in the Baltic area using the Templar rule. After defeat in 1237 the remnants of the order were absorbed by the Teutonic Knights. The Knights came into conflict with neighbouring powers. At first they attracted wide western interest but after the conversion of the pagan peoples received less support. After defeat at Tannenberg in 1410 the order went into decline. Protestant and Russian opposition led to the break-up of the order in the 16th century. Iberia was another major centre for military orders. As the home of the Christian Reconquista it attracted members from the main orders. It also saw the development of home-grown orders, those of Santiago, Alcántara and Calatrava in particular. The Knights at first protected Christians rather as in the Holy Land, including pilgrims going to St James (Santiago) de Compostela. They were more committed to religious war than
some of their secular counterparts, were opposed to treating with Muslims and carried out raids and even atrocities, such as decapitating Muslim prisoners. As in the Holy Land they provided a permanent and useful army. The privileges and independence of the orders were apt to be resented by secular rulers. In the Holy Land they had often acted independently of royal wishes, and they did much the same in Spain. Once the Reconquista had been achieved the Christian monarchs were unwilling to allow them the same freedoms and their power declined.
ALCÁNTARA, ORDER OF
The Knights of San Julián de Pereiro (the Sanjulianistas), as they began, established a base on the León border by 1170. They were granted lands and recognised as an order in 1176. They were connected to the Order of Calatrava. They wore a white habit. Like all the other Iberian orders, they gained through the Reconquista, taking over half of Extremadura. At the completion of the conquest the order was subjected to royal control, its property seized in 1523.
CALATRAVA, ORDER OF
Calatrava or Qalat Rawaah (the castle of war) was on the banks of the River Guadiana, captured by Alfonso VII in 1147. It was handed to the Templars. When they planned to abandon it, a group of Cistercian monks took over, intent on defending it. They were recognised as an order in 1164. They wore a hooded white or grey tunic. The order expanded with the Reconquista. The order was reformed in the 14th century.
HOSPITALLERS
Otherwise the Knights of St John of the Hospital. Their origins are in the founding of a hospital in Jerusalem for pilgrims. There is mention of a hospital of St John the Almonereven before the First Crusade. In c.1150 the Knights of St John were founded as an order to tend the sick. It took on military aspects similar to the Templars. By 1187 it held 20 castles in the Holy Land, including Krak des Chevaliers, and spread in Europe. The monks wore a black mantle with a white cross. One of their officers was a Turcopolier who commanded native zv3 15 troops. Grand master Garnier de Nablus, against orders, led the charge at Arsuf that led to victory. After the fall of Acre, the Hospitallers found a new base in Rhodes from 1306. They built houses for the various member nations in RhodesTown, which may still be seen. They became a Mediterranean naval power. Rhodes held off Muslim sieges in 1444–6 and 1480. The Knights were forced out in 1522, going to Malta, where they survived until the time of Napoleon.
SANTIAGO, ORDER OF
The order of Santiago, or St James of the Sword, emulated in Spain the activities of theTemplars in the Holy Land. They began by protecting pilgrims going to St James of Compostela (Santiago de Compostela). St James was said to have miraculously returned to lead Christians against the Muslims. They received a rule in 1171 from the papal legate, recognised by Pope Alexander III in 1175. It was based on the Augustinian rule. It allowed the acceptance of married knights. They wore a white habit with a red cross. They became defenders of the Christian frontier in the Reconquista. They gained land in Portugal, Spain and elsewhere in Europe including Hungary. Alfonso IX el Baboso (the slobberer) granted them a tenth of the value of all money coined in León. After the completion of the conquest they declined. Their property was taken over by Charles V in 1523, though this was not the end of the order.
SWORD BROTHERS (SCHWERTBRÜDER)
Riga was founded by bishop Albrecht in 1201 and he established the Sword Brothers there shortly afterwards, using the Templar rule. They wore a white habit with a red sword and a red cross on the shoulder. They learned military techniques, including how to operate siege engines. The grand master was based at Riga. They built other castles,including Wenden. They invaded Estonia against pagans to establish Marienland. When invading Lithuania, they were defeated in 1237 at Siauliai by the Kurs in alliance with Mindaugas prince of Lithuania. The order dissolved and the survivors joined the Teutonic Knights.
TEMPLARS
The Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, originally a group of monks to protect pilgrims wishing to bathe in the River Jordan. They attracted the interest of St Bernard in the European age of new monastic orders. He provided them with a rule and gained approval for it from the papacy. There is mention of a master of Knights of the Temple in 1123. The papacy recognised the rule in 1128. It became the model for further military orders. Templars spread through the Holy Land and Europe with their houses— preceptories or commanderies. They wore a hooded white mantle. Grand master Gerard de Ridefort persuaded King Guy to go to Tiberias, leading to the disaster at Hattin, after which the captured Knights were executed. The loss of the Holy Land was a blow to the Templars. They still had much property in the west but never really established a new justification for existence. Philip IV of France decided to destroy them. He arrested the French Templars in 1307. Charges were laid against them, including heretical and pagan practices, mostly distorted or even invented. Their grand master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake in 1314. The papacy agreed to the dissolution of the order, whose possessions and wealth went to other orders and to the king.
TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
Founded in 1198 as the Teutonic Knights of St Mary. They originated in the Holy Land with a base at Acre. They had a white habit with a black and gold cross. They gained land and castles, including Montfort. The order became exclusively German. It was given European lands by Frederick II and Andrew II of Hungary with commanderies in Germany, Prussia and the Baltic region where they led the crusades against pagans. zv3 16 In 1237 they absorbed the remnants of the order of the Sword Brothers. They suffered defeat against the Mongols at Liegnitz in 1241 when nine sacks of severed Knights’ ears were hauled before Khān Batu, and in 1242 at Lake Peipus by Alexander Nevsky. loss of the Holy Land was followed by the Knights moving their headquarters to Venice and then to Marienburg, now Malbork in Poland. It became the main base for the northern crusades, visited by among others Henry Bolingbroke. They built a hospital for elderly knights. Tannenberg in 1410 was a major disaster for the Knights at the hands of Poles and Lithuanians, when their grand master Von Juningen was killed and mutilated. They lost territories to Poland and Lithuania. After further defeats in the 15th century the order divided. Under Protestant criticism and Russian pressure the order disintegrated in the early 16th century.
NB There will be a wealth of militery information concerning the Templers in a tread I'll be starting soon concerning orders of march, camp discipline, standards etc.
