The emergence of spiritual knightly orders dates back to the times of the Crusades, which were organized by the Catholic Church from the ninth century. The goal was good: the liberation of Palestine and the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, but the associated tasks were no cheaper: both the high Catholics and the crusaders themselves needed new lands and thirsted for the riches of the eastern cities.
Formation of spiritual knightly orders
When the fortress of Jerusalem surrendered to the mercy of the victor in 1099, the Pope blessed the creation of new organizations to guard and protect both Christian possessions and the pilgrims themselves from local Islamists. The base had already been created by that time - various spiritual brotherhoods, from which the spiritual-knightly orders of the Hospitallers, Templars and some others were formed.
It was quite difficult to reconcile two opposite, according to the Holy Scriptures, hypostases - service to God and military service, where they had to kill their own kind. But by the twelfth century, the history of the spiritual knightly order had grown with its own ideologists, who fully justified not only the creation, but also the way of life of the crusading knights.
Holy vows
A knight entering the order became a monk, taking vows of poverty, obedience, chastity, intolerance towards infidels and fulfilling the duty of hospitality. A commoner who joined the order became a military monk. However, the common people, even among the initiates, always remained their own, separate group. Some orders even accepted women into their ranks.
The discipline was army, everyone unquestioningly obeyed the head - the Grand Master, the Grandmaster, who could report only to the Pope. The rulers on whose lands the spiritual knightly order (the Templars and any other) were located, if they did not join its ranks, did not have any voting rights, much less command.
Hierarchy
The history of the spiritual knightly order was written on special tablets. The knightly orders differed from the monastic orders and from each other in their clothing and their own charter, which was certified by a signature. But, unlike the monastic ones, the ranks of the knight-monks grew very, very quickly, as required by the constant war.
The knights not only plundered eastern villages and cities, they violated many of Christ’s commandments: they lent money at interest, exploited local residents, and engaged in the slave trade. And they steadily became richer. The crusader knight of the ninth century differed from his brother in the thirteenth as heaven from earth. It must be admitted that, having become rich, many orders invested money in science.
Each member of the order had a specific position. Over time, she could be recognized by her clothing (only to initiates, of course). The Templars wear a white cloak with a red cross, the Hospitallers wear a black cloak, and wear a white cloak with a black cross.
The history of the spiritual knightly order shows that sewing a special cross on clothes by papal bull was allowed only in 1146, and not for all at once, but only for the most noble knights by blood. Over time, when the treasury of not only the order, but also individual knights, was significantly enriched, luxury even in clothing was not long in coming.
Three major orders
Until the beginning of the fifteenth century, the history of the spiritual knightly order during the Crusades describes a little more than twenty orders, of which three were the richest, most influential and powerful. They had such huge fortunes that kings envied them. Here are these wonderful three:
The history of the spiritual knightly order was written not only in the Holy Land. The Crusaders took part in wars in all territories of the Christian world. In Spain, the Knights of the Hospitaller and Templar orders were the first to begin fighting, and the Teutons tamed all of Central and Northern Europe. In Eastern Europe, their military glory, however, ended (let us remember Alexander Nevsky).
History of the spiritual knightly order of the Templars
The colossal fortune allowed the orders to buy up the best lands throughout Europe. As proof of their power, the Templars, for example, minted their own money, which circulated freely throughout Europe. The coins were made of silver and gold, and so many of them appeared that the Templars were credited with alchemical discoveries, for example, from lead...
This organization was able to exist for quite a long time. Back in 1118, nine French knights, led by Hugues de Payen and Geoffroy de Saint-Home, remained to defend the road to Jerusalem from the Mediterranean after the First Crusade. First of all, Christian pilgrims from robbers and robbers. From Baldwin they received a residence, after which they later began to be called - Temple Castle, built on the site of the ancient Temple of Solomon. This Order has several names:
- Order of the Poor Knights (or Brothers) of the Temple of Jerusalem (or Temple of Solomon).
- Order of the Templars.
- Order of the Templars.
Charter
Knights wishing to join the Order certainly had to become monks - humble, poor and celibate. It was, however, a very successful project. The history of the spiritual-knightly order suggests that its charter was one of the toughest and strictest, and it was developed by Saint Bernard himself, and approved by Pope Eugene III in 1128, that is, after ten years of unofficial existence.
In the Templar Order, a knight was obliged to forget everything worldly, including relatives, eat only bread and water, and dress in the simplest and roughest clothes. He could not have any property. If gold or silver was found in his belongings after death, there was no place for it in the consecrated ground of the cemetery.
However, all this did not stop the Templars from becoming especially greedy for booty, entertainment and even drunkenness. Works of fiction written about that time, for example, a novel, preserve the historical truth that was found in historical chronicles.
Division into classes and distinctive signs
The Templars had estates. This is certainly a necessary organizational project. The history of the spiritual knightly order has preserved for us three divisions: the knights themselves, the priests and the so-called sergeants, which included all the lower ranks: pages, squires, soldiers, servants, guards, and so on.
It must be admitted that with all this categorical division, everyone accepted monastic vows, and everyone had to fulfill the rules equally impeccably. However, there were plenty of exceptions to the rules.
For all Knights Templar, a white cloak, similar to a mantle, with a Maltese eight-pointed scarlet cross was mandatory. The sergeants dressed in brown, the cross was the same. You could recognize a Templar on the high road by the battle cry “Bosean!”, as well as by the flag - a black and white cloth and the motto in Latin - “Not to us, Lord” (the first words from the ninth verse of the one hundred and thirteenth psalm).
The Templar coat of arms was simply a symbol of poverty: it depicted two knights on one horse. If a knight went on a crusade, then he carried the cross on his chest, and when returning, he carried it on his back. The style, cut, size and material of the clothing, as well as the location of the cross, were usually chosen by him himself.
National and class affiliation
At first, only a Frenchman of noble birth could be initiated into the Knights Templar. A little later, the British also received this opportunity. Nevertheless, both Spaniards, Italians, and Flemings became knights. Only knights could occupy leadership positions - from the Grand Master and Master of the Dominions to the Castellan, Capitulier, and Drapier.
Richer townspeople became sergeants, who occupied good positions as accountants, squires, managers and storekeepers. Those who were poorer became servants, soldiers or guards.
The bishops of the Roman Church and the Pope himself could not control the priests of the Order. The spiritual-knightly Order of the Templars demanded that their priests provide for spiritual needs, despite the fact that all knights of the Order were endowed with the rights of a confessor. For members of the Order, only the order priest could send messages, because many secrets were protected from the Roman Catholic Church.
Despite the strict rules and camp life, the Order of the Templars quickly became popular. A few years later, three hundred more joined the nine knights, among whom were many crowned heads. The number of sergeants, naturally, also increased.
Where do the firewood come from?
Belonging to the Order provided both personal security and an increase in wealth. It was impossible to offend a member of the Order. “One for all” is a motto born far before the first musketeer.
The Order, which was proclaimed beggarly, rapidly grew richer. And not only because rulers often bequeathed untold wealth to him. Entire villages, cities, churches, castles, and monasteries eventually began to belong to the Order. They humbly gave him taxes and taxes. The fact is that the spiritual-knightly Order of the Templars was engaged in usury.
It was not the Jews, but the Templar Order that created the banking system of Europe. In the Middle Ages, Jews were only street money changers, and the Templars already had a credit system, bills of exchange, and their own money. They operated not only with gold, but also with securities.
Departed from the Cross
The Templars were noted as the greatest traitors to the cause of the bearers of the Cross of Christ. This was also the case in October 1240, when the Muslims of Damascus and Egypt quarreled, the crusaders took the side of Egypt, concluding a deal with an agreement, and for this they received not only Jerusalem, but also almost all of Palestine. Bloodless! The Templars, having conspired with Damascus, attacked the Egyptians together with the Teutonic Knights and Hospitallers. Moreover, they were more cruel than Muslims and Jews. The blood reached the horses' knees, as the history of the spiritual-knightly Order of the Templars says. Even fellow crusaders were not allowed to bury their dead. In 1243, the Muslims repaid the Templars in full and took Jerusalem back, releasing only three Teutons, twenty-six Hospitallers and thirty-three Templars alive.
Further crusades were as numerous as they were unsuccessful. In 1298, Jacques de Molay became the last Grand Master of the Order. The idea of the crusades faded away, the meaning of the existence of military monks became unclear. The Teutonic Order still had some work left - a century and a half. But the Templars became uncomfortable sitting on those riches that even the kings could not dream of. The First Temple remained with the Muslim world, and the spiritual-knightly Order of the Templars established a residence in Cyprus - a refuge was established there for Christians who were able to leave Palestine, but who were not at all expected in Europe.
Robbers
Charles Valois, brother started a war with Byzantium. It was no easier to fight against Greek Christianity than against Muslims. The Templars, instead of fighting Andronikos, go along the coast from Thessalonica to Thrace and Moravia, where Catholicism has already reigned.
The Templars had rich booty. But the European monarchs were indignant. Who is interested in having a force of fifteen thousand real soldiers nearby, well-armed and battle-hardened, who are also aggressive, arbitrarily and cunningly controlled? And, of course, greed played a role: the Templars were fabulously, unspeakably rich.
In 1307, Philip the Fair issued a decree arresting all Templars in the country. Prisoners were brutally tortured and burned at the stake. The French treasury was significantly replenished. The history of the spiritual-knightly Order of the Templars has come to an end.
Spiritual knightly orders
As we have already said, even before the start of the Crusades, shelters for pilgrims could be seen on the roads of Europe and the East leading to Jerusalem. In the middle of the 11th century. one of the residents of the Italian city of Amalfi founded another shelter at the very end of the journey - in Jerusalem: a hospital for sick pilgrims, and named it in honor of St. John the Merciful, the Patriarch of Alexandria, who lived in the 7th century. It was this hospital that was destined to give birth to a phenomenon that became almost the hallmark of the European Middle Ages - the orders of knighthood. The oldest of them, known to us by the unofficial nickname “Hospitaliers,” was called in documents: “Order of Horsemen of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.”
The monks who served in the hospital were not always able to lead the righteous life of meek brothers. The periodic need to protect the sick and the property of the hospital often forced the monks to take up arms. According to some reports, they even hit the rear of the defenders of Jerusalem during its siege by the Crusaders in 1099. After the capture of Jerusalem, the number of such shelters increased, the staff of these institutions, which declared themselves a monastic order, formed almost exclusively from tonsured Crusader knights, became increasingly belligerent .
Under Raymond du Puy, the first Grand Master, the order became knightly. In 1113, Pope Paschal II approved the charter of the order, obliging the monks to fight for the Holy Sepulcher. The Hospitallers, or Johannites, as they were often called by the name of the hospital, were distinguished by a red cloak with a white cross, which we now call “Maltese”. The fact is that after the ousting of Europeans from Palestine, the Johannites settled on the island of Rhodes in 1309, and in 1522 they moved to Malta, where they live well to this day.
A similar story happened with another knightly order - the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, better known as the Templars.
At the beginning of the 12th century. the poor French nobleman Hugh de Payns, in the company of eight of his relatives, who, like him, went on a crusade, established an order to protect pilgrims, which they called the “Poor Knights.” The French crusaders were so poor that they even had to travel together on one horse (and this image became one of the symbols of the Templars). Most likely, no one would have ever heard of this religious initiative, but Hugo de Payns and another of the “founding fathers” of the order, Godefroy de Saint-Omer, turned out to be excellent organizers. The popularity of the “Poor Knights” grew all the time, the order was replenished with more and more new members, and in 1128 it was officially recognized at the Council of Troyes. Its charter was commissioned to be written by the famous religious figure of the time, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the founder of the monastic order of the Bernardines. The difference between the Templars was a white cloak with a red cross.
Here is what Archbishop William of Tire, who was the chancellor of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and a major medieval historian, wrote about the creation of the Templar Order:
“Several noble knights, men of true faith and fear of God, expressed a desire to live in severity and obedience, to renounce their possessions forever, and, having surrendered themselves into the hands of the supreme ruler of the church, to become members of a monastic order. Among them, the first and most famous were Hugh de Payns and Godefroy de Saint-Omer. Since the brotherhood did not yet have their own temple or home, the king provided them with temporary refuge in his palace, built on the southern slope of the Temple Mount. The canons of the temple that stood there, under certain conditions, ceded part of the walled courtyard for the needs of the new order. Moreover, King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, his entourage and the patriarch with his prelates immediately provided support for the order by allocating to it some of their land holdings - some for life, others for temporary use - thanks to which members of the order could receive a livelihood. First of all, they were ordered, in atonement for their sins and under the leadership of the patriarch, to “protect and protect pilgrims going to Jerusalem from attacks by thieves and bandits and take every possible care of their safety.”
Later, at the end of the 12th century, a third - Teutonic - order arose. It appeared in 1190–1191. and, as the name implies, it was replenished almost exclusively by immigrants from German lands. The Teutonic Order grew out of the hospital brotherhood of St. Mary during the Third Crusade, its members were distinguished by white cloaks with a black cross.
The principles by which the orders lived united the seemingly incompatible roles of a monk and a knight; the humility of the former was surprisingly combined with the belligerence of the latter. However, surprisingly, this strange hybrid not only survived, but also turned out to be one of the most successful social inventions of the time. The orders quickly increased in numbers, and their influence both in the conquered territories and in the Christian world as such grew explosively.
The fact is that the main problem of the crusaders has always been inconsistency of actions and the lack of a unified command. Therefore, the knightly orders, with their strict hierarchy and impeccable discipline, quickly became the most combat-ready military units of the time, taking an active part in almost all the battles of the Crusades era. In fact, it was they who made up the standing army of the crusaders, the ranks of which were replenished by knights arriving from Europe. It was they who were usually entrusted with the protection of fortresses, the maintenance and expansion of which was too heavy a financial burden for both the lords and the monarchy. From the point of view of maintaining constant combat readiness, the orders were an important military trump card. But from a political point of view, the increase in the number of their members was a disaster for the newly formed Latin states, since the orders were an independent military party, the interests of which did not always coincide with the interests of the kingdoms and duchies.
The activities of the orders, not accountable to local authorities, were controlled directly by the pope. The orders were headed by Grand Masters. The entire system was built on the principles of a strict hierarchy and strict discipline. The orders' regulations were extremely strict. Knights took monastic vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. According to the charter of the Teutons, for example, written on the basis of the charters of the Hospitallers and Templars, the brothers had to pray at least five hours a day, fast 120 days a year, knightly entertainment (tournaments, hunting) was prohibited. Severe punishments followed for violations of the rules of conduct (for striking a layman, failure to fast, divulging the secrets of the order, and the like).
The spiritual knightly orders had their own fortresses, lands, and had enormous wealth, which made them a significant political force. The fact is that the orders were engaged not only in war, but also pursued an active economic policy.
The Templars, for example, were allowed to engage in financial transactions by a special decree of the pope, and soon banking became one of the main activities in the order. It was the Templars who invented checks, and there was no longer a need to take the coveted gold with them on a dangerous journey. It was enough to deposit the required amount at the nearest templar preceptory, take in return that same check - a small piece of parchment with a fingerprint, and then, having reached the right place, receive your money there with a very small deduction. Due to the fact that the network of commanderies covered almost all of Europe and the Middle East (in the 13th century there were more than five thousand of them, including dependent castles and monasteries), there were plenty of people willing to take advantage of these services.
Is it any wonder that over time the Templars became the largest creditors in Europe? According to many historians, it was the wealth of the order and the exorbitant debts of the French crown (and not only it) that became the main reason for the defeat and dissolution of the Order of the Temple at the beginning of the 14th century.
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The emergence of military-monastic (or spiritual-knightly) orders was one of the manifestations of the diversity of the religious life of Western Christendom at the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th century.
Members of these orders followed rules based on already existing monastic rules - they took monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. But they lived in peace and, moreover, fought.
Of course, each order had its own clergy, but most of the brothers were laymen, and it was they who led the orders. Members of the orders could be both knights and commoners, who formed a separate group. And some military monastic orders even allowed women into their ranks (but they did not take part in hostilities).
The first military monastic order was the Order of the Templars (or Templars). The knights named themselves after the place of residence of their great master in Jerusalem near the former Temple of Solomon.
The order was founded in 1119 to protect pilgrims traveling through Palestine, but within a few years it became part of the Christian military forces fighting the Muslims.
The tasks that the Templars set for themselves were set by life itself: we know from the writings of the pilgrims that after the first crusade the roads in the Kingdom of Jerusalem were by no means safe, and the rulers of the Latin settlements did not have sufficient military forces to protect them.
There is an opinion that Christian military monastic orders were created in imitation of the Muslim organization ribat - that is, a fortified monastery, the inhabitants of which combined spiritual exploits with armed struggle against the enemies of Islam.
However, there were significant differences between such Muslim monasteries and Christian military monastic orders: for example, members of the ribat went to such a monastery only for a certain period of time and therefore were more like crusaders than members of military monastic orders.
Moreover, it has not been proven that the Franks living in the Latin Kingdom at the beginning of the 12th century knew about the existence of these Muslim organizations.
Historical facts indicate that the military monastic order was a product of the Christian society of that era. By this time, Western Christians already saw in the armed struggle for a just cause a means of saving the soul and an act of mercy, which became for laymen who wanted to lead a religious lifestyle an alternative to entering a monastery: after all, the church ban on carrying weapons, which some saw as an obstacle to development military monastic orders, applied only to clergy.
Guardians of the Borders of Christendom
Of course, the emergence of such organizations raised doubts and fears among many.
Thus, one letter written shortly after the creation of the Templar Order testifies to this. that even some brothers of this order were not entirely sure of the legitimacy of their enterprise. This is partly explained by the fact that in the Middle Ages any innovation took root with difficulty.
Many considered the military monastic organization to be a lower form of religious service compared to an ordinary monastery with its spiritual, contemplative direction. Those who continued to consider any violence sinful also spoke out against the military monastic orders. It was against the opinion of these latter that the work written in Support of the Templars was directed "De laude novae militae".
However, despite all the doubts and objections, the Templars quickly gained reliable support in church circles, as can be seen from the decision of the Council of Troyes, at which in 1129, with the assistance of St. Bernard, the charter of the order was developed, approved by Pope Honorius II.
At the same time, the order began to receive help from many countries of Western Europe, and within a few years branches of the order appeared there.
In addition to the Templar Order, other similar organizations appeared in the Holy Land, but the history of their emergence was somewhat different.
Order of the Holy Land
Some religious institutions that already existed in the Kingdom of Jerusalem were reorganized into military monastic orders.
Shortly before the first crusade at the hospital of St. John the Merciful in Jerusalem, a religious and charitable brotherhood was organized to help poor and sick pilgrims.
The activities of this brotherhood especially expanded after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Crusaders; it spread a whole network of shelters and hospitals not only in the East, but also in Western European countries, turning into a huge organization into which abundant donations flowed from all over the Christian world.
Already in the first half of the 12th century, the brotherhood took upon itself (apparently following the example of the Templars) the military tasks of defending Christian pilgrims and Christian possessions in the East from the “infidels.” Having turned into a military monastic (or Johannite). the brotherhood began to represent a huge material and military force in the East.
The sources that have reached us do not explain the reasons for the transformation of monastic and charitable organizations into military monastic orders.
Apparently the example was provided by the Templars, but it is unclear why it was followed.
In some cases, the actions of specific individuals are traced: so. militarization of society St. Thomas of Acre can be attributed to the initiative of the Bishop of Winchester, Peter de Gauche, who came to the East at a time when the monastery of the black clergy was in a state of decline.
But there could be other reasons. In particular, among the members of these organizations (except St. Thomas of Acre) there were probably people capable of holding weapons in their hands, and it is quite possible that they were turned to for military assistance due to the constant lack of military strength among the settlers in the Holy Land.
Although military monastic orders arose in the Holy Land, they very soon spread their activities to other territories of the “Christian world.” The Templars and Hospitallers were the first to enter the war in Spain.
Order of Spain
At first, the Iberian Peninsula attracted the attention of the orders as a source of income and a potential opportunity to replenish their ranks, but in 1143 the Count of Barcelona persuaded the Templars to take part in the Reconquista, and by the middle of the 12th century the Hospitallers also joined them.
And already in the third quarter of the 12th century, several of their own military monastic orders arose in Spain.
In Castile in 1158 the order was founded, and in the Kingdom of Leone in 1170 - the Order of Santiago de Compostela.
In 1170-1300 the orders of San Jorge de Alfama and Santa Maria de España appeared.
These Spanish orders were from the very beginning military organizations, founded on the example of the Templar and Hospitaller orders. But when trying to explain the emergence of these organizations, it is necessary to take into account both the hopes and plans of their founders and early members (the founder of the Order of Montegaudio, for example, was a disillusioned member of the Order of Santiago), and the sentiments of the Spanish kings who patronized these orders.
The Christian rulers of Spain certainly hoped in this way to secure solid military support both on land and at sea (Alfonso X of Castile strongly supported the Order of Santa Maria de España, hoping for the help of sailors in the fight against Muslims for control of the Strait of Gibraltar) .
It should also be noted that the Order of Calatrava appeared after the Templars, who had previously been granted Calatrava Castle, were unable to defend it.
In addition, local orders did not have to send funds to the Holy Land, and rulers, by patronizing several military-monastic organizations at once, could control the situation in such a way that no single order became too powerful.
At first, the Spanish rulers even hoped to use these local organizations in the fight against their Christian rivals, but the orders quickly spread throughout the peninsula and took a neutral position in relation to conflicts between Christian kings.
However, despite the support of the kings, not all Spanish military monastic orders flourished. The Order of Montegaudio in 1188 was forced to unite with the Order of the Hospital of the Holy Redeemer in Teruel, and in 1196 they merged with the Knights Templar.
Some of the brothers did not accept this alliance and settled in Monfrague on the Tagus River in Castile; this group later became part of the Order of Calatrava.
These changes were due to the internal difficulties of the Order of Montegaudio and the group in Monfrague. The unification of the Order of Santa Maria de España with the Order of Santiago de Compostela occurred after the latter suffered huge losses in the Battle of Moclina in 1280.
Other Spanish orders survived, but remained purely local, Spanish organizations. From time to time, proposals were made to extend their activities to North Africa, the Holy Land and even the Baltic countries, but none of these plans were implemented.
Orders of Europe
In Central Europe, unlike Spain, the Templars and Hospitallers were not the first military monastic orders to take up arms for a just cause.
At the beginning of the 13th century, Europeans relied more on new, European military-monastic organizations and on. It was they who played the main role in the conquest of Prussia and Livonia, which were completely defeated by the end of the 13th century.
And they were founded to protect missionaries: the first one arose in Livonia in 1202 with the support of Bishop Albert
(Bishop Albert (1199-1229) was the founder of the Livonian state, who finally converted the Livonians to Christianity. Having secured the help of the Danish king Canute IV. Albert entered Livonian territory with a sword in one hand and a crucifix in the other.
He managed to pacify the Livonian pagans, and in 1201 he founded a new city - Riga, where he transferred the episcopal see. To establish and spread Christianity and German culture east of the Baltic Sea, Albert founded the military monastic order of the Swordsmen in 1202.
The knights of the order took vows of celibacy, obedience to the pope and bishop, and promised to spread Christianity by all means. At the head of the order was a master, the next hierarchical level was occupied by commanders and commanders who were involved in military affairs, collecting tithes, secular courts, and monitoring the order's lands;
together with the master they formed the chapter. The first master of the Livonian Order of the Sword was Fynold von Rohrbach, and the second in Prussia, probably in 1228. on the initiative of Bishop Christian of Prussia and the Polish Prince Konrad of Mazovia.
In the 1230s, both of these organizations became part of the Teutonic Order.
The Teutonic Order first appeared in Central Europe in 1211. when the Hungarian king Andrew II offered him the Transylvanian region of Burzu under the condition of protecting it from Polovtsian raids.
The Teutonic Order saw in this proposal an opportunity to expand its activities in Europe, which is what it sought, since in the Holy Land the order had to constantly compete with the Templars and Hospitallers.
But in 1225, King Andrew took these lands from them, probably afraid of the desire of the Teutonic Order for complete independence. Around the same time, Prince Konrad of Mazovia offered the Kulm land to the order on the condition that the knights defend it from the Prussians.
The subsequent negotiations, which included the German Emperor Frederick II, led to the creation of an independent state on the territory of Prussia under the control of the Teutonic Order.
By about 1230, the order had become a very influential organization in Prussia, and then, uniting with the Swordsmen, it extended its influence to Livonia.)
After the Teutonic Order was expelled from Hungary and established itself in Prussia, the Hungarian and Polish rulers tried to seek help from other military-monastic organizations.
In 1237, Konrad of Mazowiecki even made an attempt to revive the Dobrin Order in the Drogiczyn Castle on the Bug River, but was unsuccessful. The Templars soon left the Polish lands granted to them in the 1250s.
The Hospitallers also refused to defend the Severinsky region, stretching from the Transylvanian Alps to the Danube, which was granted to them in 1247 by the Hungarian king Béla IV.
Bela IV hoped for the help of the Hospitallers in the fight not only against the pagans, but also against the schismatics. And although such assistance was not provided to the Hungarian king, the Templars, Hospitallers and Knights of the Teutonic Order contributed to the defense of the Latin Frankish Empire, created in 1204 after the Fourth Crusade.
In the 13th century, crusades were increasingly directed against dissidents within Christianity, and it is therefore not surprising that the fight against the Greeks became quite suitable for military monastic orders. Attempts were also made to use knightly orders against heretics, opponents of the pope, and other troublemakers in Western Europe.
Popes repeatedly called on military monastic orders to intervene in internal conflicts in Cyprus and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and in 1267 Pope Clement IV invited the Hospitallers to side with Charles of Anjou against the last Hohenstaufens in southern Italy.
There were also attempts to found new orders in the south of France to combat heresies. However, these orders did not last long, with the exception of the Italian Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose charter, approved in 1261, charged the knights with the duty of defending the faith and the Church and suppressing civil unrest.
And yet, the main function of military monastic orders in the 12th-13th centuries was the fight against non-Christians on the borders of Western Christendom
Source - Imladris. Fireon Locolindo [email protected]
Posted by - Melfice K.
Order of St. John (Hospitaliers)
Christian pilgrims came to the Holy Land exhausted from travel; many fell ill and were left without care. Immediately after Jerusalem was taken by the crusaders (1099), several French knights united to found a hospice in which pilgrims could find shelter. They formed a spiritual congregation, whose members pledged to devote themselves to caring for the poor and sick, to live on bread and water, and to wear simple clothing, “like the poor, their masters.” These knights lived on alms, which the people they sent collected in all Christian countries and which they then stored in the room for the sick. Their hospital was called the “Hospital of the Jerusalem Hospital” or the Hospital of St. John. Later he changed his character. In addition to the knights, there were also novices, that is, servants who looked after the sick. The hospital sheltered up to 2 thousand sick people, and alms were distributed daily; they even say that the Muslim Sultan Saladin disguised himself as a beggar in order to familiarize himself with the charitable activities of the Hospitallers. This spiritual-knightly order retained its name, the Hospitallers of St. John (or Johannites) and its seal, which depicted a sick man stretched out on a bed with a cross at his head and a lamp at his feet. But the knights who joined the Order of St. John formed a military community whose task was to fight the infidels.
Only knights of noble birth or the side sons of princes were allowed to be among the Hospitallers; each new member had to bring with him full weapons or contribute 2 thousand Turkish sous to the arsenal of the order. In all states of Syria, the princes granted the Hospitallers the right to build castles outside the cities and fortified houses in the cities. The main settlements of the spiritual knightly order of the Johannites were in the regions of Antioch and Tripoli, around Lake Tiberias and on the Egyptian border. His Markab Castle, built in 1186, occupied the entire area of the plateau, sloping steeply into the valley, had a church and a village, and contained a garrison of a thousand people and supplies for 5 years; The bishop of Valenia found refuge here. In all European countries the Hospitallers acquired possessions; in the 13th century they had, according to legend, 19 thousand monasteries. In each of them lived several knights with commander; many villages named after Saint-Jean are ancient Hospitaller villages command.
Entrance to the Palace of the Grand Masters of the Johannite Order on the island of Rhodes
Order of the Templars (templars)
Before this spiritual-knightly order changed its character, several knights, who were bored with caring for the sick, wanted to find an occupation that would better suit their tastes. In 1123, eight French knights formed a brotherhood whose members pledged to accompany pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem to protect them against infidels; They elected Hugh de Payens as Grand Master of the Order. King Baldwin gave them part of his palace, the so-called Temple(literally “Temple”) , built on site ancient Solomon's temple; they took the name Poor Brothers of the Temple of Jerusalem, or Templars (lit. “Templars”). The famous saint of that time, Bernard of Clairvaux, patronized them and took part in drawing up their charter, which partly reproduced the Cistercian charter. The charter of the spiritual-knightly order of the Templars was approved at the Council of Troyes (1128). The order consisted of members of three kinds; monastic vows of poverty, obedience and chastity were obligatory for everyone. Knights the Templars had people of noble birth; they alone could be the heads of monasteries and hold positions in the order. Servants there were rich townspeople who gave their property to the order and took the place of either squires or stewards; they managed the financial affairs of the Templar Order; the coastal commander, who supervised the boarding of ships and the disembarkation of pilgrims, was a minister. Priests performed spiritual duties in the order. The popes who patronized the Templars allowed them to have their own chapels and cemeteries and choose their own priests to perform divine services in their monasteries. They decreed that all clergy in the service of the order should submit not to their bishop, but to the Grand Master of the Templars (bull 1162). Thus, the spiritual knightly order of the Templars became an independent church within the Roman Church, subordinate only to the pope. Secular princes, especially French ones, out of respect for these knights, who devoted themselves to the continuous war of the crusade, gave them large gifts. Later, the order owned 10 thousand monasteries in Europe, a fleet, banks and such a rich treasury that it could offer 100 thousand gold for the island of Cyprus.
Armament and emblem of the spiritual knightly order of the Templars
Both the Hospitallers and the Templars were French orders. When the Germans began to come to the Holy Land in greater numbers, they also felt the need to have a hospice in which their language would be spoken. There was a refuge for German pilgrims in Jerusalem, but it depended on the Order of the Hospitallers. During the siege of Saint-Jean d'Acre (1189) by the crusaders, several Germans gathered their sick on one ship, which had fallen into disrepair. The German princes gave them funds to found a hospital, which was organized in 1197 on the model of the hospital of St. John. Members of the new order were German knights who pledged to both care for the sick and fight the infidels. They took the name Brothers of the German House, and later they began to be called more often. knights of the Teutonic Order. During the stay of Emperor Frederick II in Palestine, they acquired estates and built themselves the Montfort Castle near Saint-Jean d'Acre (1229), which remained the center of the order until 1271.
Hermann von Salza - Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, moved his residence from Palestine to the Baltic at the beginning of the 13th century
General features of spiritual knightly orders
All three of these spiritual knightly orders were religious brotherhoods and took the usual three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Each order was organized on the model of Cluny or Cistercian. General Chapter(that is, the collection of officials and heads of monasteries that were part of the order) governed the entire order. Individual monasteries were like estates that were managed at the expense of the order. But these monks were also knights: their mission was war. They were all, without exception, of noble origin, and their leaders were often large lords. The head of the spiritual knightly order was called not an abbot, but a grand master, the head of a monastery was not a prior, but a commander. Their clothes were half monastic, half military: they wore knightly armor and a cloak on top. The Hospitallers had a black cloak and a white cross; the Templars have a white cloak and a red cross; The knights of the Teutonic Order have a white cloak and a black cross. Each order, with its own treasury, its estates, fortresses and soldiers, was like a small state.
The first spiritual knightly orders of the Middle Ages began to form during the Crusades, that is, in the period from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries.
Reason for the creation of orders
Knightly orders are created under the strict guidance of the Catholic Church with the aim of spreading Catholicism in the Holy Land, as well as for the active fight against infidels - Muslims and pagans.
The most powerful spiritual knightly orders
The most ancient and most influential knightly orders of the Middle Ages are considered to be the Order of the Templars and the Order of the Hospitallers. Both orders were created at the very beginning of the era of the Crusades.
Hospitallers
At first, the Hospitallers were not an order as such, it was an organization whose task was to care for the wounded and poor Christians, pilgrims, who were in the Holy Land. But after the capture of Jerusalem, the organization turns into a knightly order. The Knights Hospitallers were entrusted with the task of vigilantly protecting the Holy Land and its inhabitants. The head of the order was the master, who was appointed to this position until his death.
Soon the Hospitallers began offering knightly armed escorts. The number of knights grew very quickly, and the order began to represent a significant force in the Middle East. The knights of the order showed themselves clearly on the field; they fought both on foot and on horseback. The knights wore black robes with large white crosses.
Since the middle of the twelfth century, there has been a division within the order into brother knights (warriors) and brothers doctors (they took care of the sick and poor). The Order of the Hospitallers did not obey anyone except the pope and had many privileges, including exemption from paying tithes to the church and the right to own land.
The Hospitallers in the Holy Land were engaged in the construction of fortifications, so they owned seven large fortresses. The most powerful fortification of the Hospitallers was the stronghold of Krak des Chevaliers, which was never captured by battle. They were able to take possession of the impregnable fortress only once, and then only thanks to deception.
After Jerusalem fell, the Hospitallers found refuge in the county of Tripoli, and then on the island of Cyprus, where the Crusader Kingdom of Cyprus was created. After the Templars were disbanded, the Hospitallers received part of their possessions.
Templars
The Templar Order was created in 1119, shortly after the First Crusade. King Baldwin of Jerusalem gave them premises within the walls of the Jerusalem Temple, where they established their headquarters. In 1139, the pope gave the knights of the order his patronage and some privileges. The Knights Templar were exempt from paying taxes, obeyed only the pope, and received lands for their use.
The Knights of the Templar Order fought in white robes with a red cross. They fought both on horseback and on foot. The knights of the order had squires. The foot warrior was armed with a long sword and shield, while the horseman also used a spear, shield and sword.
They demonstrated their military talents at the Battle of Ramla, where the Crusaders managed to defeat the forces of Saladin.
The Templars were a powerful force in Europe, and especially in England, because their master held a seat in parliament.
In 1187, the Knights Templar are defeated by Saladin's forces and many of them are captured. The master of the order is believed to have converted to Islam and exchanged his life for the lives of his knights - captured Templar knights were executed.
Quickly recovering from their defeat, in 1191, the Templars took an active part in the capture of Acre. When the Crusaders recapture Jerusalem in 1199, the Templars massacre many of the city's Muslim civilians.
The Templars behave quite cruelly, even with their brothers. They expel the Knights Hospitaller and Teutons from Acre. Many Hospitallers and Teutons were killed and captured.
In 1291, the Templars were forced to leave Acre and other cities of the Holy Land, as they could not resist the onslaught of the Muslims.
The Templars were very rich, since the basis of their activities was economics, and not military operations. They protected trade routes, gave loans, accepted donations, and engaged in usury. In addition, the order possessed huge land plots.
Like the Hospitallers, the Templars are engaged in the construction of fortresses and roads. In the Holy Land they owned eighteen large castles. The Templars became the largest bankers in Europe.
At the beginning of the fourteenth century, members of the Templar Order were subject to mass arrests and executions. They are accused of blasphemy, debauchery, denial of Christ and other sins. In 1312 the order was officially dissolved.
Other knightly orders of the Middle Ages
Less influential were the Teutonic Order, the Order of the Holy Sepulcher, the Order of Santiago, the Order of Christ and others.