​History

​The Medieval Chivalric Orders

​The birth of the Chivalric Orders is linked to the First Crusade, which in 1099 led to the Christian reconquest of Jerusalem. Previously, Peter the Hermit had led a disorganized expedition of humble people across Europe with the intention of liberating the Holy Land. Most of these individuals never reached their destination, being massacred along the way by criminals and isolated soldiers. A part of this expedition, composed solely of Germans led by a disciple of Peter and a nobleman, did not even reach Constantinople, but dedicated itself to the persecution of the Jews and was annihilated while crossing Hungary. Following this failed undertaking, Pope Urban II organized an army composed of the best European knights. These were coordinated by a bishop and commanded by important noble figures from various regions, including a Norman duke, a count of Blois, and a count of Vermandois.

​The Flemish contingent was led by a Count of Flanders and included a Count of Boulogne and his brothers, one of whom was Godfrey. Southern France was represented by a Count of Toulouse. At the time, Godfrey of Bouillon was Duke of Lower Lorraine. He inherited the title and the lands of Bouillon from his mother, who had financed the reconstruction of the cathedral of Boulogne. Godfrey pledged these possessions to the Bishop of Liège to finance his participation in the campaign in the Holy Land. With the beginning of the First Crusade, Godfrey became the supreme commander and, after the final victory in 1099, was proclaimed King of Jerusalem. However, he preferred the title of "Guardian of the Holy Sepulchre" to that of sovereign. During this historical period, several chivalric confraternities arose.

​Godfrey died shortly after his success in Jerusalem, in 1100, and was succeeded by his younger brother, Baldwin of Boulogne. After eighteen years, in 1118, Baldwin was succeeded by his cousin, Baldwin II du Bourg.

​The Knights Hospitaller

​The organization of the Knights of Saint John in Jerusalem is considered the oldest among the equestrian institutions born in the medieval period. Its origin dates back to around 1050, when some merchants from an Italian maritime republic obtained permission from the Egyptian ruler to build a church, a monastery, and a hospital structure in Jerusalem intended for the assistance of pilgrims of any faith or origin, in an era when Christians and Muslims coexisted peacefully in the Holy Land. This church was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, and a religious community formed there – called the "Order of Saint John of Jerusalem" – which dedicated itself to the management of the hospital for the aid of pilgrims in the Holy Land. This community acquired autonomy under the leadership of a friar named Gerard Sasso, the first grand master (later beatified). With the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 and the founding of the Kingdom of Jerusalem by the Crusaders in the Holy Land, an increasing number of pilgrims from all over the Christian world began to flock there. However, the Muslims did not accept defeat and repeatedly tried to reconquer Palestine, forcing the Order to assume the military defense of the sick, the pilgrims, and the territories seized by the Crusaders from the Muslims.

​On February 15, 1113, the members of the Order were officially recognized as a true religious order by the Pope. In 1120, a friar named Raymond du Puy succeeded Gerard, bringing a turning point to the organization of the fraternity, emphasizing its military aspect to protect pilgrims and the sick with arms. Along the roads leading to Jerusalem, a dense network of hospitals and fortresses developed, which for about two centuries were the object of ambushes, sieges, and battles by Islamic forces. All the knights were religious, bound by the three monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. They adopted the eight-pointed Cross of Amalfi as their symbol, which, in addition to recalling their origins, represented the beatitudes of faith. Their banner was red with a white cross, and they wore black cloaks.

​The members of the Order were constantly at the side of the various sovereigns who followed one another in the Crusades, and relations were generally positive even in the European kingdoms. The relations between the Order of Saint John and an emperor of the Holy Roman Empire were influenced by the state of relations between the papacy and the empire, thus fluctuating due to the frequent conflicts between the emperor and the pontiff. Despite favoring relations with another German chivalric order, the emperor showed no prejudice against the Hospitallers and another well-known chivalric order. Between 1228 and 1229, under the leadership of a grand master named Fra' Bertrand de Thessy, the castles of the Kingdom of Sicily were placed under the supervision of two figures ("masters and provosts of the imperial castles"), a member of the Order and a member of the other order. However, in 1226, the emperor confiscated the assets of both orders, and during a particular "crusade" between 1227 and 1228, both the members of the Order and those of the other, obeying the Pope, distanced themselves from the emperor. Over time, relations with the Order improved, while those with the other order remained tense. After specific legislative provisions, those responsible for the fortification system of the Kingdom of Sicily were no longer chosen from the members of the Order, and the same applied to the other order. The Muslim adversaries nicknamed them "black men" for their great impetuosity in battle. Their fame reached legendary proportions, on par with that of the other order. In 1187, during the fall of Jerusalem, the members of the Order sacrificed themselves en masse to defend its walls, and even the grand master of the Order fell fighting against Saladin's forces. After the loss of Jerusalem, the Crusaders retreated to the other cities of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem that remained in their possession: Antioch, Tyre, Edessa, Jaffa, and Acre (San Giovanni d'Acri).

​The members of the Order, together with the members of two other chivalric orders, garrisoned the extensive border from inaccessible castles that dominated the strategic points of the territory. In 1271, the most famous and imposing of these fortresses, held by the Order, fell into the hands of the Muslims. The loss of the fortress and the annihilation of the Order's garrison aroused panic and dismay in the Christian community. Furthermore, no help arrived from Europe, and the Christian knights were left alone against the Muslim advance. In a short time, Jaffa, Tripoli, and the fortress of Margat fell. A few hundred knights belonging to three orders retreated to Acre to allow the surviving population to embark for Europe. They resisted for over a month against a vast Saracen army, until the last Christians living in Acre were brought to safety. Now reduced to a few dozen, the Christian knights, due to their extreme resistance, regrouped on a tower, which collapsed following a violent Muslim attack. The grand master of the Order, among the survivors embarked on the ships because he was wounded, went to Cyprus in 1291, taking with him the insignia of the Order and provisionally establishing its headquarters there. Within a few years, the Order reorganized and was once again ready to resume the war against Islam, this time at sea. In 1310, under the leadership of a grand master, the Order conquered the island of Rhodes, where it settled with considerable forces, then seizing numerous other islands in the Aegean.

​Their name changed to the Knights of Rhodes. During this period, the Order acquired many of the assets confiscated from another important chivalric order, which in the meantime had been suppressed. The Order built a powerful fleet and began to navigate the eastern seas, engaging in the defense of Christendom in numerous and famous battles, including the Crusades in Syria and Egypt. The Order was comparable to a maritime republic like Genoa and Venice. The members of the Order who arrived in Rhodes from all parts of Europe and the Order's institutions on the continent were organized from the beginning of the fourteenth century according to their languages of origin. Initially, there were seven linguistic divisions. Subsequently, a region and another kingdom separated from one of these divisions, forming the eighth. Each division included several smaller administrative entities. The Order was governed by the Grand Master (Prince of Rhodes) and a Council, with the power to mint coins and maintain diplomatic relations with other states. The other offices of the Order were attributed to representatives of the different linguistic divisions: the central headquarters of the Order was composed of religious of various nationalities.

​In 1522, a powerful sultan attacked the island with a large fleet and a vast army. The Knights of Rhodes were greatly outnumbered. After six months of siege and fierce fighting, the Knights were forced to surrender, abandoning the island of Rhodes with military honors. The survivors headed for another island. Without receiving aid from the European sovereigns, the surviving knights wandered between various locations. In 1530, a grand master took possession of the island of Malta, granted to the Order by an emperor with the approval of the Pope. It was established that the Order would remain neutral in wars between Christian nations. In 1565, the Knights, led by a grand master, defended the island from the attack and a great Turkish siege (lasting over three months). The Order's fleet, considered one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean, contributed to the definitive defeat of the Ottoman naval power in a famous battle in 1571. The island of Malta became an impregnable base, until a famous French general in 1798, during a campaign, managed to conquer it and seize all the Order's assets. This was possible because the Knights, due to the rules of the Order, could not fight against other Christians. In 1800, a European power occupied Malta but, despite the recognition of the Order's sovereign rights over Malta with a treaty in 1802, the Order could never return there. After temporarily moving to various Italian cities, in 1834 the Order settled in Rome, where it owns, with guarantees of extraterritoriality, some properties. Since then, the original purpose of hospital assistance became the main activity of the Order, intensifying over the last century thanks to the contribution of its subdivisions and associations present in various countries of the world. Hospital and charitable activities were carried out on a large scale during the two world wars under different grand masters. Currently, the name of the Order is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

​​The Templars
​Go to the section on the Templars

​The Teutonic Knights

 ​During the era of the Crusades, a monastic religious order of knights was also established, most likely in 1190, in a coastal city of the Holy Land. Like other chivalric orders, they too dedicated themselves to assisting pilgrims and defending the holy sites, engaging in war against the Muslims. They originated with a specific name that recalled a church dedicated to Saint Mary, located southeast of Jerusalem, where German pilgrims and knights who had come to the Holy Land following emperors settled, first one and then his successor. The latter, a few months after his coronation, had pledged to undertake an expedition to the Holy Land to demonstrate his reliability to the Pope. It was to be an almost exclusively German crusade. But shortly before the arrival of the main military contingent, the sudden death of the emperor compromised the undertaking, which, although continuing, lost its political and religious significance. Among those crusaders stood out a German hospitaller confraternity accredited to the Papacy; in the Holy Land, it transformed into a true Religious-Military Order and obtained official recognition and a monastic rule with a papal bull.While two other chivalric orders were predominantly composed of members of specific nationalities, only the German nobility could join the Order. Probably, the political reason for the birth of a German chivalric order in the Holy Land lies in the difficulty that German-speaking knights had in being accepted into the other two orders. From its origins, the members of the Order remained linked to a rigidly defined national idea confined to the Germanic territory.

​This, however, did not prevent them from being protagonists, like the members of the other two orders, in the wars for the defense of Jerusalem and from sharing with them the glory and ruin of this commitment in the East. Another element that significantly differentiates the Teutonic Order from the other sodalities is the role reserved for women, who were always active and present in the ranks of the Order, especially for the care of the wounded and the sick. The Order included knights and ecclesiastics, both dressed in a white mantle with a distinctive black cross on the left side; the former on their armor, the latter on their tunic. On their helmets, they wore conspicuous black plumes. The emblem of an eagle was imprinted on their shields and seals. Among the most representative figures in the history of the knights of the Order stands out a Grand Master, in office from 1211 to 1239. Originally from a German region, he was a diplomatic advisor to an emperor and a privileged interlocutor of the Pope. The emperor met this "warrior monk" on the occasion of a donation he made to the Order. The meeting was important for the emperor, and an excellent understanding and mutual respect were immediately established. The Grand Master received assignments of great importance and was one of the most trusted men of the imperial court. The credit he enjoyed with the Roman Curia greatly benefited the imperial cause.

​This Grand Master made possible the postponement of a crusade repeatedly requested by the Pope; he was instrumental in the recruitment of imperial militias in Germany; he traveled several times to Syria, where his Order operated, to organize the liberation of the Holy Sepulchre; he also arranged the marriage of the emperor to a princess heir to the throne of Jerusalem; he participated in the imperial crusade of 1228. Indeed, the only Order that supported the Emperor during a particular "crusade" was that of the Teutonic Knights, because the other two orders, out of loyalty to the Roman Pontiff, maintained a hostile attitude towards the imperial campaign that would have led to the conquest of the holy places without bloodshed. This Grand Master was a tireless diplomat: he traveled the roads several times to carry messages and act as an intermediary. Despite his numerous commitments at the imperial court, he always managed to control the Order. He was faithful to his lord until death. An attitude of loyalty that allowed the Order to enjoy the emperor's favors; to achieve the foundation of a series of fortresses and houses along a strategic area for defense; to acquire enormous power in various regions, where monasteries and properties of immense value were managed. Between 1225 and 1226, a Polish duke called the members of the Order to fight pagan populations.

​Taking advantage of the excellent relations with the imperial court, the Grand Master obtained from the emperor the imperial confirmation of donations made by the duke himself on a territory, and the Order's right to conquer and evangelize a region. From then on, for almost fifty years, the knights of the Order led a long and bloody conquest, considered on par with a Crusade. Having moved with their armies and their skilled architects to Eastern Europe, they quickly contributed to the founding of new cities, fortresses, ports, and centers of commercial activity aimed at countering the recurring migrations on the eastern side of Europe. In 1237, a region previously assigned to another chivalric order that was incorporated by the Order was annexed to the conquered territory, and the Order subsequently subdued another region as well.The expansion was, however, curbed in 1242, on the frozen Lake Peipus, where the Russians led by a prince defeated the members of the Order. After this event, the Order focused its efforts mainly against the Lithuanian populations who inhabited the territories between the already conquered regions: despite the stubborn resistance opposed by the local tribes, by 1283 the Prussian region could be considered definitively conquered by the members of the Order.

​At the beginning of the 14th century, the knights of the Order, strong in prestige and power, became a leading military and financial power in Europe and reached their peak under a grand master. The decline of the knights, who had subjugated and humiliated the Baltic populations, began around the first decades of the 15th century, after a heavy defeat inflicted on them by a Polish king who forced them to sign unfavorable treaties.Caught between German princes greedy for land on one side, and Slavic populations on the other, they faced increasing difficulties, aggravated by the advance of the religious reformation, which led to an irreversible crisis. The new religious ideas, in fact, undermined their faith, causing an internal split, until in 1525 the grand master adhered to a new religious confession, transforming their territory into a hereditary duchy. Thus, the state of the Order dissolved, but the Order survived under the protection of a monarchy, where the last knights who remained faithful to the old faith took refuge. In 1809, a French general dissolved the Order in Germany. An Austrian emperor restored it in 1834, modifying its statutes. Reformed in accordance with canon law in 1929, it was again dissolved during the Nazi period. Today, the Order has accentuated its religious character, losing its chivalric one, in accordance with the new statutes approved by the Holy See in 1965; its grand master is an abbot, and its current headquarters are in Vienna.

​The Other Chivalric Orders

​Other monastic-military orders born in the Holy Land at the time of the Crusades, some of which still survive today, are:

​The Order of the Holy Sepulchre, which arose as such in 1099: Knights and Canons, they performed the primary function of custody and honor guard of the Holy Sepulchre, officiating religious services there and ensuring its armed defense. Today it is a Public Association of the Faithful, erected by the Apostolic See. It enjoys legal personality under canon law as well as Vatican legal personality, but beyond historical references and vicissitudes, what has value and interest today is the role entrusted to the Order and which it carries out through its operational structure within the Catholic Church and the Communities where it is present. The purpose of the Order is to strengthen in its members the practice of Christian life, in absolute fidelity to the Supreme Pontiff and according to the teachings of the Church, observing as with which the Order maintains traditional ties;

​The Knights of Saint Lazarus, who arose in 1142.

Also in the Iberian Peninsula, during the Reconquista, several monastic-military Orders were born. 

These are:
The Military Order of Saint Benedict of Avis, founded in Portugal in 1147;

The Military Order of Alcántara, founded in 1156 in the Kingdom of León;

The Military Order of Calatrava, founded in 1158 in the Kingdom of Castile;

The Order of Santiago (Order of Saint James), founded in 1170;

The Order of Montesa, founded in the Kingdom of Aragon in 1312;

The Order of Christ, founded in Portugal in 1317;

The Order of Saint James of the Sword, an offshoot of the Spanish order in Portugal in 1275.