MILITARY M N-AT-ARMS SERIES 155

THE KNIGHTS
OF CHRIST

TERENCE WISE, RICHARD SCOLLINS

 EDITOR, MARTIN WINDROW

l'lWIl
MILITARY MEN-AT--ARMS SERIES 155
THE KNIGHTS
OF CHRIST
Text by
TERENCE WISE
Colour plates by
RICHARD SCOLLINS
Published in 1981 b)
Osprey Publishing Ltd
59 Grosvenor Street, London \\' I X 90.\
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Reprinted 198s, 1987 t"iee. 1988, IgBg, 199[, 1992

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BritiSh Libf(lry UJIDlol:umg In PublirDlton DDID

Wise, Terence
The Knights of ChrisI. ~lcn·al·Arms·scrics: 155)
l. KniglllS and knighlluxxl Europe Hislory
I. Title II. Series
305.5'2 CR4509

Filrnsct ill Cr'eal Britain

Primed in I-long Kong
 The Kllights 0lelll]J!

D,eGlum!, j 11i/itfl/lt
The primiti\C ChriSlian Church condemnt..-d war
011 principle, regarding it as an evil sin no mnlter at
what level or for what purpose it was waged. \Vhcll
Constantine I established toleration ofChrislinnity
throughout the Roman Empire in AD 3'3, this
immediately created a schism, for the \'cry survival
of the empire was dcpendclll upon war. The
Eastern Empire accepted war asjustificd in defence
of the faith, and its adopLioll of militaristic saillls
such as S, George illustrates Ihis. On the olher
hand, the Roman Church in the \'Vcst remained
firm in its belief that all war was evil, although by
the time of Augustine (354-430) it had lx'Come
accepted thai one side might have just causc' for
war, and indi,·idual soldiers taking part in such
Seal or Lh~ Poor K.a.i~hlf!l or Chri,n.
\\ars were absolved.
By the time of Pope Gregory the Great (P.
5go-604), the West had adopted the illlcn.'sting
idea that herctics and infidels could legitimately bc primitive Christian Church had been diametrically
converted to Christianity by force; but it was nOI opposed to such ideals. However, by channelling
Ulitil the Carolingian wars against the Saxons in the the martial spirit into the service of God, the brutal
second halfof the 8th century that Christian leaders warrior of the past was transfonnoo into a guardian
weT(' able to convert a 1x>lit.ical war into a religious of societ). War was acceptable if it "as socially
olle under this guise. :\Ieanwhilc, the Church had useful, and the warrior codes were harnessed to
been growing ,vealthy, and the Saracen invasions of create a new chivalrolls spirit "hereby the elite
Spain and France in the early 8th century had warrior class, now the nobility or ruling class, was
posed a threat to that wealth indeed, 10 the defender of the faith, protector of the poor and
Christianity itselr. No" the Roman Church could weak, This new l\filts Chrislianus \\as to become a
al.'lO support war in defence of the faith; and romantic hero to n\'al the heroes of the old pagan
henceforth war and Church wcnt hand in hand, sagas: a member of an international brotherh<X>d of
with Mass said before bailie, and the relics ofsaints a single class, \\ith a common code of behaviour,
carried before the troops to inspire thcm in 'CO(rS and sharing a common code of ideals,
work', By the mid-11th c('nlllry Pope LCD IX (P,
This oolle..jtul was in somc degree due to the 1049 54) was invoking war against the invading
ancielll warrior code of behaviour which had Normans in southern Italy as a means of'liberating
persisted in Christian Europe, Under this code a Christendom'. Papal blessings and banners "ere
man's greatest virtues "ere physical strength, skill isslled for the expedition against the :\Ioslcms in
at anns, bravery, daring, loyalty to the chieftain, Spain in ((>63, and for the ilwa~ion of 'heretic'
and solidaril) within the tribe. The ideals of the En~land in 1066, ..-\11 these campaigns were called

3

ADoLh..r Y..rIliOD O( Ih.. IWO (ound..,.. o(lh., T ..n>p........ aSlrid..
on.. bon." this un>e (ron> r.bnh.,w Pari.' (.i1fl"'Ud M'!i-ra,
c.I~35 59- It "hows lh.. black-o,·.. r-wbit.. o( Lh.. Ten>pla,..'
banau ad:o.pled (or "I>e 0" .";lIh.Ii' shieldll.
'holy wars', but were really political ill nature; and
by the time Pope Cregory VI I (P. 1073 85) raised
armies of papal troops by oflcring both financial
and spiritual rewards, tbe pope had come to be
regarded as a summoner of <lrmics and a leader in
war. Thus when Urban II called for a holy war or
crusade to help the Eastern Church and the
Christians in Jerusalem, the I'CSlXJnse was over-
whelming. To fight for the faith had become part of
the chivalric code of the warrior, and every self-
respecting knight felt obliged to go on crusade-if
not now, then at some time in his life. Thus the two
great ideologies of medieval Europc chivalry and
Church-camc together as onc in the Holy Land.
And here was born from that strange union perhaps
the most profound expression of the dominant spirit
of the i\tiddle Ages: the 'warrior·monks' of the
military orders-terms which in the not so distant
past would have been contradictor}.
4
lUi/itfll} On/ers ill t/J(}
H00' Lflllf/
After.Jerusalem fell to the crusaders in 1099, most of
the crusaders who did not return to Europe became
committed to selling up independent Christian
states; and there arose the problem ofhow to protect
the pilgrim routes to the newly won holy places.
and to continue the fight against the Moslems
surrounding the narrow strip of reconquered land.
At this time there were only some 500 knight!;
available to defend the kingdom of Jerusalem:
obviously, lhey would be fatally weakened if they
were thinly scattered throughollt the Holy Land.
Therefore, in the beginning, small bands of
cruS<"lder knights voluntarily took on Ihis task of
guarding the lines of communication.
The Knights of the Temple
One sueh band was formed in 1115 by Hugue d~
Payens of Burgundy and Codfrey de Saint
 Adhcmar, a Fleming, who recruited seven other
knights from northern France. This small voluntary
association escorted pilgrims on their way from
Jerusalem to jericho, and thence to the traditional
site of jesus's baptism in the Jordan.
In 1118 this small group swore an oath before the
Patriarch ofjerusalem to protcct the pilgrims and
observe the monaslic vows of poverty, obedience
and chastily. The two founder-members had
originally had only one horse between them: under
their vows they were to wear only those clothes
\\hich were given to them, and to own only their
wcapons. From these humble ideals stemmed their
first name-the I)oor Knights of Christ.
The Poor Knights were to some extent subsidised
by the Patriarch; and when King Baldwin,
impressed b) their devOl ion, gave them quarters in
a wing of the royal palace. they lx'Came in effcct an
unofficial police force. Their new quarters were on
the supposed site of the Temple of Solomon. and
this soon gave rise to another name- the Knights of
the Temple, or Knights Templar.
By now the number ofknights had grown, and it
was felt they should Ix organised permanently and
officially along monastic lines in accordance w;th
their vows, but with slX"Cial rules to allow for their
military role. In about r 1'21 H ugue de Payens went
K.n..i!hl" Templar, f~m a wall pai.." ..! i.. their church al
to Europe to ask for guidance in the formulation of Crps"ac, (.1'70 80. NOI'" rm C",lili of the.ir Order on the brealil
of their Ion! while. llurcoals.
such rules. He was referred to the Council of the
Catholic Church then sitting at Troycs in France, their Lord in safety. They fear not the sin of
and it was this council which officially gave the killing an enemy or the peril of their own
Templars the statutes which established them as a death, inasmuch as death either infliCled or
military-religious organisation the first official borne for Christ has no taint of crime and
warrior-monks. H lIgue had also met the greatest rather merits the greater glory.
spiritual authority of thc day Bernard, abbot of 'First of all, there is discipline and un-
the Cistcrcian monastcry of Clairvaux-and the qualified obedicnce. Everybody comes and
Order's statutes and rules were moslly the work of goes according to the will of the commander.
Bernard. Everybody wears the dresses given to him, and
From the beginning, Bcrnard was a finn no one goes in search for food or garments
supporter of the aims of lhe Poor Knights and thus according to his whims. They live in a
of the concept of warrior-monks. He recognised no community, soberly and injoy, without wifcor
comradiction between their monastic vows and children. And to reach evangelical perfection,
their vow to kill Moslems. To him lhey were the first they live in the same house, in the same
true soldiers of Christ, dedicating theillselves to a manner, without calling anything their own,
dUly which should be that of all Christian knights. solicitous to preservc lhe unity of spirit in the
He wrote a small pamphlet, On tht Praist oftht Xtw bonds of peace.
Knighthood, in which he fully justified killing and 'Impudent words, senseless occupations,
,iolence by the knights on behalf of the faith: immoderate laughter, whispering or e,·cn
'... the soldiers of Christ wage the battles of suppressed giggling are unknown. They have a
5
 fit2Jnmiiiffillltm!!~!!~.
women, and attempting to escape from the Order
•. _.• :=-c:•• - : : =.._ •._ .. were punisht.:'(1 by loss of privileges such as having to
I
il~iifiP)ii~"@!!~!!
.._
•. - ....- - :.' = : :r":l
=..- . .. •
live with the slavcs, or being deprived of arms, habit
and horse. Serious Glses of such lesser crimes could
~~ . I I be punished by temporary or permanent in-
carceration in one of the Order's castles.
On the purely military side, the rules included
\'ows to fight to the death for the holy places of
Christendom; to refusc to be ransomed if defeated;
to accept cvery combat, no mailer what the odds; to
refuse quarter or ransom to the infidel; and to
defend any Christian molested by infidels. These
vows led to the Templars being feared beyond all
other Franks b) the 1\loslems, who retaliated by
execut.ing out of hand all Tcmplars taken in battle.
Each knight was allo\\ed to possess three horses
and to havc a squire with a fourth horse, but his
armour, clothing and bedding belonged to the
Order. The squires led the spare horses to the
battlefield but retired once battle commenced. The
The ...resc or Tnnplar5 i. Fn...a: in 1307. (rom •
C'ODI'"-tnporary rnaauKr'ipl. The _ . or Lbe Onl"r ill c1norly knights were form<..'d in ranks by squadrons, and
~';"ibh, 0 .. the mo... -tic: .... bi'...
there were severe penalties for any knight who
broke ranks without permission.
horror of chess and dice; they hate hunting; The seal of approval from both the Pope and
the)' don'( e"en (,ltiO) the Oight of the falcon. Bernard of Clairvaux resulted in a Rood of
The)' despise mimcs, jugglers, story-tellers, donations for the Order, and by the time Hugucdc
dirt) songs, performances of buffoons all Payens returned to I)alcstine in 1130 (with somc 300
these thC) regard as vanities and inane follies. knigilis recruited for a crus."1de) he had been able to
The)' CUI their hair shori because they know it establish prcceptorics not only in Jerusalem, but in
is shal1l(·ful for a man 10 wear it long. Nc\"cr Antioch, Tripoli, Aragon and Portugal. Sub-
overdressed, they bathe rarely and arc dirty sequently, preceptorics were established in Eng-
and hirsute, wnned by the coat of mail and the land, Aquitaine, Poi tOll, Provence, Apulia, Hun-
sun,' gary, Gcrmany, Sicily and Greece.
The rules for this first Military Order were based Thc preceptories werc L1scd to recruit and train
on those of the Cistercians. The Order's hierarchy new members, as well as to administer the
consisted of the Cr"nc! Mastcr, Seneschal, Deputy propertics of the Order within the province: at the
.Master, Marshal, and the commanders or Masters peak ofit.8 power the Order owncd over 9,000 feudal
of the provinces. Uerusalcm city and the kingdom of lordships 01' manors throughout Europe.. and their
Jerusalem were separate provinces.) Each province military contingcnts thcrefore frcquently included a
was divided into houscs known as preceptorics, each proportion of knights and levies who owed military
with its own commander, with a knight- service to the Order in return for the lands held
commander as his lieutenant. These divisions were fighting men who were not thcmsel\'t.'S members of
uscd for command in the field as well as for the the Order. r..lilitary contingents were also swollen
administration of monastic life. by the admission ofsubordinatc members to scrve as
1\lurder, treason, desertion, heresy, purchasing sergeants; and by the admission of'confrerc knights'
entry into the Order, plotting amongst the brothers, who served for only a short term (although
and re\e1ation of the Order's secrets were all sometimes for several years at a time, and who
punishable by expulsion from the Order. Lesser were pennilloo to marry, promising half their
offences such as disobedience. consorting with property to the Orda ill the e\-elll of their death. BI
6
 the time or the Second Crusade the Order could
muster nearly 600 knights and, together with the
Knights or 5t John, was providing about hair the
total number orknights available in the Holy Land.
Their first oflcnsive military action had been with
Baldwin's expedition to Antioch to suppress
rebellion \\ithin the kingdom, but rrom 1147
onwards they were in the rorerront or the war
against Islam.
By the second hair or the 12th century the Order
was one or the leading landowners in Syria and
Palestine. ~Ioney and men cominued to arrive rrom
Europe, and in order to control and administer this
vast wealth the Templars became experts in
banking. By as early as 1148 they were money-
lenders, despite the official Church ban on usury.
and Ihey soon had one of the largest and most
efficient banking networks in the Western world.
Pilgrims could now not only rely on the protection
of the Templars, but could deposit funds at their
local preceplor) and wilhdraw money as required
b) producing letters of cn.'dil al any other Templar
preceptory.lkfore long the Order had its own ships,
and had begun 10 1ranSlXlrl pilgrims to the Holy
Land.
The Order's reputation and strength in the
military role \\'as also growing apace. In November
I [77,80 Tcmplars with 300 other knights smashed
through Saladin's army in a single crashing cavalry
charge led by the Crand ~Iastcr. The Moslems
were completely routed, though th(' Grand .\faster
was captured, refused ransom and died in prison.
His succc.'SSOr, Gerard de Ridcfort, became
Ilotorious for his militar)' foolhardiness and political
intrigues, yet the first fault could concci\'ably be
excused in that he merely obe)ed his vows. In 1187,
wilh only 90 Templars and 40 other knights, he
charged into a ~Ioslem force ofsome 7,000 cavalry.
Only he and t\\'o other Templars managc.-d to cut
their way through and escape. Not long afterwards,
al the battle of Hallin, he split the Christian ann)
and led the cavalry to tOlal defeat.
Despite these fool hard) acts the Templars,
together with the Hospilaller knights, were the
finest fighting force in Ihe Hoi) Land; in battle the)
were always accorded the position of honour on the
right wing, with Ihe Hospitallers on the left.
Throughout the 13th century the Order"s wealth
continued 10 grow, but its military strength in the
Holy Land began to decline partly because fewer
recruits could be found who were willing to die for
the faith, and partl) because of growing rivalry
between the various military orders which had now
Loarr",. n_r HU"'llQ in Anollon, d .. 1inll from lh", Ial'" IILh
ClI'nlury w;lh lal",r .ddidons.. Thi. was on", of Ih", T"'n'pl......•
m.ai.n .,.,..lroea in Spain.
)
 =

been created, dissipating their energies and even thc Tcmplars and their cnemies beneath a smoking
leading to Order fighting Order. pile of rubble. The I-Ioly Land was lost forever,
In 1243 Jerusalem was lost. The next year the despite the heroic deaths of some 20,000 Templar
Christians were dccisively defeatcd at Gaza, and of knights and sergeants since the Order's inception.
over 300 Templars present only 36 survived. In The Templars had lands in Cyprus, and it was
1250 nearly 200 Templars died in the Strccts of here that they regrouped to create a new powerbase
i\lansurah. On this occasion the Grand ~fastcr had in the Middle East. But although their great
warned of an ambush but had been O\·cITulcd by financial network continued to function throughout
Robert of Artois: the Order had been honour- Europe, the Templars failed to find any realistic
bound to follo\\ the crusaders to their deaths. military role for the future: beyond a few minor and
In 1256 the Templars and Hospitallers took unsuccessful raids on the Syrian and Egyplian
opposing sides in the fighting between Genoese and coasts, the Order deteriorated illlo bankers and
Venetians in Acre, and killed each other in the money-lenders.
streets at a time when every knight was desperately This deterioration \\ as seized 1I1Xln by those \\ ho
needed to countcr a new threat-the brilliant had for man} years envied the Order its vast
Turkish general Baib.'lrs. Baibars took Caesarea possessions and power. its excmption from royal
and Arsufin 1265, and Antioch in 1268. A ten-year justice and itsovcrbearing pride. Based on the claim
truce followed: but his successor took TripoH in that the Hoi} Land had been lost by the military
128g, despite a gallant defence by Templars and orders, who no longer had a purpose for existence
Hospitallers. Only Acre remained in Christian
hands, and here the last gallant but futile battle was
fought against the ove...."hclming might of the
united Islamic forces. After six \\ceksofbattering by
siege engines a breach was made in the outer wall.
The breach wasSlormed by mamluks, and despite a
magnificelll ...,i,tance the knights were eventually
compelled to \\ithdraw to the inner Iinc of walls.
The final assault came thrcc days later.
The Grand ~Iaster of the Templars died fighting
amongst the roar of burning and collapsing
buildings, but the survivors of the Order managed
to withdraw into their castle at the southern end of
the city and here made a last stand under their
Marshal. Terms were offered, but talks broke down
when a group of Moslems who had been allowed
into the Temple began to assault civilians sheltering
there, and the Templars in obedience to their
vows-cut the Moslems down. A second offer failed
when the Marshal, who left the Temple to
negoliate, was treacherously seized and beheaded.
There remained only onc way out, and every knight
slill capable of standing prepared himsclffor it.
The i\loslcms atlacked the castle with fire-
bombs, catapults and mines. After a week part of
the outer wall finally collapsed and 2,000 i\loslems
charged through the breach. As the final hand-to-
hand struggle began, the weakened foundations
ga\'e way under the weighl of the mass ofstruggling
men; the Temple crashed down, burying the last of
8
since they had failed to take any steps to regain it, a
series of attacks was launched against all military
orders. ,'\Jothing came of tiles<: atlacks ulllil a
renegade Tcmplar, ES<IUiu de Floyrian, laid specinc
charges of blasphem), idolator) and sodomy
against the Tcmplars at thc court of James II of
Aragon. He l'ccein:d a cold reception, but took his
accuS<"1tions to France wherc Philip the Fair
accepted them. The Pope was informed of the
charges in 1305, and .11 the end of the following
year the Grand ~lastcr, Jacques de :\Iola)', was
summoned to Rome. Here the Pope suggested
that the Templars and Hospitallers unite to
fonn one order, and that a new crusade be
launched from Arm('nia and Cyprus. De
:\Iola)', who had spent all his lifc as a Templar
In the i\liddle East, seems to have been
unaware of the charges h'\elled against the Order.
and failed to sec lilt'S(· pnll)()',al, a~ ;1 nwans ofsa\ ing
K ..ill:)n lI_pilall".. i.. ",;Iilary drU»-probably earty 141.h
.,,,..Itlry, 10 jtldll:" rro", the ",i"ltlr" or ",ail and plale.
the T('mplar'S. Hc I'cjected both proposals as
unworkable. When Dc Molay re.:turn('d to Cyprus
in 1307, Philip pressed the charges and the Pope
agrcl'd to an cnquir). On 15 Scpt('mlX'r I>hilip sent
scaled instructions for the seizure of all members of
the Ordt'r and "wir propert) throughout France.
Only '3 Templars cscap('d the coup; the remainder
were thro\\n into prison, \\here all except three
e\'entual!) confessed under torture 10 the char-
ges. The I'ope \\ as pcnH'rlcss in the light of the
confessions, and on 2'2 XO\'cmber issued a bull
commanding Dlher Christian princes to arrest all
Templars in their lands.
Soon, under lhe agonies of the mOSt atrocious
torture, Templars \\cre confessing to homoscx-
ualit), devil \\orship, blasphelll) and corruption.
Yet for four Illore )('ars the Ordl'r struggled to
survj\'{'. In EnglOlnd, Spain. Cyprus and Germany
the Order \\as found innocent of the charges: but in
France the persecution continued. and scores of
Templars who bra\'el) retracted their confessions
when the tonure c('as<--'d wer(' burnt at the stake as
heretics. Finall), in April 1312, Philip succeeded in
having the Ordersupprcssed: ilS great \\eahh \\ as to
be passed to the Knights of St John, for the
continuation of their hospitaller role and their ne\\-
found lla\al operatiolls. It \\as probably 110
coincidence thOlt not OIl(' penny of the Templars'
great \\calth in France c\'cr reaehL'(lthe KnighlSof
St John.
The Knights of 5t John of Jerusalem
After Jerusalem fcll to the crusaders its strcets were
filled with the dead, dying and wounded, and
inevitably there.: followed disease. In about 1°70 a
group of Iller-chan ts from Ihe POrt of Atlla In in Italy
had founded the Hospice of St John the Almoner,
neal' the Chul'ch of the Holy Sepulchre. A hospice
was essentially a pbct, of f('st fol' pilgrims, where
they might obtain food and recovcr from their
travels, and it formed a naltlral part of the main
business of the Amain merchants transportmg
pilgrims to the Holy Land. The hospice was
administered b)' Ikn('diClinc monks and nuns from
Amain. under one Brother G('rard.
Either before or during th(' siege the hospice had
been closed and its staff expelled from the city; but
after the siege Brother Gerard reappeared, and the
crusaders willin~l)' supported him when he set up a
9
 these became known as the Canons of the Holy
Sepulchre ('canon' being an ecclesiastical term
originally applicable to all the clergy or any large
church). Apparentl} crusaderS also swore obedi-
ence to the prior or this Ixxly, and took upon
themselvcs the military duties orguarding the tomb.
The military members arc S<'l.id to have worn white
malllics bearing Ihe r('(1 cross or Jerusalem and
possibly a \\ hite surCoat with a single red cross on it,
and to ha\'e carried into battle a white banner
speckled with rt..>(1 drops to signiry the Hal} Blood.
These \\ere presumabl} not membcrsofthe Order.
but were the first knights to volunteer 10 fight ror the
KraJr. dq Che~....tien., ~;f1"'" to the H"pilaU"rs in I '42, and
Order, The later, truc Knights or St john were
requ.irin5 • pm_n or _ fillhl;nll men 10 IH>ld iL sometimes rererred to as the Knights or Ihe Holy
Sepulchre. and \~ hen King Alfonso or Aragon and
hospital to carc ror the sick. The first ruler or ~a\'arrc died in 113.1 he lert his kingdom to the
jerusalem, Godrre} or Bouillon, recognised the Hospitallers, the Templars and 'the Canons or the
\'aluable \\ork or the monks under Gerard by a &>irt Holy Sepulchre'.
or land, and his example was rollo\\ed b} many In 1130 the Pope ordainl'd that 'the Religion in
others, His successor, Baldwin or Boulogne, also war against the Infidcl shalllX'ar the standard. with
supported the hospital, and when he dercated an the \\ hite cross in a field or red.' Six }'ears later the
Egyptian army hc gave OllC tenth orall the booty to Order \\3$ given the key rortress ofGilxlin by the
the monks ror their good works. This example was king or jerusalem; in '139 Count Raymond II or
copied, and soollthe hospital was recei\-ingso much Tripoli, a eonrrere ortlle Hospitallers, bestowed on
money and land that by I 120. \\ hen Gerard died, it the Order t\\O or his main castles; and in 1142 the
had been able 10 establish a chain or hospiccs and Order rceei\'ed rOllr other castles, ineluding the
hospitals throughout the Hal} Land. great Krak d('S Chevaliers. Slich possessions
In 1 1 '3 Gerard had abandoned the Benedictine demanded troops to garrison them (Krak des
rule ror that or St Augustine, and the I-Iospitallcrs ChC\'aliers alone r('quired a garrison or 200 knights
had been created as an independelll religious order and sergeants to withstand a siege), bUI there arc no
by papal bull. Gerard's successor, Raymond du records or the Order bei ng involved in any mili tary
Puy, extended the original work orthe new Order role at this period, Yel it is inconceivablc that the
until all the main ports or embarkation ror pilgrims rulers in the Holy Land would have handed over
were equipped with a hospital operated by the such important rortrcsses to an orgarusation
Order or St john, I-Iowevel', he also extended the incapable or derending them, We know that in
role or the Order to the protection or pilgrims on the I '57 the Order sent a column to relitve the castle of
route rrom the sea to jerusalem, The Order's Banyas, and in t 168 it contributed 500 knights to
chaner includL>(1 the instruction that it could take the expeditioll to Egypt. It has to be assumed that
up arms in derenee orits hospitals, the Order itselr, sizeable military rorces wcrc available to the Order
or Jerusalem; but this logical extension or the by at least I J 36. B} this datt: there existed the office
Order's duties towards pilgrims was to cause a or ~Iarshal, whose rolc was initially the hiring and
major change in the structure or Ill(' Order itself control or mercenaries to perrorm Ihe milital")
In 1 t26 a Constabl(: or the Ordn is nWlllioned, duties or the Order, but who commanded the
suggesting Ihal Iht're \\ as no\\ soml~ permanent Order's own cOlllingent or 500 knights in I 168. :\'ur
military commitment possibl} invoking hired ed-Din, "tabeg or t\losul. considered the Order's
troops, although no details arc known. However, soldiers sufficientl} rormidable to order the execu,
there is melllioll in other documents or 20 monks tion orthosc captured in 1157: we cannot now teU
being detailed to ~uard the tomb or Christ. and whelher these \\cre members of the Oreler, knil!hls
holding fiefs \\ ith mililar) duties owed to the Order,
or mercenal'lC'S.
In 1179 a papal bull was issued instructing the
Order not to dep."1rt from ils original objectives; and
it was not until after the disastrous battle of Hattin
in 1187 that the Pope recognised the need for their
militar) reM. E\·cn so. he still did nothing to
encourage it: and it was not until 1206 that the
Order's stat lItCS were revised to provide for military
brethren, b) whieh date all the important offices of
the Order were in thc hands of the soldier-brethren
and the :\Iarshal was second in importance only to
the Grand i\laster.
By this date mcmbership of the Order could take
scveral forms. There were brother priests and sisters
ofSt John, who fulfilled Ihe hospilall('J" duties, and
brother knights and sergeants for the military role.
However, the only recognised division up to J 206
was bctwl'cn priests and lay brethren. Confrere
knights were admitted under the sallle system as
described for tile' Templars. In Europe the houses or
'commanelerics' were ruled by commanders, and
these \\crc grouped into provinn"S called 'priories',
ruled b) priors, By the late 12th celllury the priories
had been collected into larger units called 'grand
comrnandcrics', and b) the lat(' 13th (elllury these
had been K"0ulX'd into ",,'\·en 'I.an~lles'. or
'tongues'. The hierarchy of the Order resided in the
I-Ioly Land anel consisled of the Grand Commander
of the Order, the :\1arshal, the I-Iospitallcr, the
Treasurer, the DrapieT quartermaster, and the
Turcopolier.
E\'ery knight \\ as allo\\ed to 0\\ n foUl' hol'Se>, and
he \\as probabl) also permitted t\\O esquires. one to
lead the spare hOI"!>CS, the olher to calT) his lance.
Both esquires \\ere non-combatant and retired to
th(' rcar \\ hen action was imminent. \\ here the)
came under the authority of thl' Gonfanonicr.
Sergeants \\ere permitted two horses. and in 1302
they were allo\\ed an esquire. The rank of :\Iilitaf)
Esquir(', presumably commanding the esquires. was
an important military office by thisdatc, suggcsting
that at least some of the esquircs may now havc had
an actiV(' military role, The sergeants seem to havc
becn fewer in number than the knights, and used
ltss expensive armour.
By the carly 13th centllry the I-Iospitallcrs
rivalled the Templars as a military power, with
perhaps 600 brethren at arms, and clashes between
the twO Orders became more and more frequent. In
1':!16 Antioch was captured b) the Ilospitallers
A .61b~ ..Il.ry porCMI).,,] or t.be r..11 or Acre ;.. '~I, ..-rw ror
t.b.. If1M' or CO$itum.. and "'rn:oo.... lik..ly to b.."., be<ea ...-0.... at t.b..
.;....... or Rbod... (Isn) ...d M.It.. (ts's).
..
o •
,
•
- ; X
"
Tho: lIospic.allo:r c:aStlO:.1 Bodnun (H..l.ic:a...........) .... Lbo: "'nt
"OUI or Aloia Miaor.
from the Templars, hut the city rose III revolt,
expelled the Hospital1ers and confiscated the
Order's possessions in thai state. By 1240 the
diplomatic and political manocuvres of the two
Orders werc aimcd less against the infidel than
against each olher. The situation bcrame so bad,
with Templars and Hospilallcrs killing each other
in the streets of Acre, th;ll in 1258 a Ireaty was
drawn up to govcrn the settlement of quarrels
between them. But it was already too laiC,
The decline had begun with the loss ofJerusalem
in 1243, and gained speed as the century drew to a
close. At Gaza in 124'1 over 300 I-Iospitallcr knights
and their Master were captured. Over the next 25
years Ihe desperate resistances of isolated garrisons
failed to prevcnt stronghold after stronghold from
falling to the i\ loslems. By 127 1 the greawst fortress
in the whole of Christendom, the Krak des
Chevaliers, had faHen forced to surrender for lack
of sufficient men to defend it. Tripoli fell in 128g;
and t\\·o ycars later it was the tlIrn of Acre, called 51
Jean d'Acre after Ihe magnificent Hospitaller
church there. After eight weeks of heroic resistance
Acre fell, and the Hospitallers died to a man,
fighting alongside their former enemies, the
Templars.
Within a year of the fall of Acre the Hospitallers
had established new headquarters on their lands in
Cyprus, with a castle at Colas and the Hospitaller
headquarters at Limassol. The Order had possessed
a Aeet since thc early 13th century, and operations
against the infidels were continued in a small way
by raids on the mainland. These raids consisted of a
landing, the burning of a village or two, and a swift
withdrawal.
The king of Cyprus, n.·membering the great
power of the Orders in the Holy Land due to gifts of
land there. refused to grant the Hospitallers more
land in his kingdom. Unable to grow or to rebuild
its former military power, the Ordcr began to look
elsewhere for ils future. Unlike the Templars, who
had resorted to banking, the I-Iospitallers seem to
havc realised from their first puny seaborne raids
against the Moslems that a milita.oy alternative slill
existed. To survive the)' must change; and being
TlOW an island-based power, they would have to
change from a land power to a naval one. The office
of Admiral first appears in 1301. in reference to a
small fleet raised the previous year. But these would
have been mainly transports used for bringing
troops. pilgrims and stOI"(.'S to and from the Holy
Land. Such vessels would still be required, but.so
would fighting ~hips galleys and galleas.ses and
it is while the Order was on Cyprus that such ships
are first mentioned.
 ..... - ~
Seeking expansion, and seizing on the encroach-
ment of some l\loslems on the Byzantine-owncd
island of Rhodes as an excuse, the Order obtained
permission from the Pope to expel the infidel
intruders. The first major naval operation from
Cyprus was therefore against Rhodes, in 1306. By
the end of 13°7 the l-Iospitallers had takcn an
important stronghold, the fortress of Mount
Phileremos, astride the main ridge of mountains
and less than ten miles south of the cit y of Rhodes.
Pope Clement V issued a confirmation of the
Order's possession of the island in August that year:
'that island ... which you have taken under your
powtTful arm, and which today by Cod's grace you
hold, having driven thence the schismatics [Ihe
original Christian owners I and completely over-
thrown the infidel.'
In fact the cit} of Rhodes was to hold out for
another t\\O years, leaching the l-Iospitallers lhe
great value of the city as a defensible headquarters
and costing them their re"enucs for the next 20
years, against which they obtained a loan from a
\'cnetian money-lender.
., . Jo . ~
... PIlCIIL'I'OR
.... ~
Gra .... Mali,cr1I An,ooy Ft..vian de la Rivi....... ''1'" 37 (arms
Or, a f_s Gutu) in monanic h.hi.; .nd Jolla de l.lIstia, '437 51
{arm" CutPa, a (us A"!;enC) in armour aodjupon. Dra_i"5" of
r"6:J7 based 00 concen.porary paincin5S and 'ape..-tries a,
M.lla. recendy di"covered in ,he V.,ieao.
This discovery of a new military role from their
offshore headquarters, and their 'crusade' against
the infidds on Rhodes, cnsurcd that when the
general reaction set in against the military orders
after the loss of the I-Ioly Land, thc future or thc
I-Iospiwllcl's was not seriollsly threatencd. Instead,
the possessions of the supprcss(:d Tcmplars passed
into their hands. Even this enormous revellue did
not clear their debt, however, for they had
undertakell a vast programme of building, can·
structing massive forti fications on Rhodes as well as
building a fleet of warships and colonising scyeral or
the islands of the Dodccancse. By 1320 the Hospital
owed 500,000 (Iorins to t\\o Italian banking houses.
These clt-bts wcre ('Yentually paid ofr and a credit
cstablished; bUI in 1343 and 13/16 the two banking
houses weill bankrupt, wiping out the HospitalleTS'
credit of some 360.000 florins.
.:\"eYCnhdl....' . Rhode" ;lIld the Order of 5t John
'3
 there. Smyrna remained an important naval base
ror Christian rorct..'S Unlil it rell to the ~Iongols in
14°'2·
In 1365 a 'crusade' was launched by the Cypriots
under Pian: I dt..· Lusignan, and \\as supported by
the Hoopitallers. Art('r an initial success at
Alexandria, the crusade degenerated into an orgy or
looting and destruction. Ne\\ crusades were
launched in 1390 and 1396 but the Order's role in
these was limited to small contingellls or galle)'s-
ror b) now the Order had evolved into a completely
naval power, their attempts to expand their
territory beyond Ihe island orRhodes ha\'ing railed.
Hencerorlh the) were tOlall) preoccupied with lhe
destruction or Turkish shipping along the coast or
Asia ~..tinor.
As the other Christian jX>wers in the castem
:\1(:diterr.lIlean declin<..'d and dis.'lppeared, so the
attention or the Egyptian and Oltoman sultans
began to turn towards the Hospilallers.ln 1435 the
sultan or Egypt, having reduced Cyprus 10 a vassal
state, began 10 prepare a move against Rhodes.
ReinrorcementS or 500 knights \\ere recruited rrom
the West, and in 14-10 the firsl allack by a squadron
orEgy'ptian galleys was decisively dereated. In 14+1-
Grand ~blil r p ..lor.rd'AubusHa., '476 'S03 (a""'lI Or, a eros'" a much larger naval rorce appeared off the island, a
",olin.. GuJ ) rec:ei"ins KniShls HOilpilall ... r u. a .....our and
jUponll. NOI.. mail prolO!C:l;On ror uppor.r a ....... and 10rso, vast army or mamluks was successrully landed and
popular in hal>-ad perhapli in Rbod ..- ' n Ih.. Ial.. '51h the island eompletel) overrun. The city or Rhodes
century becauM i. _II cool ...r 10 wear Ihan pia..,.
was besieged ror 0\'("1' a month berore the Egyptians
were now exccedingly strong, the island being were finally driven ofr by a daring coumer-auack,
ronified and garrison<.'d by about 400 knights. and the invasion was abandoned.
Freed rrom the internal politics which had When Constantinople rell in [453, Rh<xles
hampcred it since the military branch was rormed, became the last outpost orChristianity in the East.
and operating in a theatrc where they were the sole The Ottoman su1t:ln Mohammad II demanded
major power, the Order set nbout the destruction or tribute rrom Rhodes, and received a curt rcrusaL In
the Moslem corsairs who dominated the eastern [480 he arrived with a grc:lt f1ect to sulxlue the
.'vlediterrallcan. To runher stabilise the Order. it island. Arter three months orsiege work and tbn:e
was reorganised in 1331 with the knights or the m~or assaults on the city's defences, [he arrival of
various nntionalities grouped in national Langues, retidships enabled the I-!ospitallers to drive ofl"tbeil'
the balance or power being guaranteed by attackers.
allocating cerwin officcs to each Langue. Tht· final attack on the Hospitallers' stronghold
In 1345 tht, Hospitallcrs had their first significant was launched in 15'2'2 by the sultan Suleiman. The
\·ictory since the capture or Rhodes. The island or Order's Grand Master, Villiers de l'lsle Adam,
Smyrna had Ix-en occupied by the Emir or Aydin in had 600 Hospitallcrs and about 4,500 local
[328, and rrom this i~land the emir's fleet raided as auxiliarit.."S against a Turkish army or some 100,000
rar as Greece, disrupting Christian trade. The men. I-Iowe\'cr, Rhodl"S \\as one or the greatest
Haspitallers contributed six galleys to a papal rorce rortrcsses in the world, equipped with excellent
which attacked the island in 13.t5, and were artillery batteries, and it took Sulciman twO
e\"entllall}' entrusted \\ith the eOlllrol or the port months or siege operations to effect a breach in

'.
 the walls at tbe weakest point the landward
side, garrisoned by the Langucs of Aragon and
England. Over the next three weeks three major
assaults werc made on the breach by fanaucal
Moslem troops, exhibiting a religious fervour
to match that which had enabled the Christian
crusaders to conqucr lhe Holy L.and nearly 300
years earlier. All thrce assaults were beaten
off, though not without considerable loss to
the garrison. Suleiman no\\ dismissed his com-
mander and appoinu.-d in his place an engineer.
CostJ) assaults were replaced by a \\ ar of attrition,
with the island scaled off from reinforcements and
supplies b) a complete blockade. B) 20 December
1522 the Hospitallers were t."l.ccd with two
alternati\'CS: total extermination, or surrender.
Suleiman's terms \\(..r(' gcnerous, and \\crc accep-
ted. After 200 ycars the Order was ••gain homeless.
The Emperor Charles V rcscltled the Order on
the strategic island of~lalta on condition that it also
defended Tripoli in North Africa. This was an
impossible task, but fortunatcl) the liability ended
when Tripoli was taken by the Turks in 155 I after a
gallant struggle by the Hospitaller garrison. In the
meantime the Order had conVertl-d \Ialta into a
great fOrlrl'SS surpassing even its previous
1ft" ";"1':" or Rhod.,. ;n 1480, "howinl! Lb" ,tlad, On Lbe _th-
he.ildquaners, and was no\\ busil) engaged in ea,,1 c:o...." .. or 'h" ....11•. 1ft" b~lh.."" of Lb" Onl",.. orSt John
fighting the corsairs of the Barbal") coast, centred on ....., w"",.rinl! red " .. reo.ts wit.h th" Ord"r', whil" c:........

Algeria. Thc corsairs had Ix-cn seriously hampering

alllVlcditerrancan trade, and evcn carried out raids corsair captains had IX'('n amongst the Christians.
into Italy and Spain; but 200 years of naval warfare In 1565 Suleiman arri\·ed orr).lalta with a ncet of
had created a Christian force more than thccqual of 18o ships and about 30,000 men. The great siege of
the corsairs. Soon the names of the Hospitaller Malta was about to lx-gin. Reinforced by knights
captains were as feared arnonh'St the J\'loslctlls as the from every commandery in EurolX-, the HospitaJ-
lcrs set tled down in thei I' spacious and w('l!·supplied
D"tan of th" wallllof Rh<Ki", ;n 'S<t<t.
fonress to endure the last and most famous siege
of their long history. Therc wcre about 500 knights
BALUAROO DEl. GRAN MAE:5TR{) DEL CARRETTO. of the Order on the island, supported by 4,000
~\'Ialtese levies and some 4,500 other troops,
including mercenarit's. Another 80 knights and 600
other troops managed to slip through the blockade
later, but Sulciman's original force was doubled in
strength as the siege dragged on.
The initial attack was macle at the end of1'llayon

-_--
the fon of St Elmo, guarding the entrance to the

...-
Grand Harbour. After a month of fierce lighung the
fan finally fell; the survivors of the heroic garrison
werc slaughtered, and their mutilated bodies were
noatcd across the harbour. The Hospitallers

'5
retaliated by executing the prisoners they held, and
firing their heads into thc cnl'my camp. Thereafter
the siege became a grim struggle to the death. with
no quarter ~i\'(,11 11\ either ~id('.
On IS J llly 1565 a geller'll assault was launched
b~land and sea. It HI') nearly succeeded. A breach
WilScreated b) mining 011 7 August, and again the
Turks C;IIlll' d;lng('rou~ly dme to ~uccess. On the
Skelch of the port of M"lca in 156:., ~how;lIg the various
defence.. and the sielle wor.... and camps of Su.I"im"n.

'i. "l: .,' ... - . "

0; ~;. ... .. '
'"

.....

• '. MALTA IN 1565.

, "

.... •

..
, ,

<,
 19th and 23rd two more great assaults wen:
launch(·d. but by now the Hospitallers had rcpaired
the breaches. and both assaults \\cre beaten off. On
7 Scpt('mbcr a Spanish army arrhed to relieve the
garrison: the dispirited Turkish arm) \\as allowed
to embark and sail away unmolested. ha\-ing
suffered some :q.ooo casualties. The Hospitallers
had lost 240 knights and somc 6,000 other troops.
The \\('akening of Turkish na\al power at
Lepanto in 1571, and the lack of a \cader of
Sulciman's calibre in succeedin~ )ears, led to the
Orda Ix:coming more and more preoccupied with
its commncial interests as the need for its military
role declined. The fortn.'.SSC'S were slowly turned into
palaccs. and in the 17th ccnturydisscnsion bcganto
arise bet wccn the Spanish and French Langucs. Yet
the final blow did not fall unlil the French
Revolution, when the Order'S estates in Europe
were seized. Deprived of revenues, divided amon&'St
lhl·msdvt.'S, resented by the tax-burdened ivlaltese,
and lacking a strong leader, the Order finally
surrendered ~lalta to Napolooll ill 17gB after a siege
lasting only two days.
The Knights of St Lazarus
This was the third military order to develop in
Jerusalem. and is bc1ie\'cd to ha\e had its origins in
a leper hospital run by Greeks and Armenians
before the First Crusade. It was probably founded
as the separate Order of St Lazarus in the second
decade of the 12th century, although the earliest
mention is circa I 130, when the Hospital of Lepers,
built on the outer face of the northern wall of
Jerusalem, was taken over by Frankish hospitallers
who followed the Augustinian rule. These were
.6Ih.ccnlury brCIIWlplales ",",tonKing 10 KnighlN HONpilaUer
lind be.... ing lh~ ero511 of Ihe Order.
Turkish Cannon baliN of marble, used durin,; the 1480 and 'S""
Ni~,;es of Rhod~li.
possibly members of the Order of 5l John, for
tradition holds that the first Master of the
Hospitallers was also the first Master of the St
Lazarus Order. Certainly the rules of both
Templars and Hospitallers stated that a knight who
caught leprosy must leave the Order and join the
brethren of St Lazarus, who wore a black habit
without insignia.
The new Order had its own church and convent
by 1142, and by 1147 was known as the Leper
Brothers of JeruS<"llem. By t 155 the Order had
houses in Tiberias and Ascalon. and later in Acre
and possibly Caesarea and Beirut. B) the mid-12th
century the Order had also developed a force of
military brethren, but they wert ne\er very
numerous, and the Order remained principally
preoccupied with the hospital1er role. A few non-
ltpn brethren were included in the Order as
knights, <lnd leprous knighL'; almost certainly took
up arms when necessary. There were <llso lay
brethren-sergeants, recruited Irom commoners
sum-ring from leprosy.
A detachmellt of the Order may h,we fought at
Hattin in It87. We know that there was certainly
a contingent at the disastrous battle of Gaza in
1244, where the Order suffered heavy losses.
When Jerusalem fell in 1243 the Order moved its
headquarters 10 Acre, where it had its To\\er of
Laz;:lrus in the northern suburb of ~Iontmus.ard,
and \\ as n:spon"ible for the defence of that area. In
1253 the Order made an ill-fated foray against the
:\Ioslems in Ramleh, and was S<"l\ed from utter
destruction onl) b) the intervention of Louis IX of
,7
 Cistercian rule and became' known as the Knights of
St Thomas Aeon, soon acquired lands in Cyprus,
Sicily, Naples, and latcr CreeC(~; and a headquar-
ters was S('t up in London at the birthplace of
Thomasa Becket, now thesitcofthc ~Ierccrs' Hall,
the ~lcrcers of the Cit) of London having been
patrons of the Order from as carl) as I I go. In 1231
the Bishop of Winchcster bc<lueathed the Order a
large sum ofmone) and encouraged it to follow the
example of the Templars, although the Order
always maintained its hospitaller role.
The Order was always small, most Englishmen
preferring to join the Hospitallers; but nine knights
and the ~Iastcr fought at Acre in 129 I, where thC)
all died. The Order then declined, ahhough it
maintained a commandel) in C) prus during the
14th century. The last kno\\n knight of the Order
was Frater Richard de Tickhill. knighted in 1357 at
the church ofSt Nicholas of the English in :'\ioosia.
A1buto ~hj~ri, • """,hl or Sf Joh... liOO........ mo......,Li"
.... bil in • Cresco paialed (r.• 5O:J 08) by Piaturi"dlio in Siena According 10 Seward the knights wore a white
Catloftlral. Tlo.. wall. or Rhodes .~ ilIuSlnol..... i.a the
badl,5rGuDd or lh.. poo;nlia,;. mantic bearing a red cross on \\ hich was a white
scallop shell the traditional badge of pilgrims.
The Victoria County Histol'Y for Surrey (\'01. IV
Francc. The military brethren fought in the defence p. 26) ar&rucs a more convincing case for a black
of ACTt" in I ~91. \\ hnc all thoSt' present were killed. mamle as would be expected ofa Cistercian order)
The Order moved to Cyprus after the fall of with a 'cross formy per pale argent and gulcs·. In
Acre, but soon abandoned iLS military activities. It 1236 I)ope Crcgory I X gave members of the Order
carried on ils hospilallcr role until about '342', and permission to wear a half-red, half·while cross,
continued a shadowy existence from thell until the divided vcnically, so that they might be distin-
latc Renaissance when it was revived in Savoy and guished from Ihc TClllplars.
France. The French branch The Order of Our
Lad) of ~IOlint Carmel and 5t Lazarus-was
cultivated by Louis X I V as a rival to the Order of
51 John, and by 16g6 the Order had ovcr '4.0
cOlllll1anclt:rics and maintained it small squadron of
11,e Cenllflll Otrla:)
warships to 'fighl the English pirates'. These latLer- The Teutonic Knights
day knights wore a whitt' tunic embroidered with During the Fourth Crusade, al the siege of Acre
an orange and green cross. The Order was finally in Ilgo, a group of Cerman merchants from
suppressed in 1790. Bremen and Lubeck set up a tented hospital on
the shore before lhe city to tend the many wounded
The Hospitallers orSt Thotnas of Canterbury and sick crusaders from the large German
in Acre contingent. Such a step was not unusual, and
\"hen the crusaders besieged Acre in 1 ISg 91. the similar elhnic l'SlablishmenlS had been founded
chaplain of the Dean ofSt Paul's in England began over the) ears for various groups of crusaders who
to nurse the sick and wounded in the besiegers' could not speak Frcnch, including Hungarians and
camp. Aner the capture of the cit) he built a small oriental Christians.
chapel. funded b) Richard I, and founded a The siege of Acre lasted eight months, and by
hospital with nursing brethren for the care of its end the temJX)rary hospital had become a
Engli~hmen. The Drd('r. which followed the permanent institution. The financial support of
,8
Frederick ofSchwabcn and his royal brother HCllry
VI enabled the hospilallers to create a new hospita~
within the city walls. By 1196 the hospitatlers had
scveral branches in the Christian lands, and had
been officially rC'Cognised by the Pope as an
independent (though rather small) Order, follow-
ing the rule of the Order of St John.
The follo\\ ing )ear a large contingent of German
knights arri,-cd in the Holy Land. The earlicst
chronicle of the Order, Dil Slatulm dn Dtuurhm
Ordms, 'Hitlen some )ears later. describes what
happened next:
To man) of the German princes it seemed
useful and noble to 1x-sIOw on the hospital the
Rule of Ihe Templars. For this purpose the
Gennan prelatcs, princes and nobles assem-
bled in Ihe house of the Templars [in Acre]
and ilwitl..-d to sueh a salul<u) gathering some
ofthe available prelates and barons of the Holy
L.·md. One and all dC'CicIL-d unanimously that
Kni&hl of 5, John i.n .rm....r aad jupon., ." p:o.i1Iotftl by
the hospital should follow in regard 10 the poor Puuuricrloio i.n Lh~ frnc:o;a S;~.... CaLhftl....l.
and the sick the Ruleofthe Hospital ofSIJohn
inJerus....lcm as it had done UllIil now; whereas
in regard 10 clergy, knights and other brothers, Hochmeisler and mosl of the Ordcr's military
it should follow hencefonh the Rule of the brethren were killed. A Ile", headquarters was built
Templars. After this decision was taken the north-easl of Acre, the castle of Starkenberg, and
prclalcs and Ihe m.tsters of the Templars the Order continued to participate in all the major
presented the new house wilh the Rule of the military events of the 13th century; but the
Temple and then the) elected there a brother Tcutonic Knights "'cre ncvcr able to bt'Come a
of the house, Henry surnamed \\'alpolo, as powerful military or political force in the Holy
master. The master of the Temple handl..-d to Land, and thus never became..' involved in its
him the written Ruk of the Knights of the disastrous political intrigues.
Tcmple which henccforth had to be followed The Teutonic Order had always maintained a
in the house.' dislinct nalional identity, and this, together wilh ils
By February 1199 Pope IrlllocC:llt had granted inability to expand in the Holy Lmd, had
Ihe n('w military Order ofllcial recognition. By t220 inevitably call~('d it to develop a special connection
the Order had 12 houses in Palestine, Greece, with Germany. Soon after Von Salza became
southern Italy and Germany. Under the High I-Iochmeister in 1210, King Andrew of Hungary
.\laster (J-1ochmeistcr) Herman von Salza, many requestcd thc help of the Order against marauding
rich gifts wcre lavished on the Order until it was in a bands of Kllmans who W(Te..' ravaging the province
position to finance its own crusade, and by about of Transylvania. In return for their help, the king
1230 was c<lpable of fielding SOIllC 600 military promised thc Order the district ofBurzenland. The
brethrell. Howcvcr, in the I-Ioly Land itselfallthe Teutonic Order undt,rtook this 'crusade' al their
important caSlk-s <md lands had alrtady been own expense, and by 1225 had pacified the
granled to the Hospitallers and Templars. and the province and Ix'gun to sct tIc BurLCnland wilh
Teutonic Order there remained small and poor in German colonists. An alarmed King Andre\\
consequence, ha"ing to buy almost all its lands. ordered their eviction. The Order ,\as nol powerful
Initiall) the Order concentrat<:d on Antioch enough to hold their ne\d) \\on land against the
and Tripoli, but in the campaiRn of 1216 the king, and had to wilhdraw; but the campaign had
'9
G.U...... oflheGnoad MalOter ofSt Jol....t Ma.ha. The ....Is-...d
_nOUli Uosi&n.ia ...e...., in Lhe. rflI and ,,·bile. of Lhe. Order, the.
bull blacll wilh &ih dec:onotion.
turned its attention towards Eastcrn Europe.
Church missions had been active in Prussia sincc
the loth ccntury, but the resistance of the Prussians
to cOllYersion had seemed to increase in prolX>rtion
10 the pressure put on them, and in 121 7 the bishop
had had 10 call for crusaders to proteci his converts.
The first Prussian crusade \\ as launched in 122 t.
This provoked a massivc retaliation, and h) 1224
the Polish Duke Conrad of i\lasovia was asking the
Teutonic Knights for help.
Herman von Salza was nOt prepared 10 w'n\llrc
into what would be virtually a new crusade until he
had obtained full approval from both the German
emperor and the Pope. :\or was he willing to risk
the future ofthe Order without some guar.lJltee that
he would nOt be oct rayed again. Negotiations on
these points dragged on for some years.
In t226the Emperor Frederick II paid the Order
a great honour b) making the Hochmeister and all
his successors princes of the German Empire, with
the right to display the imperial eagle onlheir arms
as representatives of the Holy Roman Empire in the
struggle to \\ in new lands and converts. When
Frederick \\ as crowned kill~ ofJerusalem in I ~!29. it
20
was the Teutonic Order which pro\'idcd the guard
of honour in the Holy Sepulchre.
By 1229 the Duke of Masovia had been
compelled to surrcnder all rights to the Kuhn
province 011 the Vistula, south ofCdansk: and both
the Pope and the emperor agreed that the land of
the heathen tribes, the Prusiskai, should be held
fully and freely by the Order, with only nominal
papal suzerainty. Von Salza now had a SCl.:ure base
for a Prussian crusade_
A base for initial operations had already been
established by the building of a castle at Vogelsang
on thc Elbe in 1228, and in 123020 knights and 200
sergeants of the Teutonil.: Orckr, commanded by
Frater Hcrmnnn Balke, began the pacification of
the Kulm prO\·ince. The fighting \\ as ferocious and
merciless, fought O\er an almost impent'trablc
wilderness of sand dunes, lakes, rivers, bogs and
dense dark forests along the shores of thl.: Baltic. In
this gloomy and mysterious world of the heathen
tribes ambushes were the normal way of fighting,
and prisoners were subjected to frightful tOrturcs in
pagan rltcs.
Over the next t\\'o years the ti ny force ofTcll tonic
knights and sergeants systcmatically reduced all
organised resistance. building fortresses as the)'
ad\·anced. burning ever) village thc) encountered.
•
•
and exterminating every man, woman and chitd
who would not accept Christianity. The great castle
ofKulm was built in 1232, i\laricllwcrclcr in ['233,
Thorn in 1'234. and Elbingin 1'237.l\lorcand more
nativcs submitted to the new religion, becoming
serfs of the Order, and sometimes allies in a biller
war against forlllcr rivals. By 1239 the Orcler had
reached the coaSI, anc! had established a network of
• ::
~ .-
L~.:~--.::.....
__=""-_.:...::._ "':''-'--''..:.:.J;'';''~'''';'~-'-:,-,_'_'_.-,,-,~....; j
,6t.b..,.,.uury llaU.,y und.,r oau.
•6Ib-century 8alley under ~ail.
fonfesses from which they could dominate the
whole territory.
Hermann Halkc was IIOW ordered to cominuc his
work in Livonia with 60 knights, and at this time the
Orcler became divided into three distinct branches:
the German branch, \\ hich \\ as concentrated
mainl) in south and south·\\estern Germany,
including Alsacc and possessions in Burgundy; a
.:-..-.,
,._~~-l
__-i
... -:-1
Prussian branch in tht' newly conquered territory,
with its centre at i\larienburg and its own province
commander, called a Landmeister; and the 'new'
pro\'ince of Li"onia, originally pacified by the
Brethren of the Sword (sec below), and of which
Balkt, was made Landmeister. Howeyer. although
the Order was no\\ centred in Ilrussia, it maintained
it:. role in the Holy Land, and the Hochmeisters
normally lived in Acre, so the headquarters of the
Order could be said to have remained there.
Each pro\ ince was divided into houses or
Komturns, each of 12 brothers commanded by a
Aom/ur, Smaller terrilOrial sub-diyisions were
headed by I'ogtsor caretakers. BeIO\\ the H(Khm~is/"
were the officers of the central administration of the
Order: the Cross A"omfur, Ordmsmarschall or Gross·
marschall, Spiulrr (Hospitaller , Trwl" {Treasurer),
and Trapi" (quartermaster:.
22
In 1242 the Livoninll brethren \I'ied to enlarge
their provinct' at the expense of other Christians-
the Russians of the Eastel'll Church and an
expeditionary force crossc.'(\ the River Nan'a and
headed towards Novgoroo. The Order was met by
a Russian army led by Ilrince Alexander Nevsky,
and was brought to baltle on the frozen Lake
Peipus, The icc broke under the weight of the
annour and horses ofthe knights, and most perished
by drowning, or at the hands of the lighter Russian
cavalr)', 'This defeat, which effcctively stopped the
Order'sexpansion north\\ ards, was immortalised in
Eisenstein's classic film Alua,,'" S~l'sky,
In the 5.:'\me fateful year there was a great
Prussian upri~in~, organised by Svantepolle of
Pomerania, a former ally ofthe Order. The uprising
re\·el"S(.'d most of the progress made by the Prussian
brethren over the past 12 years; some of the smaller
castles "ere lost, and it took them scven years to
suppress the Prussians oncc again,
The Li\'onian and I}russian brethren Ihen set out
to conquer the eoastallands which divided them
Samland and Courland. A !-.rrc3t crusade in 1253 led
to the founding of Konigsberg, and a series of
military and political successes led to the total
occupation of Samland by 1260. But in that same
year the natin"s, by a scrit'S of lueky accidellls,
managed to kill a great number of the Order at the
battle of Durben. The neighbouring Lithuanians at
onn' repudiated their alliance with the Order: the
Prussian tribes rebelled again; and 20 years' work
was undone almost overnight. Only massive help
rrom olltside (the Pope issued 22 bulls calling for
crusaders between 126, alld 1264) saved the Order,
By 1272 the tide had begun to lurn once more; the
strength of the Order grew again, until by the late
1270S it could field 2,000 military brethren, and by
1290 the last vestiges of rebellion had been crushed.
But by this date the !{reat age of crusading zeal. or
conquest and conversion, was over.
In the Holy Land the castle ofSmrkcnbcrg had
bcen lost ill 1'171,and with the fall of Acre in 1291
the Teutonic Knights moved their headquarters to
Venice, In 1308, b) which date it had become
obvious that there "as no longer any hope of
regaining a foothold in the Holy Land, an attempt
was made to SUppl'CSS the Order on the grounds of
cruelty and witchcraft.
Similar accusations, inspired by the persecution
Armour worn b,. V;n.,,,mr.o Cappon; (.54.) ,..). • knighl of
Malta, who foughl in Ih" 5;"'5e of 'S'S- (Courte5" Ihe CaPPO";
Colleclion)
of the Templars, were h~,'elled againsl mhe!"
military orders in an allempt to find a scapegoat for
the loss of the Holy Land, The Teutonic Order
solved the problem by concentrating its eflorls and
offices in its eastern lands, where crusadcs could still
be carried oul with official blessing, and where the
Order was secure in the remote vastness of its own
territories. In September 1309 the Hochmcisler and
other leading officers of the Order entered
~Iarienburg, henceforth to be the headquarters of
the Order. The office of the Prussian Landmcisler
was taken o,er by the Hochnll'istcr.
In about 1310 Ihe kingdom of Lithuania was
revived under the leadership ofGedymin, and from
lhen onwards the Lithuanian kings wcrc thc chief
enemies of the Order, being nOI only thc last
heathens in the region but also actively pursuing a
course of conquest. In Ihe first thrce-<Iuaners of
o..uoil or Ihe Ord"r'• .,rou on the br"a1llplat" of Ih" Cappon;
arn.our. (COurl....,. Ih" c.pponi Collection)
the 14th centul) the Order launched some 80
expeditions against the Lithuanians, sometimes
waging as many as eight campaigns in one rear.
These werc fought o\'er terrain similar to that of
Prussia: swamps, dense forcsls, sand dUlles, rivers
and lakes. Oftell unable to act as cavalry because of
the dreadful terrain, the knights marched on foot
through the gloomy forcsts, or used ooalS and rafts
10 carry Ihem across the lakes and misty swamps,
The Order's milital) reputation reached its peak
during Ihis period, and for generations the highest
praise thai could be given to a Christian nobleman
was Ihat he had become a knight in Prussia. The
greatcsi and noblcst knights of the age, such as the
Frenchman .Jean Boucicaut, rode with the Order
against the Lithuanian pagans, as did Henry
80lingbrokc (Earl of Derby and later Hellry IV of
England), King Louis of Hungar), and KingJohn
of Bohemia.
23
 However, the expansion and grea t strength of the enemies of the Order Poles, Lithuanians, Russ·
Order created jealous t'lIcmies. The two great ians, Bohcmians (under Ziska), Hungarians and
Catholic monarchies ofeastt'rn Europe, Poland and even Tartars and Cossacks and invaded the
Hungary, allicd themsclvcs in an attempt to curtail Order's territory in july 1410. The Hochmeister
the power of the Order; but their intrigues with the decided to strike as quickly as possible, without
Lithuanians had little effect until 1380, when the waiting for the Livonian brcthrt'n, and immediate!}
Grand Duke of Lithuania married the queen- marched lowards the cllemy. The two armies met
regnant of Poland. In olle stroke the I)oles had on the wooded, rolling hills of the Grunwald, or
accomplished b) diplomac)' what 75 )ears of Tannenbcrg.jagiello·s army was encamped in the
campaigning by the Order had failed to achieve- fort.'St itsclr, thus denring the Order its strongest
for the terms of thc marriage scltlement included tactic-the mounted charge of its knights. The
the acceptance of Christianit} by the Lithuanian Hochmeister therefore deployed for a defensive
people. engagement and waitf.-d for the enemy to attack,
With its offieial ra;Jon tfltu removed, the Order rclring on his numerous crossbo\\ men and archers
inevitabl} began 10 decline. B} 1400 the number of to halt any assault.
military brethren had fallen to 1,600. i\leddling When the allied anny began its attack the
in the inlemal po\\er struggles of the new Polish· Order's crossbo\\men and archers did succeed in
Lithuanian state did not endear them to their putting to night the Lithuanians on one wing, but
former enemies, and soon a series of allegiances and the ccntre and the olher wing came on, and a major
treacheries led to a number of skirmishes and struggle ensued. The triumphant pursuers of the
eventually to war. Lithuanians wercchecked by Russian cavalr}' and a
jagiello (Ladislos II) of Lithuania mobilised an Polish reserve, and for sollle time there was no
army of about 10,000 troops, including all the advantage to either side. Then the Hochmeister led
his remaining reserve in an attempt to pierce the
EffiSl' oCDon J...... Rui~ de Versara, ProdO.. or the L:lo.Dpe or
Castil., C....m '573> C....m hi. tomb ... th .. old cathedral or Polish line. He failed; he and the other leading
Valladolid. NOl .. ,-eO")' la~ .. eiSbl-poi..led C ..01I.. oftb., Ord.... 0 .. officers of the Order were surrounded and killed,
bi.. b~"l: Ihi" _a tb., ..i_ oC cro... pr.,C.,r..m ... t.b., Ord.,r in
II.., mid-15th to .6tb c:c.. luri.... and after a brief struggle the rest of his army broke

2.
I; Knight 1l000pitaller. 12th-13th C
2:Turcopole.12th-13IhC
3; Fool -.oldier. 12th-13th C

A
 I: Knight Templar, c.ll50
2: Pilgrim, 12th-14thC
3: Knight Temlllllr, late 13th C

-
B
 3

I: Teutonic Knight, <:.1230

2: Teutonic Knight, <:.1300
3: Sergeant. Teutonic Order.
c.1230

c
 I: Knight OrSl1Jllillgo. 13th C
2: Frey Martin Vuquez de Arce, died 1486
3: Frey Don Alvaro de Luna. c.14Ml

D
I: Knight Ho.pitaller. early 14th C
2: Knight Ho.pltaller. c. 1~30
3: Knight HOlpitaller. mid-16th C

..,

E
 1: Hoehmei.tcr of the Teulonie Order.
mid-15th C
2: Fr. Petru. "on Oil.ixIrg. <:.1330
3: Fr. Kuno von Lieben'le)'n,
died 1391

F
Muter and two Iuligbu or
the Order orSt John. 1480

G
 2

- /

3 I: Sir Thomas Docwra, c.lIH6

2: Philip de I'flle Adam, c.1626
3: Knight orMalta (51 John), 17th C

H
and fled, leaving some 200 of the Order's knights
dead on the field. Many others were captured and
subsequently tortul'ed and beheaded.
The Order never recovered its fonner military
strength, and was compelled to avoid outright
battle in the wars which followl'd, concluding
disadvantagcous peace agreements in both 1422
and 1435. ~Iaricnbllrg had to be abandoned in
1457, and in 1466 \Vest I)russia was surrendered to
the Polish king. The Order mo\cd its headquarters
to Konigsberg. The decline continued, and in 1525
the Hochmcister had to sign the Trcaty of Cracow,
\\ hereby Prussia was henceforth held only as a
hereditary duchy from the king of Poland.
The Order fought for the Emperor Charles V
during the religious \\ars of the Schmalkaldic
League. 15-16-47, and the Landmeister of Li\'onia
remained inde)X'ndcnt until 155g-60. when h'an
the Terrible invaded the province with an army of
130,0<Xl men. Now 2,0<Xl strong, the Orcler was also
confronll'd b) a rising of the Estonian )X'asantry.
Fortress aner fortress fell. At Weisscnstein in 1562 a
force of only 2,000 men managed to beat off a
Russian arm) of 30,000: but the Ordmsland was
falling apart. The Swedes occupi<..'d nonhern
Estonia, the Danes seized the oflShore islands, and
the Landmcisler was forced to cede all the Order's
territori<.·s in Poland.
The Order survived in Cermany, and e\en more
so in Austria, under a master now called the Hoch-
und-Deutsehmeister. At the siege of Vienna in 1683
the Order \\a" ,thle to pro\'idc a full regimellt, which
proved a mainMay ofthedefence; and from 16g5 the
Order's re\enues \\ere used to finance the Hoch-
und-DeulSChmeister Regiment in the fighl against
the Turks. The Order's last great battle \\as at
Zenta in 16g7, \\ hen PrinC'(' Eugene of 5a\0)
practically annihilated a major Turki"h invasion
of Hungar) the lasl serious Turkish threat to that
count!) .
The Austrian Hoch-und-Deutsehmeister Regi-
mCIll sUfyi\"ed to fighl in Ixnh World Wars. but the
only real mililar) r6le played b) the Order ilSelf
aCler 16g7 la) in the indi\'idual prowess of ilS
officers, now limited to 20 nobles \...ho were always
officers in the German Army. These included men
Malia in the time orGraDd Master Vnhena, '72" :J6.
 Although eventually possessing '3 com-
.
0
'". 100 mI.
<}' ESTONIA ~ ...
manderies, the Order was never able to build up
that network of rich possessions and powerful
'9 • Fellon Pe'PlJS
patrons which would have enabled them to become

(/ tDURlAN
-Wenden
RIga
• Pskov a strong military and political power, able to
survh'e even the "orst setbacks. Almost all the
Order's lands lay in newly conquered territory. one-
SlIlUIoIl'· LIVONIA
third of which was always given to them for their
services, and therefore the revenues from these lands

SAMAITEN
"'~ were rarely large. ~Iorcover, any military defeat
RUSSIA usually resulted in the loss of these lands, and the
loss of revenuc from them, as well as the deaths of
knights who wcre diflicult to replace.

z
• Xcverthelcss. for the first ten years the Order was
••
•-
Kulm
~";, -Thorn
c
~ , MAZOIlU. POLAND
Th~ la...& "'vadm aad occup;m by the Teulon.i" Ordn".
such as the master Archduke Karl, Napoleon's
great adversary; CoUllt ~Iaxintilian von MeTveldt,
who fought against the French in the Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars with greal disLincLion; the
)., Iaster Archduke Eugcn. who played an important
pari in the victory of CaporclIo in 1917; and,
perhaps, the 12 brelllrcil who were hanged in July
1944 after the plm to assassinate Hitler had failed.
The Brethren of the Sword
Cistercian missionaries had been active in Livonia
from about I t 50, but despite a crusade in I 171-76
the Church was unable to make any feal progress
in the province. In 120 I Albrecht von Buxhovden
led a large expedition which proved successful, and
was able lO found the cit y of Riga. Buxhovden was
made bishop of Riga, and either be or his colonists
founded in about 1202 a military order, Frotr(j
Mili/ioe Christi, for the defence of the colony. A
Cistercian order, the knights came to be known as
the Brethren of the Sword both from their military
role and from the sword badge worn on their
clothing.
In their first year there were perhaps only ten
knights, but within two years this number had
increased to :;0, with 100 serving brothers, and
fortresses established at \\'cnden and Fellin. ~lost of
the knights came from a small area of central
Germany.
26
successful, and its only real setbacks were the
rebellions of 12 12 in Lat\'ia and of 1223 in Estonia,
when a third of the Order's members were slain. By
1226 the Order was in control of two-thirds of
Li\·onia.
A new crusading anny arrived at Riga III
September 1236. The Hochmeister, knowing the
country ancl the enemy, advised the newcomers to
wait for winter. This must have sccmed strange
advice to men accustomed to campaigning in spring
and summer, but in this part of Europe campaigns
were nann ally fOllght in the winter because only
then were the marshes made passable by freezing
over. The crUS<lders rejected the advice, and the
Hochmeistcr was honour bound to support their
campaign. Incvitably the crusaders were am-
bushl.-d, and trapped 011 a marshy island at Siauliai
in Courland by the Lithuanians. Deprived oftlleir
most eflcctivc weapon thc mounted charge-the
crusaders suffered a sevcrc dcfeat in which half the
Sword Brethren pcrished.
Surviving membcrs of the Ordcr, together with
the rcmaining lands in COllrland and Estonia, wcrc
amalgamated with the Tcutonic Order in 1237-39
uncleI' the first Landmeister of Livonia, Hermann
Balke. Even so, the brethrcn managcd to maintain
their separate idcntity, aidcd by the isolation of the
Li\'onian province; and until com para lively re·
cently historians believed that the two Orders had
remained separate duc to the independent actions
and survival of the Livonian branch after
Tanncnburg.

oJ/JfIlli..I!1 J/li/ilfll]' Orders
l\lililary orders aplx'afl'd rather lale in Spain,
considering that the ruollquista began in the I I th
cellt ur) 1 but Il('\cnhdcss their contingents added a
vilal and po\\crful core of professional troops to the
crusader armi('S of Spain and Portugal.
The Hospilallcrs acquired their first foothold in
Co"nod of Thurins'a, G.,."d Ma"lrr of I..b~ T"ulo"ic Order
.239 1', from hi. lon,bIolo"".
.,........,.-.•
.}
! the fortress to anyone who was prepared to hold it,
Catalonia in t 143, and the TClllplars were well
established in Spain by 1146. Both were generously
supported by the Spanish kings, who anticipated
military aid by way of return. But neither of these
t\\O great Orders was \\ iltillg 10 commit itself to the
wars in Spain: the} sa\\ their major role in the Holy
Land, and it was for this r('ason that eventually the
purdy Spanish and Portuguese military orders
ar()';(".
It is thought that the earliest of these 'Orders'
were no more than associations orknightsdefending
small frontier stations dba/s. Such brotherhoods of
knights \\ere not uncommon, as we have seen in the
Holy Land, but usually the) \\ere of a temporary
nature. The first such brotherhood of knights to
become established as a pcnnanent force in Spain
was that known as:
The Knights of Calatrava
The Templars had been granted the royal
fonress ofCalatra\ a, on \\hal was then the frontier
with Islam, in 1147. Ten years later they
abandoned it on the grounds that it was
indefensible, leaving the road to Toledo wide open
to attack. I n desperation, Sancho of Castile o£lered
with suflicient territory to maintain the costs of its
defence, A Cistercian abbot from Navarre. Ramon
Sierra of Fitero, came forward; and he and his
monks were transferred to Calatrava, where the)
werejoined by many Navarresc soldiers. By the end
of I [58 they had cleared the region of raiders.
When Ramon died in I [64 the monks returned
to Fitcro, leaving the castle to be held by the
knights. The new master, Don Garcia, swore to
observe the Cistercian rule; priests were recruited to
serve as chaplains, and that same year the Order
was recognised by the Pope.
In I [79 a commandery was founded at Alcaniz
in Aragon to fight the ~doors of Valencia, and this
later became one of the Order's greatest houses. In
1195, at the battle of Alarcos, King Alfonso VIII
of Castile was defeated by thc Moors; somc 25.lX)()
Castillians were killed or captured, among them
many of the brethren of Calatrava. The :\Ioors
advanced slo\\ly north" ards, and within two years
Calatrava itself had been lost. A new headquarters
was set up at Salvatierra, and the knights no\\
called themsehcs the Knights of Sah-aticrra,
27

----- --
'-,
The Teutomc Ord"r'1I C(lmm...dery III Rhfl:l".., W_I Pru.... ia"
... il appeued in the Iale 13th century.
This headquarters also had to be evacuated in
I '21 I, but in the following year Calalrava was
retaken. The Masters of the Order then COll-
centrated on the Order's position in Castile,
disposing oflhei .. lands in the other kingdoms, until
the Order was in COlltrol of Castile from Toledo to
the Sierra Nevada. Headquarters wcre then moved
to Calalravn In Nueva in the Sierra de Alnlayo, as
the original Cortress at Calatrava had lost ils
strategic importance. The Order was now one ortlle
most wealthy and powerflll bodies in the kingdom,
providing ilS only standing army, and this created
conflict with the king. From I '254 the king look part
in the e!t:ction orthe Order's officers, and by 1476
the crown had begun to control the Order. When
the i\laster died in 1487, no new ~Iaster was
appoillled. By 149-1 members or the Order were
allowed to marry, and it had lost both its original
form and its original purpose.
~Iembers or the Order originally wore a hooded
28
-
----===.--
---
white mamlc, that Orllle CQbalL~ros being shortened
for riding. On active service a long sleevelesssurcoat
was worn, and sometimes a rur-lined cloak. There
was no insignia, but the kniglus' armour was always
black. In 1397 the Order adopted a red cross
lIlsigllla originally a cross f1ClIfy, but the 'leaves' or
the f1cur-de-lis were later bent baek until they
lOuehed the 'stem' to rorm an M for 'Maria', i.e.
more like a cross flory. From about [400 onwards
the knights wore a shan dark grey or black tunic
with the fed cross on the lert breast, but all
brethren still wore the white mantle in the cloisters.
The Knights of Santiago
Some time afLCr [ 158, when the Moorish threat was
at its height, a small band of 13 knights operating
near Caceres in Castile offered their services to the
Canons of St Eloi in Leon ror the protection of
pilgrims travelling to the shrine of St James at
Compostella. In about t 16.J. these Knights of
caceres were given the Castillian fromier lOwn of
Ucles to defend. By 1171 there were clerics as well as
knights following Ihe Augustinian rule, and in 1175
the brothcrhood was recognised by Ihe Pope as a
new Order. Thc rule was adaplcd from Ihose ofSI
Augustine and the Templars, with the lay brcthrcn
divided into knights and foot soldiers, and thc
Order was governed by a ~Iasler and a council,
undcr Ihe general supe~'ision of the Pope.
The Knights of Santiago wcrc Ihe mOSt
unonhodox of Ihe religious mililary orders in that
they were, slriclly speaking, nOI a monastic order.
Although Ihe brelhren livcd in communities in Iheir
castles and werc inspired by religiolls fervour, Ihe
knights were allowed to marry and to havc personal
possessions c;:meelling two of Ihe three monastic
vows. This seems 10 have been a special privilege
gramed by Ihe Pope. However, on tbe death of a
knight all his wealth was inherited by Ihe Order,
which then became responsible for the care of his
family. The Order's prime role was always the
military one, ,md its knights rendered valuable
service in the unceasing frontier wars of the Order's
early years their commitment extending so far as
to ignore royal truces with the Moors, which they
did not recognise as binding on their Order.
The Order grew rapidly in the nexi decade, and
acq uired lands in France, Italy, Palestine, Ii ungary
and England. Headquaners were established at
i\lonlalban in Aragon. Among Ihe Order's
acquisitions was a caslle at Palme1a in Portugal,
which became a commandery (rncomimda and
recruited Ilonugucsc knights. By 1287 Ihe knights
at this mcomimda had formed themselves into a
separale Order, Sao Thiago, with Iheir own
Man",bu~ (.. ow 1'o1aIOO.... C..c1~) besid~ tlt~ Rinr Nopot u.
Pola.. d, built r.• ,.J6 .ad h_dqWlor1~ or 110., Teutonic: Ord.,r
from 'J119- Th..i......p6c:enl buildi"lII ...... ~"Iored ... the .gch
a:... ury, bu. redu<:ftl to ....;n" durinlll Lh., SecoDd World War.
~laslcr, although their indcpendcllI idenul) was
not recognised b) Ihe Pope until 1317.
By the mid-13th eenlury Ihe Order's fame was
such Ihal it was promised large lands in Asia 1\linor
if it could send knights to fight for Baldwin of
Conslantinople, but Ihe Order was nOI numerous
enough to lake up the oller. By this date the Order
insisled on noble birth for anyone wishing 10 cnter
as a knight: Ihis increase in nobility within the
Order led to a much closer connection with the
royal courl, and a corresponding increase in royal
illlerCSI in ils activities. From 1254 the king
expected to have a sa y in the election ofofficers, and
by 1275 he was promoting his OW1l favourites to the
post of Master. In 1342 the king's gifl of the
mastersbip to his seven-year-old bastard led 10
protesls frolll, amongst others, the i\lasler of
Alcantara, who was besieged in his castle and
beheaded. Shonly afterwards the Master of
Calatrava was assassinated by P<:dro the Cruel for
plouing against lhe king's favourile,
The last flowering or the rtConquista led to a revival
of the old crusading spirit, and the Order's
ConSlable Alvaro de Luna (~Iasterfrom 1445 won
a greal \;Clor)' at Higucra in 1431. Significantly. he
was execuled after a palace rc\'olution in 1453.
From 1485 the mastership of the Order was
reservccl for thc crown.
'9
The .,."Lle and co,·e.red brid!e 10 I.he ...,wa!e lower .1
Marirowudu (DOW KwidltYD) in Poland, buill by lhe. Teutonic
Kni5hl5 rron,,.I~ onwards.
The Evora and Aviz Orders
Asearlyas I 162 a small group of Portuguese knights
known as the Brethren of Santa ~'I!aria was
guarding the open plains of the Alcmtejo province.
In It70 they obtained from King Alfonso an
fflcomienda at Evora, 100 miles south-cast of Lisbon,
and adopted the Benedictine rule. The Order was
too weak to maintain the encomie1/da, however, and
E\'ora was handed over to the Templars, the
Knights of Evora then coming under the jurisdic·
lion of the Order of Calatrava.
After the i\loorish invasion of Portugal in 1190
many nuomimdas \\ cre built north of the Tagus, and
in I'll 1 Alfonso II ga\'c the Order lhe lawn ofA\"iz.
The brethren then took Ihe name the Knights of
A\-iz.
In 1218 the Order of Calatra\'a gaw all its
Portuguese pro(X'rI) (0 thl' Knights of Adz. and
3°
from then on, although still tht'Ol·ctieally pari of the
Order ofCal:llrava, the Knights of Aviz became an
independent ordcr once more. The Order declined
during the 15th century, and in 1496 its brethren
were given permission LO marry.
Details of the mantic worn by the Order arc not
known, but being under the Benedictine rule it
would presumably haw I)('(:n black. Alfonso IV
obtained papal permission for the Order to weaf a
green cross early in the 14th century.
The Knights of St Julian and Alcantara
In about ( 166 a small groupofknighls known as the
KnighlS of San J lilian de Pereira was operating on
the fromier of Leon and Castilc. In 1176 they were
granted lands by Ferdinand II of Li'On, and were
recognised as a religious order by the Pope in I 183.
In I 187 the Order, needing Ihe support ofa more
powerful bod). placed ilsdfllndcr Ihejurisdiction of
the Knights of Calalra\'a. although it rClained its
0\\11 de('uod Prior. In 1117 ,\Ifonso of Leon ga\'e
Alcantara 10 the Knights of Calatrava, but the
following year tbis Order ceded the town and all its
other possessions in Leon to the Order ofStJulian,
which was then I'cnamed the Order of the Knights
of Alcantara. By t234 the Ordcr could muster 600
knights and 2,000 foot soldiers.
Like the other Spanish orders, Alcantara was
gradually taken over by the Crown, and its last
:\Iaster died in 149.1.
The cabal/nos and dtngos of the Order wore a
plain black habit without insignia, but by about
1400 began to usc a green cross fleury, in which the
leavcs of the fleur-de-lis curved back to touch the
stcm, as in the cross of the Knights of Calatrava.

The Knights of Our Lady of Montjoie

This Order \\ as founded circa 1 176 in the Holy Land
by a Spaniard, CoUllt Rodrigo, a former knight of
Santiago. Rodrigo gave the Order lands in Castile
and Aragon, and the king of Jerusalem gave the
knights several towers to garrison in i\scalon. The
Order's headquarters were at ~lontioie, a castle on
a hill outsideJerus..'llem. The Order was recognised
b) the Pope in I lBo, and followed the Cistercian
rule. It was intended to be an international order,
but had difficulty in attracting recruits, and
remained almosl entirely Spanish. The knights
wore a white habit with a red and white cross, the
form of which is unknown.
A small detachment represented the Order at
Hattin, and died there to a man. The survivors of
the Order arc supposed to have retired to Aragon,
but at least a handful appear to have remained in
the Holy Land, joining the Templars. [n Aragon
the Order became known as the Order of Trufac,
bUI in 1221 Fernando of Aragon ordered it to be
incorporatcd with the Knights ofCalatrava.
The Mercedarians
This was an Aragonesc order founded in 1233 by a
Provcllf~al nobleman., Perc Nolasco, to ransom
penniless Christian sl"\'(:5. This role led 10 their also
rescuing slaves and pilgrims by force where possible,
and the Order soon became a military one, the
clerics not regaining prominence until drca 1317
sec also Montesa).
The Order was never \'ery numerous, and was
able to field only small contingents of knights. They
wore a \\ hite habit, and had a small shield bearing
.
Fron"'''' or .", edi •. ;o.. or ChMu:lt -rP'nnJi. by Fra. P~rus ~'o"
OU",bu"", (c.I330)."ho..·" iA mOllll!JIoC h"bi. on th.. ri&bt. 0 .. ,b..
Icr, ill th .. Hochmnll.....r .·ra. W........r "on O ...... t.... (Ip.f JO)
s ..o..... ill "rmour or ,b.. lat... "h C<I''''ury.
Ihe royal arms of Aragon on a neck chain.
The Knights of 5t George of AlfaDl.a
This Spanish order was founded in Aragon Circa
1200, and followed the Augustinian rule. The
Order does not seem to have lhrived, or to have
accomplished much, yet was nOt taken under the
control of lhe Molltcsa Order (sec below) until
1400. The brethren wore a white habit but do not
seem to have used an insignia until tbe union with
MOlllesa, when they adopted the cross of that
Order.
The Knights of Christ
The dissolution of the Templars in 13t2 led King
Dinis of Portugal to create this order in 1318 to
prevent the Order of 5t John from becoming too
powerful in his kingdom. By 132 I the new order had
6g knights, nine chaplains, and six sergeants. Henri
the Navigalor became ~Iaster of Ihe Order al the
beginning of the 15th century; during his reign of
office the Ordercmplo)'ed the foremost geographers
3'
 Tlle lto/ifll/ Orr/en
The Order of St JalDes of Altopasdo
This order, commonly known as lhe Order of lhe
Tau from ilS insignia, is considered by some aUlhors
lO be the oldest of all military orders, yet it has been
ignored by English wrilers until no\\. Around the
mid-loth century a hospital was founded at
Ahopascio ncar Lucc.a by some Augustinian monks
wilh the intention of giving assiSlance to pilgrims
making Iheir way by this rOllte to Rome or Santiago
de Compostella. The first document mentioning
this hospital datcs back to the year 952. The next
document is dated 1056, by which time the Order
had dr facto become military. for the monks had
begun 10 pro\-ide an armed escort for the passage of
pilgrims along the sull llncivilised route between
Froae;lI or et." rul" or c.b" Ord".. or Sane"'!o, ill.. ~er:lltiaA: c.b"
" " - i.oo.§i!.... orebe Ord"... (Coun"y c.b" Cappolli Collectioa) Lucca and Genoa. Ho\\ever, the main role of the
Order remained non-milit31)'. The rule of the
or the day, and iu ships carried out expediuons Order was not approved by the Pope unul 1239, by
which were halr-missional) and haJr<ommerciaL which date the concept of milital) orders was well
Uy 14'25 the Order had colonised i\ladeira and the cstablished.
Canaries; in 1445 it settled the Azores, and carried Olher hospilals were built in variOllS parts of
out a systematic exploration or the west coast or Europe, including France and England (a ·Hospital
Arrica. Vasco dOl Gama \\.ts a knight of the Order of Highgate' a translation of Ahopasso, later
when in 1499 he saikd to India via the Cape of corrupted to Altopascio still existed at Islington in
Good Hope. 1626) blll the Order was never vcry numerous or
However, by the first quane-rofthe ,6th century widely dislributed. The waning of reli~riolls fervour
the Order had so declined that the brethren were and of pilgrimage 1«1 10 its decline.
allowed to marry. and had also shed their \'OW of From 1146 to '537 tbe mastcrship (Rector CI
powrty. ~lagister) was in the hands of the Capponi family of
The knighLS wore a white mantle or cloak with a Florence, patrons of tbe Or·der. In '537 the
·red cross with a white twist in the middle', which patronage and mastership passed to the Griloni
has also been translated as 'a double cross of rcd and family after a dispute with Pope Paul III, who
silvcr'. excommunicaled the lasl Capponi Masler for
refusing to relinquish the office to one of the Pope's
The Knights of Our Lady of Montesa nephews. In 1585 the Order was absorbed by the
This was an Aragonese order founded circa 1326 to Knighu ofSt Stcphcn of Tuscany on th'e command
take the place oflhe dissolved Templars. The Order of lhe Grand Duke Cosimo dc'~·ledici.
took ils name from its headquarlers in Valencia, The Knights of the Tau worc a habit of either
and at first was mainly formed from knights from very dark grey or black. The while truncated or
the Order of Calalrava, and some ~Iercedarians 'lOlli' cross insignia oftbe Order was worn on the left
whose Order had now ecased to be a military onc. breast. The hood of Ihe habit was probably red,
The \\ hite manlle of Calatrava was retained, but again with a whitc 'tau' cross.
with a black cross. When the Order was merged
with lhal of Sl Ceorge of Alfama circa 1400 it The Knights of San Stefano of Tuscany
appears to have adopted a red cross as an insignia. This Order was founded in 1561 by the Grand
The last ~Iaster died in '5Sg. Duke Cosimo de'~ledici of Tuscany to suppress

3'
corsairs. The Order followcd the Benedictine rule,
with the Grand Dukes as patrons and i\lasters.
There \,·erc fOlIr claSSf..'S of brethren: knights-who
had to be of noble blood; chaplains; scrving
brethren; and cannoncsscs. TIl(" Order's headquar-
ters, eonsistingofa ehUl'eh and convcnt, wcrc built
at Pisa.
The Order's gallcy~ co-opcrated \\ ith those ofthc
Knights of .\lalla in patrolling thc ~Iediterrancan,
and 12 gallc)'S ofthc Order fought at the dccisi\·c
battle of Lcpalllo in 1571 when the Turks finally
losl control of Ihe f\lediterranean.
The knights wore a white elo.... k lined in pale red.
with a red, gold-cdged ~Ialtcse cross on the left
breast. The serving brelhren \\ore a white eloak or
lunic wilh a plain red cross: the chaplains, whjte
with a red cross edged with yellow.
Effi", of Frty Ma.rt.in Vasq .. n de Aree nf th.. Ord..r of
Santiap;o, killed befort Gnlllada iD '486. Fro... hi.. lo... b in tbe
cathedral a' Sip;.... n.za... No... dl....... ntl.. with " ...ural tJpaM
iDsipia oflb.. Order, aDd Ib.. ,UI.. of scate armo.. r ev.... OIl Lh.is
la,e da,e.
Sources
R. Barber, 7/11' A-niglt/ alld Chit'al1)' (London, 1970)
T. S. R. Boase, A'ingdoms and strongltolds qf tIlL
Crusadns (London, 1971)
E. Bradford, Thr Sltirld alld Ih~ Sword: lh~ Anights of
.Ilalta (London, (972)
Rev. E. L. CUtiS, &mu alld characlm qf th~ Midd/~
Jlgrs London, IBgo
Lt.CoI. G. R. Gayre, Tht Iinaldf)'ojtht Anigh/sojSt
John I t\lIahabad, 1956
H. W. Koch, A /listory of Prussia London, 1978
D. W. Lomax, TI" Ruonquista of Spain London,
1978
J. Prawer, Th~ LA/in Kingdom qf JmJSolnn London,
197 2
J. Prawer, Th~ II 'orldofthtCrwadm London, 1972
J. Riley-Smilh, TIlL iI'"ightsofS/ John inJousalonond
C]/Jrus. IOjO-I310 London, 1967
R. Rudorfl~ Tht iI-nigh/s and tht-ir World London,
1974
33
D. Seward, TIlt Monks oj War (London, 1972) lurcopolcs sometimes rode in the second rank of a
R. C. Smail, Crusading Waifou 1097 1193 (Cam- cavalry formation to support the knights, although
bridge, '956) this was not their main role.
H. von. TrcilSchke (trans Paul), Origins of
Prussianism: /hi Ttlltoni, KnighlJ (London, Effi5}' of DoD Alvaro de Lu...., MalOler of Santiaso 1445 52.,
194-2 ) eonstable of Calltile a ..d virtuat ruler of lhal kinsdom for
almost 35 yean. Note (l~ i"5i&"ia 0" b .....st.
T. Wise, lI'ar.J oj /hi Crnsodis, to!fi-I2y1 l London,
1978
The author also wishes to express his thanks to
:\'iccolo Capponi of Florence, who so generously
supplied infornlation on the Order of St James of
Altopascio.

Tile Plates
AI: Knight Hospitolltr. 12th 13th unturitS
This knight wears t)'pical crusading gear: fiat-
topped 'great helm', kite shield with rounded top,
all-mail armour, and long surcoat. Both the
Benedictine and Augustinian habits were black,
and as the Hospitallcrs followed the rule of these
Orders their mantle was also black from the ,"cry
beginning. Between 1120 and 1160 it was laid down
that a white cross should be worn on the breast of
this mantle to distinguish the Order. No example of
this cross survives from the 12th century, but in
1224 the Master's seal showed a plain Latin cross as
illustrated here. The cumbersome mantle was
replaced in 1248 by a black surcoat with the white
cross on the breast.
The banner ilJustl·ated is lhat attributed to the
'Knights of the Holy Sepulchre' (see lext under
Hospitallers).

A2: Turcopole, 12th-131h tellturies

Tun:opok'S were Syrian mercenaries employed by
the Military Orders during the crusades period to
provide mounted archers. Contemporary sources
describe them as 'light-armed', and this figure is
based on these descriptions" The quilted akClon is
lhe most likely form of body armour, aketon being a
corruption of 'al-Quwn', the name of the quilted
armour worn by many Saracens for its combination
of Lighllless and strcngth. A small shield was also
carried, which may have been paintcd to distin-
guish the ~Iilitar)' Order to which the turcopole
belonged. A light lance may have been used; the
34
113: Fool !loldier, 1211t-1311, {(nll/rit'S
This figure is based on contemporary descriptions,
with detail taken from the :\laciejowski Bible,
c.1250 (~1638, f.27). i\lcrcenary infall(ry had
always been employed by the crusaders, and wcre
either spearmen or crossbowmcn. This figure wears
typical equipment for both: quilted body armour
o\"er a long sureoat, kettle helmet, mail leggings,
and a large shield bearing the identifying cross and
colours of the Order.

B1: Knight TnT/piar. c.f/50

The Templars \\crc granted permission by the Ilope
in 1145 to wear a \\hite, h<xxJcd mantle similar to
that oflhe Cistercians. This was replaced on acti\·c
service b) a \\hite cloak, probably worn O\'cr a
surcoat. From the limc of the Second Crusade
1147' a red cross was \\orn on the lefl breast and on
the shield; sergeants wore a brown mantle or cloak
wlth the same cross 011 the left breast. The banner of
the Tcmplars was known as the Bcauseant. The
lance pennons of the knighlS were white, charged
wlth the cross of the Order.

B2: Pi/grim
Contemporary accounlS refer to pilgrims as
wearing a grey-coloured, shaggy wool robe and a
round felt hat with a brim; also as being barefoot,
although sandals would have SCeffil.-d an essential
for the long distances covered on foot. Pilgrims
usually vowed not to cut their hair or beard unlil
their pilgrimage was accomplished. Other marks of
the pilgrim were a stnll~ some five to seven feet long,
with a hook for a water boulc or bundle, and a scrip
or small bag for food and other necessities. The scrip
shown here bears the scallop-shell badge of a
pilgrim who has been to the shrine of StJames at
Compostella. The scallop-shell is a common charge
in the arms of English knights, lllany of whom
Slopped off en route to the Holy Land to serve
against the Moors in Spain under the banner of the
Order of Santiago.
B3: Knighl Temp/ar, /au 131h unillry
John of Drcux, who lived in 1'275, is here dressed in
the manner normal for knights within their
prcceplories. The detail is drawn from the effigy on
his tombstone. Confrere knighlS \\cre not allowed to
wear the "hite mantle. Beards were compulsory in
Cat......". I.. Nu""",, h ....dqu ...nen or,he K.n..i~hl. orCal.., .... ~..
from c•• 2.6 o ....... rd••
all three of the main military orders in the Holy
Land Hospilallers, Templars and Teutonic~and
indeed, the warrior-monks look pride in a
dishevelled appearance.
CJ: Teufonic Kllighl, C.123O
The Teutonic Knights appeal' (0 have worn a white
cloak orsurcoat with a black Latin cross from about
1191. The cross was repeated on the knight's shield.
This IIgurc's clothing and armour are typical of the
crusading period. Note the presence of a heavily
padded arming cap under the mail coif.
C2: Teulollic Kllighl, c. JJOO
This figure is a confrere knight the famous
minnesing" Tannhauscr from the equally famous
Manessa Codex. Confrere knighlS were allowed to
bear their o\\n arms on their shields. The original
painting shows the cross of the Order on lhe right
breast of the mantic, contrary to other sources. The
35
headgear is diflieult to interpret, evcn from the resembled a sword blade, and this form of cross
original. It is definitely of ·pill·box' design, bllt the
became known as the Cross ts/J<lda. At some point in
whitc drapery around it may be a pillow and have the first quarter of the 15th century a black tunic
nothing todo with the hat itself. If that were so, then
was adopted, with the red l'Spada on the chest. The
the 'pill·!:>ox' would rcscmble closely the caps shownPortuguese Order of Sao Thiago also wore a white
on warrior monks in other sources: e.g. see 83. habit, but the bouom ann of their cross ended in a
flcur-de·lis. ~ote the distinctive shield and simple
C3: Svgtant. Ttutonit Ordtr. (.1230 iron cap ofthc Spanish knight, based on details in a
Sergeants of the Order wore a grey surco.'u or cloak, contemporary manuscript commissioned by King
bearing a truncated form ofcross, This figure bears James of Aragon.
the simple banner of the Order and wears the
nonnal annour for the period. Note that the shield D2: Frty .\lartin l"a.Jqutz dt Aru
is the transitional, trunc::uoo form of kite shield, This figure is a frty..£aballtro of the Order of
which evoh'ro into the heater shield. shown with Santiago. who was kilk·d before Granada in 1486.
C2. A surviving heater shield measures 95 ems in This reconstruction is b.'lSed on his tomb effigy in the
length, though this may nOt have been the nann. cathedral at Siguenz.'l. Note the use of scaJe bcxIy
amlOur at this late date. Light armour remained
D,: Knight of Santiago. 13th (tntury quite common in \,'armer climates such as Spain
Knights of Santiago \,ore a white habit with a red and Italy, and it is likcl) that lighter cquipments
cross on the left breast. The bottom ann of the cross were wom by many oflile knights on Rhodes and
~taha.
Romaotic PO"",yalJl ofkoiKhlJi of n,ililary orde...... r rom a ',ell
C'f:IIItury Spa.o.i II work DO military h.i$tory; ahhou!1I the.
COfitunJIN ..... f. .cifut, the i.t<iAaia bc.nC'llI.h Ihe fiprIN are a D3: Frry Don Almro dt Luna
u5c.fut ...,fcrence.. The. Orde.... ofSah..dor ..... Eaci... h,we. aol
"""0 id""tified. This figure is )..tasler of the Order of Santiago,

Orden \!llildr
dr 1.1 Em ill~ - Id, tlr Sanfi.ll~o -Id.dr Iii fnl7.ad;l-k! delo~ Trll1Il1anll\-lll.t1r S~ Salvador-Id tlr .\lriilllar.l.-Irl Or Calalrina
 1445 53, based on the Tf/(lblo by Sancho de Zamora
in the chapel orSanliago, at Toledo cathedral. He
wears Ihe gilcled rull ptate armour or Ibe J\'!aSler,
with the \\ hite mantle and red espada or the Order.
No illustration exists orthe Order's banner, but al
Ihe rail orSe"ille in 1248 it was described thus: The
:\Iasler planted the red damask standard or St
Jamcs and the \\hite horse high on the city walls.'
£1: Knight Hospitalltr. ~arly 14th unrury
This figure is taken rrom a contemporary
manuscript in Ihe British J\luseum Royal 16g6,
r.335 , showing the Prior or the Hospital at
Jerusalem and the j\laster or the Templars berore
Ihe king or France. Beside the Prior is the figure
illuslrated here, identified as Raymond du Puy. In
1259, as a result or a petition by the Hospitallers,
permission was granted ror all military brethren to
wear surCOillS 'and other military insignia which
shall be or a red colour, and in which a while
coloured cross is plan'd, in the same manner as in
your standard.' The Pope also confirmed an
attempt to diflcrentiate knights and sergeants by
not granting the red surcoat to the latter; but in the
statute or 12]8 it was laid down that all brethren at
anns werc to \\car the red sureoat, and all brethren
to wear the black mantic. The Order's cross had
now taken the shape or a cross rormee.
The Order's banner, one rorm or which is
illustrated here, was gralllcd in I 130 and remained
Commaad..ry or the Ordu or Saat;alllo., Sq;ura de'" S;........
Ja.e.-.
37
~s of the Order of Ahopa5do, ilhunratili! variou.. fonns of 'tau' Croll., lh.. in'!';!.... of ,he Order.
ullchanged throughout the Order's history. The
gwallow-wiled lance pennons of the knights werc
emblazoned with the same cross and colours. There
was a guidon version for thc Order's ships when it
became a naval power.
1:."2: K"'glll f1ospitaller. u5JO
The figure has been dated by its c!ublx:d shoes. The
habit remained monastic, but the knights now
followed more closely the current fashions in
clothing, and dressed mueh morc richly than in
prc\;ous centuries. A feather was frequently v..orn
with guch hats.
£3: Knighl I-!ospitaller, mid-16th etntllry
Knights of the Military Orders also followed the
fashion in arms and armour, and this knight
illustrates how the advent of effective gunpowder
weapons had led to the abandoning of much
armour. The 'braided' armour, open-faccd bur-
gronet, and unarmoured legs are typical of thc
equipment worn by knights during thc sieges of
Rhodes and ~laha. This particular figurc is based
on an illustration on the titlc pagc of a
contcmporary book.
I::;: Fra KwlO von Liebensteyn. died '39'
This figure is taken from his brass at Nowcmiasto in
Poland, which was made at the ~larienburg. He
wears burnished plale armour, bascinet and
a\'entail, and the white tUlucofthe Teutonic Order.
The pa\-i.se is also in the Order's colours.
GI. 2.3: .\last" and hL'O knights oflhe Ord" ofSI Jolm
These figures are depicted at the siege of Rhodes in
1480, and are taken from a lale 15th century
manuscript. All three wear a mixture of plate
armour and civilian dress, but the insignia of Ihcir
Ordcr remains the dominant factor. The tabard·
style garment \\om over their armour was either
slLldded or dccorated in gold, and frequently bore
religious 'slogans'.
H,: Sir Tlto/}J(fs Docwra
This knight was the Crand Prior oflhe Order ofSt
John in England, 1501-1527, and his likeness is
taken from a contemporary cngraving. The Order
reached the height of its prosperity in England
under Sir Thomas, a renowned soldier and
diplomat who stood high in the fa\'ourofHenry VII
and Henry VIII.

F,: H()(Mlnstn of 1M T ro/()nic Ord". mid·/sth unlury 1-12: Philip de fMe Adam
This figure is clad in thc type of armour worn The famous Crand ~lasler of the Order of StJohn,
during the first half of the 15th century for fighting 1521 34, as ponrayed in a painting of his arrival in
on foot. The \;soroo and articulated sallet and thc ~'lalta. NOIe the clubbed shoes and white ruffof the
poleaxe both date from t.1455. The tunic of the period; and the richness ofthe mantle, which is now
Hochmcistcr is based on a contemporary de· civilian in style, no longer monaslie.
scription, and bears the I mpcrial cagle granted to
the Order by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1226. H3: Knight of Malta (St John), 17th unlury
This knight is taken from an anonymous portrait in
/<"2: Pra Petl'us /JOlI DilsbuI'g. '.1330 the Slibbert Museum, Florence. Notc the large
This figure is portrayed as he appears in the cross of the Order on the breastplate: this was the
frontispiece 10 the [679 edition of his C/lrOllide 4 size preferred by the Order. The remainder of the
Prussia. The banner is based on a contcmporary knight'S clothing is typical for any soldier of the first
description following its capture at the battle of half of the 17th century.
Tannenberg in 1410.

39
-
Note!!! !Our Ie!> planches ~n cou.leur Farbtareln
A. Ln Chnahtn H~ born '",imt ... mtlt'ch ~lO... <'td<sA~".. A. o.r llo.pml...... IriJlll'rn d R'lId" drr Bmtdih'nrt u ""'--'....,j
.. poo'l........ don< 1Ubi< r c. cr.... blanc .... 'nnpk rUI pon'" _ ... ponnIW tr1Jf;'I"IIorh.."rw- 10'",....._ \b ':4-jahrhundn1 __ .-..;
;0!",mld" 'y"'"'* A~ C.. ,;ilirn~""S,"""'""ploo, ... PM IaOrd ... ......... 10' auf Orr Ilr\ISl "-:I f.,JD brnu ,,-.ud>tr ~ . drr .... cIii
des bo:>uriIor.- pno' am" etc pnn. danl Ia roultun d'un Ord..... Krn.zn"nn umpf'... I)... !>rhild "'U,""" hnchnnlirh III . . . F"Mbooo
~;.,.,I A] U, OO..d ..... dr .....okbl. dom now Prom t''''P'''"' ~""...J dr ,'" nlllp."d ,,,lt-n Ordct.. ~,nr""" A] 0 hild diacJ SoIda,rn. ~
IlIbk<k \t .............·w.l'0n"''' probabk......n' I..........""'..... ,'" ..nu duorlOrd.... , A ·,.. ,k. M......,....,l,_1lJ1x-1 "",,"'h ,. ""If' ....hnd..."ohdI dl<' farbt
B. '\f'1""''''"''''';'''''''''''' .. [""'" d" """" ,><11(>11<, 1M I'm' III..·.. 1101''''''"1 "" hahn
".><1 dao 10' ". ""i,,,,,,
0,,1.....,
hla, ... ,'. toll' ,... k,i"" tll.,... I..... 'H'" un... nM~ ""u~<,,,,.I<''''1Il~aoch..; Iasnp".h 8. AI> d" ·,· I'rriod. 'ru!,:,"" t1 ... Tempi", .. ~ijoc K"urn ",><I \bnlrl ,,,,, Ct'ICm
Ilr,,,,
,k lOrd,. porta...", «tlt "..,;, , .. r .."" pori",;,... loruol' Ba ll"apr;" dn
"""'tipl"". ''''u<mpora;,,,,, l'1I"''l'''" tn 10..-_ "" CO<ju,Jk ';,J.... qun ptrm<'1 <1<
'K.-.nn.;oj"" un"~"",,ul"n',cnd.. au ",,,,Ion.. dc ~J""'lun.. GLcnpoo«Ik-.
""e" Kmu ."fdc. linl.."
.uf bra" " \1.. ",<'1.. Bot (~
hmm""' ~'""i~ .\b:uu:: n I _ ... uf <i Pille"
hm I!orh............ 0_
n",s..X-lJd... Orde... lmllt" d..-lbe 10'.....
"'",ll<",u__
..,tw.:--., drr de. Srt.m.
., rtfl_ ........" ...1,.. d< J<an dot I,,",~. mon,ranl ... «"""mr pont <1.>... .....,.. j ~ In C.>mp .........,h' ' 8]1)", 0nkn>Ir...... 1"'11"''''
h ndrno <k fOrd«- I.. oobr , WIo~aIDlR" Klrid.. no:;. tiM- ....... L",bbold clnjohanlW:l '(10' l>onuc.... ... . . ,
Ibn ..... l'florh'.
C. l.-~"I "'..-.....
d".....,
cdi1.T
pnn.u
....,.. a pa,ur d'...."
.-rip' dr .\1",_ II """b6tq
pd<n
'''~,
_ ....... bbna ""'1'<1.....
C. Ln _I'''' Or fOrd.... II«' d..
_f>/'t" p0,,......., Lo.-mi. MI....
C. D..-l ....tonmbrOrdomtrUllah ....... "", .......
.......... ..,h"an<1l 10' 0:1 f.ln e.tr,., dn (lrdcnr, .-..
'l.. . l<'I l ............ _
~
orin dfUl' \..",.,n ann<....... sur It 1,,,,,<1 e, I..... ~.. porui<'nl <In ~I""-'hm I"'nd ft 1)", (A.{rrr<' 'OJII"'" dao K........ _ ~ auf .....
""bo.. ~ a,<'C u"'" """M" ph.. rounc do; La ",u
do- rOnl ... ....-h,e" ,10:.... ",,,t
'h "'11'"' ' ' \\
avvrn aul. do;m ~h.ld. C] i'onrn,.... ~
D. I.·hal., I~a"f do- ...., 0,,11.. I"",a" "".. rnu ml'l(" "" Ii,",,,, .fq...., r,.,.... ffD.... KltidllllX "''' 'h/l:r.o"ndd",.. ~tlml d.,. O'-O"".k'......,...
I;(l,d ... 1'"r.,,~a.. tIr :-.., IIII.,ll" po""" <1(alrn..-'" "no .... ,~.,,'~. mai, ..,,,. "'... D, I\uf dff ..'r,ose .. K"ne d'....... Onlen. Ill'findrl sid. rill .Otra K..... t ..
croix {I<>n,la I>;o"i.. inf;nc" .... t'di, .... ron".. d" Ii •. D. n'allr~' I·dfilli.. dr I., ·Sd".r.,f",m· tli.. F.j,..... I'l", pnnugiesiKhr ()"len ,..." ~ llu"iN tr"'C
"""I.· ,k , •. j,,.,...MJI,._. ,,," .. (;"·,,ad.. '" • 111<, l'nr 'rllr .tn"",,· I~c", n;", rhe"f~ll. d,..... I ",be". ~Ix-..... ", 10' ....., hallr "n''', d... f'nrm ,.;...... 1.11... Do I
probablt.....'" p>pula.i ... dan. IN rI""""
,ha.",", l>:J I... ~lai' d.. rOm., d.. ....rtk dem Grahb.1d n ,..,~ rnlt""n" '. <kr ,~8fl bt, (;.r.lnad.1 forl,
s..""a~. 'H~ ~J. port.. u arumr...." paaq..... mmpk.... a' finitlon dort-... 0..",. lrich,..., I,rh"W" 1lIl"" ":arm ,n 10'1,,,,,, ..ahn:hnnlKll
"'''''' q .... It ""'"',,,"u'"
1' rOrd"" poput...-. D:1 o.-r
Gmrr.al d<s (lrdrno ''On SoonU.IJI:U ',"" ~1 IT"lJ' ............
'~r I'la,,.,,......u"l! nul ....... l:m~ ,,00 Orr ~ tift o...r..-.
E. O'aprn lin ~"PC do; 1""1""1...., prno:ntan' un«n;un ka,1IItlnd d .. 1'10,
1""''''''''bra ...........,.dr-I'Ont''' ponaonl' It "'...... ""'Ilt" ... l1 ........ lund... E. Emn- I~......SChnl."'_Id.......R,'...... ~.,.....t "", o.r
\"'&linln-dn Ordrno uuo:no ab '2~""''''''''
,.]8 , \\
.. partir .... '2~a'~....., ...I"" "'.I 1·onirT I"'"'"'" ,,",,"",n miIi L_
'.78 all pl.. oanl & 11.- ' """n, n, de pl pre. Illabillcmnl, <i,'1l. ......-... Krnu: ,,00 ..""" ........... 1.:"",""". Ab ~
quoioq .... 11I.aho, ..., ,""......." mnnauiq ..... E]'I n dn a....... It &rm"..... d .. .......
a,..J--It'~onn E:l1N: K\rid,,"8.... h, nu" , Kind ....,
mllwu d.. ,(,".,oclc ... dn w,:n tit Rhodcti It tk \I:ol,,,, .,,"dil' 10'""......m noth ,m K............ iI ] IN: \\;ofIm .. IOCI R_.. ,,«"-vuo
Mi,,,, d<s .b. Jah,h 'll',..,h, baond.-.-. bci de.- lld'Il<:n'''ll __ RhodoI
F. I.·annu'" du ff.J-ruJn N' ,)'piq rdnn" ... ron'"
p"tI.. ks mmh... "'" ""d ~lalta
ra'":usi,,, <I"",,,, la p"'m,~", ......"" du ' "Nk; raisle imp.·nal "" .. 'unKI''''
ru' acror(V a"x /I mltt' Al>;O"I1T dr '·I·.rI,.
F,. 1)'.pr+o "" h~... d.. ,679. l.a }', Dor ""~"";'Iir.R ... ",,,~ iJ, fur F..-~d~,r" in d", rn,,,,, 11"lfie del '!>
00.,,,,,,,.... ft,
d·a " ",... d....-nl'..or' dr rfVO'\lH". 8u monM"n' "" sa capt"re ~ Jahm",..k'ill 'H~!ICh. Ab , ...6 d"rf"'n di.. """-"11.
d.." Rci<"I..adlc-r auf""'"
Tannt:"",.,'X"" '01 '0, F] I)·apr I. pbt, .... mor'''''''' r" (",,,.. "" 'omb..' \\all"."'o<L '",x.. n. Fa ,\u. r' ....m Such H,n Ib1'). I),.. ~.:.oh ........bt:amm' .........
:-_..""asto, P~. I.. , ...."' k ""'IO/t,
dam It:s rotlltun rOnl", In'~!IC,,,,,,lk.::hrri''''n~ .•1o JOt "'0
bet de.- l'.I ..ncn'-l <i...............
Tnl"""'l .... .. "I'd<: F] \ .... ocinn- (;ra~takI bri ' ............10 II> Orr
G., .. ] C<lnuno'.
OBI pu .~'" a do; Rhoda", '+flo: un': d'"n
\\drnrorl ..OO dao /'...", """"" d... fart>m <In T",_hnt om.-.
man....pt do; 11 lUI d .. 'y ....dr. ~ rq ~ I.. mda"ll" dr-I'a............. dtt G., -a,] "".-..hen ......
-..hnrbrinbch bci dc.- ~ ''On IU.odo._j....
,oj.llo a .... I"" Klrid""l!: .. "rdc rinrt &hrifl a.. dnn . .,.... ,~J~
,itnnrnll .".....
no,,,,,,,,,,,",. Mh'.... SOt- a.. rd... ~h.ch"",! ''On R .... ,,"'! "nd /.t,,jUnd,,..
H. ('. ._n~_ titrOrd"'dt-btj....n .... Anj(in"",,, ' ' '1. St.l1oom d;~a
rOrd",d"",n, .. pn1odrdr-pl.. ~ ~ t e pl.. ~oo fa, 11:11.... H, G• • r... '''''' St. johanlW:l-On:kn '" ~~bnd ''On 1'\0' "7 ..... So.
~.; ... maj,,,,dc rOtd... a l"i'p>q"" du _ t i t 'bll": ........... 01\10. <i,il do; la 11oomao, <In- dnn Ordno .... I, ....Id .... nn- Klul"""" ''OI1I&nd H. Iller ~
pCltri"" II] 'OlU la g,.. "d.. ,.. Ik tIr I. rn.~ .u. I. I~""ll'" dr potl,; ..... ~ Ordc"'ll.....,,.,.I ...Ihrn>d <kr lIt'l"llerunll "'HI \bha; karh'rn dr-n M.nlr! ,no
1"'-< rOrd... zi,ilrn S,lI. 1-13 ,\.h"'n Sit' ."f d", Xrooot' 10' ...", a"f dc. 8tuOl!,la"r, dao ,"'"
Ord.." I"·""rw~, ... urdt·