Military order

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A military order is a Christian order of knighthood that is founded for crusading, i.e. propagating and/or defending the faith (originally Catholic, or Orthodox, after the reformation sometimes Protestant), either in the Holy Land or against Islam (Reconquista) or pagans (mainly Baltic region) in Europe, but may become 'secularized' later.

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History

Christian military orders appeared following the First Crusade. The foundation of the Templars in 1118 provided the first in a series of tightly organized military forces which protected the Christian colonies in the Middle East, as well as fighting non-Christians in Spain and Eastern Europe.

The principle feature of the military order is the combination of military and religious ways of life. Some of them like the Knights of St John and the Knights of St Thomas also cared for the sick and poor. However they were not purely male institutions, as nuns could attach themselves as convents of the orders. One significant feature of the military orders is that clerical brothers could be, and indeed often were, subordinate to non-ordained brethren.

  • Joseph von Hammer in 1818 compared the Christian military orders, in particular the Templars, with certain Islamic models such as the shiite sect of Assassins. In 1820 Jose Antonio Conde has suggested they were modelled on the ribat, a fortified religious institution which brought together a religious way of life with fighting the enemies of Islam. However popular such views may have become, others have criticised this view suggesting there were no such ribats around Palestine until after the military orders had been founded. Yet the innovation of fighting monks was something new to Christianity.
  • The role and function of the military orders has sometimes been obscured by the concentration on their military exploits in Syria, Palestine, Prussia, and Livonia. In fact they had extensive holdings and staff throughout Western Europe. The majority were laymen. They provided a conduit for cultural and technical innovation, for example the introduction of fulling into England by the Knights of St John, or the banking facilities of the Templars.
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List of military orders

(The starting dates given are for militarisation)

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Other use

It is possible for a non-crusading order to be founded explicitely as a military order. This is the case of the Orden Militar de la Constancia (Spanish 'the Military Order of Loyalty'), founded by the authorities in the Spanish protectorate zone of Morocco on 18th August 1946. Awarded to military officers and men, Moroccan and Spanish, in a single class. Obsolete 1956.

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Sources, References and External links

(incomplete)

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See also

cs:Rytířské řády de:Ritterorden et:Sõjaline ordu es:Orden militar eo:Kavalira ordeno fr:Ordre militaire it:Ordini religiosi cavallereschi nl:Ridderorde ja:騎士修道会 pl:Zakon rycerski pt:Ordem militar ru:Военный орден sk:Rytiersky rád sr:Витешки ред sv:Riddarorden zh:军事修士会

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