Chivalry, a Brief History

The first Orders of Chivalry were formed during the 12th Century. The first of these was the Military Order of Malta. From this Order, others were formed such as the Order of Saint John (Knights Hospitaller) in 1080, the Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (Knights Templar) in 1119, the Order of Saint Lazarus in 1100, and the Order of Saint Mary's Hospital in Jerusalem (Teutonic Knights) in 1190.

These orders were groups of Knights who banded together to create their own fraternal organization. These organizations were either sponsored by the Monarch of their home countries, or by the Pope (who is a sovereign power of himself). Each member of their organizations typically took vows and in essence became warrior monks. Their warrior nature (because they were all Knights their profession was war) gave the Pope an opportunity to use them as the military arm of the Church. Each one of them had a different charter, or reason for being in existence. For example, the Knights Templar were the guardians of pilgrims going to the holy land. These Templar Knights set up safe houses for pilgrims to seek shelter and safety within. The Templars also protected the pilgrims by setting up the first banking system. Instead of attracting bandits in search of stealing from the pilgrims, the Templars took the money from the pilgrims and gave them a note for how much the Templars were holding for them. Once at their destination, the Templars would give the money back to the pilgrim who gave their money to the Templars.

These Orders of Chivalry, acting as an arm of the Church, received donations. After time, the Orders of Chivalry became wealthy organizations. So large was the wealth and power of these Orders, Monarchs were threatened by them. The power and wealth of the Orders allowed them to gain lands of their own, giving them the ability to legitimately call themselves Sovereign. Monastic Orders like the Knights Templar were given special privileges so they only answered to the Pope and need not answer to any Monarch in whatever land they resided.

In 1291, when the last stronghold of Christendom fell to the Arabs, the missions of the Orders of Chivalry became obsolete. They now had neither hospitals to run, pilgrims to protect, or mission to achieve. Some Orders, like the Teutonic Knights, survived because they had already settled in eastern Europe. Others, like the Knights Hospitaller, conquered Malta and became a naval power and continued to wage war against the Arabs and later the Turks. Yet others, like the Knights Templar, tried to make a transition to become bankers (they also tried to merge with the Order of Saint John). However, because of their wealth, the French Monarchy falsely accused them of heresy and successfully disbanded the Order in 1312 (the way the King did this is how Friday the 13th became an unlucky day).

This did not last indefinitely, however. The Order of Saint John (Order of Malta) lost it's sovereignty in 1798 and is now dedicated to medical and charitable activities. The Teutonic Order became a simple religious order in 1929. The Order of Saint Lazarus split into two factions with one being protected by the French Crown and one protected by the House of Savoyard. The French faction was abolished by Louis XVI in 1791. There are many organizations today that claim to be descended from each of these orders.

Between 1335 and 1400, there was a rise in Monarchical Orders of Chivalry. The Monarchs saw the power and use for an organized Order of Knighthood, and they were able to utilize this power for the benefit of the Crown and Country. Some of these order still exist today. For example the Order of the Garter is an Order of Chivalry created by the British Crown. Over time, with the development of new ways to wage war, the Knights profession transformed into the modern soldier. With new technologies and the need for vast numbers of highly trained soldiers, the title of Knight became primarily honorific by the mid 1500's. By this time, only the Order of the Garter in England, the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain, the Order of Annunziata in Savoy, and the Order of Saint Michael in France remained.

 

A more in depth research has been done through this book.

The History of Chivalry or Knighthood