Understanding the mighty military and religious orders of old

Most members of military orders were laymen who took religious vows, such as of poverty, chastity, and obedience, according to monastic ideals. The original international military orders were the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the Knights Hospitaller, the Knights Templar, the Order of Saint Lazarus, and the Teutonic Knights.

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First Crusade (1096–1099) -

Numerous Catholic military orders were set up following the First Crusade.

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Second Crusade (1147–1150) -

Pope Eugene III proclaimed the Second Crusade and commissioned French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux to preach the religious war. Bernard of Clairvaux would later become a major figure in the establishment of the Knights Templar, the most powerful and significant of the medieval military orders.

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Order of the Holy Sepulchre -

Established c. 1099, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre was originally an "association" of knights who guarded the Church of the Holy Sepulchre under the jurisdiction of the kings of Jerusalem. Pictured is a view of the Old City of Jerusalem. The domes are those of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of Ecce Homo.

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Godfrey of Bouillon (1060–1100) -

The Order of the Holy Sepulchre was founded by Godfrey of Bouillon, a French nobleman and one of the pre-eminent leaders of the First Crusade. He was the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100. After his death, his brother, Baldwin, became the first King of Jerusalem.

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Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre -

After the capture of Jerusalem at the end of the First Crusade in 1099, the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, a Catholic religious order, were established to take care of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the alleged site where Jesus was crucified, and where he was buried and resurrected.

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Knights of the Holy Sepulchre -

In 1113, after their recognition by Pope Paschal II as a military branch, Militi Sancti Sepulcri, the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, allied themselves with the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre. The Militi Sancti Sepulcri were charged with securing the defense of the sacred site and to protect pilgrims visiting the Holy Land.

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Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem -

Together, the canons and the Militi Sancti Sepulcri formed part of the structure of which evolved into the modern Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Today the order, whose primary mission is to "support the Christian presence in the Holy Land," has an estimated 30,000 knights and dames in 60 regions around the world. The church meanwhile remains one of the most visited sites in the Holy Land. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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Knights Hospitaller -

The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, more commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller, was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order.

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Gerard Thom (1040–1120) -

The Knights Hospitaller was founded in 1099 in the wake of the First Crusade by Gerard Thom, also known as Blessed Gerald, to provide care for sick, poor, or injured pilgrims coming to the Holy Land.

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Papal charter -

In the same year, the organization became a military religious order under its own papal charter (pictured), charged with the wider care and defense of the Holy Land.

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Conflict and strife -

Headquartered first in Jerusalem until 1291, the order later relocated to the island of Rhodes. After coming under siege by Ottoman Janissaries in December 1522 (pictured), the order was again forced to move, this time to Malta, where it maintained a presence from 1530 to 1798. Its final home was Saint Petersburg, Russia, from 1799 to 1801.

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Fort St. Angelo, Malta -

Today, several organizations continue the Hospitaller tradition, including the Order of St. John. Visitors to Birgu in Malta can explore Fort St. Angelo (pictured), the headquarters of the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem during the siege of the island in 1565. The upper part of the fort was handed to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1998.

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Knight Templar -

The Knights Templar, a Catholic military order, was established in 1119 and headquartered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It's from this location that the order derived the name of Templar.

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Hugues de Payens (1070–1136) -

Born in Troyes, France, Hugues de Payens was the co-founder and first Grand Master of the Knights Templar. In association with Bernard of Clairvaux, he created the Latin Rule: the code of conduct for the order.

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Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) -

Co-founder of the Knights Templar and venerated as Saint Bernard, the French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux assisted Hugues de Payens with compiling the Latin Rule, a 72-page document outlining the ideal behavior of a knight.

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The red cross -

Distinguished by their white mantles with a red cross, Templar knights were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. But the Templars also became a favored charity throughout Christendom and grew rapidly in membership and power. Pictured is a flag used by Templars in battle. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Banking and finance -

Non-combatant members of the order, who made up as much as 90% of their members, managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom. In fact, the order is credited in developing innovative financial techniques that were an early form of banking.

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Decline and dissolution -

By the mid-12th century, it was clear that Muslim forces were gaining the upper hand over the Crusaders. When the Holy Land was finally lost, support for the Knights Templar faded. Pope Clement V disbanded the order in 1312, under pressure from King Philip IV of France. Thousands of Templar members were rounded up, tortured into giving false confessions, and burned at the stake.

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Order of Christ -

Out of the ashes rose the Order of Christ. Reconstituted in Portugal after the abolition of the Templars, the order was founded in 1319, with the protection of the Portuguese king, Dom Dinis I. Today, the Military Order of Christ is an Honorific Order conferred for outstanding services to the Portuguese Republic on military officers, civilians, and other public authorities. The Convent of Christ (pictured), the former 12th-century Templar stronghold that became the headquarters of the renamed Order of Christ, is located in Tomar and is a popular visitor attraction. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Lazarus of Bethany -

Founded by crusaders in 1119 as a leper hospital in Jerusalem, the Order of Saint Lazarus was named after the order's patron saint, Lazarus.

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King Fulk -

The order was recognized by King Fulk of Jerusalem in 1142. He's seen here depicted on a seal as the first Count of Anjou.

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Fall of Acre -

While members of the order ostensibly cared for those afflicted by leprosy, the knights of the Order of Saint Lazarus notably fought in the Battle of La Forbie in 1244 and in the Defense of Acre in 1291 (pictured). When Acre ultimately fell to Muslim forces, the Crusaders lost their last major stronghold of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

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Emmanuel Philibert (1528 –1580) -

After the fall of Jerusalem, the order split in two main branches in Italy and in France: the Order of Saint Lazarus in Italy was merged with the Order of Saint Maurice in France. Emmanuel Philibert (pictured) became founder and first Grand Master of the amalgamated Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, recognized in 1572 by Pope Gregory XIII.

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Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus -

During the French Revolution (1789–1799) a 1791 decree suppressed all royal and knightly orders in France. Another decree the following year confiscated all the order's properties. By 1830 the French branch ceased to exist. However, the Italian branch of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus continued to function, and today has around 2,000 members worldwide. Pictured is the insignia of a Commander of the order. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Teutonic Order -

Founded as a military order c. 1192 in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, more commonly known as the Teutonic Order, was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. It also served to protect Christians in the Baltics.

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Transylvania -

After Christian forces were defeated in the Middle East, the order moved to Transylvania in 1211 to help defend the South-Eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Cumans, a Turkic nomadic people inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe.

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State of the Teutonic Order -

It was in the 13th century during the Northern Crusades along the Baltic Sea that the order created the State of the Teutonic Order. Its territory was in the modern countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Russia, and Sweden (Gotland). However, following its defeat to forces of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 (pictured), the Teutonic Order fell into decline.

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Polish–Teutonic War (1519–1521) -

The Polish–Teutonic peace treaty of 1466 (pictured) made the Catholic Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights a fief of the Kingdom of Poland. Later, after the Polish–Teutonic War (1519–1521), part of the state became secularized as the Duchy of Prussia.

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Malbork Castle, Poland -

The military history of the Teutonic Knights ended in 1805 with the disbursal of the order's territory by Napoleon Bonaparte to his German allies in 1810 after the signing of the Treaty of Schönbrunn between France and Austria. Today, visitors and historians alike can marvel at the splendor of Malbork Castle in Poland, the Teutonic Order's 13th-century headquarters.

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Understanding the mighty military and religious orders of old

On January 13, 1128, Pope Honorius II recognized the Knights Templar

13/01/21 | StarsInsider

LIFESTYLE Religious socities

The powerful and secretive military orders, or religious societies, that were established in the Middle Ages during the Crusades still manage to capture the imagination. Their members, many of them knights trained for combat, were charged with protecting Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land and defending the Crusader states. Some of these societies also had charitable purposes, and cared for the sick and poor. But how exactly did these highly organized military forces operate, and who were the Christian soldiers that led them?

Click through the following gallery and find out more about the mighty and mysterious military orders of old.