The new religious orders of the 12th and 13th centuries - the military orders and the mendicants - were established as international orders. Yet they were inevitably dependent on regional and local conditions for recruitment and finance, and could not escape involvement in the power structures, whether secular or ecclesiastical, of the areas in which they were based. This book examines the tensions that arose from this, and how they evolved and were manifested. It looks in particular at the orders’ early expansion, and at the special conditions that applied in frontier regions, notably those in Northern and Central Europe which have typically been less well studied.

Histories of masculinity have generally examined both social ideologies of masculinity and subjective male identities within frameworks that define them against the feminine. Yet historians and sociologists have increasingly argued that men have been and continue to be defined both socially and subjectively as much by their relations to other men as in relation to women. This collection brings together the work of scholars of masculinities working in a variety of fields, including literature, history and art history, to examine some of the forms of 'otherness' against which ideas of masculinity have been defined throughout history. The collection reflects the current breadth of scholarship relating to the study of masculine alterity. While the subjects addressed are largely historical, the time span covered is broad and the disciplinary approaches to the subject matter are equally wide-ranging. A huge variety of men, masculine behaviours and definitions of masculinity are considered in an exciting and invigorating collection that showcases both established academics and emerging scholars in the field.

Between 1190 and 1525, the Teutonic Order (the third major military religious order after the Temple and the Hospital) maintained extensive possessions in Italy. This volume examines the history of the Order’s Italian branch, arguing that it served as an intermediary between East and West, as well as North and South. It reflects on the reasons for the Teutonic Order’s success and the persistence of its settlement, particularly its ability to adapt to various and changing political and economic contexts, and its talent in garnering the support of the local population. Not only focusing on political, diplomatic, economic and religious history but also considering the history of art and architecture, spirituality, prosopography and everyday life, this book portrays the Teutonic Order in Italy as an example of medieval coexistence, collaboration and crossing borders. This book will a useful study for scholars interested in Medieval Italy, cross-cultural history and the military religious orders of the medieval period.

An indispensable guide to the earliest contemporary account of the Franciscan Order in England.Known as Friars Minor, Franciscans or Greyfriars, the followers of St Francis of Assisi pioneered a new type of religious life, moving beyond the monastic cloister. Their ministry was to bring the Gospel to life through example, preaching, gesture, drama, music and poetry. Founded in 1209, the movement became rapidly popular and spread widely across Europe.By around 1257 there were 49 communities In England, housing some 1,242 friars. The story of the Franciscans' arrival, and the growth of the Order up until c.1257/1258, is related by the chronicler Thomas of Eccleston In his De Adventu Fratrum Minorum in Angliam. The story is not untroubled: for example, Eccleston does not shy away from the painful controversies of the later 1230s, when there were deep divisions about the exercise of authority in the Order. He was disturbed by some developments in the Order and showed his support for caution in the schools and in relation to building, at a time when friars were exposed to searching criticisms. The chronological account is accompanied by exemplum materials which illuminate the friars' preaching and teaching, and by a gallery of virtuous individual friars.This book is the first full-length study of the text, examining it in detail, and providing a careful elucidation.relation to building, at a time when friars were exposed to searching criticisms. The chronological account is accompanied by exemplum materials which illuminate the friars' preaching and teaching, and by a gallery of virtuous individual friars.This book is the first full-length study of the text, examining it in detail, and providing a careful elucidation.relation to building, at a time when friars were exposed to searching criticisms. The chronological account is accompanied by exemplum materials which illuminate the friars' preaching and teaching, and by a gallery of virtuous individual friars.This book is the first full-length study of the text, examining it in detail, and providing a careful elucidation.relation to building, at a time when friars were exposed to searching criticisms. The chronological account is accompanied by exemplum materials which illuminate the friars' preaching and teaching, and by a gallery of virtuous individual friars.This book is the first full-length study of the text, examining it in detail, and providing a careful elucidation.

The Journal of Medieval Military History continues to consolidate its now assured position as the leading academic vehicle for scholarly publication in the field of medieval warfare. Medieval Warfare

Modern study of the Hospitallers, of other military-religious orders, and of their activities both in the Mediterranean and in Europe has been deeply influenced by the work of Anthony Luttrell. To mark his 75th birthday in October 2007 twenty-three colleagues from ten different countries have contributed to this volume. The first section focuses on the crusading period in the Holy Land, considering the Hospital in Jerusalem, relations with the Assassins, finances, indulgences, transportation and the careers of the brothers and knights. The second and third sections move to the later Middle Ages, when the Hospitallers had their centre on Rhodes, and military and charitable activities in the East had to be supported with men and money from the West. The papers in the second section consider the Hospitallers on Rhodes, relations between Rhodes and the West and plans for crusades, while the third section includes papers on the Hospitallers in the Iberian Peninsula and in Hungary, the territorial administration of the Order of Montesa in Valencia, a plan to transfer the headquarters of the Teutonic Order from Prussia to Frisia, and a Hospitaller reconsideration of warfare and learning on the eve of the council of Trent. The final paper proposes new definitions and guidelines for future work on the military-religious orders. The authors include both well-known experts and younger scholars who promise to follow in the footsteps of Anthony Luttrell and to continue research into the Hospitallers and their fellow orders, these peculiar European communities avant la lettre.

The close political, economic and cultural ties that developed between England and its neighbours were a defining feature of the rule of Henry III, which permeated nearly all levels of society from the king and his barons to the Church and merchants, artisans and fortune hunters. They were evident both in the high politics of Henry III, as well as in the more general cultural developments, as can be seen in the French architecture, Italian masonry and German goldwork of Westminster Abbey. They can likewise be traced with regard to individuals such as Simon de Montfort, whose family was active in the Holy Land, Languedoc, Northern France and England. In short, thirteenth century England formed part of a broader European cultural, political and economic commonwealth. The essays that form this volume demonstrate the variety and strength of these contacts between England and her neighbours during Henry's reign, and by seeking to place Henry's England within a broader geographical and thematic range, will contribute to a broader understanding of England's place within thirteenth century Europe.

Scholarly interest and popular interest in the military orders show no sign of abating. Their history stretches from the early twelfth century to the present. They were among the richest and most powerful religious corporations in pre-Reformation Europe, and they founded their own states on Rhodes and Malta and also on the Baltic coast. Historians of the Church, of art and architecture, of agriculture and banking, of medicine and warfare and of European expansion can all benefit from investigating the orders and their archives. The conferences on their history that have been organized in London every four years have attracted scholars from all over the world. The present volume records the proceedings of the Fifth Conference in 2009 (held in Cardiff as the London venue was in the process of refurbishment), and, like the earlier volumes in the series, will prove essential for anyone interested in the current state of research into these powerful institutions. The thirty-eight papers published here represent a selection of those delivered at the conference. Three papers deal with the recent archaeological investigations at the Hospitaller castle at al-Marqab (Syria); others examine aspects of the history of the military orders in the Latin East and the Mediterranean lands, in Spain and Portugal, in the British Isles and in northern and eastern Europe. The final two papers address the question of present-day perceptions of the Templars as moulded by the sort of popular literature that most of the other contributors would normally keep at arm's length.

Includes genealogical charts of kings and noblemen associated with the search for the grail.

In the last twenty years there has been an explosion of scholarly interest in the Military Orders. With a history stretching from the early twelfth century to the present day, they were among the richest and most powerful orders of the church in medieval Europe. They founded their own states in Prussia and on the Mediterranean islands of Rhodes and Malta. They are of concern to historians of the Church, art and architecture, government, agriculture, estate management, banking, medicine and warfare, and of the expansion of Europe overseas. The conferences on their history, which have been organized in London every four years, have attracted leading scholars from all over the world. The present volume records the proceedings of the Third Conference in 2000 and is essential reading for those interested in the progress of research on these extraordinary institutions. Of the thirty papers published in this collection, two deal with the orders in general, while eighteen concentrate on the Hospital of St John, six on the Temple, and three on the Teutonic Order, together with another on the Order of the Sword Brothers which it absorbed. The preponderance of works on the Hospitallers is perhaps a particular characteristic of this volume, but the fact that most of the papers relate to provincial life, rather than to the headquarters in the east, Prussia, or Malta, accurately reflects modern concerns, as do the contributions on historiography, the papacy, cultural history, and religious life. Examples of new research interests are the paper on bioarchaeology and the two on liturgy.