A study of how the major military religious orders of the 12th and 13th century were viewed by the rulers, the clergy, the laity, and themselves. Also considers the representation of them in literary sources and legend. Other orders are also mentioned when there is information about attitudes toward them, but by far the most evidence is for the three. Adapted from Nicholson's 1989 Ph.D. thesis for the University of Leicester. Acidic paper. Distributed in the US by St. Martin's Press. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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

An introduction to the Rules and Customaries of the main religious Orders in Medieval Europe: Benedictine, Cistercian, Carthusian, Augustinian, Premonstratensian, Templar, Hospitaller, Teutonic, Dominican, Franciscan, and Carmelite.

Osprey's study of Teutonic Knights from 1190 to 1561. The Military Order of Teutonic Knights was one of the three most famous Crusading Orders; the others being the Templars and the Hospitallers. Like these two, the Teutonic Knights initially focused upon the preservation of the Crusader States in the Middle East. Wielding their swords in the name of their faith, the crusading knights set out to reclaim Jerusalem. Unlike the Templars they survived the crises of identity and purpose which followed the loss of the last Crusader mainland enclaves in the late thirteenth century and, like the Hospitallers, they managed to create a new purpose - and a new field of combat - for themselves. Whereas the Hospitallers focused their energies in the eastern Mediterranean battling against Muslim armies, the Teutonic Knights shifted their efforts to the Baltic, to the so-called Northern Crusades against pagan Prussians and Lithuanians and, to a lesser extent, against Orthodox Christian Russia. As a result the Order of Teutonic Knights became a significant power, not only in the Baltic but in north-central Europe as a whole. Paradoxically, however, it was their fellow Catholic Christian Polish neighbours who became their most dangerous foes, breaking the Order's power in the mid-fifteenth century. The Teutonic Knights lingered on in what are now Estonia and Latvia for another century, but this was little more than a feeble afterglow. This title will examine this fascinating military and religious order in detail, revealing the colourful history of the crusades within Europe itself which inexorably changed the future of the continent.

A unique examination of the precise weaknesses of the crusader states in the thirteenth century.

The ancient warrior code which persisted in medieval Christian Europe dictated that a man's greatest virtues were physical strength, skill at arms, bravery, daring, loyalty to the chieftain and solidarity within the tribe. The primitive Church had been diametrically opposed to such ideals, however by the early 8th century the Church had grown wealthy, and the Saracen invasions of Spain and France posed a threat to that wealth. The Roman Church began to support war in defence of the faith, and by channelling the martial spirit into the service of God, the brutal warrior of the past was transformed into a guardian of society.

Filled with surprising details, The Knights Templar tells the story of the chivalric orders founded during the Crusades, their rise and decline, and how their religious and military aspects were reconciled. It chronologically follows from the foundation of the Knights of St Peter in 1053 to the Crusades, from the Teutonic Knights to the Reconquista and on to the Hospitallers' ventures in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

The Order of the Temple was founded in 1119 with the limited aim of protecting pilgrims around Jerusalem. It developed into one of the most powerful corporations in the medieval world which lasted for nearly two centuries until its suppression in 1312. Despite the loss of its central archive in the sixteenth century, the Order left many records of its existence as the spearhead of crusading activity in Palestine and Syria, as the administrator of a great network of preceptories and lands in the Latin west, and as a banker and ship-owner. Because of the dramatic nature of its abolition, it has retained its grip on the imagination and consequently there has developed an entirely fictional 'after-history' in which its secret presence has been evoked to explain mysteries which range from masonic conspiracy to the survival of the Turin Shroud. This book offers a concise and up-to-date introduction to the reality and the myth of this extraordinary institution.

Get to know the Knights Hospitaller, lesser known than the Knights Templar, the Hospitaller were nevertheless heroic and among the bravest of all the knights orders that fought for their faith during the Crusades. And they still stand strong to this day, helping those in need. Many of us have grown up with tales of knights in shining armor who arrived just at the nick of time to save the day, of selfless warriors who would give their own lives in the service of others. For most of us, these are just tales from someone's fanciful imagination. But the truth is, there was indeed an order of selfless knights who would ride to the rescue of the weak and routinely face down insurmountable odds. They were called the Knights Hospitaller. Here we will examine the world's most prolific military order, which began its life out of a hospital in the Middle East at the time of the Crusades. The Hospitallers were brave and more than willing to extend their hospitality to those who needed it most. They were also quite mysterious. There is still much about the Hospitallers that remains unknown and surrounded in intrigue. This book takes a look at the long history of the Hospitallers and the mystique and mystery that surrounds them. Scroll back up and click the BUY NOW button at the top right side to order your copy today!