How useful were the military orders to the defence of the crusader states 1119-49? Flashcards
(20 cards)
what 3 main roles did the military orders play in the crusader states?
- Economic Role
- Religious Role
- Military Role
how did the military orders use their money in the crusader states?
- The military orders possessed the wealth to maintain and, in time, extend Outremer’s network of forts and castles
- Played a role in creating new Frankish villages in Outremer to exploit the natural resources.
- Increasingly lent money to crusaders.
give an example of when military orders lent money to crusader states
Most famously, Louis VII became financially reliant on the Templars during the Second Crusade and borrowed large sums from them.
how did the military orders make/raise money?
- Rapidly became very popular in the Latin West which led to flood of donations from prominent nobles.
- Appealed to knights and barons, that landed class. When those individuals joined, they frequently donated land to the orders that then became a permanent part of their resources.
- Used their lands in the Latin West to grow crops and then sell those for profit.
- The stream of recruits to the new military orders was greatly increased by official support from the Latin Church.
what official support from the Latin Church did military orders receive?
- 1129: The Templar rule (setting out it’s internal organization) was approved at the Council of Troyes
- The charismatic and highly influential Bernard of Clairvaux wrote In Praise of the New Chivalry (1128).
how were the military orders organised?
The military orders were organized into regional divisions across the Latin West; Templar ‘commanderies’ and Hospitaller ‘priories’.
what lands did the templars hold by 1150?
By 1150, the Templars had become an extensive and wealthy landowner from England to Italy and Portugal, and especially in northern France, Languedoc, and North Spain
how dud the templars play a religious role in outremer?
- Founded as a religious order with a military role, solving the dilemma of many pious knights and providing them with a religiously accepted and useful outlet for their skills.
- 1119: Hugh of Payns and a small group of knights dedicated themselves to protecting Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land
- At first the Templars patrolled and protected the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, but this was extended to the routes between Jerusalem and the River Jordan.
why was the formation of the templars so significant?
- 1119: Hugh of Payns and a small group of knights dedicated themselves to protecting Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land
- This was of major importance as the Franks were still a minority in Outremer despite conquering some of the land.
- Pilgrims were traditionally unarmed.
how did the hospitallers fulfill a religious role in outremer?
- Ran the Hospital of St John in Jerusalem.
- The Hospital massively expanded during this period.
- Hospitallers brought the sick and injured from battles to the Hospital.
- All sick were admitted to the Hospital, except lepers, regardless of origin, sex or status.
how the templars expand their military role?
- At first the Templars were very small. But they rapidly gained military prominence
-There were, allegedly, only nine knights - 1120: When Fulk of Anjou came to Outremer with a large military force, he campaigned with the Templars.
- 1127-29: Hugh de Payns toured W. Europe to attract donations and members and assisting in negotiations to persuade Fulk to return East and recruiting forces for a new campaign against Damascus
how did fulk of anjou help the templars?
on his return home, he granted them an annual income of 30 pounds, setting an example followed by many
who were hugh de payns importamnt contacts in the west?
- William Clito and Thierry of Alsace, successive counts of Flanders
- Theobald count of Blois
how did the military orders assist in crusading?
- The first major campaign that the Templars were involved with was unsuccessful the Damascus Crusade of 1129.
- 1147: Everard des Barres, Templar master in France, accompanied Louis VII’s crusade; he then became Grand Master of the Templars.
- January 1148: Everard des Barres, Grand Master of the Templars, helped to rescue the French Crusade after its defeat at Mount Cadmus.
- 1148: the Templars participated in the Second Crusade’s siege of Damascus.
how were the military orders used for defence?
From the 1130s on, the lay lords of the Latin east began ceding control of fortified sites to the orders, often allowing them to develop semi-independent enclaves in border zones
what castles did the templars defend?
- 1136: the Templars gained control of Baghras Castle to protect the Principality of Antioch through guarding the Amanus Pass to the north and giving them a dominant position in the northern reaches of the P. of Antioch
- Templars gained the rights to Safad in Galilee
- 1137: the Templars were involved in the defence of the eastern County of Tripoli.
- 1149: The Templars were granted Gaza castle
what castles did the hospitallers defend?
- 1136: the Hospitallers were granted Bethgibelin Castle (one of the 3 strongholds in Southern Palestine to defend Jerusalem and exert military pressure on Ascalon) near Egypt by Fulk of Jerusalem. They had no military force so paid mercenaries to garrison it.
- 1142-44: the Hospitallers were granted Krak des Chavaliers above the Bouqia valley between Antioch and Tripoli and a large amount of the eastern frontier of the County of Tripoli to defend.
how did the templars help the crusader states after inab?
After the death of Raymond of Antioch at Inab in June 1149, a large Templar contingent, under Andrew of Montbard, joined Baldwin III’s force that forced Nureddin to withdraw.
what are some limitations to the military role the military orders played in the crusader states?
- the period when the military orders could raise large independent forces and held many castles in Outremer was the from the 1150s on
- The Hospitallers only developed an overt military function by the 1140s
- Not everyone was comfortable with the idea of the military orders as religious insitutions
- Families with crusading pedigrees often had extensive links to Outremer regardless of the presence of the military orders
give an example of someone who was not comfortable with the idea of the military orders as religious insitutions
Guigo, abbot of Grande Chartreuse in France, expressed particular anxiety about the fusion of the spiritual and profane
