Comparing The Knights Of The Crusades: Hospitallers And The Templars

Knights of the Crusades: Hospitallers and the Templars There were two well-known monastic orders that rose from the Holy Wars of the Crusades. These orders were a new type of religious order- a fighting force that remained devoted to Christian values, but fought as soldiers would in the Crusades. They were known as the Knights of the Hospital (or Hospitallers) and Knights of the Temple (Templars). Throughout the Crusading period both orders of knights played a large role in the protection of the Holy Land and its Christian pilgrims. Both orders were in fact a product of the Crusades and became a largely vital element in how they were fought. This essay argues that while the Hospitallers and Templars had similar origins in the Holy Land these

The brothers in the Templars were divided into two classes: knights and sergeants.3 They came from “milite aristocracy” and were trained in the arts of war.3 They were not doctors- or devoted to charity like the Hospitallers. The Templars served in elite leadership positions within the order and serviced royal and papal courts.3 Consequently, royal families across Europe (Spain, France, and England) gave the Templars castles and estates which allowed the Templars to become more widespread, accumulate more wealth, and defend

Their individual roles in the Crusades had a role in how well they were received by the papacy and nobility of the time. Both orders were dependent on the papacy and nobles for donations and property.2 Where the Hospitallers were an order that provided free charity they did not get many donations until they became a fighting force.4 The Templars expanded as a vital defense towards the Crusading states and had also become religious “fighting monks” and later so financially well-off that nobles found them as appealing as bankers.4 Both orders became vastly wealthy in the long run- and eventually became rivals against one another.3 The Templars had consistent dealings with wealthy families-both of royalty and nobility.3 Many of the Templar Knights were required to give a portion of their land to the order upon joining resulting in many of the Templars sons of wealthy aristocrats.4 The Pope had allowed the Templars special privileges across the Holy Land and they had the support of both religious and secular leaders.4 This and the Templar’s exemplary military strength enabled them to safely collect, store and transport bouillon around Europe as well as their expanse network of treasure houses made them as attractive as bankers to kings and pilgrims across the Holy