I.

Introduction

Military Religious Orders, organizations of medieval knights, who performed military, religious, and charitable functions, and whose members were bound by strict monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience (see Monasticism). These groups first appeared during the 12th century and flourished during the High Middle Ages.

The three most famous of the military religious orders were the Poor Knights of Christ, also known as the Knights Templar or the Templars; the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, or Hospitalers; and the Teutonic Knights of Saint Mary’s Hospital at Jerusalem, called simply Teutonic Knights. All three were founded in the Holy Land—parts of Palestine that Christians considered holy as the home of Christ. These three orders were important in defending the Crusader states—Christian states that Crusaders from the West had established in Palestine (see Crusades).

The accomplishments of the three groups varied greatly. The Templars became famous for their pioneering methods of banking. The Teutonic Knights waged numerous wars to convert the people of eastern Europe to Christianity and eventually became a powerful force in the trade and politics of the region. Long after the Crusades, the Hospitalers remained a strong bulwark against Muslim invasion of the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe, until their defeat at the hands of French emperor Napoleon I in 1798. Both the Hospitalers and the Teutonic Knights still exist as religious orders of the Roman Catholic Church.