Spanish Chivalry
Encyclopedia
During the Middle Ages
, Medieval Europe was engaged in almost constant warfare and conflict. European warfare during the Middle Ages was marked by a transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry
and artillery
. In addition to military tactical and technological innovations during this period, chivalric military and religious ideals arose giving motivation for engagement in the ceaseless warfare. In the Iberian Peninsula
(particularly in Spain or the territories that would come to be Spain), chivalric ideals and institutions would be adopted and exercised with more fervor than anywhere else.
from the 7th century CE and in which it is best characterized as a code of formalities and traditions, and, unlike later Christian Chivalry, not a religious or political system. Organized Islamic chivalry, with principles and social customs, originated in Andalusia
under the Caliphate of Cordova, and derived its conventions from the principles of honor, courtesy, and virtuous character. Around the 10th century CE Futuwwas,"heroic generosity", were guilds or urban organizations of Sufi Muslims, which promoted ideals of nobility, which thought that through hospitality and generosity one would always put others above oneself. "According to Sufis, futuwwah is a state of mind that is animated by selflessness, compassion, kindness, and altruism. This behavior was modeled by the Prophet Muhammad and by other friends and lovers of Allah
. The word that describes the Sufi brand of chivalry is adab. They see it as "a continuous act of devotion, for it is a method of constant remembrance of God."' These percursory chivalric elements and ideals are thought to have been acculturarted into Spanish Christianty in "Al-Andalusian" Spain, since the Christian and Islamic cultures were so enmeshed for nearly 800 years.
However,the institutionalization of Christian Chivalry
originated in France
and is thought to have been inspired by the Hundred Years War. Chivalry
essentially encapsulates the Christian
fighter spirit of the Knightly system of the Middles Ages with religious, moral, social codes used to guide the conduct of Christian military engagement. Having developed out of the feudal system of France
, chivalry
was essentially rules of conduct and manners shaped by early fraternal knightly orders to direct member-knights to act in accordance with church doctrine on topics of violence and war.
From 975 CE – 1025 CE the Church’s stance was for the promotion of peace in conflict, and is encapsulated in the expression ‘Peace of God’ – pactum paci (peace treaty). However, the succeeding two hundred years yielded complex and shifting opinions among Christians in the discussion of war. In 1038, Aimon – Archbishop of Bourges, made what is thought to be the first initiative to oblige male Christian faithful over the age of 15 to take to arms in defense of the faith. Contemporary and succeeding edicts and councils held that violence in the defense of the faith was permissible, except for on holy days, or limited the use of bowmen
and archers in warfare. “The peace movement favoured definition and promotion of the chivalric ideal.” The first noted support for chivalric vocation, or the establishment of knightly class to ensure the sanctity and legitimacy of Christianity
was written in 930 by Odo
, abbot of Cluny in the Vita of St. Gerald of Aurillac, which argued that the sanctity of Christ and Christian doctrine can be demonstrated through the legitimate unsheathing of the “sword against the enemy.” A shift occurred during the 9th century CE – 11th century CE where the Church moved the obligation of protecting and defending the poor and faithful on pilgrimage to holy sites form Kings to the milites, or early Knights, who established and perpetuated a chivalric ideal and code of manners in early Orders. With the Council of Clermont
by Pope Urban II
, holy war in the defense of the Christian faith was permissible and those warriors who engaged in holy war
, had the possibly of redemption through plenary indulgence and in addition believed that if they properly engaged in correct military engagement, tempered by chivalric ritual, would more likely be in good spiritual standing upon death.
Chivalry
, or chivalric codes of manners and proper military engagement, is believed to have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula
during the 10th century CE, in the context of the Reconquista
, when Frankish knights, who were willing to fight the ‘infidel
’ prior to the Crusades
, appeared to protect pilgrims flocking to the tomb of apostle James of Campstella in Galicia. St. James himself was known and celebrated in Christianity as ‘the slayer of the Moors’ and the discovery of his body by Christians has been considered a possible igniting factor of the Reconquista. The Reconquista
had began under Alfonso II
(791–842), and would last nearly 700 years as Christians attempted to suppress and push Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula
. However, the instatement of chivalric knightly orders and the chivalric ideals and codes of conduct weren’t present on the Iberian Peninsula
until almost the second century of the Reconquista
. In the context of the Reconquista
, and the geographically close proximity of Christian
and Muslim
populations, the atmosphere for the development of Knightly Orders was ripe and in the subsequent centuries chivalry flourished in Spain
to a greater extent than it did in other Christian states.
Chivalry
in Medieval Spain cannot be understood outside of the context of the Military Orders of Knighthood. Historians seem to be conflicted as to whether Knights in Spanish were directed more by Castilian
and Catalan-Aragonese
royalty or by the Papacy. But there seems to be a consensus that the knights had obligations to both and an overarching allegiance to the Church, as both were in direct contact with knights (and often royalty were themselves knights and Crusaders). Some scholars have suggested that the loyalty of the later Spanish Military Orders like that at the fortress of Calatrava
, pledged there loyalty primarily to their Kingdom, in this case Castile
, but orders like the Templars
or Hospitallers were more independent and not necessarily loyal to any kingdom consistently.
had multiple factors contributing to the strong chivalric ethos exemplified by Spanish Knights. One determinate factor to the strong adoption of chivalric Orders, in Spain
, is the Reconquista
in which Christian Kingdoms attempted to expel Muslims from the peninsula. The greatest foe of the Spanish Christian knight was above all Muslims, who were not an imagined enemy, but one deeply entrenched in reality and not as distant as the infidel, or enemy, was for the knights of France
or Germany
. In other Christian kingdoms the fighting was at least initially waged between Christians of different kingdoms, and as such was more debated and contested within Christian circles. However, in Spain
the Christian knights and kingdoms were engaged with what was almost universally acknowledged as a foe to Christianity
, and this common enemy had some role in uniting Christian kingdoms in the cause of the Crusades
and Reconquista
.
In the 12th–13th century, most of the prominent Spanish Knightly orders were formed. The early formation of the Orders of the peninsula was dangerous and unstable. In Calatrava
, during the middle of the 12th century Castilian Knights established a fortress, which would later be abandoned due to the threat of Muslim threat, then again within fifty years a fort of the Order of Calatrava
was then rebuilt and became a fortified monastic community.
The prominence of knightly orders in the political and military realms of the Christian kingdoms of the peninsula fluctuated with the crusader zeal of the kingdoms’ rulers; however, their power was not exclusively tied to the Crusader Kings. For instance, Ferdinand III
of Castile’s reign facilitated the rise of more Spanish Orders because of the desire in the kingdom led by the king to crusade against the moors.
However the years that followed the death of Ferdinand III
were relatively peaceful in Castile and the morale of the Orders were undermined. In this period of peace between the Orders and the Muslims of the peninsula: mercenaries were hired to replace and assist Knights in their fighting, Masters of the Orders were no longer religiously appointed, and civil war was waged between Christian Knights with conflicting loyalties.
The decline of knightly Orders in Spain is the subject of much debate. Some historians have attributed the fall of Chivalry and Knightly Orders to Cervantes
because he “smiled Spain’s chivalry away” with his satirical Don Quixote. Others have suggested that Chivalry's decline was due to the expulsion of the Muslims with the fall of Granada
in 1492, or the centralization of political power under the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. “Once the mission of driving the Moors from Spain was accomplished, the four Orders, like the great crusader Orders elsewhere in Europe, were perceived as over-mighty subjects and it became a priority for the Crown to gain control over them – particularly as the not infrequent quarrels between the rival bodies was a source of dissension at a time when the Crown was struggling to establish its central authority.
The Spanish kings had frequently obtained the election of close connections of their families as Masters of the Orders and at Calatrava in 1489, Santiago
in 1494 and Alcántara in 1495 the administration of the three Magisteries were ultimately granted to King Ferdinand of Aragón, as Sovereign of Aragón
and King-Consort of Castille
. Finally, by the Bull Dum intra of Pope Adrian VI
dated 4 May 1523, the `perpetual administration' of the three Orders was transferred to "Charles I (the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), King of Spain, and his heirs and successors…”
and the loss of their prominence in the peninsula, Spanish Orders then found a new role as an elite corps of the nobility, maintaining their castles and estates as commanderies to provide incomes for those who had distinguished themselves in the service of the Monarch. The succeeding centuries however saw the rise of the Spanish Empire
and the chivalric ideals of the knights transcended and reappeared in the guise of the conquistadors in the New World
. “The rewards for the conquistador were similar to those of his medieval predecessor, the reconquistador: land to conquer, people to convert to Christianity, and glory or fame. The one major difference was that the conquistadors and reconquistadores were real people who also sought wealth whereas the knight-errant of the romances was a fictional creature indifferent to material gain. Bernal Díaz de Castillo, a soldier who took part in the conquest of Mexico, put the conquistador’s objective succinctly: “we came here to serve God and the king and also to get rich” .
, or reconquest of Spain from the Moors. “The protagonist of the poem is the historical Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1045–1099), also known as Cid (a dialectal form of the Arabic word sayyid, 'lord' or 'master') and Campeador ('Battler' or 'Victor'). The poem begins with the departure of Rodrigo from his home in Vivar, the first of two exiles of Rodrigo decreed by Alfonso VI
, king of Castile and Leon (1065–1109). In the poem this first exile (1081) and the second (1089) are conflated and lead to the Cid's military campaigns in the Spanish Levant, culminating in the Cid's conquest of the Moorish kingdom of Valencia (1094). Here Rodrigo will remain with his wife and children as an independent prince until the end of his life.”
is a novel written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. Published in two volumes a decade apart (in 1605 and 1615), Don Quixote is the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age in the Spanish literary canon.
“A Spanish knight, about fifty years of age, who lived in great poverty in a village of La Mancha, gave himself up so entirely to reading the romances of chivalry, of which he had a large collection, that in the end they turned his brain, and nothing would satisfy him but that he must ride abroad on his old horse, armed with spear and helmet, a knight-errant, to encounter all adventures, and to redress the innumerable wrongs of the world. He induced a neighbour of his, a poor and ignorant peasant called Sancho Panza, mounted on a very good ass, to accompany him as squire. The knight saw the world only in the mirror of his beloved romances; he mistook inns for enchanted castles, windmills for giants, and country wenches for exiled princesses. His high spirit and his courage never failed him, but his illusions led him into endless trouble. In the name of justice and chivalry he intruded himself on all whom he met, and assaulted all whom he took to be making an oppressive or discourteous use of power. He and his poor squire were beaten, trounced, cheated, and ridiculed on all hands, until in the end, by the kindliness of his old friends in the village, and with the help of some new friends who had been touched by the amiable and generous character of his illusions, the knight was cured of his whimsies and was led back to his home in the village, there to die.”
– was the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava as a Militia was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164.
Order of Santiago
– or the Order of Saint James of Compostela was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Spain, Santiago (St. James the Greater), under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.
Order of Alcántara
– also called the Knights of St. Julian, was originally a military order of León, founded in 1166 and confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1177.
Order of Montesa
– was dedicated to Our Lady, and based at Montesa. Pope John XXII approved it on 10 June 1317, and gave it the Cistercian rule.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Medieval Europe was engaged in almost constant warfare and conflict. European warfare during the Middle Ages was marked by a transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
and artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
. In addition to military tactical and technological innovations during this period, chivalric military and religious ideals arose giving motivation for engagement in the ceaseless warfare. In the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
(particularly in Spain or the territories that would come to be Spain), chivalric ideals and institutions would be adopted and exercised with more fervor than anywhere else.
Chivalric precursors
Chivalric ideals can be traced back to IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
from the 7th century CE and in which it is best characterized as a code of formalities and traditions, and, unlike later Christian Chivalry, not a religious or political system. Organized Islamic chivalry, with principles and social customs, originated in Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
under the Caliphate of Cordova, and derived its conventions from the principles of honor, courtesy, and virtuous character. Around the 10th century CE Futuwwas,"heroic generosity", were guilds or urban organizations of Sufi Muslims, which promoted ideals of nobility, which thought that through hospitality and generosity one would always put others above oneself. "According to Sufis, futuwwah is a state of mind that is animated by selflessness, compassion, kindness, and altruism. This behavior was modeled by the Prophet Muhammad and by other friends and lovers of Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
. The word that describes the Sufi brand of chivalry is adab. They see it as "a continuous act of devotion, for it is a method of constant remembrance of God."' These percursory chivalric elements and ideals are thought to have been acculturarted into Spanish Christianty in "Al-Andalusian" Spain, since the Christian and Islamic cultures were so enmeshed for nearly 800 years.
However,the institutionalization of Christian Chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
originated in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and is thought to have been inspired by the Hundred Years War. Chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
essentially encapsulates the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
fighter spirit of the Knightly system of the Middles Ages with religious, moral, social codes used to guide the conduct of Christian military engagement. Having developed out of the feudal system of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
was essentially rules of conduct and manners shaped by early fraternal knightly orders to direct member-knights to act in accordance with church doctrine on topics of violence and war.
From 975 CE – 1025 CE the Church’s stance was for the promotion of peace in conflict, and is encapsulated in the expression ‘Peace of God’ – pactum paci (peace treaty). However, the succeeding two hundred years yielded complex and shifting opinions among Christians in the discussion of war. In 1038, Aimon – Archbishop of Bourges, made what is thought to be the first initiative to oblige male Christian faithful over the age of 15 to take to arms in defense of the faith. Contemporary and succeeding edicts and councils held that violence in the defense of the faith was permissible, except for on holy days, or limited the use of bowmen
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
and archers in warfare. “The peace movement favoured definition and promotion of the chivalric ideal.” The first noted support for chivalric vocation, or the establishment of knightly class to ensure the sanctity and legitimacy of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
was written in 930 by Odo
Odo of Cluny
Saint Odo of Cluny , a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, was the second abbot of Cluny. He enacted various reforms in the Cluniac monastery system of France and Italy....
, abbot of Cluny in the Vita of St. Gerald of Aurillac, which argued that the sanctity of Christ and Christian doctrine can be demonstrated through the legitimate unsheathing of the “sword against the enemy.” A shift occurred during the 9th century CE – 11th century CE where the Church moved the obligation of protecting and defending the poor and faithful on pilgrimage to holy sites form Kings to the milites, or early Knights, who established and perpetuated a chivalric ideal and code of manners in early Orders. With the Council of Clermont
Council of Clermont
The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, which was held from November 18 to November 28, 1095 at Clermont, France...
by Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II , born Otho de Lagery , was Pope from 12 March 1088 until his death on July 29 1099...
, holy war in the defense of the Christian faith was permissible and those warriors who engaged in holy war
Religious war
A religious war; Latin: bellum sacrum; is a war caused by, or justified by, religious differences. It can involve one state with an established religion against another state with a different religion or a different sect within the same religion, or a religiously motivated group attempting to...
, had the possibly of redemption through plenary indulgence and in addition believed that if they properly engaged in correct military engagement, tempered by chivalric ritual, would more likely be in good spiritual standing upon death.
Early Spanish chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
, or chivalric codes of manners and proper military engagement, is believed to have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
during the 10th century CE, in the context of the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
, when Frankish knights, who were willing to fight the ‘infidel
Infidel
An infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
’ prior to the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
, appeared to protect pilgrims flocking to the tomb of apostle James of Campstella in Galicia. St. James himself was known and celebrated in Christianity as ‘the slayer of the Moors’ and the discovery of his body by Christians has been considered a possible igniting factor of the Reconquista. The Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
had began under Alfonso II
Alfonso II of Asturias
Alfonso II , called the Chaste, was the king of Asturias from 791 to his death, the son of Fruela I and the Basque Munia.He was born in Oviedo in 759 or 760. He was put under the guardianship of his aunt Adosinda after his father's death, but one tradition relates his being put in the monastery of...
(791–842), and would last nearly 700 years as Christians attempted to suppress and push Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
. However, the instatement of chivalric knightly orders and the chivalric ideals and codes of conduct weren’t present on the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
until almost the second century of the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
. In the context of the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
, and the geographically close proximity of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
populations, the atmosphere for the development of Knightly Orders was ripe and in the subsequent centuries chivalry flourished in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to a greater extent than it did in other Christian states.
Chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
in Medieval Spain cannot be understood outside of the context of the Military Orders of Knighthood. Historians seem to be conflicted as to whether Knights in Spanish were directed more by Castilian
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
and Catalan-Aragonese
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
royalty or by the Papacy. But there seems to be a consensus that the knights had obligations to both and an overarching allegiance to the Church, as both were in direct contact with knights (and often royalty were themselves knights and Crusaders). Some scholars have suggested that the loyalty of the later Spanish Military Orders like that at the fortress of Calatrava
Calatrava la Vieja
Calatrava la Vieja is a medieval site and original nucleus of the Order of Calatrava. It is now part of the Archaeological Parks of the Community of Castile-La Mancha. Situated at Carrión de Calatrava, Calatrava during the High Middle Ages was the only important city in the Guadiana River valley...
, pledged there loyalty primarily to their Kingdom, in this case Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
, but orders like the Templars
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
or Hospitallers were more independent and not necessarily loyal to any kingdom consistently.
The uniqueness of Spanish chivalry
The Iberian PeninsulaIberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
had multiple factors contributing to the strong chivalric ethos exemplified by Spanish Knights. One determinate factor to the strong adoption of chivalric Orders, in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, is the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
in which Christian Kingdoms attempted to expel Muslims from the peninsula. The greatest foe of the Spanish Christian knight was above all Muslims, who were not an imagined enemy, but one deeply entrenched in reality and not as distant as the infidel, or enemy, was for the knights of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
or Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In other Christian kingdoms the fighting was at least initially waged between Christians of different kingdoms, and as such was more debated and contested within Christian circles. However, in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
the Christian knights and kingdoms were engaged with what was almost universally acknowledged as a foe to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and this common enemy had some role in uniting Christian kingdoms in the cause of the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
and Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
.
In the 12th–13th century, most of the prominent Spanish Knightly orders were formed. The early formation of the Orders of the peninsula was dangerous and unstable. In Calatrava
Calatrava la Vieja
Calatrava la Vieja is a medieval site and original nucleus of the Order of Calatrava. It is now part of the Archaeological Parks of the Community of Castile-La Mancha. Situated at Carrión de Calatrava, Calatrava during the High Middle Ages was the only important city in the Guadiana River valley...
, during the middle of the 12th century Castilian Knights established a fortress, which would later be abandoned due to the threat of Muslim threat, then again within fifty years a fort of the Order of Calatrava
Order of Calatrava
The Order of Calatrava was the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava as a Militia was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164.-Origins and Foundation:...
was then rebuilt and became a fortified monastic community.
The prominence of knightly orders in the political and military realms of the Christian kingdoms of the peninsula fluctuated with the crusader zeal of the kingdoms’ rulers; however, their power was not exclusively tied to the Crusader Kings. For instance, Ferdinand III
Ferdinand III of Castile
Saint Ferdinand III, T.O.S.F., was the King of Castile from 1217 and León from 1230. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. He finished the work done by his maternal grandfather Alfonso VIII and consolidated the...
of Castile’s reign facilitated the rise of more Spanish Orders because of the desire in the kingdom led by the king to crusade against the moors.
However the years that followed the death of Ferdinand III
Ferdinand III of Castile
Saint Ferdinand III, T.O.S.F., was the King of Castile from 1217 and León from 1230. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. He finished the work done by his maternal grandfather Alfonso VIII and consolidated the...
were relatively peaceful in Castile and the morale of the Orders were undermined. In this period of peace between the Orders and the Muslims of the peninsula: mercenaries were hired to replace and assist Knights in their fighting, Masters of the Orders were no longer religiously appointed, and civil war was waged between Christian Knights with conflicting loyalties.
The decline of knightly Orders in Spain is the subject of much debate. Some historians have attributed the fall of Chivalry and Knightly Orders to Cervantes
Cervantes
-People:*Alfonso J. Cervantes , mayor of St. Louis, Missouri*Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, 16th-century man of letters*Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban composer*Jorge Cervantes, a world-renowned expert on indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse cannabis cultivation...
because he “smiled Spain’s chivalry away” with his satirical Don Quixote. Others have suggested that Chivalry's decline was due to the expulsion of the Muslims with the fall of Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
in 1492, or the centralization of political power under the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. “Once the mission of driving the Moors from Spain was accomplished, the four Orders, like the great crusader Orders elsewhere in Europe, were perceived as over-mighty subjects and it became a priority for the Crown to gain control over them – particularly as the not infrequent quarrels between the rival bodies was a source of dissension at a time when the Crown was struggling to establish its central authority.
The Spanish kings had frequently obtained the election of close connections of their families as Masters of the Orders and at Calatrava in 1489, Santiago
Santiago
Santiago is the capital city of Chile. Santiago may also refer to:*Santiago *Santiago , a Spanish given name*Santiago!, a shortened form of the Reconquista battle cry "Santiago y cierra, España"...
in 1494 and Alcántara in 1495 the administration of the three Magisteries were ultimately granted to King Ferdinand of Aragón, as Sovereign of Aragón
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
and King-Consort of Castille
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
. Finally, by the Bull Dum intra of Pope Adrian VI
Pope Adrian VI
Pope Adrian VI , born Adriaan Florenszoon Boeyens, served as Pope from 9 January 1522 until his death some 18 months later...
dated 4 May 1523, the `perpetual administration' of the three Orders was transferred to "Charles I (the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), King of Spain, and his heirs and successors…”
Later incarnations of Spanish chivalry
After the ReconquistaReconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
and the loss of their prominence in the peninsula, Spanish Orders then found a new role as an elite corps of the nobility, maintaining their castles and estates as commanderies to provide incomes for those who had distinguished themselves in the service of the Monarch. The succeeding centuries however saw the rise of the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
and the chivalric ideals of the knights transcended and reappeared in the guise of the conquistadors in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
. “The rewards for the conquistador were similar to those of his medieval predecessor, the reconquistador: land to conquer, people to convert to Christianity, and glory or fame. The one major difference was that the conquistadors and reconquistadores were real people who also sought wealth whereas the knight-errant of the romances was a fictional creature indifferent to material gain. Bernal Díaz de Castillo, a soldier who took part in the conquest of Mexico, put the conquistador’s objective succinctly: “we came here to serve God and the king and also to get rich” .
El Cid
El Cantar de Myo Çid ( El Poema de Myo Çid or Mio Cid, literally The Song of my Lord), also known in English as The Lay of the Cid and The Poem of the Cid is the oldest preserved Spanish epic poem. Based on a true story, it tells of the Spanish hero El Cid, and takes place during the ReconquistaReconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
, or reconquest of Spain from the Moors. “The protagonist of the poem is the historical Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1045–1099), also known as Cid (a dialectal form of the Arabic word sayyid, 'lord' or 'master') and Campeador ('Battler' or 'Victor'). The poem begins with the departure of Rodrigo from his home in Vivar, the first of two exiles of Rodrigo decreed by Alfonso VI
Alfonso VI of Castile
Alfonso VI , nicknamed the Brave or the Valiant, was King of León from 1065, King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, and self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain". After the conquest of Toledo he was also self-proclaimed victoriosissimo rege in Toleto, et in Hispania et Gallecia...
, king of Castile and Leon (1065–1109). In the poem this first exile (1081) and the second (1089) are conflated and lead to the Cid's military campaigns in the Spanish Levant, culminating in the Cid's conquest of the Moorish kingdom of Valencia (1094). Here Rodrigo will remain with his wife and children as an independent prince until the end of his life.”
Don Quixote
“A Spanish knight, about fifty years of age, who lived in great poverty in a village of La Mancha, gave himself up so entirely to reading the romances of chivalry, of which he had a large collection, that in the end they turned his brain, and nothing would satisfy him but that he must ride abroad on his old horse, armed with spear and helmet, a knight-errant, to encounter all adventures, and to redress the innumerable wrongs of the world. He induced a neighbour of his, a poor and ignorant peasant called Sancho Panza, mounted on a very good ass, to accompany him as squire. The knight saw the world only in the mirror of his beloved romances; he mistook inns for enchanted castles, windmills for giants, and country wenches for exiled princesses. His high spirit and his courage never failed him, but his illusions led him into endless trouble. In the name of justice and chivalry he intruded himself on all whom he met, and assaulted all whom he took to be making an oppressive or discourteous use of power. He and his poor squire were beaten, trounced, cheated, and ridiculed on all hands, until in the end, by the kindliness of his old friends in the village, and with the help of some new friends who had been touched by the amiable and generous character of his illusions, the knight was cured of his whimsies and was led back to his home in the village, there to die.”
Prominent Knightly Orders of Spain
Order of CalatravaOrder of Calatrava
The Order of Calatrava was the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava as a Militia was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164.-Origins and Foundation:...
– was the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava as a Militia was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164.
Order of Santiago
Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Galicia and Spain, Santiago , under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.-History:Santiago de...
– or the Order of Saint James of Compostela was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Spain, Santiago (St. James the Greater), under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.
Order of Alcántara
Order of Alcántara
The Order of Alcántara , also called the Knights of St. Julian, was originally a military order of León, founded in 1166 and confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1177.-Alcántara:...
– also called the Knights of St. Julian, was originally a military order of León, founded in 1166 and confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1177.
Order of Montesa
Order of Montesa
The Order of Montesa is a Christian military order, territorially limited to the Kingdom of Aragon.-Templar background:The Templars had been received with enthusiasm in Aragon from their foundation in 1128...
– was dedicated to Our Lady, and based at Montesa. Pope John XXII approved it on 10 June 1317, and gave it the Cistercian rule.
See also
- Spanish EmpireSpanish EmpireThe Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
- History of SpainHistory of SpainThe history of Spain involves all the other peoples and nations within the Iberian peninsula formerly known as Hispania, and includes still today the nations of Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain...
- Military history of SpainMilitary history of SpainThe military history of Spain, from the period of the Carthaginian conquests over the Phoenicians to the current Afghan War spans a period of more than 2200 years, and includes the history of battles fought in the territory of modern Spain, as well as her former and current overseas possessions and...
- ReconquistaReconquistaThe Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
- CrusadesCrusadesThe Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
- Religious warReligious warA religious war; Latin: bellum sacrum; is a war caused by, or justified by, religious differences. It can involve one state with an established religion against another state with a different religion or a different sect within the same religion, or a religiously motivated group attempting to...
- ChivalryChivalryChivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
- Marca HispanicaMarca HispanicaThe Marca Hispanica , also known as Spanish March or March of Barcelona was a buffer zone beyond the province of Septimania, created by Charlemagne in 795 as a defensive barrier between the Umayyad Moors of Al-Andalus and the Frankish Kingdom....