TEMPLARIOS HORSEMENT

The sword of the templarios horsemen always was to the service of the cristiandad.

We have ourselves to overcome until end of century X, approaching to us towards year 1,000, year in which the interpretation of Scriptures had convinced to all the cristiandad of which it was going away to produce the Apocalypse.

The remote ideological origin of this type of groupings has been discussed often, that stops some would be in the cristianización of the Islamic concept of "Yihad" or war santa, whereas for others it would be bound simply to the one of crossed peregrination and. 

This welfare, compatible function always with the activities single-breasted uniform jackets, explains so that, in almost all the cases, the military orders arose originally from hospitable groupings, vocation this one that never left absolutely and that even stayed much later that the warlike factor had disappeared. 

Image of a pair of Templarios.

This way, the distinction between military orders and hospitable, useful from the explanatory point of view, has much of artificial, especially if we consider the mental perspective of those times. Outstanding example of a new type of religiosidad, several elements distinguished to the members of the military orders: the mythical Earth image Santa like center of the world and place of peregrination the pious-welfare spirit and, the chivalrous ideal, the monástica vocation defense crossed. 

By discounted which the joint presence of elements that raised the violence, with that they bet by the love and the tolerance, she was not not only considered contradictor to at the time but that was understood like one characteristic of the ideal models of Christian perfection. The horsemen of these orders were in effect monks, to the professed salary the votes (poverty, abstention and obedience), organized its life in agreement with one he regulates (generally the benedictine one) and to depend directly on the Pope. But at the same time they were "milites", when exerting the office of the arms and being motivated by the crossed ideal of. Three classes of members in these groupings were distinguished generally, according to predominated an ideological element or another one. 

The ecclesiastical brothers were simply monks, ordered of the mission and the apostolate, the horsemen monopolized the military function and the brothers crew members dedicated themselves to hospitable and domestic tasks. Institutionally speaking the military orders they were directed by a great master, whose powers were very superior to those from the general chapter, although sometimes the support of a restricted advice, supervise of the master looked for. Houses, properties and rents were divided in provinces, groupings of prioratos integrated as well by charges. 

Model of templaria sword.

To the orders of the priores they were the commanders or dances, representatives of the order at local and regional level. First in appearing of the two great European military orders she was the one of the Hospital, founded on 1048 in Jerusalem by merchants of Amalfi. Their origins were those of a simple pious brotherhood, ordered of the maintenance of a hospital destined the travelling ones. 

Placed under the invocation of the patriarch of Alexandria, San Juan the Limosnero and had the charge of by the benedictine ones, the Order of the Hospital of San Juan of Jerusalem admitted already in its sine, as of 1137 to horsemen. During the government of Raimundo de Puy (1120-1160), the order acquired its definitive military character, trim in the Earth defense Santa and the protection to the travelling ones. In 1154, under the pontificado one of Adriano IV, hospitable or the sanjuanistas ones they received important donations and, the following year, they were equipped with own statutes similar to those of the premostratenses canons. 

In spite of all it it order never left its primitive welfare function, founding in fact numerous hospitals on France and Italy, generally near the main ports of peregrination. This allowed the hospitable ones to surpass with relative facility the crises that supposed the lost one of Palestine, although the military functions were concentrated now in the defense of Stems. From 1310 it was known the hospitable ones with the name of horsemen of Stems. 

As far as second of the great military orders, the one of Temple, their origins were also very modest. Its foundation in 1119 corresponded to a series of French horsemen, led by whom she would be his first master, Hugo de Payens (dead in 1136), under the formula of a welfare brotherhood. United by the characteristic monásticos votes, to which they added another one of military type, trim in the defense of the travelling ones, received from Balduino II of Jerusalem a residence located, according to the legend, on the old temple of Salomón, adopting therefore the name of templarios or "milites Templi". 

Variety in different finished from  templarias swords.

In 1127 the order was recognized by Pope Honorio III and the following year, under the protection of the Cister, it adopted like rule a version modified of the benedictine one. Thanks to the sponsorship of san Bernardo, to whom militiae dedicated its well-known "De renders Nova ad you militate Templi", the templarios were able to important donations and a flood to be able. 

The privileges received throughout the time of kings and noble turned an institution of equipable power to the one of any western principality at your service and its wealth got to become immense. In the middle of century XIII Temple was divided in 17 provinces with approximately 20,000 members. 

Nevertheless, its direct dependency of the Pope and, mainly, its quick dedication to speculative and credit businesses woke up the distrusts of the monarchs. When falling San Juan de Acre in 1291, last one of the territories of the kingdom of Jerusalem, the order of Temple, deprived of his main function like she was the military man, entered a deep crisis that would not surpass. Their enormous wealth (at the beginning of century XIV the templarias rents surpassed the 800,000 annual tornesas pounds), enemistad of the king of France, the weakness of the Papado and the failure on a last attempt of agreement, rejected by the templarios, to fuse their order with the one of the Hospital, triggered the 1037-1312 tragedy.

Deprived of its signs of identity and defendant of all type of crimes, real or invented, serious Temple dissolved by Merciful V in I conciliate of Vienne, happening its properties to the diverse monarchs or integrating themselves in other military orders.

Templarios soldiers with its swords.

Without reaching the importance of the orders of Temple or the Hospital, similar groupings in diverse European countries existed. As a result of second crossed, and by initiative of Duke Federico de Suabia, a brotherhood of horsemen was created in San Juan de Acre German with hospitable character. 

Recognized by the Papado two years later, 1198 Order of the teutónicos horsemen would be transformed into the call, whose performance in Palestine was soon languid. Favored with important donations by Federico II in German territories of colonization, in 1226 Duke Conrado de Masovia obtained that the order was transferred to Prusia, with the intention of conquering and evangelizar the territory. 

In 1237 the teutonica order was seen again favored by the incorporation of the ensíferos horsemen or sword-belt, organization founded shortly before by bishop Adalberto de Riga with identical cristianizador objective. Throughout century XIII the teutónicos horsemen would be one of fundamental points of the spear of the Drang nach German Osten, systematically using the crossed one against the pagans of Prusia, Livonia and Estonia Finally in the Iberian Peninsula, and to the heat of the fight against the Islam, numerous military orders also arose - and aside from numerous welfare brotherhoods military of ephemeral existence. 

In Corona de Aragón as much Temple as the Hospital had active presence, being based on 1317 the call Order of Wild with the goods seized to the templarios. In the western kingdoms however, always the native orders had much more importance, appeared in second half of century XII. 

Also, in Castile, the Order of Calatrava arose in 1158, whose statutes, approved in 1164, made it depend on the cisterciense abbey of Morimond. In Leon the orders arose from Alcántara (1156), also of cisterciense connection, and Santiago (1161), associated to the congregation of canons of san Eloy. With respect to Portugal, they were born in 1162 the Order of San Benito de Avis and in 1319 the call Order of Christ.

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