Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Eumerin wrote:

Emperors Faithful wrote:Funnily enough, despite the name the Knights Hospitallier would be closer to the Sisters Militant, their primary concern was patrolling the pilgrim routes of the Holy Land and keeping the pilgrims free from bandit attacks.

I think I remember reading once that they got their name because they offered hospitality at their waystations. In a place like the Middle East, a safe place to sleep and water to drink while traveling would be literal life savers.

That's also true, those outposts were like pit-stops for pilgrims. But the convents were also where they operated from to keep the roads clear of miscreants.

Emperors Faithful wrote:

Eumerin wrote:

Emperors Faithful wrote:Funnily enough, despite the name the Knights Hospitallier would be closer to the Sisters Militant, their primary concern was patrolling the pilgrim routes of the Holy Land and keeping the pilgrims free from bandit attacks.

I think I remember reading once that they got their name because they offered hospitality at their waystations. In a place like the Middle East, a safe place to sleep and water to drink while traveling would be literal life savers.

That's also true, those outposts were like pit-stops for pilgrims. But the convents were also where they operated from to keep the roads clear of miscreants.

Yeah, they did both. They were a knightly order first and foremost, which meant they were trained for warfare. But unlike most knights of the era, they didn't serve a specific feudal lord. Instead, they served God as they thought best - in this case by providing shelter to the weak and hunting bandits. The Knights Templar started out as a similar organization. But unlike the Hospitallers, who remain to this day (after a fashion), the Templars were wiped out long ago by political scheming and now largely exist only in poorly written conspiracy fiction...

Eumerin wrote:Yeah, they did both. They were a knightly order first and foremost, which meant they were trained for warfare. But unlike most knights of the era, they didn't serve a specific feudal lord. Instead, they served God as they thought best - in this case by providing shelter to the weak and hunting bandits. The Knights Templar started out as a similar organization. But unlike the Hospitallers, who remain to this day (after a fashion), the Templars were wiped out long ago by political scheming and now largely exist only in poorly written conspiracy fiction...

That's just what they want you to think.


Btw, Knightly orders were a lot more common thn you think, even if not located in the Holy Land. Such as the Order of the Garter.

Emperors Faithful wrote:

Eumerin wrote:Yeah, they did both. They were a knightly order first and foremost, which meant they were trained for warfare. But unlike most knights of the era, they didn't serve a specific feudal lord. Instead, they served God as they thought best - in this case by providing shelter to the weak and hunting bandits. The Knights Templar started out as a similar organization. But unlike the Hospitallers, who remain to this day (after a fashion), the Templars were wiped out long ago by political scheming and now largely exist only in poorly written conspiracy fiction...

That's just what they want you to think.


Btw, Knightly orders were a lot more common thn you think, even if not located in the Holy Land. Such as the Order of the Garter.

Yeah, I know that there were lots of them. But most of them were tied to a domain of some sort. For instance, iirc the Order of the Garter was a stricly British organization.

Eumerin wrote:*snip*

The Orders of the Knights Templar and Hospitallier still had to act on the say of certain powrs, ussually within the auspices of whoever was overruling the Holy Lands at the time. The Knights Templar, so far as I know, were the exception due to banking/trade/Animus that made them obscenely rich.

Emperors Faithful wrote:

Eumerin wrote:*snip*

The Orders of the Knights Templar and Hospitallier still had to act on the say of certain powrs, ussually within the auspices of whoever was overruling the Holy Lands at the time. The Knights Templar, so far as I know, were the exception due to banking/trade/Animus that made them obscenely rich.

When the Crusaders retook the Holy Lands from the Muslims, they split it into several different kingdoms. So unlike, say, the aforementioned 'Order of the Garter', the Knights Hospitallar and Templar were working across what we would see as multiple countries (albeit very tiny, loosely allied ones). It's true that they had to get permission from the local political leaders, but they worked with multiple leaders. Then when the Muslims reconquered the Christian reconquest of the Holy Lands, the Hospitallars and Templars were forced to leave.

You're correct. I had this in mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Jerusalem

But I forgot the smaller principalities to the North.