The leading Military Orders were the Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights. These were religious orders set up in the 12th century to defend the Christian pilgrim routes and holy sites in Palestine. They rapidly acquired property all over Europe and became influential in royal courts and at the papal curia, as well as being leading bankers and shippers. This course not only studies the Military Orders' role in crusades, but also examines their activity in Europe, from which they drew money, supplies and personnel for their wars in the East. It begins by examining the origins of the controversial concept of the 'monk-knight' in the development of the ideals of knighthood, holy war and monasticism. It goes on to follow the Orders' career in crusades in the Middle East, the Baltic and Spain, and their economic activities, literature and relations with rulers.  The course ends with a study of the infamous trial of the Templars, in which the brothers of the most famous Military Order were tried for heresy. A wide variety of source material will be examined, including chronicles, charters, literature, art and archaeology.

 At the end of the period of learning, the student will be expected to:

• demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of the Military Orders’ role in Medieval society;
• discuss with reference to the primary and secondary material selected topics such as the Military Orders’ role in the defence of the Holy Land, the Teutonic Order’s career in the Baltic, the Military Orders’ role in Spain, recruitment to the Military Orders, noble patronage of the Orders, the Military Orders’ services for secular rulers and the trial of the Temple, 1307-1312;
• demonstrate a detailed critical understanding of  certain primary sources and their significance;
• present arguments clearly and concisely in one 1000 word assignment, one 2000 word assessed essay, in accordance with appropriate scholarly conventions, and in examination answer.

This Module will be taught through a mixture of lectures and seminars

Please see Learning Outcomes.

Students will be assessed by means of a combination of one essay relating to primary sources [20%], an assessed essay [30%] and an examination paper [50%].

Course assignments:

1. The essay relating to primary sources will contribute 20% of the final mark for the module and must be no longer than 1,000 words.
2. The Assessed Essay will contribute 30% of the final mark for the module. It is designed to give students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to review evidence, draw appropriate conclusions from it and employ the formal conventions of scholarly presentation. It must be no longer than 2,000 words.
3. The Examination will take place during the second assessment period [May/June] and will consist of an unseen two hour paper that will contribute the remaining 50% of the final mark for this module. Students must write 2 answers in total.  

What was a Military Order and how did they begin? Knights and Chivalry, monks and the new monkhood; Holy War; Military Orders and the Crusades to the Holy Land in the twelfth century; Military Orders and the Crusade to the Holy Land in the thirteenth century; the Loss of Acre; Attempts to recover the Holy Land after 1291; The Military Orders in Spain; The Teutonic order and the crusade to the Baltic; Relations with donors; Organisation and Everyday life of religious orders (including archaeology); Recruitment to religious orders; Literature and art of the Military Orders; the Military Orders in royal service; Military orders as economic forces;  Forming images: satire and literature; the Hospitallers and Teutonic Order after 1291; the Trial of the Temple.

Please see Background Reading List for an indicative list.

Alan Forey, The Military Orders from the twelfth to the early fourteenth centuries (Macmillan, 1992).

Malcolm Barber, The New Knighthood: a history of the order of the Temple (Cambridge University Press, 1994)

Peter Partner, The Murdered Magicians: the Templars and their myth (1982)

Hans Mayer, The crusades (2nd edition, O.U.P., 1988)

J. Riley-Smith, The crusades: a short history (Athlone Press, 1987)

J. Upton-Ward, The rule of the Templars (Boydell Press, 1992).