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Book Cover
E-book
Author Conedera, Sam Zeno, author.

Title Ecclesiastical knights : the military orders in Castile, 1150-1330 / Sam Zeno Conedera, SJ
Edition First edition
Published New York : Fordham University Press, 2015

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Description 1 online resource
Series Fordham series in medieval studies
Fordham series in medieval studies.
Contents Introduction: Warrior Monks? -- Foundations -- Interior Castle : The Orders' Religious Observance -- Ad Extra : The Orders' Mission in the World -- Brothers in Arms : The Orders' Relations with Each Other
Summary "'Warrior monks'--the misnomer for the Iberian military orders that emerged on the frontiers of Europe in the twelfth century-have long fascinated general readers and professional historians alike. Proposing 'ecclesiastical knights' as a more accurate name and conceptual model-warriors animated by ideals and spiritual currents endorsed by the church hierarchy, author Sam Zeno Conedera presents a groundbreaking study of how these orders brought the seemingly incongruous combination of monastic devotion and the practice of warfare into a single way of life. Providing a detailed study of the military-religious vocation as it was lived out in the Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, and Alcantara in Leon-Castile during the first century, Ecclesiastical Knights provides a valuable window into medieval Iberia. Filling a gap in the historiography of the medieval military orders, Conedera defines, categorizes, and explains these orders, from their foundations until their spiritual decline in the early fourteenth century, arguing that that the best way to understand their spirituality is as a particular kind of consecrated knighthood. Because these Iberian military orders were belligerents in the Reconquest, Ecclesiastical Knights informs important discussions about the relations between Western Christianity and Islam in the Middle Ages. Conedera examines how the military orders fit into the religious landscape of medieval Europe through the prism of knighthood, and how their unique conceptual character informed the orders and spiritual self-perception. The religious observances of all three orders were remarkably alike, except that the Cistercian-affiliated orders were more demanding and their members could not marry. Santiago, Calatrava, and Alcantara shared the same essential mission and purpose: the defense and expansion of Christendom understood as an act of charity, expressed primarily through fighting and secondarily through the care of the sick and the ransoming of captives. Their prayers were simple and their penances were aimed at knightly vices and the preservation of military discipline. Above all, the orders valued obedience. They never drank from the deep wellsprings of monasticism, nor were they ever meant to. Offering an entirely fresh perspective on two difficult and closely related problems concerning the military orders--namely, definition and spirituality--author Sam Zeno Conedera illuminates the religious life of the orders, previously eclipsed by their military activities"-- Provided by publisher
"Ecclesiastical Knights is a spirituality study of the three military orders of Santiago, Calatrava, and Alcantara in Leon-Castile from the twelfth to the early fourteenth centuries. It explores the fundamental problem of the military orders: how the traditions of knighthood and monasticism were combined into a single way of life"-- Provided by publisher
Analysis Alcantara
Calatrava
Iberia
Santiago
Spain
Templars
crusade
ecclesiastical knighthood
military orders
spirituality
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Vendor-supplied metadata
Subject Orden de Santiago -- History
Orden de Calatrava -- History
Orden de Alcántara -- History
Orden de Alcántara
Orden de Calatrava
Orden de Santiago
Military religious orders -- Spain -- Castilla y León -- History -- To 1500
Knights and knighthood -- Spain -- Castilla y León -- History -- To 1500
Monks -- Spain -- Castilla y León -- History -- To 1500
Christianity and other religions -- Islam -- History -- To 1500
Islam -- Relations -- Christianity -- History -- To 1500
RELIGION -- Institutions & Organizations.
RELIGION -- Spirituality.
Christianity
Interfaith relations
Islam
Knights and knighthood
Military religious orders
Monks
Castilla y León (Spain) -- History, Military
Castilla y León (Spain) -- Religious life and customs
Spain -- Castilla y León
Genre/Form Electronic books
History
Military history
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780823265978
0823265978
9780823265985
0823265986
0823265951
9780823265954