This new addition to the popular Seminar Studies series looks at the origins, development and organisation of the Military Orders during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, showing how they functioned as a form of religious life and concentrating on their role in the Crusades and in the government and defence of the Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land. Dr Nicholas Morton offers coverage of the Templars, Hospitalers and Teutonic Knights, as well as various smaller orders.

Perfect for undergraduate students studying the Crusades, and for anyone with an interest in this popular topic, this concise and useful history contains numerous primary source materials as well as features to aid understanding.

ContentsList of Illustrations. 5Introduction. 6Chapter 1: The idea of the military orders and the rise of the Templars. 14Introduction. 14The legacy of the First Crusade. 15The development of the Latin East and the origins of the Templars. 16Secular and Religious Knighthood. 19Reactions to the New Knighthood (contemporary attitudes 1)20Chapter 2: The Defence of the Holy Land, 1130-1187. 25The Origins and Militarisation of the Hospitallers. 25Templar and Hospitaller resources in the west (finances 1)28Castles and fortifications (military activities 1)33The Holy Land 1144-1170. 36The military orders at the time of William of Tyre (contemporary attitudes 2)38The fall of Jerusalem.. 41Further Reading. 45Chronology. 47Chapter 3: Iberia. 48The introduction of the military orders into the Iberian Peninsula. 48The Spanish military orders and the reconquest, 1157-1195. 50Frontier revenue: Iberia and the Holy Land (finances 2)54The struggle for Spain 1195-1232. 57Secular rulers and the military orders (patrons 1)60Expansion and the appeal of the Holy Land, 1233-1300. 63Further Reading. 67Chronology. 69Chapter 4: The defence of the Holy Land 1188-1291. 711188-1228: The struggle for the Eastern Mediterranean. 71Conflicts of interests (patrons 2)75Competition between military orders. 781230-1260. 80The economics of defeat (finances 3)83Decline and fall 1260-1291. 85Further Reading. 89Chronology. 91Chapter 5: Eastern Europe and the Baltic. 92Background. 92Eas

Nicholas Morton is Senior Lecturer in History at Nottingham Trent University.