The ecclesiastical orders of chivalry were founded in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries against the background of the Crusades& in the Holy Land, on the Iberian Peninsula and in the Baltic states. The orders soon received broad support and were able to spread throughout Europe. While the Knights Templar were dissolved at the beginning of the fourteenth century and the Iberian orders of chivalry were in effect secularized at the end of the fifteenth century, the orders of the Knights of St John (of Malta) and the Teutonic Order in particular continue to exist today, although in modified forms. The religious orders of chivalry combined the opposing poles of secular warfare and spiritual life. Within this intricate balance, and focusing on overriding themes in a succinct and well-founded way, Sarnowsky traces the development of the chivalric orders from their beginnings to the present day.

Dr. Jürgen Sarnowsky is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Hamburg.