Discuss the military affiliations of the Church and its personnel in the Middle Ages, and the circumstances that gave rise to them

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Two specific incidents gave rise to the military orders within the church: the Crusades and the suppression of the Albigensian heresy as part of the Reconquista in Spain. As the city of Jerusalem was taken by Crusaders of all types, it became necessary to have a permanent garrisoned force present in the city to hold the kingdom. These soldiers were initially laymen who took vows similar to monks and became religious orders. Their responsibilities included not only caring for the sick pilgrims, but also included monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, as well as protection of the kingdom. The Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar were not strictly religious personnel, but an outreach of volunteers and earned the approval of the popes. The Knights Teutonic, a group of German merchants, performed the same function after the Third Crusade. In the Reconquista, the Iberian Peninsula was retaken and Christianized. As part of this crusade, Pope Innocent III called for suppression of the Albigensian heresy, and this later proved to be a motivation for initiating the Inquisition under the Dominicans.