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Author(s): William UrbanReviewed work(s):
La Commanderie, institution des ordres militaires dans l'Occident médiéval by AnthonyLuttrell ; Léon Pessouyre
Source: The Catholic Historical Review, Vol. 89, No. 4 (Oct., 2003), pp. 759-760Published by: Catholic University of America PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25026477
Accessed: 08/09/2009 08:16
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7/29/2019 LuttrellLa Commanderie, institution des ordres militaires dans l'Occident médiéval
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BOOK REVIEWS 759
La Commanderie, institution des ordres militaires dans l'Occident m?di?val.
Edited by Anthony Luttrell and L?on Pessouyre. [Arch?ologie et d'histoire
de l'art, Vol. 14.] (Paris: Comit? des travaux historiques et scientifiques,
Minist?re de l'?ducation nationale, Minist?re de la Recherche. 2002. Pp.
361. 46.)
All military orders relied on incomes raised in the European heartland to sup
port their activities on the frontiers of Christendom. Itwas impractical to ex
pect that contributions alone would cover expenses, especially during the long
truces when public enthusiasm for crusading was minimal. Moreover, several
military orders provided services such ashospitals for the general public that
had to be supported no matter what the condition of the local economy was,
but especially in difficult years. The logical source of the incomes was clear?
the estates given by pious donors or offered by knights as a "dowry" upon entry
into the order. The problem was how to supervise these estates so as to guar
antee honest stewardship of the resources and support a reserve army that
could be called upon in moments of crisis. The high officers of the order, who
Lived at a great distance from the scattered estates, could not relyon local clergy,
much less on local nobles (not even the heirs of the donors), though the most
powerful families made efforts to control these estates for their own benefit,
usually by having some relative enter the order with the understanding that he
would be assigned to the local commandery.
The answer was to reproduce in the heartland an hierarchical organization
that had worked well on the endangered borderlands?to entrust the com
mand of a castle and its surrounding lands to an officer who would be respon
sible to aprovincial supervisor and, if necessary, a nearly autonomous regional
supervisor (the Teutonic Knights had masters in Germany, Prussia, and Livonia,
and a
grand
commander in the
HolyLand, all
responsible
to the grand master
and his council). Each local commander could participate in important assem
blies of the order and would supervise the minor officers responsible for mili
tary preparedness, incomes and expenses, and the priests who directed the
daily round of religious services; those who were most successful would be
carefully considered for promotion. This officer (commander, komtur) and his
provincial superior are, therefore, extremely important for understanding more
fully the function of the military orders, which until relatively recently were
known only for the activities of their grand masters and regional masters.
This volume is comprised of the proceedings of the first international con
ference of the "Conservatoire Larzac templier et hospitalier" in October of 2000.
It is very much an Anglo-French product, reflected in the publication of all pa
pers either in French or English. The Germans, who have led the way into un
derstanding the role of the "Balleien" (provincial districts) are represented by
three scholars: Sven Ekdahl, who is Swedish but lives in Berlin, and Dieter Weiss,
both writing on the Teutonic Knights, and Karl Borchardt, whose short article,
"Urban Commanderies in Germany" could be read as a summation of the entire
book."Two Spaniards, Luis Garc?a-Guijarro Ramos and Carlos de ?tala Martinez,
7/29/2019 LuttrellLa Commanderie, institution des ordres militaires dans l'Occident médiéval
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760 BOOK REVIEWS
and a Hungarian, Zsolt Hunyadi, make similar contributions that expand the
scope of the publication beyond the Rhine and the Pyrenees.
The papers aregrouped into five categories: (1) history of the institution and
its typology; (2) the personnel; (3) daily life; (4) economic aspects; and (5) a
study of a rural commandery, Saint-Eulalie in Larzac (where the conference was
held).
Jonathan Riley-Smith introduces the subject with a short article on the
twelfth-century origins of the provincial structure, when the practical prob
lems were worked out by a process of trial and error; the Hospitallers led the
way, followed by the Knights Templar. Eventually, the difficulties of managing
properties at a great distance, even from aprovincial center, were resolved by
giving local commanderies more autonomy. The remaining papers deal with
the thirteenth through fifteenth century, periods for which documents have
survived in greater numbers.
It is very difficult to make institutional history exciting, but the editors have
done their best to produce a handsome volume with appropriate photos of cas
tle ruins, ground plans of castles, and maps. Support of the Comit? des travaux
historiques et scientifiqueswas almost guaranteed by the star quality of the
contributors. The inevitable concentration on the knightly membership ismod
erated by Helen Nicholson's paper on women in the Templar and Hospitaller
commanderies and Dieter Weiss s study of priests.
This will be an essential addition to any library with a reasonable collection
of books on the crusades.
Monmouth College
William Urban
The Leper King and His Heirs: Baldwin TVand the Crusader Kingdom ofJerusalem. By Bernard Hamilton. (New York: Cambridge University Press.
2000. Pp. xxv, 288; 10 figs. $59.95.)
"The reason for the loss of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was the seizure of this
caravan," wrote the continuator of William of Tyre with reference to Prince Rey
nald of Ch?tillon's attack on a caravan traversing his territory en route from
Cairo to Damascus in the winter of 1186-87 (the Eracles, c. 22). This aggression
broke the treaty he had made with Saladin some months earlier and led in a
quick succession of events to Saladin's decisive victory over the Franks at Hat
tin onJuly 4,1187. Professor Hamilton has spent nearly two decades research
ing the background for this long and involved story, and the result is a highly
authoritative historical account and reinterpretation of the reign of King Bald
win IV of Jerusalem (1174-1185). His conclusions are that Baldwin played a
central role inholding his kingdom together to the very end of his reign despite
having come to the throne as aminor, and having been afflicted since boyhood
Recommended