Monk-soldier is an established expression derived from Bernard of Clairvaux used to designate members of military and hospitaller religious orders, primarily the Knights Templar.
The expression âÂÂmonk-soldiersâ is commonly used (and in modern times often overused) to describe the Templars. Its use is not illegitimate, as Saint Bernard himself associated the words âÂÂmonkâ and âÂÂknightâÂÂ. Bernard of Clairvaux, in De laude novae militiae, wrote: âÂÂIt is as remarkable as it is astonishing to see how they know how to show themselves at the same time gentler than lambs and more terrible than lions, to the point that one does not know whether they should be called religious men or soldiers, or rather that no other names seem better suited to them than these two, since they know how to unite the gentleness of the former with the valor of the latterâÂÂ.
The military ordersâÂÂat least the three major ones, the Templars, the Hospitallers, and the Teutonic OrderâÂÂwere initially composed of brothers or monks who took religious vows and lived under a monastic rule, with the particularity of âÂÂcombining monastic life with the profession of armsâÂÂ. It is the rule that defines the order: the Hospitallers followed the Rule of Saint Augustine, the Templars the Rule of Saint Benedict, and the orders of Calatrava, Alcántara, and Aviz followed the same rule as Cîteaux.
Jean-Loup Lemaître notes that âÂÂthe concept of a âÂÂreligious orderâ is relatively recent, and modern classifications are not those of the past: ordo monasticus and ordo canonicus designated in the Middle Ages a way of life governed by one of the three rules adopted at the Synods of Aachen of 816âÂÂ817, to which would later be added in the 12th century that of Francis of Assisi, and by the âÂÂinstitutionâ (institutio), which brought together the texts regulating liturgical practice and community life, in other words the âÂÂobservanceâÂÂ; âÂÂordinariesâÂÂ, âÂÂcustomariesâÂÂ, âÂÂconstitutionsâÂÂ, and âÂÂstatutesâÂÂâÂÂ.
With the Crusades, âÂÂfor the first time in the history of Christendom, soldiers lived like monksâÂÂ, or lived as monks. The Hospitallers took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; it was only from 1136 onward that their military activity is attested, while their spiritual life was enriched by devotion to the sick and the poor. Initially, the Templars aspired to monastic life, but service in the militia interrupted an essentially ascetic existence. The Teutonic Knights followed a rule similar to that of the Templars, with a clause concerning hospital work inherited from the Hospitallers who had sheltered them. The brothers lived in strongholds a life that was both religious and military.
Joseph von Hammer as early as 1818 compared Christian military orders (especially the Templars) with certain Islamic models such as the Shiÿite Assassins. In 1820, José Antonio Conde suggested that they were created on the model of the ribat, a fortified religious institution combining religious life with combat against the enemies of Islam. None of these views is accepted today: Jean de Joinville, biographer of Saint Louis, reports the visit of the Old Man of the Mountain, leader of the Nizaris, to Acre after the creation of the Templars; moreover, it appears that no ribat existed in Palestine prior to the foundation of the military orders.
The origins of the âÂÂmonk-soldiersâ may instead lie in the (milites Sancti Petri), a militia created in 1053 by Pope Leo IX to fight the Norman forces of southern Italy at the Battle of Civitate, or in the establishment of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre after the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 by Godfrey of Bouillon. The order was tasked with assisting the Patriarch of Jerusalem in his duties. A number of men-at-arms from the crusade entered the patriarchâÂÂs service to protect the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. These men were known as Knights of the Holy Sepulchre (milites Sancti Sepulcri). They were not canons, nor had they taken vows; they were therefore not yet âÂÂmonk-soldiersâÂÂ.
These âÂÂmonk-soldiersâ were not an obvious development, as they stood in opposition to the ideal of the cloistered and contemplative monk. After the capture of Jerusalem, a precarious peace prevailed in Palestine. Bands of brigands and Saracen incursions created constant insecurity. Most crusaders returned home after the conquest; only a few knights and poorly organized troops remained, largely confined to cities, making travel between them dangerous. The spread of infirmaries posed problems for sick pilgrims and for the Hospitallers themselves.
According to William of Tyre, it was the Champagne baron Hugues de Payens who proposed to Baldwin II of Jerusalem the creation of a community of the âÂÂPoor Knights of Christâ to ensure the safety of roads. At the Council of Nablus in 1120, these knights were invited to take up arms again. The new brotherhood was installed by Baldwin and Warmund of Picquigny, Patriarch of Jerusalem, on the site of the former Al-Aqsa Mosque, believed to be the location of the Temple of Solomon; hence the name milites Templi, âÂÂKnights of the TempleâÂÂ, or Knights Templar.
These knights, who took vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity yet fought the Saracens with weapons in hand, raised theological concerns: they were thought to be in a state of sin for killing enemies, even if âÂÂinfidelsâÂÂ. Hugues de Payens appealed to the abbot of Clairvaux, a relative of his, to intercede with the pope. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote De laude novae militiae (âÂÂIn Praise of the New KnighthoodâÂÂ), developing the concept of âÂÂmalicideâ (malicidium): the knights of Christ were not killing a man but the evil within him. Hugues incorporated these ideas in his letter De Christi militibus (âÂÂThe Soldiers of ChristâÂÂ), presented to the Council of Troyes in , which approved the new order. The primitive (Latin) rule, written in 1128, was appended to the councilâÂÂs record.
In 1080, Blessed Gerard founded a new hospice in Jerusalem. Official recognition came in 1113 under Pope Paschal II, who imposed, in addition to the vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity, a fourth vow: hospitality.
The Hospitallersâ military role began in 1137 when Fulk I granted them the fortress of Beth Gibelin. They subsequently acquired and built major fortresses, including Krak des Chevaliers. Although initially resisted by the Church, their military function was fully recognized after the Battle of Hattin in 1187. The status of âÂÂmonk-soldierâ was formally confirmed only in 1205 at the general chapter held at Margat.