The Military Movement: The Crusades Movement

The formation of Military orders was the most crucial movement for the establishment of crusader states in the Middle-East. When the crusader states first began to form, they were alone in a foreign land with little in the way of established trade routes and constant infighting due to factions from different kingdoms competing among the crusading armies. The movement could have fallen apart at any moment, but military orders, groups of warrior monks, began to form eager to take on all the challenges the crusade could task them with. Military orders where the most important movement for the establishment of the crusader states and the longevity of the crusader movement as a whole and was crucial to fortifying the military effort, establishing infrastructure, and creating a positive image of the crusades.
There were many diverse social and ecclesiastical reasons behind the creation of the military orders, one being the role of the church in legitimizing combat. The fact that the Church sacralized warfare, and granted absolution of sin, knights protecting the pilgrims during the trek from Jaffa to Jerusalem were a natural response. According to Hayes, the military orders growth was “fostered by a theological shift in attitude of …show more content…
The successes of the Templars soon came to the attention of Western Christendom. the Templars also inspired the establishment of new military orders and the militarization of existing monastic institutions, such as the Hospitallers and smaller