The Spanish peninsula in the 12th century was a land under threat. The Islamic threat of the Moors from north Africa had crossed the Mediterranean and advanced as far as southern Castile.
These lands were at war, and as the balance of power shifted back and forth a major victory was won by the King of Castile, Alfonso VII, in 1147. The great castle of southern Castile, called Calatrava in Arabic, had been taken by the Christians.
This was not an easy castle to keep, and the defense of his kingdom had cost Alfonso dearly. He and his son and successor Sancho III needed fighting men to hold this great castle, and they were needed quickly.
The solution was offered by Raymond of Fitero, a Cistercian Abbot who had listened to the sage advice of a simple monk named Father Diego Velázquez. There were no standing armies in this time, but were the Cistercians to create a military branch of their order, men would flock to the banner and Calatrava would have its defenders.
Father Diego himself would serve as a knight, one of the first Knights of Calatrava. And Raymond would become Saint Raymond of Fitero, their first leader.
The Knights of Calatrava
The Order of Calatrava came to be one of the major religious and military orders in Spain. It came into existence in 1158 when Castile’s King Sancho III gave up the Calatrava fortress to Raymond, who was abbot of the Cistercian monastery belonging to Fitero. He had specifically given the instructions to defend the fortress of Calatrava from the Moors.
The term Moors was used to refer to the Muslim people who inhabited the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. The order had immense power at the time of its peak. Although the power of the order had diminished significantly by the latter part of the 15th century, it earned its place in history by acting as the primary defender of the Calatrava fortress.
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These Knights of Calatrava were the individuals who had been assigned the responsibility of safeguarding the Calatrava fort. These knights and monks had been identified formally by the Pope as late as the year 1164.
The knights acted as warriors who ensured that they could defend their own religion from Moors. They have successfully made a mark in the history of Spain due to the vital role that they played against Moors so that the threat from them could be tackled effectively.
Often common men who had chosen to serve their God, the bravery and dedication of the knights held the castle against Moorish attacks and offered southern Castile a degree of security. By the end of the 15th century, the total number of members in the order was around 200,000.
In several battles, the knights were successful. However their success was followed by a series of misfortunate events as well.
The Knights of Calatrava were founded by Cistercians with the sole intention of defending against the Moors. The order was immensely powerful, holding enormous tracts of land as well as being extremely wealthy.
The Knights were created as a military branch so that they could take part in the war against the Muslims. They had to take religious vows so that they could protect their religion from the Moors, whose incursion into the Spanish peninsula had thrown the Christian world into turmoil.
Nor was their fortress home inviolable. In 1195, the headquarters of the order, Calatrava, which was situated along the Guadiana River, fell into the hands of the Moors after the heavy Christian defeat at the Battle of Alarcos. The threat was very real, but the knights were able to regroup and, bolstered by foreign crusaders, they successfully retook the great castle in 1212.
Although the order took several years to successfully retake the headquarters, the persistence that they demonstrated showed their commitment to the land and their determination to stand for what they believed in. God, they believed, was on their side.
Reconquest and Decline
With the decline of Muslim power in the peninsula in the early 13th century, the Knights of Calatrava were at the forefront of the reconquest of the region. This was a golden age for Spanish chivalry, and with their fighting prowess the Knights of Calatrava proved their worth.
A coalition of the kingdoms of Castile and Leon was formed, and together they conquered Cordoba, the old capital of the Muslim caliphate in Spain. Other cities fell in quick succession, and so great and so swift was the retaking of the peninsula that a crusade to cross Europe and restore Christian Jerusalem was also considered.
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During this peak period, the order of Calatrava was very powerful. Their power has been proven in the vital historical events and battles that they have participated in, and with 56 separate grants of land from grateful kings they had grown to dominate the political and economic landscape of the reconquered territories.
From the very inception of the order till their peak in the 15th century, the knights were regarded to be mighty. However their very success was to hasten their downfall.
As the main purpose of the creation of the order was to fight against the Moors and protect the Calatrava fortress, the decline in the power of the Moors ultimately led to their decline. Robbed of a clear foe, disagreements led to schism.
Around the 15th century, the power of the order started to reduce, and it was no longer the most powerful order. Although its power had decreased considerably, it still had the reputation of being one of the most prominent and important branches that played a key role in shaping the military and religious aspects of the nation.
The Knights of Calatrava remained in place for many centuries however, their ultimate dissolution only taking place around 1838. Although the order met its end, it is still remembered and cherished because of the prominent role that the knights played in giving a tough fight to the threat of Islam.
The Knights of Calatrava are recognized even today as the very first military order belonging to Spain, and one of the four great Spanish orders. The members were powerful, and they used their power to ensure that the Moors would not be able to capture their land and threaten their religion.
The name of the order has been itched in the history of Spain for its significance in the religious as well as military domain. Even in the 21st century, people from Spain remember the selfless contributions that were made by the Knights of Calatrava to defend against the Moors.
Top Image: Saint Raymond of Fitero, founder of the Knights of Calatrava, doing his thing. Source: Miguel Jacinto Meléndez / Public Domain.
By Bipin Dimri
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