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HOHENSTAUFEN MILITARY ORDER – “DOMUS SANCTAE
MARIAE THEUTONICORUM”
Barbarossa, Heinrich VI and Friedrich II., the last of the Hohenstaufens
Catholic military orders appeared following the First Crusade in response to the
Islamic conquest of the former Byzantine Christian Holy Land. The foundation of
the Templars in 1118 provided the first in a series of tightly organized military
forces which protected the Christian lands in Outremer, as well as fighting invading
Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula as well as Muslim invaders and pagan tribes in
Eastern Europe.
During the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries military orders, which were
based on the monastic orders, were formed. Composed mainly of lay brothers,
these Orders combined fighting with religious life. The Orders were led by Knights
and Sergeants.
According to Feudal Monarchy in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem during the
Crusader era, "three great religion-military Orders, the Templars, Hospitallers, and
Teutonic Knights were the military mainstay of the kingdom; they supplied
knights, sergeants, and in some instances ships." The Orders were the greatest
landholders, with the exception of the churches and monasteries. They acquired
lands in a variety of ways, via gifts, conquest and purchase.
The Hohenstaufen Dynasty - Page 94 of 200