Customer Reviews

The Monks of War: The Military Religious Orders (Arkana)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We Americans don't really stray far from Western Europe in our knowledge of history. But from its very beginnings, Islam presented a clear and palpable threat to the West. Spain had already succumbed, and France was threatened by the Moors. Most shocking, the Holy Land was occupied by Turks. (Think of the response if we were to occupy Mecca and Medina!)

Europe responded by the Crusades, about which we know a little, and with the military monastic orders such as the Knights Templar and Knights of St John Hospitaller, about whom we know next to nothing. These were men who lived a monastic (or at least semi-monastic) life and who acted as Christendom's shock troops in the war against the Saracen.

The Crusader kingdoms of the Middle East finally fell after 300 years of constant strife, but the idea caught on in Spain in the drive to expel the Moors and in Prussia against the surrounding Northern Slav Pagans.

Perhaps the most stirring tale Seward tells is of the strife between the Knights of St John, having been expelled by the Turks from Rhodes, recovering brilliantly in the siege of Malta in 1565. After demolishing a force of 30,000 with only 6,000 men, the Knights ever after became known as the Knights of Malta.

Other reviewers have complained that this is a difficult book. It has to be: Almost a thousand years are covered, not to mention a score of countries. Think of it as a very dense appetizer to lead you further into what is surely one of the most exciting epochs of our history.

Much can be said for this fine piece of historical writing. First, the book covers in detail a subject that is generally dealt with as a curiousity at best. The author does justice to the motives, organization, methods and mentality of those organizations that made up the military orders. As has been pointed out, the writing can be a bit dense, but this I attribute to a British author's assumption that his readers will be well educated in the general history of the period; so too bad us, not too bad him.
Aside from the numerous facts and anecdotes which illuminate the book, I found the work of particular interest to one who struggles to understand the medieval mind. We moderns can only scratch our collective heads when confronted with a concept like "monks of war". However, once the mind is opened to the reality of the period, and the mindset of an age of faith, much that has been lost becomes understandable again.
Thus, the greatest value of this book is that it takes the reader on a journy of discovery to a world that belonges to each of us. The Crusades, La Reconquista and numerous other episodes can now be studied in their true light.
This is a book well worth reading.

I agree with what the others have posted here. I found The Monks of War to be an excellent resource for anyone interested in the details of the various military orders, their general history, and some of their more prominent members and activities. If you want to start to get to know the orders and their deeds, then this is the best place to start. The only drawback is that Seward's writing is thick and makes for a tough read. This is not light, easy reading about the Crusades. You will, at times, be bored, and at other times be a little confused by the details (and why some of the details are at all important). I think Seward was aiming to cover as much general information about the orders (size, location of holdings, administration, aims, rites, etc.) and therefore does not go into great detail on the histories of the orders. Nonetheless, for those interested in the period and the orders, then this will always be an excellent resource. Now, what kind of cross did the Teutonic Knights wear into battle? Seward has the answer!

Not mentioned in the other reviews is the fact that this is comprehensive --- Seward manages to cover the less famous of the orders as well as the Templars, Teutonic Knights, etc.

This is a very good introduction to the history of the military religious orders: Templars, Hospitallers of Saint John (today Knights of Malta), Santiago, Calatrava, Alcantara, Teutons and others. The first ones, Templars and Hospitallers, were founded in the XII Century, after the First Crusade, in order to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land and to provide humanitarian and medical services. Soon, these monks became more warriors than anything else, true machines of war which came to be the first organized and properly trained and disciplined professional elite troops in the West since the Roman Empire. The West and Islam lived then (and still do) in a permanent state of threat and holy war. Although these warriors made vows of poverty, obedience and chastity, they soon accumulated enormous riches, fighted one another and their discipline, especially in sexual matters, relaxed.

The first part of the books tells the two centuries of Christian occupation in the Holy Land, which the Islam had taken by force centuries before, and where, despite some resounding successes, the Christians ended up being totally defeated and expelled, to this day. The second part tells the story of the Crusade in the Baltic, performed by the Teutonic Knights against the pagan Slav Prussians, terrifying cannibals adoring spirits in trees, as well as snakes in the woods. These Teutonics founded what was probably the first "modern" state: Prussia (the German one). This story is practically unknown, in spite of being totally fascinating. The third part is the Reconquest of Spain, where the orders were crucial in defeating the Moors. Then come the stories of the Hospitallers in Rhodes and Malta -also wonderful- and then what became of the existing orders today.

One striking common theme during the thousand years covered is the permanent and bloody conflict between the West and Islam. In spite of the torrent of names, places and dates, this book is an incredible collection of adventures and improbable deeds, especially the sieges of Acre, Rhodes and Malta, as well as the Spanish Reconquista and the Prussian episode. The tone of the book is apologetic, the author himself being a Knight of Malta, but it also vividly portraits the terrible atrocities committed by both sides. It fills a huge vacuum in the historical and political education of almost any reader, besides being an impressive saga of courage, dedication, violence, survival, glory, triumph, defeat and corruption at the same time. It really motivates you to read more about this subject.

There are different types of history book. There are those written for the casual person, and those written for people who are really into the topic. This book is NOT for people who are casually interested in knights, and the crusades, etc. I found the book to be dry, dull and boring. in my mind it is a list of names, dates, and events scrubbed clean of anything that could be "fun" to read. If you are like me, and casually interested in the crusades and the holy orders, then skip this book, it is not written for us. But if you are a person who is really into the topic, then i really think you would like this book because it is well researched, comprehensive, and really covers everything a person into the topic would want to know. So whether or not you will enjoy this book depends on how you feel about the crusades.

This well written book is intended as a concise introduction to an interesting and important topic, the military orders of the Middle Ages. Seward covers the founding of the major orders, their organization, and major episodes of their history. To do real justice to this topic would be an immense task as the story covers centuries of European history. Seward elected to produce an overview giving an outline of their history and highlighting some of the more picturesque episodes. This book, consequently, sometimes has a superficial quality. I would have liked, for example, a better description of the role of the Templars in Medieval commerce and banking.
Seward shows that the military orders were born in the Crusading zeal that infected Medieval Europe and were founded initially to help and safeguard pilgrims to the Holy Land. They promptly became a unique Medieval hybrid, combining Cistercian monasticism and Chivalric knightly values. Rapidly gaining influence in the Crusader Kingdoms and considerable wealth in Europe, the military orders were significant actors in the complicated politics of the Eastern Mediterrenean. Similar orders developed on other important frontiers between Christian Europe and non-Christian polities, notably in Spain and the eastern Baltic littoral. In Spain, the military orders were the shock troops of the Reconquista. In the Baltic, the Teutonic Knights led the conquest and Christianization of Prussia and what is now a good part of the Baltic states.
Seward shows well how the military orders become an integral component of religous and political life in Europe. A consistent theme is that the growth in importance of the orders was accompanied by involvement in the complex dynastic, political, and religous struggles of Medieval Europe and the Crusader States. The decline of the military orders in the Early Modern period was a result of the increasing power of European monarchies and declining need for their essential mission, the military struggle against non-Christians. The military orders of Iberia were essentially absorbed by the Church and monarchies, the great Templar order was destroyed by the expanding power of the French monarchy, and the Hospitallers were marginalized by their expulsion from the Eastern Mediterrenean and the ultimate success of European struggle against the Ottoman empire. Some of the orders survive today as charitable institutions associated with the remains of the European nobility.

After about 4 years of researching the medieval military orders, I've found 'the Monks of War' to be a most resourceful book. It runs you through the basics of the main orders, along with offering numerous anecdotes, factoids, and curiosities. While each entry may not be conclusive - a conclusive book on the orders would be of about Encyclopedia Britannica size - it lets you know exactly which names to look for, and in what context. It is the perfect platform to launch a subject-oriented study of one of the orders, or even a member of one of the orders, from. I'm glad I got it. It's saved me tons of time.

The book is a brief yet interesting overview of the principal military crusading orders--the Templars, Hospitallers, and the Teutonic Knights. It covers all of these from their inception until their decay and dissolution. Unfortunately, the author uses some foreign / archaic words and phrases in the course of his work, and gives a generally scholarly presentation, which may decrease its appeal to the casual reader. Also, he goes into more extensive detail than some might like, especially in regard to the activities of the Teutonic Knights in their last days. But, all in all, to the lay historian (such as myself) of medieval times, I found it worth the reading and learned a lot about the relationships and rivalries that existed among these warrior priests

This book is well written and presents an objective view of the history of the military religious orders. Not only a work of history, it does well anthropologically in elucidating the mindset behind the military monk and the object of his work. Furthermore, it explains what many historians neglect or consider only quickly, viz. the military religious orders of Spain and their role the the Crusades. The history of the Teutonic Knights and the Knights Templar (including the circumstances surrounding their demise) are treated well.

The author pays particular attention to the sieges of Rhodes and Malta when treating of the Sovereign Military Order of St. John the Baptist (the Order of the Knights of Malta). This account is no less than phenomenal. The Knights of Malta facing insane, overwhelming, and what should be impossible odds, and overcoming them--habitually--would strain any movie-goer's ability to suspend disbelief; yet these events happened and are accurately illustrated.

If one is considering a well researched overview of the history of the major religious military orders, then I highly recommend this book, especially for the student of history. One should find it academic and enjoyable.

An excellent and scholarly introduction to the history of the major and minor military orders including a thorough bibliography. The sections on the sieges of Acre and of Rhodes are very well written and inspiring. The work is also free of the propaganda common in many contemporary histories of the Knights and the Crusades.