• DOI:10.2307/2847457
• Corpus ID: 164086223

The Economic Development of the Order of Calatrava, 1158-1366

@article{Estow1982TheED,
  title={The Economic Development of the Order of Calatrava, 1158-1366},
  author={Clara Estow},
  journal={Speculum},
  year={1982},
  volume={57},
  pages={267 - 291}
}

• Clara Estow
• Published 1 April 1982
• History
• Speculum

In 1158, Raymundo, abbot of the Navarrese monastery of Fitero, responded to the pleas of the Castilian monarch Sancho III and pledged his assistance and that of a handful of brethren to defend the village and fortress of Calatrava recently abandoned by the knights of the Temple from an expected Moslem attack.1 The vulnerability and importance of this strategic site on the Guadiana River had prompted Sancho to offer attractive rewards to those willing to defend it.2 Although the feared offensive never materialized, the assembled group of armed monks chose to occupy the fortress. Committing themselves to the defense of Christian positions and the recovery of territory from the infidel,3 they proceeded to formalize their military-religious association under the auspices of the Cistercian order. This organization slowly evolved into the Military Order of Calatrava, a committed group of fighting monks led by an elected master.4 The story of the Castilian Reconquista need not be told here,5 except to