Historical Manuals for the Holy Orders

[Rod-Thornton]

Just a quick question I thought of while reading a book this week.

....Were there any manuals or documented formal training techniques or methods developed exclusively for any of the holy orders (i.e., the Knights of St. John, Templar, etc.?) It seems odd that such an effort of training and securing such a military force would be without ensuring or standardizing the skills for posterity. To my mind, pretty much every army has some form of an "army manual" to speak of.

I understand illiteracy was considered higher at the time, as were the costs of producing such texts, but exactly for these reasons, one might think that iconagraphic texts could have been developed for those organizations since those groups were well-funded and had the resources.

I can't think of any of the mainstream masters, however, who were affiliated with such an effort. Were any?

[Benjamin Smith]

A straight answer would be I, and I think the rest of ARMA does not know of the existence of manuals connected to knightly orders. Part of the problem, particularly for the orders that were connected to the crusades and crusader kingdoms is that they pre-date most of the heyday of writing manuals in Europe. The earliest manual we have is from circa 1295, a hundred years after the Holy Land was taken by Saladin. Another issue is that knights who were permitted to join a particular order had already undergone their principal training period as a knight. Beyond this training was more a way of keeping up the skill level (mainly including muscle memory and development and learning new moves to supplement their core knowledge) making the keeping of a master low priority, especially since there were plenty of other persons with a high skill level to practice with.

Also keeping a master on hand or financing his writing a book was expensive, you have to be able to afford a whole other person's living. Masters of defense spent the majority of their time working with students learning the art rather than refining it, unless they had the good fortune to be part of a guild, because these were the students with the greatest need, and hence greatest incentive to pay for their services, as evidenced by the explanation of basic concepts of fencing in the manuals. There would have been plenty of persons that could afford lessons in the short term to obtain a degree of proficiency, but few that could have taken it upon themselves to have a permanent training circle. The orders would have had to compete with all the other lucrative opportunities that a master had in front of them, and as I said they had generally lost most of their influence/military application by the time writing manuals became popular.

[Rod-Thornton]

I don't know Ben....I think it makes logical sense that during the height of wealth and power (circa 1290-1300 for let's say, the Templars alone) there would've been plenty-a-funds for such, as the example I cited was among the most affluent and influencial for that period. Also, I did not necessarily state "crusaders" per se. My lines of thinking are more along the lines that say, a number of the now-known works were commisioned by benefactors, like wealthy lords....so why would not an order SPECIALIZING in combat prowess have not set forth its teachings. I am not thinking so narrowly as simply crusaders.

I wonder it because it appears obvious that masters existed who set forth knowledge for the judicial duel, the battle-field, and the city street or tavern, and as indicated in the opening of Fiore's work, for the benefit of the posterity of class -the nobility- to not let this information and experiences pass away (although he did state it should be kept out of the knowledge of peasants). Doesn't it seem odd that of all the reasons iconagraphic texts were set down, none have appeared specifically for the "standing armies" of the time....namely the knightly orders? -Just a question that came to mind, that's all. And I think the I.33 S&B material is dated exactly at the time when those orders were at their height of influence in Europe irrespective of their failures in the middle east.

[s_taillebois]

Another element would be political. When the French crown went after the militant orders, much of the documentation would have been destroyed. And anything which had survived, those who held it, would have been reluctant to preserve such papers, or to transmit them. The tortures of the members of the order, was fairly drastic treatment even for that period (especially for aristocracy and clergy) and that would have been a substantial factor.
Also, the concept of overall standardized training, as such, wasn't that common until the baroque. Standardized training, on any consistent scale, was largely the product of that era.
So, although martial traditions, existed throughout the aristocratic cultures, the concept of overall standardized training is largely the product of a later period. Ironically, in part it was the result of the de-emphasis of aristocratic individualism in favor of state power (ie Louis 14th or Frederick) which made overall standardization possible.
Even the fightbooks studied in this fora, played a role. Once these were printed en masse (sort of, even printed books were expensive...for those who could read), it tended to have two effects. First, the aristocrats lost exclusivity over their martial techniques. And second, because they could (literally) be carried in a saddlebag...divergent martial traditions became available anywhere.

[Jaron Bernstein]

What remains of the general written records of these orders?

[LafayetteCCurtis]

Well, we do have faily complete copies of the Regle du Temple, but the military sections of this book of regulations dealt mostly with military law, strategy, and tactics, not the art of single combat. And this is just to be expected--a man-a-tamrs joining one of the Military Orders would have had a fair share of prior training in single combat. What the Templars & co. needed to impart was not the individual skills, but the discipline and skill in collective maneuvering.

And their tactical methods were sophisticated indeed. They had regulations against breaking ranks, against letting the standard fall, against looting before the enemy was fully defeated, and all--and the prescribed schedules for inspections and drills were quite tight, although we can't know for certain how strictly were the rules applied in practice.

[steve hick]

There is a book in German which is the manual for firearms for the Teutonic Knights from the early 14th century, but I do not know of any manual of the white arms for them.
Steve

[Brian Hunt]

Hi Steve,

do you happen to know the name of that book off the top of your head?

Thanks.

Brian Hunt
GFS

[Benjamin Smith]

It is of course possible that no manuals patronized by the order have been found yet or survived, but I think that the arguments heretofore mentioned are a sufficient explanation as to why it wouldn't have been worth their time.

[steve hick]

Hi Steve,

do you happen to know the name of that book off the top of your head?

Thanks.

Brian Hunt
GFS

No, its in German though, I can go through my old notes and see if I can find it. If you need it. Ran across the reference perhaps 15-20 years ago.

Ah ha. I keyword searched and found it.

SCHMIDTCHEN, Volker: "Die Feuerwaffen des Deutschen Ritterordens bis zur Schlacht von Tannenberg 1410."; Lüneburg 1977

[Brian Hunt]

Thanks Steve,

I appreciate your letting me know. I intend to read this work.

All the best.

Brian Hunt
GFS