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The Knights of Spain:
Los Soldados Real de la Imperium Hispanidad

The crusade to drive the Moors from Spain, four hundred years of almost constant warfare interspersed with skirmishes and short periods of armed peace, was not only the longest of all European wars but was the only crusade to achieve its objective. The role played by the knights of the Military Orders was a crucial one; their monastic structure, the harsh discipline and the devotion of the knights to the cause of liberating their nation from the invader, gave them an unmatched strength of purpose. By granting key strategic fortresses to the knights, the Iberian Kings of Castille, Aragón, León and Portugal were able to establish border outposts in newly conquered territories whose boundaries were continually pushing back the areas controlled by the Moors. With the success of the Reconquista and the expulion of the Moors, the four Orders lost their independence from secular authorities when they were put under the "perpetual administration" of the Spanish Crown. They then found a new role as an elite corps of the nobility, maintaining their castles and estates as commanderies to provide incomes for those who had distinguished themselves in the service of the Monarch. With the loss of their estates in the nineteenth century their role became purely honorary and the Republic attempted to suppress them entirely, although this was contrary to Canon Law under which they were regulated as Religious-Military Orders founded by Papal Bull. Restored under the present Monarchy, they have been maintained as exclusively Catholic, Noble Orders dependent on the Crown. Spanish knights would not only conquer moorish lands, but lands in the new world. They are forever known in Western History as Los Coquistadores Majestad, colloquially "The Majestic Conquerors".


Royal Standard Herald;
A light knight, armed with chainmail and royal banner to signify the arrival of an Army.
Spanish Armies deployed multiple Royal Heralds to pronounce the arrival of a Corp Commander,
or to signify and announce the arrival of the Royal Army, commanded by the Spanish King Himself.


Standard Men-at-Arms. Suited in standard chain mail.


Spanish standard infantry. Normally, these soldiers would wear a banner over their armour.


Standard Nobility Armour. Worn by either Noble Barons, or members of the Spanish Royal Family.
Worn also by Commanders and officers.


Royal Spanish Heavy Infantry
-The shock troops of the Spanish Infantry.
-Spain utilized these troops to conquer the whole Iberian penninsula and also in Her campaign to control southern Italy and the Netherlands in the 15th and 16th century. German and French armies fell to Spanish heavy infantry.


Royal Armour.
Worn by high ranking princes, and by the Kings of Spain.
Usually, royal nobles would not walk, but sit on an armoured Horse and command heavy cavalry.
And would run down the enemy with the hooves of their horses.


Heavy Spanish Cavalry
-The Pride of the Royal Spanish Armies.
These horsemen brought fear and shock to French civilians, Germans, Flemish, and even brought the Vatican to Her knees when Spain took control of Sicilia in the late 16th century. And decimated the Aztecs, and Incans in the New World.


Imperial Spanish Conquistadores
-Standard outfit and armour of 16th centurian soldiers of the Empire.
-The curved helmet was effective in bouncing axe and heavy sword blows
-Its smaller allowing movability for soldiers who were sent to the jungles of South and Central America and the Philippines/Pacifica


Conquistadores con Caballo
-Standard Cavalry units that were sent to conquor the Aztecs, Incans and the Philippines


The Imperial Armour


Emperor Philip II the Great
-The absolute monarch of the Spanish Empire that conquored the new world
-Philippines is named after Him.
-Note his standard armour, it bears the royal insignia on the chest


Portrait of Philip II with full amour; made during his rise to the throne.
-The same year that 'Las Islas Filipinas' was named after him by Magellan in 1521.


Emperor Charles II's chest plate
-note the Imperial Spanish insignia


The royal banner


Imperial Helmet, worn specifically by the Emperor of Spain
-This same style was worn by Philipp II the Great
-Worn also by Charles II



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Dong, apil ang Knights of Columbus ani?

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Yes, 'te. The Knights of Columbus is a Fraternal Knighthood based on the character of chivalry, religious order, and the protection of the Catholic Church. The KOC was established to increase the faith, and most of all, to protect the Church. Knights of Columbus are not used to fight, its main goal is to spearhead the needs of the church in the communities it is located in. Where there is hunger, they help to fight it, where there is need, they help to alleviate it. They assist in church activities and protect the parishoners who come to visit the House of God. Provide safety for those who come to church in their weekly pilgrimage to receive the Body and Blood of Christ.



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The Knights of Columbus is a fraternal Knighthood, developed originally in the United States. It became world reknown for its humanitarian efforts and faith-related projects. Its membership has spread to Canada, UK, France, Germany, the Philippines, Mexico, Argentina, most of south and central america and all over western europe.


The original knights that protected the Holy Church were the Swiss Guards. The original order of Swiss Guards came about during the 15th century--where Swiss knights volunteered to protect the Papacy against those who would circumvent the power of the Papacy. Namely the mounting armies of Spain, France, and Holy Roman Empire (Germany).

The Swiss Guards
In Defense of the Pope, and the Vatican, the Holy Magesterium.











Acriter et Fideliter. En Deius, En Pacem, En Sacrimentum, En Patris, En Fili, En Spiritus Sancti
In translation: Honor and Fidelity. In God, In Peace, In the Sacraments, In the Father, In the Son. And In the Holy Spirit

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Ah, how could I forget about them. I shall gather some information on them. Next time na pood.

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Hahaha, Sir Gec, perhaps you can enlighten us on the Jedi.

My knowledge on the Jedi has always been weak at best. I've always been fond of the Sith Lords

Darth Vader, Darth Tyrannus and Darth Sidious were my favorite.
Alas,

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Who were the Knights of the Templar?

Following the victory of the First Crusade a group of knights, led by Hugues de Payens, offered themselves to the Patriarch of Jerusalem as a military force.

This proposed military force had the mandate of protecting Christian pilgrims who were en route to the Holy Land In the year 1118 AD King Baldwin II granted the Templars quarters on the Temple Mount.

For the first nine years of their existence, the order consisted of nine knights. Speculations of treasure hunting aside, one of the reasons for the limited number of members may have been the reluctance to take Templar vows. Chastity, poverty and obedience were hardly a lifestyle greatly sought after.

In the year 1127 the Cistercian abbot, Bernard of Clairvaux, wrote a rule of order for the Templars that was based on his own Cistercian order's rule of conduct. Additionally, Bernard did a great deal to promote the Templars.

Perhaps Bernard's greatest contribution to the order was a letter that he wrote to Hugues de Payens, entitled De laude novae militae (In praise of the new knighthood.)

This letter swept throughout Christendom with the result being that many men, of noble birth, joined the ranks of the Templar Order. Those who were unable to join often gifted the Templars with land and other valuables.

While it is true that the Templars were not permitted, by their rule, to own much of anything personally, there was no such restriction on the order as a whole. As such the gifts of land were accepted and put to immediate use by the order.

From humble beginnings of poverty in 1118, when the order relied on alms from traveling pilgrims, the Order quickly grew to have the backing of the Holy See and the collective European monarchies.

In the process, the order became wealthy. Aside form the gifts showered upon them, they were experts in commerce and free from the taxation and tithes imposed on other orders.

However, in less than two centuries, the Templars would meet their demise perhaps because of their wealth or fear of their seemingly limitless powers. It is generally agreed that Philip IV was envious of the Templar's wealth and sought to secure it for himself.

Regardless of the motivation, the order was taken down at the hands of Pope Clement V and the King of France in 1307.

On October 13, 1307 Philip had the Templars arrested on grounds of heresy; since this was the only charge that would allow the seizing of their money and assets.

The Templars were tortured and confessions were given. These confessions included:

    1) Trampling and spitting on the cross
    2)Homosexuality and Sodomy
    3)Worshipping of an idol named Baphomet

Philip was successful in ridding the Templars of their power and wealth and urged all fellow Christian leaders to do the same thing.

On March 19th, 1314 the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake.

De Molay is said to have cursed King Philip and Pope Clement as he burned, asking both men to join him in death within a year.

Whether the story is an apocryphal legend or a matter of historical fact depends largely on one's point of view.


Templar Knight


Burial site of Templar Knights




Templar Knight in prayer

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The Japanese samurai warriors came into existence in the 12th century when two powerful Japanese clans fought bitter wars against each other - the Taira and the Minamato. At that time the Japanese shogunate, a system of a military ruler, called the shogun was formed. Under the shogun the next hierarchy were the daimyo, local rulers comparable to dukes in Europe. The Japanese samurai were the military retainers of a daimyo. And finally you may have heard of ronin. Ronin are samurai without a master. This is what happened to the 47 Ronin in the famous story of Chushingura after their lord was forced to commit suicide.

Privileges


Samurai warriors had several privileges. They were allowed to wear two swords - a long one and a short one. Commoners were not allowed to wear any weapons at all. At a certain period samurai warriors were even allowed to behead a commoner who had offended them.

The Japanese samurai caste itself had different ranks with different privileges. A basic ranking system from the twelfth century distinguished three major ranks:

    * kenin - meaning "housemen". They were the administrators or vassals.
    * mounted samurai - Only high-ranking samurai warriors were allowed to fight on horse-back.
    * foot soldiers

During the end of the 15th century, the Ashikaga shogunate had lost control over the country. Powerful feudal lords had ravaged Japan in a series of civil wars lasting for roughly 100 years. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi could finally unify Japan, he introduced a series of reforms thus changing the life of the samurai class. He made the samurai live permanently in castles. Until then they were farming their own land during peacetime. It was like the change from an army of draftees to an army of professionals. To finance the system, Toyotomi Hideyoshi introduced a rice taxation system under which every samurai warrior received a certain amount of rice depending on his rank.

The samurai warriors had an ethic code of behavior called bushido, meaning "way of the warrior". The central point of the bushido was complete loyalty towards the lord, the daimyo.

Belonging to the Japanese samurai class was a hereditary membership.

The Samurai is the Japanese version of the European Knight. Both are of the military-based social class, and is of a blood-related class. Nobility, below the landed Lord. The European Knight was under the command of his Lord or Baron, while the Samurai was controlled and owed his fealty to the Daimyo. Both groups had a sense of societal honored-based system. The Samurai abided by the Bushido Code, while the European Knight aboded by the Rules of Chivalry.


Samurai in full armour. Taken circa 1850.


Traditional Regalia.


Samurai of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Circa mid 19th century


Samurai downed with full armour on horse. Circa mid 19th century

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And now, how about the Jedi knights?



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The Jedi are members of an ancient and noble monastic order in the fictional Star Wars universe. The Jedi Knights are known for two things: their observance of a religion founded on The Force and their selection and admittance to the order, based upon specific talents that demonstrate that a person has a special link to such Force. The Star Wars universe contains a Galactic Republic, thousands of years old, in which a democratic ruling body, the Galactic Senate, oversees the Republic for the best interests of all the inner states, called Systems. Where or when the public order cannot be imposed through regular means of the law, the Jedi Order assists the Senate, sending their Knights to restore peace, thus acting as a guard corps for the Republic. The Jedi Knights are so effective in this role that, for much of its existence, Republic deemed the existence of a regular standing army unnecessary.

The Jedi are monks, warriors, handcrafters and philosophers, who devote their lives to the Order. They live in an impressive temple on the capital world of the Republic, Coruscant. Recruited at a very young age, sometimes even as toddlers, the Jedi are devoted to a life of service. Their early life involves training in the use of The Force; this training's purpose is to allow the Jedi to understand the special link each of them has with The Force, and the talents which they consequently derive from it, talents such as telekinesis, precognition, jumping to extreme heights and influencing the weak minded. The dark side users have the ability to produce electricity from their finger tips. Their training also involves combat techniques, which ultimately entail mastering an exotic weapon, the lightsaber, the signature weapon of the Order. In this regard, the Jedi Knight resembles a Samurai warrior more than a Crusader and, like the Samurai, Jedi have a poor opinion of ranged weapons, such as pistols or rifles, considering them uncivilized resources of battle.

The Jedi are intelligent beings, not necessarily human, who have a link to The Force, which is described as an energy field created by life, which casts a power over all matter and energy in the Universe (an entity similar to the Chinese concept of Qi, the "Great Whole of Life"). This bond, and the subsequent training to strengthen it, allows the Jedi to exercise fantastic talents. The Jedi is not a superbeing in the regular sense of the term, as a superhero or a deity, but a being with a connection to a universal channel of energy. Through the use of this channel, the Jedi can perform great feats of speed, reflexes and strength. The Jedi can see into the immediate future, so they appear to have unimaginably quick reflexes. Thus, the Jedi is not a superbeing, but a Force-driven being.

The Jedi Order has a nemesis in the Sith Order, an order much more simple in structure but just as old and just as rich in traditions as the Jedi Order. The Sith move within the cracks of society, promoting conflict and chaos. Their resources are secrecy and diversion, but when confronted in the open, they display just as much dexterity in the Jedi Arts as a Jedi Knight. They are also "Force-driven beings", like the Jedi, however the Sith are able to call on both the Light and Dark Sides of the Force, rendering them potentially more dangerous than the Jedi. This ability to use both sides of The Forces makes them convinced that they have more complete abilities, though a side effect arises from this: use of the Dark Side of The Force corrupts the spirit, the mind and the body of anyone who utilizes its power. They are characterized by their single-minded lust for power and disdain for sentient life. The Sith once ruled the Galaxy but were thrown out of power, and exiled from the Galaxy, by the Jedi Order.



Source: George Lucas' Star Wars Fan Sites.

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Ah, finally, the piece on the Jedi Knights!



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Does anyone here know of the Janissary Knights of the Ottoman Empire?

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Sir Gec, You and I are of the same chapter, same Order. The Order of Dagohoy
By birthright all able bodied Boholano man and woman are assigned to it.

Pray tell me, Sir Gec, can you enlighten us about the Janissary Knights?

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The standing Ottoman army, first organized by bey (also erroneously called sultan) Murad 1 in the late 14th century, lasting until 1826, altogether about 450 years.
The term in Turkish, yeniçeri means new troops, indicating exactly what they were in the beginning: An alternative to the old regular army.
The Janissaries became famous for their military skills, but also because they were staffed by youths conscripted from Christian families in the Balkans. After the conscription they were defined as the property of the sultan, and practically all of them converted to Islam.
The Janissaries were subject to strict rules, limiting their freedom and demanding higher moral standards than usual in the society. In the first couple of centuries, they were forced to celibacy, but this would later change. The janissaries were not allowed to grow beard, which was the sign of a free man.
The need for the bey/sultan to form the Janissary corps, came from the fragility of an army put together by free men from many different tribes from areas often wide apart. Their allegiance were normally to their own tribal leaders, leaders that often were tempted to oppose the power of the sultan, and to find allies among the main enemies of the Ottoman empire.
At first the Janissaries were put together of war prisoners. But from 1420's young men were taken from their homes at an early age, and contact with their old communities were cut. This system was called devsirme. They were even denied contact with the normal society in the areas were they were stationed. Through their training, they were learned to put their allegiance to the bey/sultan. At least so was the intention. And despite strict rules, they enjoyed high living standards and a social status which intended to give logic and force to their loyalty.
But over time, the Janissaries were so successful that they grew into one of the strongest power institutions in the empire. They could exercise this strength to influence the policy and to defend their own interests. From the 17th century and on, they staged many palace coups to exercise this power. But this would eventually be the main reason for their downfall — their strength made them dangerous to the sultan, and when the final battle over power came, the Janissaries lost, and all troops were killed or banished.





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