At its height Santiago alone had more possessions than Calatrava and Alcántara together. The "encomienda" could place the headquarters or residence of the knight commander in a castle or fortress or in a small town and was the administrative or economic center in which the rents of the estate and properties relevant to that "encomienda" were paid and received; it was the habitual residence of the knight commander and some other knight. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. It was ruled by a Superior Council dependent on the Ministry of War, which was also extinguished after the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931. The revenue was allocated between the respective "encomiendas" and the board that financed the Master of the Order. This Galician cultural export became eventually the symbol of the Military Order of Santiago, a Christian knighthood founded in the 12th century in the kingdoms of Castile and Portugal for patrolling their borders with Muslim Spain. They would then kneel before this upright cross for prayer. The knights wore the cross stamped on the royal standard and white cape. Abrantes, their first commandery in Portugal, dates from the reign of Afonso I in 1172, and soon became a distinct order which Pope Nicholas IV released from the jurisdiction of Uclés in 1290. Favorite Add to Camino de Santiago St James Cross Pilgrim lapel Pin SpanishDoor. The Order was divided into several provinces, the most important ones being Castille and León because of their number of properties and vassals. In the grand strategy game Crusader Kings II, made by Paradox Interactive, the Order of Santiago can be created, as a militarized order akin to the Knights Templar. Authority was exercised by a grand master assisted by a Council of Thirteen, which elected the grand master and had the right to depose him for due cause; they had supreme jurisdiction in all disputes between members of the order. It was restored as a civil association with the kingship of Juan Carlos I with the character of a nobiliary, honorable, and religious organization that remains as such. Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, the centre of devotion to this Apostle, is neither the cradle nor the principal seat of the order. It can also symbolize taking the sword in the name of Christ, in a certain sense. They had possessions in Portugal, France, Italy, Hungary, and even Palestine. Duties added in 1655 included defence of the belief in the Immaculate Conception of Mary.[6]. Each "encomienda" had to support the knight commander and the other knights living there, and to pay and arm a certain number of spearmen, who had to be properly equipped and take part in military actions they were called to by their master. The convents that are mentioned are: Santa Eufemia de Cozuelos (Palencia), founded in 1502; Convento de Sancti Spiritus of Salamanca, given to the Order in 1233; San Vicente de Junqueras (Barcelona), founded in 1212; San Pedro de la Piedra (1260), in Lérida; Santos-o-Velho (1194), in Lisbon and Destriana (León). The prospective member then had to live three months in the galleys and reside for a month in the monastery to learn the Rule. The first Bull of confirmation, that of Pope Alexander III, already enumerated a large number of endowments. The red sword-cross known as the "Cross of St James" is represented as a red cross floryor flowered cross over a white field, where the shape of the cross is actually the blade of a sword. The number of knights was then 400 and they could muster more than 1000 lances. Unlike the contemporary orders of Calatrava and Alcántara, which followed the severe rule of the Benedictines of Cîteaux, Santiago adopted the milder rule of the Canons of St. Augustine. The convents of Membrilla (Ciudad Real) and the Mothers Superior of Madrid (1650) came after these dates. [4], The Order of Santiago still exists under the protection of the Spanish crown. Catholic Encyclopedia. The right to marry, which other military orders only obtained at the end of the Middle Ages, was accorded them from the beginning under certain conditions, such as the authorization of the king, the obligation of observing continence during Advent, Lent, and on certain festivals of the year, which they spent at their monasteries in retreat. Cardinale, H. E. (1983). The Order of Santiago is one of the four Spanish military orders, together with those of Calatrava, Alcántara, and Montesa. The applicant must be a practicing Catholic, be of legitimate birth through both parents and grandparents, not be descended fro… The cross of the royal standard had a Mediterranean scallop in the center and another one at the end of each arm. They also had a share in the fatal dissensions which disturbed the Christians of Iberia and brought about more than one schism in the order. Their symbol is a cross of Saint James, a red cross terminating in a sword (cross fleury fitchy in heraldry), which recalls their title de la Espada, and a shell (la venera), to which they owe their connection with the pilgrimage of St. James. The cross of St. James, or "cross fleury" is the emblem of the Knights of Santiago, also know as the Order of Santiago de Compostela, which was founded in the 12th century in Northern Spain. Pope Adrian VI forever united the office of grandmaster of Santiago to the crown in 1523. In heraldry, the Cross of Saint James, also called the Santiago cross or the cruz espada, is a charge in the form of a cross. The bottom of the cross is sword-shaped in reference to the military aspect of the order and is considered a cross of a warrior - symbolizing taking up the sword in the name of Christ. The Knights of Santiago had possessions in each of the kingdoms, but Ferdinand II of León and Alfonso VIII of Castile, in bestowing them, set the condition that the seat of the order should be in their respective states. Aside from the convents for friars of Uclés and San Marcos (León), the Order had other convents in Vilar de Donas (a church in Palas de Rei, Lugo), Palmela (Portugal), Montánchez (Cáceres), Montalbán (Teruel) and Segura de la Sierra (Jaén). List of Grand Masters of the Order of Santiago, http://www.erroreshistoricos.com/curiosidades-historicas/militar/1485-las-mujeres-en-las-ordenes-de-caballeria.html, http://www.chivalricorders.org/orders/spanish/santiago.htm#FOOTNOTE_13, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13353a.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Order_of_Santiago&oldid=990184005, Articles containing Spanish-language text, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2014, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with no article parameter, Articles incorporating text from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with no article parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 23 November 2020, at 07:58. The first grand master, Pedro Fernández de Castro, died in 1184. The applicant must be a practicing Catholic, be of legitimate birth through both parents and grandparents, not be descended from non-Christians,[5] and prove at least 200 years of confirmed nobility of birth (not of privilege) from each of their four grandparents by legitimate marriage. In Spain, these possessions included 83 commanderies (of which 3 were reserved to the grand commanders), 2 cities, 178 boroughs and villages, 200 parishes, 5 hospitals, 5 convents, and 1 college at Salamanca. The Order of Santiago (/ˌsɒntiˈɑːɡoʊ/, Spanish: [sanˈtjaɣo], Spanish: Orden de Santiago), also known as the Order of St. James of the Sword, is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. The wives and family of the friars could stay there when they went to war or died. The mildness of this rule furthered the rapid spread of the order, which eclipsed the older orders of Calatrava and Alcántara, and whose power was reputed abroad even before 1200. To discharge the detail of this administration, Charles V instituted a special ministry, the Council of Orders, composed of a president named by the king, whom he represented, and six knights, two delegates from each order. Under the direction of Msgr. Hence arose long disputes which only ended in 1230 when Ferdinand III, the Saint, united both crowns. These pontifical acts, collected in the Bullarium of the order, secured them all the privileges and exemptions of other monastic orders. St James the Greater was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, and actually thought to be the cousin of Jesus himself, by the sister of the Virgin Mary, and the brother of St Jude Thaddeus. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from. Admission to the order is open to applicants of noble blood. Women were admitted into the order from the beginning, since its members could marry,.