Order of the Knights of Calatrava

The Order of Calatrava is one of four, Catholic Spanish military orders, founded in 1158 and received official approval by Pope Alexander III in 1164. It was founded at Calatrava la Vieja in Castile, by Saint Raymond of Fitero, as a Chivalric order of Cistercian structure. The etymology of the name, Calatrava, is derived from the Qalʿat Rabāḥ in Arabic, meaning Fortress of Rabah or Great Fortress, references to the site date back to the 8th century.

Toledo was conquered by Alfonso VI of Castile in 1085, and the Almoravids arrived in the Iberian Peninsula a year later. In 1147, Calatrava was conquered by Alfonso VII, becoming one of the farthest Christian outposts during this time and entrusted its defense, to the Knights Templar in 1150. Renowned for their power and wealth and greatly feared for their undaunted courage and proficiency in battle.

Nevertheless, once King Alfonso VII died, Muslim forces put all their effort into reconquering Calatrava, and thus Abd al Mu'min prepared to force the Guadiana line north. Such where the size of the efforts made that Calatrava was considered lost and the Templars refused to defend it, judging the wisest thing was to abandon it. The Templar Order returned the Villa of Calatrava to King Sancho III.

The situation became so serious, that if Calatrava was lost, the Moorish threat would loom over Toledo. So King Sancho III proclaimed that Calatrava would be given as property to whoever decided to defend it, convening a Council among all the nobles, in which Saint Raymond, Abbot of Santa María de Fitero, and a monk, named Diego Velázquez, who had been a noble and Knight under King Alfonso VII, and famous for his deeds, where present and viewing the silence of all the nobles, Monk Velázquez convinced Saint Raymond to take up the offer and accept the proposal.

To many, this seemed reckless or crazy, however in the Villa de Almazán, on January 1, 1158, King Sancho III, son of Alfonso VII, signed the letter of perpetual donation of the Villa and Fortress of Calatrava to the Cistercian Order, represented by Abbot, Saint Raymond, and his monks, so as to defend it from all enemies of Christ.

The donation was confirmed by the King of Navarra, by the Lord of Logroño, and several counts. King Sancho III, also donated to the now friars of Calatrava, a village of Cirujales, as a sign of gratitude for having accepted the offer of defending Calatrava. Saint Raymond and his War Captain Diego Velásquez left, followed by an immense multitude of which many professed in the Cistercian Order. The Abbot organized an army of more than 20,000 fighting men, after Moorish forces learned about this, the efforts to retake Calatrava were cancelled.

Once the Order of Calatrava was constituted, the order grew rapidly, formed by numerous knights who accommodated themselves to the Cistercian customs, combining the soldier’s fighting spirit with Cenobitic abstinence and fervent prayer.

The Order quickly turned into a formidable army, at the aid of Christian kings. They accompanied the King of Castile in the conquest of the city of Cuenca. 

For a time, the Order was renamed, the Order of Salvatierra, after taking the Salvatierra Fortress and being forced to relocate there but eventually they built a new Fortress 40 miles south called Calatrava la Nueva.

The Order also took part in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known for being the turning point in the reconquest of Spain.

In time, the power of this Order became so big that the kings grew suspicious of their intentions, with the fall of Granada in1492, the struggle with the Moors seemed at an end, and the bond between the Order and the Morimond could facilitate foreign intervention in the kingdom so King Fernando and Queen Isabel, brought down the feudal lords under their tutelage and removed the Royal Crown from the shameful servitude in which the nobles had kept it, not the least of them the Masters of the Order of Calatrava, whose power, armies and wealth rivaled that of the crown.

In 1540, Pope Paul III commuted their vow of celibacy to one of conjugal fidelity and in 1551, the vow of poverty also passed into virtual desuetude.

The commanderies were but so many pensions at the king's free disposal, and predictably granted by him to the high-born rather than to the deserving in character, whatever their social status.

Dissolved by King Joseph in 1808, and reconstituted by Ferdinand VII in 1814, the possessions of Calatrava were finally dissipated in the general secularization of 1838.

Currently, the four Orders carry out their activities jointly and coordinated under the guidelines set by the Royal Council and under the Bishop of Ciudad Real and Prior of the Military Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcantara and Montesa.

They support the efforts of the Foundation of the Royal Hospital of Cuenca and Lux Hispaniarum, in charge of undertaking their historical-cultural and charitable-social activities.

And owning to tradition, the Order and the Spanish Army jointly maintain the Cavalry Academy in which the old Calatrava Regiment is still incorporated and retains its three confessional purposes: Praising God, Defend the Faith and Strive for Personal Sanctification.

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