War, Penance and Social Order: The Intellectual and Historical Foundations of the Formation of the Order of the Temple

Abstract

This article analyzes the intellectual and historical foundations of the formation of the Order of the Temple within the medieval Christendom of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It examines the transformations of the concepts of ordo, miles and militia, the Christian reinterpretation of violence through Augustine of Hippo, and the reconfiguration of warfare during the First Crusade. It also considers the role of the Latin States of the East as the material context for monastic-military institutionalization. The study shows that the Templars represent an institutional innovation arising from the convergence of faith, war, and social order.

KEYWORDS: Order of the Temple. Bellum iustum. Sacred violence.