Ospedali e Montagne. Paesaggi, funzioni, poteri nei secoli medievali (Italia, Francia, Spagna), Convegno internazionale di studi, Università degli studi di Milano, 25-26 settembre 2019,, 2021
In a broad comparative perspective, based both on a re-reading of traditional historiography and ... more In a broad comparative perspective, based both on a re-reading of traditional historiography and on ongoing research, this paper presents a status quaestionis on the Order of the Hospital of St. John in two medium mountain areas : Haute-Provence (dioceses of Gap, Embrun and Sisteron) and the south of the Massif Central (dioceses of Saint-Flour and Mende). In these specific environments, did the establishment of the Hospitallers as well as their functions present any specificities? The question of the seigneurial power of the commanderies is left aside to focus on the issues that were at the very origin of an Order which was at first charitable and military. We therefore consider the location of the Hospitaller houses in connection with the urban infrastructure and communication links, the vocation of assistance and the possible maintenance of hospitality facilities, as well as the pastoral care of the faithful in areas that have been shaped by ecclesiastical reforms. Since it is difficult to go into in-depth considerations on the socio-economic structures that would distinguish Hospitaller commanderies in medium mountain, we will conclude with a few considerations on livestock farming. There lies perhaps, with the force of seigneurial domination, the main feature of the mountain commanderies.
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Papers by CARRAZ Damien
This paper will show how the charters drawn up for the commanderies are linked to the very origins of the notary’s office in these towns. The privileged links with these practitioners, some of whom were eminent jurists, explain why the records drawn up in the name of the commanderies provided an active vehicle for the transmission of Romanising legal formulas.
The brethren were therefore among the main clients of notaries, who were delegated not only to draw up transactions and other contracts, but also to act as arbitrators or to compile legal files or to produce cartularies. In the well-documented case of Manosque, where a team of writing and legal professionals were employed by the Hospitaller lordship, we can observe the daily collaboration in the administration of the commandery, as well as the personal links that may have been created between the families of notaries and the religious house.
The learned techniques used to support the rights of the commanderies, the skills used for administrative purposes, the close association with a staff of practitioners: all this paved the way for legal acculturation for the brethren of the military orders. How did the military orders, which were far from being disconnected from practical knowledge, assimilate this legal culture? The question remains open in the current state of research...
Il est donc plus intéressant de partir des doutes ou des points de vue exprimés par les observateurs contemporains. La fondation de l’ordre du Temple, en effet, a représenté une « révolution » dans l’histoire de l’Église, pour reprendre la formule de Simonetta Cerrini. Elle a, en tout cas, été perçue comme une nouveauté par les témoins du temps. De fait, nous évoquerons essentiellement l’expérience templière, puisque les hospitaliers de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem débutèrent comme un ordre charitable assez classique, avant de se militariser sur le modèle du Temple. Par la suite, la création d’autres ordres militaires dans le sillage de ces premières expériences ne nécessita pas de discours de légitimation particulier, avant que d’autres débats n’interviennent dans des contextes qui ne nous occuperons pas ici, comme au moment du concile général de Lyon en 1274… Ce qui nous intéresse, en réfléchissant sur les rapports entre Église, pouvoir et société chrétienne, c’est que le propos de vie des premières générations de templiers a interrogé les milieux monastiques et canoniaux. Or, les débats suscités par ce « laboratoire templier » rejoignent pleinement des interrogations plus générales sur les différentes formes de vie religieuse et sur leur place respective dans la société. Il sera possible, dès lors, d’envisager de quelle manière les ordres militaires se sont inscrits dans le grand mouvement de réforme impulsé par la papauté mais nécessairement relayé par les autorités locales.
The chronology and modalities of the militarization process are first recalled. The evolution of the charitable congregation into a powerful and structured military order was certainly progressive, but the government of Master Gilbert d'Assailly (1162-1170) was the most decisive. Even if the military organization involves many agents (mercenaries, foot soldiers, sergeant brothers...), the sources especially highlight the knightly fighting elite. The memoirs of the English knight Roger of Stanegrave provide interesting images on warfare and the perception of the enemy. Written around 1332, this record refers to an experience dating back to the last third of the thirteenth century.
This latest time already saw many changes. At the individual level, brothers were summoned to offer their diplomatic and warlike expertise to the princely states. The superior interest of the monarchies certainly prevailed in the 1270-1330s, but the numerous treaties of Recuperatio Terrae sanctae show that the crusade was still in everyone's mind. In this context, far from being purely theoretical, the proposals written by the brothers Roger of Stanegrave and Foulques de Villaret reflect an excellent knowledge of the Eastern field. However, already in the 1290s, the Hospital focused its activities on maritime surveillance, which led to the takeover of Rhodes in 1309. Military service at the Central Convent and the “corso” became actually the new horizon for the Knights Hospitallers.
The paper then outlines the supporters and the players of the Council of 1215, before envisaging the institutionalization of peace, including its most symbolic measures: the election of "paciarii" responsible for hearing pleas, eventual recourse to confraternities or even of a truly stipendiary militia, the creation of a special tax system.... All these decisions reinforced the episcopal office and inspired the norms of princely peace, but their concrete effects may still be hard to find in the documentation.
It is possible then to offer an assessment, necessarily temporary, on the iconographic corpus preserved for the Templars and the Hospitallers in current France. The inventory of the painted images which have been preserved is not only provisory ; it is not entirely significant as it is mostly reflecting the state of researches and as new findings can always enlarge the known material. From a chronological perspective, some scattered traces of ornamental decorations are remaining from the second half of the twelfth century, but most of the figurative images can be assigned to the last decades of the thirteenth century. Are these lieux d’images (using a french concept) revealing specificities which could be linked to the peculiar regular life which was followed in the commanderies ? In other words, was the visual culture or the figurative thought of the military orders somehow distinctive ?
This paper will show how the charters drawn up for the commanderies are linked to the very origins of the notary’s office in these towns. The privileged links with these practitioners, some of whom were eminent jurists, explain why the records drawn up in the name of the commanderies provided an active vehicle for the transmission of Romanising legal formulas.
The brethren were therefore among the main clients of notaries, who were delegated not only to draw up transactions and other contracts, but also to act as arbitrators or to compile legal files or to produce cartularies. In the well-documented case of Manosque, where a team of writing and legal professionals were employed by the Hospitaller lordship, we can observe the daily collaboration in the administration of the commandery, as well as the personal links that may have been created between the families of notaries and the religious house.
The learned techniques used to support the rights of the commanderies, the skills used for administrative purposes, the close association with a staff of practitioners: all this paved the way for legal acculturation for the brethren of the military orders. How did the military orders, which were far from being disconnected from practical knowledge, assimilate this legal culture? The question remains open in the current state of research...
Il est donc plus intéressant de partir des doutes ou des points de vue exprimés par les observateurs contemporains. La fondation de l’ordre du Temple, en effet, a représenté une « révolution » dans l’histoire de l’Église, pour reprendre la formule de Simonetta Cerrini. Elle a, en tout cas, été perçue comme une nouveauté par les témoins du temps. De fait, nous évoquerons essentiellement l’expérience templière, puisque les hospitaliers de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem débutèrent comme un ordre charitable assez classique, avant de se militariser sur le modèle du Temple. Par la suite, la création d’autres ordres militaires dans le sillage de ces premières expériences ne nécessita pas de discours de légitimation particulier, avant que d’autres débats n’interviennent dans des contextes qui ne nous occuperons pas ici, comme au moment du concile général de Lyon en 1274… Ce qui nous intéresse, en réfléchissant sur les rapports entre Église, pouvoir et société chrétienne, c’est que le propos de vie des premières générations de templiers a interrogé les milieux monastiques et canoniaux. Or, les débats suscités par ce « laboratoire templier » rejoignent pleinement des interrogations plus générales sur les différentes formes de vie religieuse et sur leur place respective dans la société. Il sera possible, dès lors, d’envisager de quelle manière les ordres militaires se sont inscrits dans le grand mouvement de réforme impulsé par la papauté mais nécessairement relayé par les autorités locales.
The chronology and modalities of the militarization process are first recalled. The evolution of the charitable congregation into a powerful and structured military order was certainly progressive, but the government of Master Gilbert d'Assailly (1162-1170) was the most decisive. Even if the military organization involves many agents (mercenaries, foot soldiers, sergeant brothers...), the sources especially highlight the knightly fighting elite. The memoirs of the English knight Roger of Stanegrave provide interesting images on warfare and the perception of the enemy. Written around 1332, this record refers to an experience dating back to the last third of the thirteenth century.
This latest time already saw many changes. At the individual level, brothers were summoned to offer their diplomatic and warlike expertise to the princely states. The superior interest of the monarchies certainly prevailed in the 1270-1330s, but the numerous treaties of Recuperatio Terrae sanctae show that the crusade was still in everyone's mind. In this context, far from being purely theoretical, the proposals written by the brothers Roger of Stanegrave and Foulques de Villaret reflect an excellent knowledge of the Eastern field. However, already in the 1290s, the Hospital focused its activities on maritime surveillance, which led to the takeover of Rhodes in 1309. Military service at the Central Convent and the “corso” became actually the new horizon for the Knights Hospitallers.
The paper then outlines the supporters and the players of the Council of 1215, before envisaging the institutionalization of peace, including its most symbolic measures: the election of "paciarii" responsible for hearing pleas, eventual recourse to confraternities or even of a truly stipendiary militia, the creation of a special tax system.... All these decisions reinforced the episcopal office and inspired the norms of princely peace, but their concrete effects may still be hard to find in the documentation.
It is possible then to offer an assessment, necessarily temporary, on the iconographic corpus preserved for the Templars and the Hospitallers in current France. The inventory of the painted images which have been preserved is not only provisory ; it is not entirely significant as it is mostly reflecting the state of researches and as new findings can always enlarge the known material. From a chronological perspective, some scattered traces of ornamental decorations are remaining from the second half of the twelfth century, but most of the figurative images can be assigned to the last decades of the thirteenth century. Are these lieux d’images (using a french concept) revealing specificities which could be linked to the peculiar regular life which was followed in the commanderies ? In other words, was the visual culture or the figurative thought of the military orders somehow distinctive ?
Featuring a preface by Jacques Chiffoleau, this volume compiles twelve essays originally published between 2005 and 2021, each thoroughly updated and illustrated. Organized around three primary themes—social and religious frameworks, written cultures, and the Crusades—the volume seeks to present a comprehensive account of the author’s contributions to the study of urban history, aristocratic societies, administrative practices, judicial lordship, and the reception of the Crusades. These topics, explored through the wealth of archival material produced by the commanderies, are reexamined to offer new insights.
Berenger Monge was commander of the Hospitaller houses of Aix and Manosque throughout the second half of the thirteenth century. As a respected leader of these two important religious communities extended to the familia, lord of a major town in Haute-Provence, headmaster of two key buildings, and lieutenant to the prior of St. Gilles, this officer gained an influence that is witnessed by the documentary material collected in relation to his person. Although exceptional in both personality and long-life, one may wonder if this commander was not ordinary in his statutory function. Indeed, the question arises as to the representativeness of this main actor and of a whole range of characters and positions to which he has been linked: priors of St. Gilles, bayles of Manosque, legal and literacy specialists, princely entourage... In fact, far from being locked into a linear life story, the single-individual approach is likely to expose governing practices, social configurations, career strategies and even personal or spiritual affinities. In short, the setting of the storyline around Bérenger Monge and the various groups around him —from his family to the Hospital and to the political authorities of the time— sheds new light on the Commandery, that is to say the basic component of a Military Order seen as a holistic institution. The timescale of human life finally makes it possible to connect the intermediate cycle of generation to temporalities peculiar to various social memories —including the memory of archives understood in their processual dimension.
Using examples taken mainly from the south of France and Italy, we will first look at the role played by the commanderies in attracting the faithful through confraternal structures and the spread of testamentary piety. We will then look at the integration of these houses into the “civic religion”, in other words, we will examine the brothers’ ability to promote or maintain devotions that were supported by the municipal authorities and the various components of the civic body. This was achieved in particular through the devotion to saints, the upkeep of places of worship frequented by the population, and participation in major civic celebrations such as processions. Finally, the brothers contributed to the common good in many ways, of which we will limit ourselves to works of charity. Although we will briefly touch on a view militarized brotherhoods aimed at imposing a moral order on some urban societies, we will focus above all on the three great universal orders: the Temple, the Hospital of St. John and, occasionally, the Teutonic Order. The chronology adopted is intended to be broad. In reality, however, it depends on local sources. While certain framing practices are well documented for the 13th-14th centuries, we often have to wait until the end of the Middle Ages to see how the commanderies contributed to the support of civic worship or other local devotions.