Genealogy Books - The Monks of War: The Military Religious Orders (Arkana)

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Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: Highly Readabe
Comment: This scholarly and well-documented from original sources book is written in impeccable English by a
dignified scholar.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Very Good Overview
Comment: This well written book is intended as a concise introduction to an interesting and important topic,
the military orders of the Middle Ages. Seward covers the founding of the major orders, their
organization, and major episodes of their history. To do real justice to this topic would be an
immense task as the story covers centuries of European history. Seward elected to produce an
overview giving an outline of their history and highlighting some of the more picturesque episodes.
This book, consequently, sometimes has a superficial quality. I would have liked, for example, a
better description of the role of the Templars in Medieval commerce and banking.
Seward shows
that the military orders were born in the Crusading zeal that infected Medieval Europe and were
founded initially to help and safeguard pilgrims to the Holy Land. They promptly became a unique
Medieval hybrid, combining Cistercian monasticism and Chivalric knightly values. Rapidly gaining
influence in the Crusader Kingdoms and considerable wealth in Europe, the military orders were
significant actors in the complicated politics of the Eastern Mediterrenean. Similar orders
developed on other important frontiers between Christian Europe and non-Christian polities, notably
in Spain and the eastern Baltic littoral. In Spain, the military orders were the shock troops of
the Reconquista. In the Baltic, the Teutonic Knights led the conquest and Christianization of
Prussia and what is now a good part of the Baltic states.
Seward shows well how the military
orders become an integral component of religous and political life in Europe. A consistent theme is
that the growth in importance of the orders was accompanied by involvement in the complex dynastic,
political, and religous struggles of Medieval Europe and the Crusader States. The decline of the
military orders in the Early Modern period was a result of the increasing power of European
monarchies and declining need for their essential mission, the military struggle against
non-Christians. The military orders of Iberia were essentially absorbed by the Church and
monarchies, the great Templar order was destroyed by the expanding power of the French monarchy, and
the Hospitallers were marginalized by their expulsion from the Eastern Mediterrenean and the
ultimate success of European struggle against the Ottoman empire. Some of the orders survive today
as charitable institutions associated with the remains of the European nobility.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Inside The Medieval Mind.
Comment: Much can be said for this fine piece of historical writing. First, the book covers in detail a
subject that is generally dealt with as a curiousity at best. The author does justice to the
motives, organization, methods and mentality of those organizations that made up the military
orders. As has been pointed out, the writing can be a bit dense, but this I attribute to a British
author's assumption that his readers will be well educated in the general history of the period; so
too bad us, not too bad him.
Aside from the numerous facts and anecdotes which illuminate the
book, I found the work of particular interest to one who struggles to understand the medieval mind.
We moderns can only scratch our collective heads when confronted with a concept like "monks of war".
However, once the mind is opened to the reality of the period, and the mindset of an age of faith,
much that has been lost becomes understandable again.
Thus, the greatest value of this book is
that it takes the reader on a journy of discovery to a world that belonges to each of us. The
Crusades, La Reconquista and numerous other episodes can now be studied in their true light.
This
is a book well worth reading.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Monks of War: an honest and objective book
Comment: This book is well written and presents an objective view of the history of the military religious
orders. Not only a work of history, it does well anthropologically in elucidating the mindset
behind the military monk and the object of his work. Furthermore, it explains what many historians
neglect or consider only quickly, viz. the military religious orders of Spain and their role the the
Crusades. The history of the Teutonic Knights and the Knights Templar (including the circumstances
surrounding their demise) are treated well.

The author pays particular attention to the sieges of
Rhodes and Malta when treating of the Sovereign Military Order of St. John the Baptist (the Order of
the Knights of Malta). This account is no less than phenomenal. The Knights of Malta facing
insane, overwhelming, and what should be impossible odds, and overcoming them--habitually--would
strain any movie-goer's ability to suspend disbelief; yet these events happened and are accurately
illustrated.

If one is considering a well researched overview of the history of the major
religious military orders, then I highly recommend this book, especially for the student of history.
One should find it academic and enjoyable.

Customer Rating:

Summary: if you are a scholar then this may be for you
Comment: There are different types of history book. There are those written for the casual person, and those
written for people who are really into the topic. This book is NOT for people who are casually
interested in knights, and the crusades, etc. I found the book to be dry, dull and boring. in my
mind it is a list of names, dates, and events scrubbed clean of anything that could be "fun" to
read. If you are like me, and casually interested in the crusades and the holy orders, then skip
this book, it is not written for us. But if you are a person who is really into the topic, then i
really think you would like this book because it is well researched, comprehensive, and really
covers everything a person into the topic would want to know. So whether or not you will enjoy this
book depends on how you feel about the crusades.

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