Spanish chivalry

 ( Warrior Code ) 

Chivalry in medieval Spain cannot be understood outside of the context of the military orders of knighthood. Historians are conflicted as to whether Spanish knights were directed more by royalty (such as the king of Castile or the king of Aragon), or by the Papacy. But there seems to be a consensus that the knights had obligations to both and an overarching allegiance to the Church, as both were in direct contact with knights (and often royalty were themselves, knights and crusaders).Contamine, p. 277 Some scholars have suggested that the later Spanish military Orders, like that at the fortress of Calatrava, pledged their loyalty primarily to their Kingdom, in this case Castile, but orders like the Knights Templar or Hospitallers were more independent and not necessarily loyal to any kingdom consistently.

The prominence of knightly orders in the political and military realms of the Christian kingdoms of the peninsula fluctuated with the crusader zeal of the kingdoms’ rulers; however, their power was not exclusively tied to the Crusader Kings. For instance, Ferdinand III of Castile’s reign facilitated the rise of more Spanish orders because of the desire in the kingdom, led by the king, to crusade against the Moors.Barber, p. 148

After the death of Ferdinand III, Castile was relatively peaceful and the morale of the orders was undermined. In this period of peace between the orders and the Muslims, mercenaries were hired to replace and assist knights in their fighting, Masters of the Orders were no longer religiously appointed, and civil war was waged between Christian knights with conflicting loyalties.

By this time chivalry was influenced by the fictional prowesses of . Knight Suero de Quiñones and his friends, in summer 1434, maintained a pas d'armes (Passo Honroso) as an homage to his future wife in 166 combats against pilgrim knights that attempted to cross a bridge on Saint James's Way.

The decline of knightly orders in Spain is debatable. Some historians have attributed the fall of chivalry and knightly orders to Miguel de Cervantes, because he “smiled Spain’s chivalry away” with his satirical novel Don Quixote (published in two parts, 1605 and 1615). Others have suggested that chivalry's decline was due to the expulsion of the Muslims in 1492, or the centralization of political power under the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. The Spanish Military Orders. Chivalricorders.org. Retrieved on 2011-06-04. Once the Moors were expelled, the four orders were perceived as powerful subjects and it became a priority for the Crown to gain control over them – particularly at a time when the Crown was struggling to establish its central authority. If one subscribes to this latter view (the earlier fall of chivalry and knightly orders at the end of the 15th century), then clearly Cervantes did not so much contribute to that event, as to document (at the beginning of the 17th century) its prior occurrence, a point that is central to Don Quixote, that this decline had already occurred at the time of Quixote's adventures.

The Spanish kings had frequently obtained the election of close connections of their families as Masters of the Orders and at Calatrava in 1489, Santiago in 1494, and Alcántara in 1495, the administration of the three Magisteries were ultimately granted to King Ferdinand of Aragón, as Sovereign of Aragón and King-Consort of Castille. Finally, by the Bull Dum intra of Pope Adrian VI dated 4 May 1523, the perpetual administration' of the three orders was transferred to "Charles I (the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V), King of Spain, and his heirs and successors…” Spain Romances of Chivalry Spainthenandnow. Spainthenandnow.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-04.

“A Spanish knight, about fifty years of age, who lived in great poverty in a village of La Mancha, gave himself up so entirely to reading the romances of chivalry, of which he had a large collection, that in the end they turned his brain, and nothing would satisfy him but that he must ride abroad on his old horse, armed with spear and helmet, a knight-errant, to encounter all adventures, and to redress the innumerable wrongs of the world. He induced a neighbour of his, a poor and ignorant peasant called Sancho Panza, mounted on a very good ass, to accompany him as squire. The knight saw the world only in the mirror of his beloved romances; he mistook inns for enchanted castles, windmills for giants, and country wenches for exiled princesses. His high spirit and his courage never failed him, but his illusions led him into endless trouble. In the name of justice and chivalry he intruded himself on all whom he met, and assaulted all whom he took to be making an oppressive or discourteous use of power. He and his poor squire were beaten, trounced, cheated, and ridiculed on all hands, until in the end, by the kindliness of his old friends in the village, and with the help of some new friends who had been touched by the amiable and generous character of his illusions, the knight was cured of his whimsies and was led back to his home in the village, there to die.” "Don Quixote", By Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh