A military order is any one of a variety of Christian societies of knights that were founded from the Middle Ages onwards for the purpose of crusading – propagating or defending the faith (originally Catholic, and after the Reformation sometimes Protestant), either in the Holy Land or against Islam (as, for example, during the Reconquista) or pagans (mainly in the Baltic region) in Europe. Many orders have, since the end of the Crusades and the Ottoman incursions, become secularized, and are usually represented by Roman Catholic ceremonial, missionary and charitable organizations in modern times.
Read more about Military Order: History, Purpose and Function, List of Military Orders, Other Uses
Famous quotes containing the words military and/or order:
“My ancestors were all famous for military genius.
My Lady smiled graciously. It often runs in families, she remarked: just as a love for pastry does.”
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (18321898)
“True art tries not to attract attentionin order to be noticed.”
—José Bergamín (18951983)