KNIGHTS OF MONTESA

A military order established June 10, 1317, by Pope john xxii at the request of King james ii of aragon. The order received the properties of the templars and of the knights of malta in the Kingdom of Valencia and had its chief seat at Montesa near Játiva. The knights were subject to the rule and customs of the Order of calatrava, whose master, accompanied by the abbot either of Santes Creus or Valldigna, was obliged to visit Montesa annually. Only in 1319 did the master of Calatrava implement the pope's instructions and confer the habit on the first knights of Montesa. The Cistercian general chapter of 1321 incorporated Montesa into the Order of cÎteaux in accordance with the papal bull, and authorized the abbot of Santes Creus to send monks to care for the spiritual needs of the knights. Statutes enacted by the masters of Calatrava (1326, 1331, and 1353) and by the Cistercian abbots of morimond (1444 and 1468) give a clear picture of the organization and customs of Montesa. In 1400 Pope benedict xiii, at the request of King Martin of Aragon, united the Order of San Jorge de Alfama to Montesa. Several masters of Montesa performed distinctive services in the international policy of the kings of Aragon. In 1587 Pope Sixtus V annexed the mastership to the crown in perpetuity.

Bibliography: h. de samper, Montesa ilustrada, 2 v. (Valencia 1669). a. l. javierre mur, Privilegios reales de la Orden de Montesa en la Edad Media (Madrid 1945). Enciclopedia de la Religión Católica 5: 577–578.

[j. f. o'callaghan]