One determinate factor to the strong adoption of chivalric orders in Spain is the Reconquista, in which Christian kingdoms attempted to expel Muslims from the peninsula. The Iberian Peninsula had multiple factors contributing to the strong chivalric ethos exemplified by Spanish knights. 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 Templars or Hospitallers were more independent and not necessarily loyal to any kingdom consistently. 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). 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. Ĭhivalry in medieval Spain cannot be understood outside of the context of the military orders of knighthood. In the context of the Reconquista, and the close proximity of Christian and Muslim populations, the atmosphere for the development of Knightly Orders was ripe, and in the subsequent centuries, chivalry flourished in Spain to a greater extent than in other Christian states. However, the in-statement of chivalric knightly orders and the chivalric ideals and codes of conduct weren’t present on the Iberian Peninsula until almost the second century of the Reconquista. The Reconquista had begun under Alfonso II (791–842) and would last nearly 700 years as Christians attempted to drive Muslims out of the Iberian Peninsula. James himself was known and celebrated in Christianity as ‘the slayer of the Moors’, and the discovery of his body by Christians has been considered an igniting factor of the Reconquista. This was when Frankish knights, who were willing to fight the Muslim invaders of Iberia prior to the Crusades, appeared to protect pilgrims flocking to what was believed to be the tomb of the apostle James in Galicia. Main article: Timeline of the Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsulaĬhivalry, or chivalric codes of manners and proper military engagement, is believed to have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula during the 10th century, in the context of the Reconquista.

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