Introduction

Nearly nine centuries after their first appearance, caring for pilgrims in hospices and protecting them from attack on the road, Military Orders continue to play a variety of social and charitable roles today.

This collection of thirty-three papers from the second international conference on the Military Orders, contributed by scholars from Europe, the Middle East and the United States, reflects a variety of concerns, but the focus is very much on the beginnings of the Military Orders and their heyday at the time of the Crusades.

Subject Matter

The subject matter reflects the Military Orders' wide-ranging activities, dealing with topics such as medieval hospital care, crusading in the Middle East, warfare in Lithuania, piracy in the Mediterranean, castles in Bohemia, the Reformation in Switzerland and 17th-century European diplomacy.

Volume and References

This volume complements the Proceedings of the very successful first conference, The Military Orders: Fighting for the Faith and Caring for the Sick, edited by Malcolm Barber (1994) and now out of print.