The Knights Templar in the Kingdom of Hungary
The Knights Templar in the Kingdom of Hungary
Follow @KnightsTempOrgThe Order of the Knights Templar appeared in the Kingdom of Hungary in the second half of the 12th century.
The first house of the Hungarian Templars, which could be proved with sources, was the monastic quarter of Vrana – previously a Benedictine monastery of Saint Gregory - near the coast of the Adriatic, which belonged to the Hungarian Templars already in 1169.
From the beginning of the 13th century, the Templar Order started to spread relatively quickly in the Hungarian Kingdom, thanks to the donations of Kings Emeric and Andrew II, who both supported the ideal of crusaders (the latter participated in the Fifth Crusade in 1217-1218).
Until the abolition of the order in the 14th century, the Order of Knights Templar owned fourteen monastic quarters: Boisce, Béla, Dubica, Esztergom, Gecske, Glogonca, Gora, Keresztény, Nekcse, Okriszentlőrinc, Szentmárton, Vrana, Zablata, Zengg and almost 50 other landed properties, area, temple, castle, city, and more in the Hungarian Kingdom. It is evident from the list that the quarters and holdings of the Templar Order in Hungary located in the southern regions of the realm – in the areas, which were called at that time Slavonia and Croatia (Hungarian Crown Lands since 1102).
As it is known from the chronicles of Thomas, Deacon of Spalato, the knights of the Order did their share bravely in the battle against the Mongols, and the Master of the Templars - beside King Béla IV, Ugrin, archbishop of Kalocsa and Prince Coloman - was a leader of the Hungarian Army. The Mongol invasion’s most known event is the tragic battle of Muhi (11st-12nd April 1241), where – according to the legend – all Hungarian Templar Knights, including the Grand Master, sacrificed their life. There is a memorial column near the village of Mohi.
The members of the Templar Order, beside military service, carried on activities in verifications, - which meant in the Middle Ages to put the various legal affairs in writing (generally, the buying and selling of holdings, renewal of former deeds of gift) – and "financing affairs” (e.g. the construction of the Romanesque church of Ják was financed by the order).
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