Die Ritterorden in den regionalen kirchlichen Strukturen der Kreuzfahrerstaaten: Drei Fallstudien (Akkon, Tortosa und Hebron)

The Military Orders in the Regional Ecclesiastical Structures of the Crusader States: Three Case Studies (Acre, Tortosa, and Hebron) In the crusader states, the papal privileges granted to the military orders set these communities on a seemingly inevitable collision course with the local bishops who claimed that, as a result of this preferential treatment, their own income was being reduced, their jurisdiction undermined, and their spiritual activities jeopardized. this article presents three case studies, primarily based on charters, to showcase the military orders’ interaction with the local bishops, focusing on the Hospitallers and the bishop of acre, the templars and the bishop of tortosa, and the teutonic Knights and the bishop of Hebron. in acre, the bishops tried, with varying success, to monitor and curtail the activities of the Hospitallers’ clergy. that tensions between the two parties increased in the course of the thirteenth century had much to do with the fact that more exempt institutions were making their home in acre. interaction between the bishop of tortosa and the templars revolved around tithes, but was also impacted by the fact that both were, in effect, co-ruling the diocese. With regard to the titular see of Hebron, the teutonic Knights found themselves in the crosshairs of title investigations, but ultimately benefited from their interaction with the bishop who helped supply them with indulgences. in all cases, the documentation suggests recurrent conflicts, however, it also reveals a pronounced ability to compromise for the benefit of parishioners and pilgrims alike.