Knights of Calatrava Banner

Description of the Product

The Order of Calatrava is a Spanish religious and military order confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1164. It is named after a castle in Castile, the re-conquest of which the order was set up to defend, after the Templars had found it too difficult. Nearby Cistercian monks took up the task, and the order of Calatrava was founded. The rules for the knights of the order were for a large part those of the Cistercians; vows of silence, poverty, celibacy, abstinence, fasting and prayer. The knights also had to sleep in their armour. Not all Cistercian monks approved the warrior aspect in the role of a warrior-monk.

Much like the more laid back order of Santiago, the order of Calatrava was founded to defend Christendom and to remove the Muslim Moors from the Iberian Peninsula, a process called the Reconquista (re-conquering). The knights of the order of Calatrava were at first very successful, and as a consequence became a very wealthy order. Eventually their riches were such that internal power struggles ensued. Even the king became envious of the orders wealth and power. The fall of Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors, in 1492 to the Reyes Catolicos, Catholic monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand marked the end of the centuries long Reconquista, and with it vanished the nominal raison d’etre of the order. Just a few years prior king Ferdinand of Aragon had received permission from the pope to take the order under the authority of the crown. The military order had fulfilled its purpose, but it wasn’t fully dissolved until the 19^th C.

The order's insignia is a red even-armed cross with fleurs-de-lis at each end. The various color combinations and emblems used in banners as well as in capes and tabards, were a decisive means of distinguishing brothers-in-arms from enemies in the fray.

This banner is made with sturdy black cotton, and the red cross of Calatrava is embroidered to the front. The banner has four fabric loops for either hanging it on your heralds trumpet, or simply on a curtain rod or a pole for adding a touch of medieval charm to your home decor.

• Made of sturdy cotton
• The loops are about 10 cm long and 5 cm wide
• Width c. 68 cm
• Height c.108 cm