In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and Greg O'Malley (eds.), ''The Countryside Of Hospitaller Rhodes 1306–1423: Original Texts And English Summaries'' (Routledge, 2019), p. 27. The word is also applied to the

emolument Remuneration is the pay or other financial compensation provided in exchange for an employee's ''services performed'' (not to be confused with giving (away), or donating, or the act of providing to). Remuneration is one component of reward managem ...

s granted to a commander. They were the equivalent for those orders to a

monastic grange Monastic granges were outlying landholdings held by Monastery, monasteries independent of the Manorialism, manorial system. The first granges were owned by the Cistercians, and other orders followed. Wealthy monastic houses had many granges, mo ...

. The knight in charge of a commandery was a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Etymology

The word derives from French or , from mediaeval

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

or , meaning 'a trust or charge', originally one held . "commandery , commandry, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2018, https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/36962. Accessed 9 December 2018. Originally, commanderies were benefices, particularly in the Church, held . Mediaeval military orders adopted monastic organizational structures and commanderies were divisions of the Order of Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and later the

Order of Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

and other knightly orders were organized along similar lines. The property of the order was divided into ''priorates'' (or priories), subdivided into ''bailiwicks'', which in turn were divided into ''commanderies'' or ; these were placed in charge of a or

. The word is also applied to the emoluments granted to a commander of a military order of knights. A commandery of the Teutonic Knights, each headed by a , was known as a or . The equivalents among the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

were ''

preceptor A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

'' and ''preceptory''. In 1540, the possessions in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

— the commanderies to which the English term first referred — were seized as crown property.

Usage

Modern

* A territory of the

Venerable Order of Saint John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

* A division of the

, found within the York Rite of

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. * A chapter of the Military Order of Foreign Wars.

Medieval

In the Near East and throughout Europe: * A territory of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, the Knights Hospitallers * A territory of the

and other orders * The Commandery, an historic building in the city of Worcester, England probably built by Knights Hospitallers

References

Citations

Sources

* {{Authority control Feudalism in Europe Orders of chivalry