In the

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

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

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an landed properties of a

military order Military order may refer to: Orders * Military order (religious society), confraternity of knights originally established as religious societies during the medieval Crusades for protection of Christianity and the Catholic Church Military organi ...

. 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). A number of complementary benefits in additio ...

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

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

. The knight in charge of a commandery was a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Etymology

The word derives from French ''commanderie'' or ''commenderie'', from mediaeval

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''commendaria'' or ''commenda'', meaning "a trust or charge", originally one held ''

in commendam In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...

''. "commandery , commandry, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2018, https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/36962. Accessed 9 December 2018. Originally, commandries were benefices, particularly in the Church, held ''in commendam''. Mediaeval military orders adopted monastic organizational structures and commandries were divisions of the

Order of Knights of St. John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

, and later the

Order of Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in ...

and other knightly orders were organized along similar lines. The property of the order was divided into "priorates" (or

priories A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of monk ...

), subdivided into "bailiwicks," which in turn were divided into "commanderies" or "''commendæ''"; these were placed in charge of a "''commendator''" or

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

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

- 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 Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

* A division of the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

, found within the

York Rite The York Rite, sometimes referred to as the American Rite, is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. It is named for, but not practiced in York, Yorkshire, England. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic ...

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. * A chapter of the

Military Order of Foreign Wars The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States (MOFW) is one of the oldest veterans' and hereditary associations in the nation with a membership that includes officers and their hereditary descendants from all of the Armed Services. Memb ...

Medieval

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

Knights Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

*A territory of the

and other orders *

The Commandery The Commandery is a historic building open to visitors and located in the city of Worcester, England. It opened as a museum in 1977 and was for a while the only museum in England dedicated solely to the Civil Wars. The Commandery ceased to b ...

, an historic building in the city of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

Etymology

Usage

Modern

Medieval

See also

References

Citations

Sources