The Order of Saint Mary of Spain (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: Orden de Santa María de España), also known as the Order of the Star, was a Spanish military order concentrating in naval activity created by

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, ; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, Kingdom of León, León and Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia from 1 June 1252 until his death in 1284. During the April 1257 Imperial election, election of 1 ...

, King of León and Castile in 1270.

History

Origins

The order was founded around the year 1270 by King

with the purpose of aiding the naval defenses of the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...

. It was founded similarly to the

Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava (, ) was one of the Spanish military orders, four Spanish military orders and the first Military order (society), military order founded in Kingdom of Castile, Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bu ...

and its members were made up of nobles, knights and clergy. Since 1273 it was integrated by order of the king with the

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

and its uniform was a black robe and a red cape with a gold star, inside of which was embroidered the arms of the Crown. The Códice de Florencia of the

Cantigas de Santa Maria The ''Cantigas de Santa Maria'' (, ; "Canticles of Holy Mary") are 420 poems with musical notation, written in the medieval Galician-Portuguese language during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile, Alfonso X of Castile ''El Sabio'' (1221–1284). T ...

has a cantiga dedicated to this order. Unfortunately, of the four books of cantigas preserved, that of Florence is the only one with lines of empty staves, so the music of this ballad was not conserved.

Headquarters

The mother headquarters of the order were founded in Cartagena, in a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

convent that was built by order of the king with the express wish that he be buried there upon his death. The order was put under the invocation of the , whose medieval carvings have been found in Cartagena. A

monastery in Cartagena is mentioned as their headquarters and some historians believe that

Cartagena Cathedral The Cathedral of Cartagena in Spain, or the Cathedral of Santa María la Vieja, was a cathedral of the Diocese of Cartagena, located on the hill of La Concepción in the old town of Cartagena, Spain, Cartagena. It has been in ruins since 1939, ...

that headquarters. The order also had bases in the ports of

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

La Coruña LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

, and

El Puerto de Santa María El Puerto de Santa María (), locally known as El Puerto and historically in English as Port Saint Mary, is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located on the banks of the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. , the c ...

; all dependent on Cartagena.

Dissolution

On the 23rd of June, 1280, the defeat at the Battle of Moclín effectively wiped out the membership of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

. Castilian troops under the command of Gonzalo Ruiz Girón, Grand Master of the Order of Santiago and Sancho el Bravo (Although Sancho did not actually participate in the battle), were slaughtered by Muslim forces under the command of Muhammad II. The battle was a major disaster for the Order of Santiago which claimed the lives of many of its members, including that of Gonzalo Ruiz Girón, who died of wounds received in the battle. In order to prevent the extinction of the Order of Santiago due to the loss of men at Moclín, King

integrated the members of the Order of Santa María into that of Santiago and named the new Grand Master Pedro Núñez. This integration effectively ended the Order of Santa Maria. A further reason for its disbandment and integration into the Order of Santiago was its ineffectiveness in the battle against Castile's enemies at sea. In the order's only great expedition, the armada of Santa María de España was totally annihilated at the naval Battle of Algeciras.

Modern Reformation

On August 13, 2008, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

religious order A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...

was formed in Cartagena which proclaimed its hereditary roots with the Order of Santa María. It also proclaimed, amongst other things, the cult of advocación mariana, which honors the Virgen del Rosell. File:CABALLEROS DE LA ORDEN.JPG, A scene from the ''Cantigas de Santa María''. File:OrdSantMariaEspanya.jpg, Coin from the 13th century depicting the order's Grand Master. File:CT teatro romano y catedral.jpg, Ruins of the Cathedral of Cartagena where the order was based.

History

Origins

Headquarters

Dissolution

Modern Reformation

References

Notes

See also

Bibliography