Commandery

In the

emoluments granted to a commander. They were the equivalent for those orders to a monastic grange. The knight in charge of a commandery was a commander

.

Etymology

The word derives from French commanderie or commenderie, from mediaeval Latin commendaria or commenda, meaning "a trust or charge", originally one held in commendam.^[2] ^[3]

Originally, commandries were benefices, particularly in the Church, held in commendam. Mediaeval

Order of Teutonic Knights and other knightly orders were organized along similar lines.^[3] The property of the order was divided into "priorates" (or priories), subdivided into "bailiwicks," which in turn were divided into "commanderies" or "commendæ"; these were placed in charge of a "commendator" or commander. The word is also applied to the emoluments granted to a commander of a military order of knights.^[2]

A commandry of the Teutonic Knights, each headed by a Komtur, was known as a Komturei or Kommende. The equivalents among the Knights Templar were "preceptor" and "preceptory".^{[dubious – discuss]} In 1540, the possessions in England of the Knights Hospitaller - the commanderies to which the English term first referred - were seized as crown property.^[3]

Usage

Modern

A territory of the
Venerable Order of Saint John
A division of the Knights Templar, found within the York Rite of Freemasonry.
A chapter of the Military Order of Foreign Wars.

Medieval

In the Near East and throughout Europe:

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

References

Citations

^ Anthony Luttrell and Greg O'Malley (eds.), The Countryside Of Hospitaller Rhodes 1306–1423: Original Texts And English Summaries (Routledge, 2019), p. 27.
^ ^a ^b Chisholm 1911, p. 765.
^ ^a ^b ^c "commandery | commandry, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2018, https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/36962. Accessed 9 December 2018.

Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Commandery". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 765.

[1] Anthony Luttrell and Greg O'Malley (eds.), The Countryside Of Hospitaller Rhodes 1306–1423: Original Texts And English Summaries (Routledge, 2019), p. 27.

[FOOTNOTEChisholm1911765-2] Chisholm 1911, p. 765.

[auto-3] "commandery | commandry, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2018, https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/36962. Accessed 9 December 2018.

[2]

[3]