Military Orders Between Territorialization and Periphery from the 12th to the 16th Century

Military orders have historically played a key role in defining borders, both in a mental sense, by favouring an awareness of alterity in the most peripheral territories (Christians against Muslims and Christians against Pagans), and also in more direct ways, as owners of land in these territories. This article¹ discusses both the influence, in the broadest sense, of territory and periphery upon the medieval military orders, and the relationship between the crown and the military orders. It will be done through a comparative historical analysis of two cases: Portugal and Denmark in the 12th–16th centuries. Both countries were placed at the periphery of the Western world in the Middle Ages, and they were both active agents in the Crusading movement.