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 MILLENNIUM

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MILLENNIUM

followed the Cistercian Reform. The Hospitallers followed the Rule of St. Augustine. Nevertheless, in consequence of the relaxation which manifested itself among them after the period of the crusades, the Holy See introduced mitigations in favour of the non-clerical brethren. For these it was difficult to maintain the rule of celibacy in all its rigour; they were permitted, in certam orders, to marry once, and that only with a maiden. Even where second marriages were toler- ated, they had to vow conjugal fidelity, so that if they violated this obligation of the natural law they sinned doubly, against the law and against their vow. Besides the three vows, the rule Ijound the brethren to the ex- ercises of the monastic life such as the recitation of the

Knights of St. John of Jeriis.\lem Hours, for which, in the case of illiterates, a fixed num- ber of Paters was substituted. It also prescribed their dress and their food, and their feast, abstinence, and fast days. Lastly, the rule imposed detailed obliga- tions in regard to the election of dignitaries and the admission of members to the two ranks of combatants ^knights and men-at-arms — and the two of non- combatants — chaplains, to whom all sacerdotal func- tions were reserved, and casaliers, or tenants, who were charged with the management of temporal af- fairs.

(2) Military Organizations. — The militarj' organiza- tion of the orders was uniform, explained by that law of war which compels the belligerent to maintain hia military apparatus on a level with those of his adver- sary, on pain of defeat. The strength of an army was in its cavalry, and to this type the armament, mount- ing, and tactics of the military orders conformed. The knights-brethren were the hea\'y ca\-alrj'; the men-at-arms-brethren, the light cavalrj'. The for- mer were entitled to three horses apiece ; the latter had to be content with one. Among the former, only knights of tried jjrowess were admitted, or, in default of this qualification, sons of knights, because in such families the warlike spirit and military training were hereditary. The consequence was that the knights, properly so-called, were never very numerous; they formed a corps d'elite which carried the great mass of the crusaders. Gathered in convents which were also barracks, combining with the passive obedience of the soldier, the spontaneous submis.sion of the re- ligious, living shoulder to shoulder in brotherly union,

commander and subordinate, these orders surpassed, in that cohesiveness which is the ideal of every mili- tary organization, the most famous bodies of picked soldiery known to history, from the Macedonian phalanx to the Ottoman Janissaries.

(3) Economic Organization. — The importance ac- quired by the military orders during the course of the Middle Ages may be measured by the extent of their territorial possessions, scattered throughout Europe. In the thirteenth century nine thousand manors formed the portion of the Templars; thirteen thousand that of the Hospitallers. These temporali- ties were an integral part of the ecclesiastical domain, and as such had a sacred character which placed them beyond liability to profane uses or to secular imposts. They differed from the temporalities of other monastic institutions only in the centrahzed system of their ad- ministration. While within each of the other religious institutes every abbey was autonomous, all the houses of a miUtarj' order were bound to contriljute their revenues, after deducting expenses, to a cen- tral treasury. As a result of this enormous circula- tion of capital controlled by the orders, their wealth could be applied to financial operations which made them veritable credit and deposit banks. Their per- fect good faith earned for them the implicit confi- dence of the Church and of temporal rulers. The papacy employed them to collect contributions tor the crusades; princes did not hesitate to entrust to them their personal property. In this respect, again, the military orders were model institutions.

MiR.EXjs, Origine des chevaliers et ordres Tnilitaires (Antwerp, 1609); Favyn, Histoire des ordres de chevalerie (2 vola., Paris, 1620): BiBLENFELD, Geschichte und Verfassung alter Ritter- orden (Weimar, 1841); Cappelleti, Storia degli ordini cavallere- sctii (Leghorn. 1904); Clarke. Concise History of Kniglithood. II (London. 1884); Digbt, The Broad Stone of Honour (Lon- don. 1876-77); Lawrence-Archer. The Orders of Chivalry (London, 1887); see also bibliographies attached to special articles on the several great orders.

Ch. Moeller.

Millennium and MiUenarianism. — The fund.a- mental itlea of millenarianism, as understootl by Chris- tian writers, may be set forth as follows: At the end of time Christ will return in all His splendour to gather together the just, to annihilate hostile powers, and to foimd a glorious kingdom on earth for the enjoyment of the highest spiritual and mate- rial ble.ssings; He Himself will reign as its king, and all the just, including the saints recalled to life, will participate in it. At the clo.se of this kingdom the saints will enter heaven with Christ, while the wicked, who have also been resuscitated, will be condemned to eternal damnation. The duration of this glorious reign of Christ and His saints on earth, is fre- quently given as one thousand years. Hence it is commonly known as the "millennium", while the be- lief in the future realization of the kingdom is called "millenarianism" (chUiasm, from the Greek x"^"'.

SCil. (TTj).

This term of one thousand years, however, is by no means an essential element of the millennium as conceived by its adherents. The extent, details of the realization, conditions, the place, of the millennium were variously described. Essential are the following points: The early return of Christ in all His power and glory, the establishment of an earthly kingdom with the just, the resuscitation of the deceased saints and their participation in the glorious reign, the destruc- tion of the powers hostile to God. and. at the end of the kingdom, the universal resurrection with the final judgment, after which the just will enter heaven, while the wicked will be consigned to the eternal fire of hell.

The roots of the belief in a glorious kingdom, partly natural, partly supernatural, are found in the hopes of the Jews for a temporal Messiah and in the Jewish apocalyptic. Under the^Uing pressure of their polit-