Austeridad versus lujo. El vestido y los freiles de la Orden de Santiago durante la Edad Media

Abstract

This article studies the creation and transformation of signs of identity through the clothing in the Military Order of Santiago, from its foundation in 1171 until the end of the Middle Ages. In the introduction the use of color, type of cloth, form and emblematic signs in the construction of the monastic identity are analyzed. The Military Orders, an innovation of the XIIth century, inherited this monastic tradition and used it to create their identity of monk-soldiers. The founders of the Order of Santiago -a group of leonese knights- signified their religious conversion adopting a red sword-cross over the chest, and rejecting bright colors and luxury types of cloth. But their code of clothing changed during the late middle ages along with a transformation of the meaning of being member of the Order. The last part of the article attempts to interprete these changes, analyzing both the regulations of the General Chapters of Santiago and literary sources related to the Order.