Organització i estructuració del poder al si d'un Orde Militar: el cas de l'Orde de Montesa (segles XIV-XV)

Abstract

The majority of works on the history of the Military Order of Montesa are based on classic works referring to the Modern Ages and therefore they assign to the Middle Ages meaningless scherna and organizational outlines. The purpose of this paper is to find out the territorial distribution of the Montesa manors in the Kingdom of Valencia at the time of its foundation, and its changes through the Middle Ages, emphasizing the distribution of powes and competences between the Friars memberships of the Order and the Master, owner of the rights of the “Mesa Maestral". We know that during the XIV and XV Centuries there was a concentration of power in the hands of the Master. With this authority, his great feudal power could become self-sufficient while the Friars were left with few economic resources.