RAISING CASH TO DEFEND CHRISTENDOM: THE KNIGHTS HOSPITALLER IN FOURTEENTH-CENTURY LEICESTERSHIRE.

This article examines the financial management and landholdings of the Knights Hospitaller in fourteenth-century Leicestershire, focusing on their acquisition and administration of former Knights Templar properties, particularly at Rothley and Old Dalby. Following the suppression of the Knights Templar in 1312, the Hospitallers inherited significant estates, which they managed to support their primary mission of providing hospitality and medical care to pilgrims and defending Christendom in the Middle East. Detailed accounts from 1338 and 1372 reveal changes in estate management, including land exchanges (notably with Thrumpton in Nottinghamshire) and adaptations to economic challenges such as the Black Death, which affected labor availability and income. The Hospitallers’ estates in Leicestershire, including manors, churches, and associated townships, generated substantial income that was partly paid into the Order’s treasury to fund overseas activities, while local administration involved stewards, chaplains, and various servants. The article highlights the complexities of medieval monastic military orders’ land management and their integration into local and international economic and ecclesiastical networks.