Warrior Monks

1298: Alexander of Wells watches William Wallace’s army across the field at Falkirk. Hours later, he is dead, cut down by the Scots.

1381: Hated collector of the Poll Tax, Robert Hales, is dragged from the Tower of London and executed, his head paraded through the streets before being placed on a spike on London Bridge.

1490s: John Kendal sends coded letters to Perkin Warbeck’s supporters and hires an astrologer to murder Henry VII.

These men were not scheming lords: they were Knights Hospitaller. Commonly known as warrior monks, they were a religious and military order that fought to defend the Holy Land, supposedly above war and petty politics. But in Europe they became entangled in local government, taking up positions as royal commanders, administrators and politicians. They led armies, attended Parliaments, and joined court intrigues and civil wars.