Calatrava la Viega

Calatrava la Viega, a ruined city of Spain, on the Guadiana, 12 miles NE. of Ciudad Real. Its defence against the Moors, undertaken by Raymond, abbot of Fitero, and Diego Velasquez in 1158, after it had been abandoned by the Templars, is famous on account of its having originated the Order of the Knights of Calatrava, which was instituted at Calatrava in 1158, by King Sancho III. of Castile, and was at several periods associated with the Cistercian monks. Their almost uniform success against the Moors gave rise to rashness, and in 1197 they were defeated and nearly exterminated, the survivors transferring the seat to the castle of Salvatierra. In 1523 the grand-mastership was transferred to the crown by a papal bull, the knights being permitted to marry once by way of compensation for their loss of independence. Since 1808 the body has been continued as an order of merit.