The other day I was having a conversation with a friend, trying to explain to him what a PDA was when he asked me if there was any examples of similar organizations existing previously in history. Yada yada yada, I ended up bringing the Military-Monastic Orders of the Middle Ages (e.g. Knights Templar) as an example. I explained to him how they had developed an extensive banking system, along with offering defense services to those on pilgrimage to the holy land, and how they overlapped with one another territorially without having any serious problems. He bought the argument fair enough, but the discussion has started to bug me.
Are the Monastic-Military Orders of the Middle Ages actually a good example of a proto-Private Defense Agency? Or in my ignorance to the historical period have I neglected something that would better classify them as proto-Private Military Companies? More specifically does anyone know if these Orders were substantially funded by taxes, or were they, as I believe, largely funded by contributions made by members of the Order and other patrons who valued their services?
The semi-formal alliances of Viking-era farmers in Scandinavia are IMO good examples of a PDA. There was no formal serfdom system in effect, but small landholders would ally themselves with regional chiefs, but these chiefs were not assigned by some central authority. Those who had a reputation for treating their less powerful allies well, representing their interests at the Things and, if neccesary, assembling armed men to protect them prospered, while those who did not guard their reputation well did not.
The Icelandic Sagas are chock-full of these kinds of shifting alliances, and show how in a society where the enforcement of law and provision of protective services are decentralized, reputation is king. Being considered honest, true to your word and willing to take risks to fulfill your contractual obligations, even if only given verbally are bona fide assets, “good as gold”.
The famous Templars started out effectively as a small and voluntarily-funded defense force: three knights took their vows and swore solemnly to defend the pilgrims in the Holy Land from the infidels. Initially they only received donations from rich patrons but as their numbers and importance grew they quickly received lands and other forms of financing directly from both the Church and other rulers (the King of Jerusalem was the most prominent). The reason is plain to see. The Crusading States were always lamentably short of armed men, especially heavy cavalry which made up the most efficient part of Medieval hosts, and barons could not always be relied upon to join the main army when their own lands were threatened (or if they had other personal goals). Templars and, later, Hospitaliers, became a sort of standing army for the Crusading State, though technically they only answered to the Pope in Rome.
Other Military Orders (though members usually didn’t take monastic vows as the Templars) worked in a similar way, particularly in Spain during the centuries-long Reconquista. They provided a body of well-armed, well-trained, disciplined and often experienced fighters which could be relied upon any circumstance. Barons were always expected to join the Royal army if called upon but sometimes they just didn’t turn up, other times arrived late and almost invariably displayed the most blatant indiscipline and disregard for the Royal authority. The behavior of the French noblesse at Creçy is a good example: not even King Philip himself could bade his own subjects to behave as he saw fit.
Later still a number of Military Orders were formed for very specific tasks (for example by the Duke of Tuscany to fight the Moorish pirates) but these were more dependent on the founding State than on the Church. One of these (the Teutonic Order) even broke loose and became the founding core of the Prussian/Brandenburg State.
So in effect, at least some of the knightly orders have started out as private defense agencies. They were successful, and some eventually fell to the dangers of envious rulers or the lure of power. That doesn’t seem that improbable given the time period.
Love those assholes, not that much for being behind-the-scenes rulers, but for what practical value does the status of their properties as ‘indipendent’ hold for us anarchists.
The Order has some privileges you wouldn’t believe. Their property in Rome is effectively considered a foreign country and the license plate SOM (Sovrano Ordine di Malta) is pretty much like a bulletproof armor, even more than diplomatic license plates.