Del escudero de Esteríbar al caballero de Rodas. Comienzos de la carrera de Martín Martínez de Olloqui, futuro... [From squire of Esteríbar to knight of Rhodes. The beginnings of the career of Martín Martínez de Olloqui future prior of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem in Navarre (14th. century)]

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to study the very beginnings of the career of Martín Martínez de Olloqui, prior to his appointment as the head of the Knights Hospitaller in Navarre in 1383. Firstly, it contextualises the trajectory of this knight within his lineage, that can be considered representative for the lower-middle Navarrese nobility. Secondly, it highhlights the role of the prior for the governance of the Order of Saint John, regarding the historical importance of the second half of the fourteenth century. Finally, it identifies a link between the strategy of the family Olloqui and the personal qualities of Martín on the one hand, and the vested interests of the Order on the other, fruit of which would be a long and renowned government.