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There is much confusion (and unseemly argument) about the nature of chivalric orders.
Many of these Orders continued well after the Crusades and their original purpose had ended. A few continued their militaristic traditions, like the Teutonic Knights, and are recorded in history as a force to be enlisted and sometimes feared by ruling Princes and Kings who retained their services to put down rebellions or rivals. In Spain and Portugal knightly orders were involved in fighting the Moorish occupation. Others like the Knights Templar evolved into sophisticated societies in their own right, with vast landholdings, their own army and navy, incredible wealth, and offering their many services to ruling monarchs. Most of the controversy that surrounds the Chivalric or Knightly Orders centres around their lineage, each claiming to be rooted in antiquity. In reality, most of the "oldest" orders are in fact "revivals" of previous orders, or were founded in the 19th and even 20th centuries. For example, the British Order of St. John of Jerusalem was revived in the early part of the 19th century, and was only officially granted its charter in 1888 by Queen Victoria. The Knights of Malta were driven from Malta by Napoleon in the late 1700s only to splinter and reconstitute themselves in the 19th century. The Order of St. Lazarus was abolished on July 31, 1791, by a decree of the National Assembly signed by the King of France, and was only revived in the early 20th century. Still other orders evolved into bodies dedicated to charity, helping the poor and sick and other good works, and acknowledging those who performed similar acts of kindness and generosity. That acknowledgment could take many forms, from invitations to membership in the order, the granting of awards or the granting of titles, including being made a Knight of the order.
For many hundreds of years the Catholic Church has also reserved for itself the power to confer knighthoods and grant orders. There are a number of such Papal awards granted by the Holy See. These include The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, the Order of Pius IX, and the Equestrian Order of St Gregory the Great. There also exists a number of "House Orders", being awards granted by other noble houses and families of Europe, Russia and elsewhere. Prior to the First World War there were a considerable number of such awards - especially in the numerous independent German states - many of which included a knighthood or other title of honour. Many such orders were on the personal prerogative of the head of the noble house who, depending on the Order, was either acting in his capacity of head of state (making it a state award) or as Grand Master of an Order that existed semi-independently of his governmental powers. Many of the House Orders waxed and waned according to the fortunes of the nobles houses associated with them. Some orders linked to specific geographic and political entities - like the pre-Unification German principalities and duchies - were extinguished with the demise of some European noble houses through war, conquest, amalgamation or intermarriage. However, even without a state to command, some noble houses or their descendants retained their order and title granting powers as a personal privilege. In the world of chivalry, there is considerable discussion given to the issue of whether an order has a recognized "fons honorum", or as one writer has put it: "Arguments about whether an Order of Chivalry is valid always focus on the right of the Order's fons honorum to found an Order." A "fount of honor" is defined as someone who held sovereignty either currently or formerly at the time of the creation or the order. In the case of The Order of Saint Joachim, its founding members chose not to create an order of knighthood that derived its legitimacy from the fiat or sponsorship of a sovereign fons, but rather from the nobility of the ideals it sought to promote. It was a radical idea at the time, the more so since it declared the Grandmastership should be an elected position, and not one that is inherited by a sovereign or noble sponsor. At the time of its founding in 1755, the idea of a democratic order of chivalry - one that governed itself through a Grand Chapter as "Chapterial"- was radical. The Order of Saint Joachim continues to endure criticism for not having been founded by a sovereign fons, however, the lack of a fons did not prevent the English College of Arms and other European governments from repeatedly recognizing the Order of Saint Joachim as a true order of knighthood. Writing from the English College of Arms where he served as Windsor Herald, Francis Townsend, Esq., FSA, published in 1828 the "Calendar of Knights; Containing Lists of Knights Bachelors, British Knights of Foreign Orders, Also Knights of the Garter, Thistle, Bath, St. Patrick and the Guelphic and Ionian Orders", listing all knighthoods and orders of knighthood recorded in the English College of Arms' records. Townsend put the position of The Order of Saint Joachim and its lack of a fons very succinctly in 1828:
Townsend's full book can be found here reproduced as a PDF (3.8 MB). Writing in 1843, G.L. De Rochement and J. Bischoff (Ridderorden: Amsterdam, p. 27) again stated that The Order of Saint Joachim "does not owe its origins to any crowned head, even so it is recognized both on the European mainland and in Great Britain as an Order of knighthood." And so, the lack of a fons honorum, while curious and enough to be noted by numerous writers and authorities on chivalry, did not keep The Order of Saint Joachim from being recognized as an Order of Knighthood. Townsend was not the first person to consider and confirm The Order of Saint Joachim's legitimacy as an Order of Knighthood. The Order of Saint Joachim underwent meticulous scrutiny previously by the English College of Arms in 1802 on the occasion of Admiral Horatio Nelson being awarded the Cross of a Knight Grand Commander of The Order of Saint Joachim. The Lancaster King of Arms, G.F. Beltz, charged with making an investigation into our Order, concluded in his report that The Order of Saint Joachim was indeed a valid and properly constituted Order of Knighthood, and as such Nelson was permitted to accept and wear the honour by the Warrant of King George III, who personally approved the wearing of our Order. The Order of Saint Joachim had already been recognized as a legitimate order of knighthood in 1790 by His Apostolic Majesty Leopold II, King of Hungary and Bohemia (later Holy Roman Emperor). On the 27th of April, 1791 King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia issued a similar Royal Grant recognizing the legitimacy of The Order of Saint Joachim and permitting the wearing of the insignia of The Order of Saint Joachim on his officers' military uniforms. According to tradition and by virtue of the rules established under its ancient Charter, the Grand Master and Grand Chapter of The Order of Saint Joachim may make members of the Order knights as well as confer the honourific prefix of Chevalier or Dame. Knighthoods granted by The Order of Saint Joachim were recognized by the British Crown and recipients were entitled to use the title "Sir" up until 1813 when laws were passed in England limiting the use of non-British honours generally. Below are examples of period sources citing knighthoods granted by The Order of Saint Joachim.
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Many of the original and most famous
Orders of Chivalry arose in response to the Crusades. They were bands of
warriors, priests, warrior monks, militia and knights formed together under common
ideals, religious beliefs or for a common purpose. Some were formed to
protect pilgrims en route to the Holy Land, either by accompanying them
as guards or providing fortified safe havens along the way. The Knights
Templar were a warrior order, actively in the thick of the fighting
during the Crusades. Others, such as the Brothers Hospitalers of
Saint John of Jerusalem, established hospitals to care for the sick
and wounded. 
When speaking of the granting of
knighthoods, one automatically thinks of those granted by the British
Crown in the annual "Honours List". (In fact, the
disposition of those knighthoods is almost exclusively decided by members of the
sitting Government and not the reigning monarch. The Queen only has
authority to grant a single Order of Knighthood without any reference to
government ministers - The Royal Victorian Order.) Certain British
awards, known as the Orders of Knighthood, entitle the recipient to use
the title "Sir". These include: The Most Noble Order of the
Garter, The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, The Most
Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick (now extinct), The Most Honourable Order of the
Bath, The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and some
twelve others, each with their own insignia, classes and subdivisions.
