Premonstratensians in the context of Prémontré

Hayton of Corycus, O.Praem (also Hethum, Het'um, and variants; Armenian: Հեթում Պատմիչ, romanized: Hetʿowm Patmičʿ, lit. 'Hethum the Historian'; c. 1240 – c. 1310/1320) was a medieval Armenian nobleman and historiographer. He was also a member of Norbertines and likely a Catholic priest.

Hayton is the author of La Flor des estoires de la terre d'Orient ("Flower of the Histories of the East"; Latin: Flos historiarum terre Orientis), a historiographical work about the history of Asia, especially about the Muslim conquests and the Mongol invasion, which he dictated at the request of Pope Clement V in 1307, while he was at Poitiers. The Old French original text was recorded by one Nicolas Faulcon, who also prepared a Latin translation. The work was widely disseminated in the Late Middle Ages and was influential in shaping western European views of the Orient.

Choir dress is the traditional vesture of the clerics, seminarians and religious of Christian churches worn for public prayer and the administration of the sacraments except when celebrating or concelebrating the Eucharist. It differs from the vestments worn by the celebrants of the Eucharist, being normally made of fabrics such as wool, cotton or silk, as opposed to the fine brocades used in vestments. It may also be worn by lay assistants such as acolytes and choirs. It was abandoned by most of the Protestant churches that developed from the sixteenth-century Reformation.

Like Eucharistic vestments, choir dress derived originally from the formal secular dress of the Roman Empire in the first centuries of the Christian era. This survived in church usage after fashion had changed. Choir dress differs from "house dress," which is worn outside of a liturgical context (whether in the house or on the street). House dress may be either formal or informal.

The Order of the Swan (German: Schwanenorden) was a spiritual chivalric order of princes and nobles ruled by the House of Hohenzollern. It was founded on 29 September 1440 by Elector Frederick II of Brandenburg with reference to the medieval tale of the Swan Knight.

The association originally comprised, with Elector Frederick at their head, thirty men and seven women united to honor Virgin Mary. Its headquarters was the Romanesque St. Mary's pilgrimage church, the centre of a Premonstratensian monastery located on a hill near Brandenburg an der Havel. In 1459, the Hohenzollern margrave Albert Achilles established a filial at the St. Gumbertus church near his Ansbach Residence.

An almuce was a hood-like shoulder cape worn as a choir vestment in the Middle Ages, especially in England. Initially, it was worn by the general population. It found lasting use by certain canons regular, such as the white almutium worn on the arm by Premonstratensian canons. Use of fur-lined almuce was against the rules of the canons, leading to requests for dispensations from the rule, as described by Alison Fizzard. It also survives in the tippet and hood worn by some Anglican priests.

The almuce or amess is defined by E. L. Cutts as a tippet of black cloth with a hood attached, lined with fur, worn in choir by canons, and in some counties of England by parochial rectors. The academic hood is a derivative from the medieval almuce.

Anacletus II (died January 25, 1138), born Pietro Pierleoni, was an antipope who ruled in opposition to Pope Innocent II from 1130 until his death in 1138. After the death of Pope Honorius II, the college of cardinals was divided over his successor. Unusually, the election was entrusted to eight cardinals, who elected Gregorio Papareschi as Innocent II. A larger body of cardinals then elected Pierleoni, which led to a major schism in the Roman Catholic Church. Anacletus had the support of most Romans, including the Frangipani family, and Innocent was forced to flee to France. North of the Alps, Innocent gained the crucial support of the major religious orders, in particular Bernard of Clairvaux's Cistercians, the abbot of Cluny Peter the Venerable; and Norbert of Xanten, the archbishop of Magdeburg who established the Premonstratensians and held a high rank in the court of Emperor Lothar III.

The lack of support from these key figures left Anacletus with few patrons outside of Rome. Anacletus, with little remaining support, lived for several years and died with the crisis unresolved. In 1139 the second Lateran Council ended the schism, although opinion remained divided.