The order received its rule from Pope Urban IV, who expressly states the purpose of the organisation and the rights and obligations of its members: [The members of the order] are to be allowed to bear arms for the defence of the catholic faith and ecclesiastical freedom, when specifically required to do so by the Roman church.
For subduing civil discords they may carry only defensive weapons, provided they have the permission of the diocesan.
The unique position of the order and the nature of its rule has led to its being denied full status by historians, who have sometimes labelled it a mere confraternity.
Though less than successful there, the two knights were appointed by Pope Clement IV the very next year (1266) to govern Florence in the aftermath of the Battle of Benevento.
They gained the opprobrium of the Florentines, however, and Dante Alighieri, in his famous Inferno placed them in the eighth circle of Hell with the hypocrites, where they sing: The order gained a reputation for carelessness with respect to their vows and were labelled the fratres gaudentes (Latin) or frati (cavalieri) gaudenti (Italian): jovial (joyous, jubilant) brothers (brethren, friars).