Membership is comprised of individuals, male and female, of proven lineal descent from one or more Crusaders of Knightly or Higher Rank who participated in one or more of the regular and/or interim Crusades between 1096 and 1291, and who made great personal sacrifices, endured great hardship, performed heroically, and died in great numbers during the Crusades. On 6 June 1998 the Military Order of the Crusades merged with the Baronial Order of Magna Charta as an entity within its umbrella.