Knights Templar

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici), popularly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple, were the first and among the most famous of the Christian military orders.The organisation, which existed for approximately two centuries in the Middle Ages, was created in the aftermath of the First Crusade of 1096 to ensure the safety of the large numbers of European pilgrims who flowed toward Jerusalem after its conquest.

Officially endorsed by the church in 1129, the Order became a favoured charity across Europe, and grew rapidly in membership and power. Templar knights, easily recognisable in their white mantle with a distinct red cross, made some of the best equipped, trained, and disciplined fighting units of the Crusades.Non-warrior members of the Order managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom, innovating many financial techniques that were an early form of banking, and building numerous fortifications throughout Europe and the Holy Land.

The success of the Templars was tied closely to the success of the Crusades. When the Holy Land was lost and the Templars suffered crushing defeats, support for the Order's existence faltered. Rumours about the Templars' secret initiation ceremony caused mistrust, and King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt to the Order, began pressuring Pope Clement V to take action. Things came to a head on Friday, October 13, 1307, when King Philip caused many of the Order's members in France to be arrested, tortured into "confessions", and burned at the stake.In 1312, Pope Clement, under further pressure from King Philip, forcibly disbanded the entire Order. The sudden disappearance of a major part of the European infrastructure gave rise to speculation and legends, which have kept the name "Templar" alive in modern fiction.

History

Rise

After the First Crusade resulted in the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, many European pilgrims headed for the area to visit what they referred to as The Holy Places. But although the city was under relative control, the rest of the Outremer was not. Bandits abounded, and pilgrims were routinely slaughtered, sometimes by the hundreds, as they attempted to make the journey from the coastline at Jaffa into the Holy Land.

Around 1119, French knight Hugues de Payens and his relative Godfrey de Saint-Omer, veterans of the First Crusade, proposed the creation of a monastic order for the protection of these pilgrims. King Baldwin II of Jerusalem agreed to their request, and gave them a headquarters in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount, in the captured Al Aqsa Mosque. The Temple Mount had a mystique, because it was above what was believed to be the ruins of the Temple of Solomon. The Crusaders therefore referred to the Al Aqsa Mosque as Solomon's Temple, and it was from this location that the Order took its name of Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, or "Templar" knights. With few financial resources, the tiny Order of approximately nine knights had to rely on donations to survive. Their emblem displayed two knights riding on a single horse, emphasizing their poverty.

The Templars' impoverished status did not last long. The Order had a powerful patron in Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading church figure and a nephew of one of the founding knights. He spoke and wrote persuasively on their behalf, and in 1129 at the Council of Troyes, the Order was officially endorsed by the church. With this formal blessing, the Templars became a favoured charity across Europe, receiving money, land, businesses, and noble-born sons from families who were eager to help with the fight in the Holy Land. Another major benefit came in 1139, when Pope Innocent II's papal bull Omne Datum Optimum exempted the Order from obedience to local laws. This ruling meant that the Templars could pass freely through all borders, were not required to pay any taxes, and were exempt from all authority except that of the Pope.

"[A Templar Knight] is truly a fearless knight, and secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armor of faith, just as his body is protected by the armor of steel. He is thus doubly-armed, and need fear neither demons nor men."

Bernard de Clairvaux, c. 1135, De Laude Novae Militae - In Praise of the New Knighthood

With its clear mission and ample resources, the Order grew rapidly. Templars were often the advance force in key battles of the Crusades, as the knights on their heavily armed warhorses would set out to gallop full speed at the enemy, in an attempt to break opposition lines. One of their most famous victories was in 1177 during the Battle of Montgisard, where some 500 Templar knights helped to defeat Saladin's army of more than 26,000 soldiers.

Although the primary mission of the Order was military, only a small percentage of its members were actually at the front lines. The rest acted in support positions, both to assist the knights individually and to manage the financial infrastructure. The Templars, though sworn to individual poverty, were given control of wealth