The Origins and Rise of The Order
After the Franks in the First Crusade captured Jerusalem from the Fatimid Caliphate in 1099 AD, many Christians made pilgrimages to various sacred sites in the Holy Land. Although the city of Jerusalem was relatively secure under Christian control, the rest of Outremer was not. Bandits and marauding highwaymen preyed upon these Christian pilgrims, who were routinely slaughtered, sometimes by the hundreds, as they attempted to make the journey from the coastline... moreThe Origins and Rise of The Order
After the Franks in the First Crusade captured Jerusalem from the Fatimid Caliphate in 1099 AD, many Christians made pilgrimages to various sacred sites in the Holy Land. Although the city of Jerusalem was relatively secure under Christian control, the rest of Outremer was not. Bandits and marauding highwaymen preyed upon these Christian pilgrims, who were routinely slaughtered, sometimes by the hundreds, as they attempted to make the journey from the coastline at Jaffa through to the interior of the Holy Land.
In 1119, the French knight Hugues de Payens approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and proposed creating a Catholic monastic religious order for the protection of these pilgrims. King Baldwin and Patriarch Warmund agreed to the request, probably at the Council of Nablus in January 1120, and the king granted the Templars a headquarters in a wing of the royal palace on the Temple Mount in the captured Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The order, with about nine knights including Godfrey de Saint-Omer and André de Montbard, had few financial resources and relied on donations to survive. Their emblem was of two knights riding on a single horse, emphasizing the order's poverty.
The first headquarters of the Knights Templar, on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Crusaders called it "the Temple of Solomon" and from this location derived their name of Templar.
The impoverished status of the Templars did not last long. They had a powerful advocate in Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading Church figure, the French abbot primarily responsible for the founding of the Cistercian Order of monks and a nephew of André de Montbard, one of the founding knights. Bernard put his weight behind them and wrote persuasively on their behalf in the letter "In Praise of the New Knighthood", and in 1129, at the Council of Troyes, he led a group of leading churchmen to officially approve and endorse the order on behalf of the church. With this formal blessing, the Templars became a favoured charity throughout Christendom, receiving money, land, businesses, and noble-born sons from families who were eager to help with the fight in the Holy Land. At the Council of Pisa in 1135, Pope Innocent II initiated the first papal monetary donation to the Order. Another major benefit came in 1139, when 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.
With its clear mission and ample resources, the order grew rapidly. Templars were often the advance shock troops in key battles of the Crusades, as the heavily armoured knights on their warhorses would set out to charge at the enemy, ahead of the main army bodies, 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 several thousand infantry to defeat Saladin's army of more than 26,000 soldiers.
Although the primary mission of the order was militaristic, relatively few members were combatants. The majority acted in support positions to assist the knights and manage the financial infrastructure. The Templar Order, though its members were sworn to individual poverty, was given control of wealth beyond direct donations. A nobleman who was interested in participating in the Crusades might place all his assets under Templar management while he was away. Accumulating wealth in this manner throughout Christendom and the Outremer, the order in 1150 began generating letters of credit for pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land: pilgrims deposited their valuables with a local Templar preceptory before embarking, received a document indicating the value of their deposit, then used that document upon arrival in the Holy Land to retrieve their funds in an amount of treasure of equal value. This innovative arrangement was an early form of banking and may have been the first formal system to support the use of cheques; it improved the safety of pilgrims by making them less attractive targets for thieves, and also contributed to the Templar coffers.
Based on this mix of donations and business dealing, the Templars established financial networks across the whole of Christendom. They acquired large tracts of land, both in Europe and the Middle East; they bought and managed farms and vineyards; they built massive stone cathedrals and castles; they were involved in manufacturing, import and export; they had their own fleet of ships; and at one point they even owned the entire island of Cyprus. The Order of the Knights Templar arguably qualifies as the world's first multinational corporation.
Its Challenges
The informal regulations of the Order consisting of 72 clauses was known as the Latin Rule.
Templars ate in relative silence.
The severest form of punishment inflicted on Templars was expulsion from the Order.
The Christians were defeated by Saladin at the Battle of Hattin on July 4, 1187.
Saladin beheaded the Templars and Hospitallers who were captured at the Battle of Hattin.
The Templars refused to assist King Amalric in attacking Egypt in 1168.
According to William of Tyre, the leader of the Assassins that the Templars allegedly had conflict was The Old Man of the Mountain.
When Jerusalem fell to Saladin, he ordered the cross taken down and paraded through the city and beaten with sticks.
Leo Roupenid, Prince of Lesser Armenia, was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III for attacking Templars.
Emperor Frederick was excommunicated for seizing Templar property in 1239.
The image of the Templars continues to diminish because of rivalry with the Hospitallers, and opposition with several key players over many years.
Gerard of Rideford was the only Templar spared after Hattin.
When the gates of Safad were opened, Baybars sent the women and children into slavery and decapitated the Templars.
Acre was the last city in the Holy Land held by the Christians.
Poverty, chastity, and obedience was the monastic vow of the Templar.
According to the Rule, ten knights are placed around the banner during battle.
According to the Rule, hunting was forbidden, except for lions.
On October 13, 1307 Templars seized by royal officials on accusations of certain crimes.
Most of those arrested by royal officials were administrators, craftsmen, and agricultural workers.
Financial Issues that threatened the stability of the Order were increased costs of producing acreage, increase costs of horses, and increased costs of replacing fallen knights.
The numbers of knights in the field, were constantly eroded by age, infirmity and disease.
A Templar who killed or wounded any equine animal or mule through his own fault could be punished by being deprived of the habit of the Order.
The papal bull Vox in Excelso, issued by Pope Clement V, abolished the Order of the Temple on March 22, 1312.
The charges against the Templars included heretical initiation ceremonies, spitting on the cross and the obscene kiss.
The papal bull Ad providam issued by Clement V, transferred the Order’s property to the Hospitallers.
Pope Clement V ordered a general arrest of the Templars outside of France on November 22, 1307.
King Diniz of Portugal founded the Order of Christ in 1319, largely drawing on Templar Property and many former Templars.
James of Molay and Geoffrey of Charney were burned at the stake on March 18 1314.
Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall concocted an elaborate thesis wherein the Templars worshiped an idol named Baphoment.
Omission of the words in the consecration of Mass, insults to the cross and denial of Christ were charges laid against the Temple during the trial.
The quote: “The lunatic is all idee’ fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars” was penned by Umberto Eco.
Its Successes
In 1129, the Order of the Temple received official papal recognition at the Council of Troyes.
Louis VII granted the town of Sevigny in to the Templars in 1149 out of gratitude for their financial and military aid.
Saint Augustine accepted that under certain conditions, a Christian may use force.
Omne datum optimum recognized the Order of the Temple as defenders of the Catholic Church and attackers of the enemies of Christ, thus putting them under the papal umbrella.
Milites temple allowed the Templars to collect contributions on behalf of the church and to grant a partial substitution for crusading as well as a limited indulgence.
Militia dei gave the Order permission to take tithes, obligations, and burial fees where they had oratories and to bury members of their own familia there.
According to William of Tyre, it was under Pope Eugenius III that the Templars received the right to wear the red cross upon their tunics.
On May 1, 1187, Grand Master Girard of Rideford of the Templars led a mixed force of Templar, Hospitaller and secular forces to defeat at the Springs of Cresson.
The Templars arrange to purchase from King Richard I was Cyprus
Louis IX endorsed Reginald of Vichiers as Master of the Temple to replace William of Sonnac.
Turcopoles are the light mounted troops, often recruited by Templars from the local population.
The Order of Mountjoy was absorbed into the Temple in 1196, due to its inability to survive.
Templar Houses were used to provide loans, hold mortgage pledges and store precious documents.
The Sword of a Templar:
It's not just any weapon. It's not for cutting and killing only. She was not blessed to take the life of another mortal. It's the warrior's soul that melts with her. It is our cross in our hands. It is the death of evil that wants to lose or ambush us. A Templar does not adorn his sword with diamonds and precious stones. Don't bleed her with silver and gold. It's the tempered steel for a warrior of Faith. It's the other half and complement of the knight.. A Templar witho... moreThe Sword of a Templar:
It's not just any weapon. It's not for cutting and killing only. She was not blessed to take the life of another mortal. It's the warrior's soul that melts with her. It is our cross in our hands. It is the death of evil that wants to lose or ambush us. A Templar does not adorn his sword with diamonds and precious stones. Don't bleed her with silver and gold. It's the tempered steel for a warrior of Faith. It's the other half and complement of the knight.. A Templar without a sword has his life force and virtue that makes him unstoppable, while he lives, but with his sword he is much more. She is blessed and ordained, to do good and to defend the oppressed. It is the noble weapon of so many battles and heroic acts. A templar sword is not just any sword. It's not the one of a king or a crusader that wields it. It's not the katana of a samurai. But they both know what it means to be a true Templar (not a circus clown) and what their sword represents. They will not fear who walk straight and do good works, helping and respecting others. Do not fear the poor and the humble, to the sword of a Templar. Fear not the pure in heart and those who seek truth. My weapon will not be the simple tool of which it does not merge with its spirit. The temple of the Templar sword is greater than that of a mortal warrior, who went to battle alone with his strength and was not clothed with the armor of his Faith.
Ref. 1. De laude novae militiae ad milites templi.
Ref. 2. Memoirs of a Master.
