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The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the wealthiest and most popular military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded c. 1119, headquartered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and existed for nearly two centuries ...
- 15,000–20,000 members at peak, 10% of whom were knights
- Who Were The Knights Templar?
- The Pope’s Endorsement
- The Knights Templars at Work
- Expanded Duties of The Knights
- The Fall of The Knights Templar
- Arrests and Executions
- The Knights Templar Today
- Sources
After Christian armies captured Jerusalem from Muslim control in 1099 during the Crusades, groups of pilgrims from across Western Europe started visiting the Holy Land. Many of them, however, were robbed and killed as they crossed through Muslim-controlled territories during their journey. Around 1118, a French knight named Hugues de Payenscreated ...
Initially, the Knights Templar faced criticism from some religious leaders. But in 1129, the group received the formal endorsement of the Catholic Church and support from Bernard of Clairvaux, a prominent French abbot. Bernard authored “In Praise of the New Knighthood,” a text that glorified the Knights Templar and bolstered their growth. In 1139, ...
The Knights Templar set up a prosperous network of banks and gained enormous financial influence. Their banking system allowed religious pilgrims to deposit assets in their home countries and withdraw funds in the Holy Land. The order became known for its austere code of conduct (which included no pointy shoes and no kissing their mothers, rules ou...
Though its original purpose was to protect pilgrims from danger, the Knights Templar progressively expanded its duties. They became defenders of the Crusader states in the Holy Land and were known as brave, highly skilled warriors. The group developed a reputation as fierce fighters during the Crusades, driven by religious fervor and forbidden from...
In the late 12th century, Muslim armies retook Jerusalem and turned the tide of the Crusades, forcing the Knights Templar to relocate several times. The Fall of Acrein 1291 marked the destruction of the last remaining Crusader refuge in the Holy Land. European support for the military campaigns in the Holy Land began to erode over the decades that ...
On Friday, October 13, 1307, scores of French Templars were arrested, including the order’s grand master Jacques de Molay. Many of the knights were brutally tortured until they confessed to false charges, which included heresy, homosexuality, financial corruption, devil-worshipping, fraud, spitting on the cross and more. A few years later, dozens o...
The Catholic Church has acknowledged that the persecution of the Knights Templar was unjustified. The church claims that Pope Clement was pressured by secular rulers to destroy the order. While most historians agree that the Knights Templar fully disbanded 700 years ago, there are some people who believe the order went underground and remains in ex...
Who were the Knights Templar?: The Telegraph. Templar History: TemplarHistory.com. The Knights Templar: Slate. Busting the Myth of Friday the 13th and the Knights Templar: National Geographic. The Knights Templars: New Advent.
- Missy Sullivan
The Knights Templar were an elite fighting force of their day, highly trained, well-equipped, and highly motivated; one of the tenets of their religious order was that they were forbidden from retreating in battle, unless outnumbered three to one, and even then only by order of their commander, or if the Templar flag went down.
- They created a brand-new model of holy warrior. You know all those legends of King Arthur’s knights searching for the Holy Grail and exemplifying Christian virtues?
- They didn’t joke around when it came to discipline. Under “The Rule of the Templars,” a detailed code governing everyday behavior, the knights were required to live austere lives.
- They refused to ever surrender. During the Crusades, some Christian forces were ragtag armies with minimal training. Not the Knights Templar. They were highly trained, and became known as fierce fighters.
- They were strategic thinkers as well as zealous fighters. While they were known for their piety and their readiness to fight for the spread of Christianity, the Knights Templar sometimes counseled their fellow Crusaders against rash action.
Sep 28, 2018 · The Knights Templar were established c. 1119 and given papal recognition in 1129. It was a Catholic medieval military order whose members combined martial prowess with a monastic life to defend Christian holy sites and pilgrims in the Middle East and elsewhere. The Templars, with headquarters at Jerusalem and then Acre, were an important and ...
- Mark Cartwright
Mar 26, 2024 · Templar, member of the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, a religious military order of knighthood established at the time of the Crusades that became a model and inspiration for other military orders. Blamed for Crusader failures in the Holy Land, the order was destroyed by France’s King Philip IV.
Oct 17, 2012 · While most historians agree that the Knights Templar fully disbanded 700 years ago, some people believe the order went underground and remains in existence to this day.
