Knights Templar
In 1118, a French knight named Hugues de Payens approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem with a proposal to create a monastic Catholic religious order. The goal was simple yet vital: protect Christian pilgrims traveling from the coastline at Jaffa through to the interior of the Holy Land. Bandits and marauding highwaymen routinely slaughtered these travelers, sometimes by the hundreds, as they attempted their journey. The king granted the Templars a headquarters in a wing of the royal palace on the Temple Mount within the captured Al-Aqsa Mosque. This location derived their name of Templar because it sat above what was believed to be the ruins of Solomon's ancient temple. The initial group consisted of about nine knights including Godfrey de Saint-Omer and André de Montbard. They had few financial resources and relied entirely on donations to survive. Their emblem featured two knights riding on a single horse, emphasizing the order's poverty. An impoverished status did not last long for this new group. A powerful advocate emerged in Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading Church figure who wrote persuasively on their behalf in the letter In Praise of the New Knighthood. At the Council of Troyes in 1129, he led a group of churchmen to officially approve and endorse the order. With this formal blessing, the Templars became a favored charity throughout Christendom. They received money, land, businesses, and noble-born sons from families eager to help fight in the Holy Land. Pope Innocent II initiated the first papal monetary donation to the Order at the Council of Pisa in 1135. Another major benefit arrived in 1139 when his papal bull exempted the order from obedience to local laws. This ruling meant that the Templars could pass freely through all borders without paying taxes or answering to any authority except the pope.
By 1150, the order began issuing letters of credit for pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land. Pilgrims deposited their valuables with a local Templar preceptory before embarking. They then received a document indicating the value of their deposit. Upon arrival in the Holy Land, they showed that document to claim treasure of equal value to their funds. This innovative arrangement was an early form of banking and may have been the first use of bank cheques. It protected pilgrims from robbery while augmenting Templar finances. The order 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 throughout the region. Massive stone cathedrals and castles rose under their direction. They were involved in manufacturing, import, and export operations. At one point they even owned the entire island of Cyprus. The order arguably qualifies as the world's first multinational corporation. Non-combatant members made up as much as 90% of their total membership. These individuals managed a vast economic infrastructure throughout Christendom. A nobleman participating in the Crusades might place all his assets under Templar management during his absence. Accumulating wealth in this manner allowed them to build a network of nearly 1,000 commanderies and fortifications. Their headquarters moved to Limassol on the island of Cyprus after losing mainland strongholds like Tortosa and Atlit. The organization became part of daily life throughout Christendom. Many Europeans had daily contact with the Templar network by working at a Templar farm or vineyard. Others used the order as a bank to store personal valuables safely.
The first recorded battle involving the Knights Templar occurred in the town of Teqoa south of Jerusalem in 1138. A force led by Grand Master Robert de Craon was sent to retake the town after it was captured by Muslims. They were initially successful but the Muslims regrouped outside the town and took it back from the Templars. One of their most famous victories came in 1177 during the Battle of Montgisard. Some 500 Templar knights helped several thousand infantry defeat Saladin's army of more than 26,000 soldiers. The Templars often served as advance shock troops in key battles of the Crusades. Heavily armored knights on warhorses charged into enemy lines ahead of the main army. In June 1149, Zengid forces under Nur ad-Din Zengi defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Inab. Prince Raymond of Antioch was killed during this engagement. King Baldwin III led reinforcements that included 120 Templar knights and 1,000 sergeants and squires. The order participated in the Second Crusade starting in 1147 with a force of French, Spanish, and English Templars. They provided security to the rest of the army from Turkish raids during the dangerous journey through Anatolia. The siege of Damascus in the summer of 1148 failed and ended with the defeat of the Christian army. After Ascalon fell in August 1153, Bernard de Tremelay led forty knights into the city but all were killed by Muslim defenders when the rest of the army did not follow them. The pivotal Battle of Hattin occurred in 1187 leading to Jerusalem being recaptured by Muslim forces under Saladin. Grand Master Gérard de Ridefort was beheaded by Saladin in 1189 at the Siege of Acre. The last grand master Jacques de Molay faced execution in Paris on the 18th of March 1314.
At dawn on Friday, the 13th of October 1307, King Philip IV had Grand Master Jacques de Molay and scores of other French Templars simultaneously arrested. The arrest warrant started with the words God is not pleased. We have enemies of the faith in the kingdom. Claims were made that recruits were forced to spit on the Cross and deny Christ during admission ceremonies. Brethren were also accused of worshipping idols and engaging in indecent kissing. Many of these allegations contained tropes similar to accusations made against Jews, heretics, and accused witches. These claims were highly politicized without any real evidence. Many of the accused confessed to charges like financial corruption and fraud under torture. One prisoner named Raymond de La Fère admitted he spat three times on the Cross but only from his mouth and not from his heart. Relenting to King Phillip's demands, Pope Clement issued a papal bull on the 22nd of November 1307 instructing all Christian monarchs in Europe to arrest all Templars and seize their assets. In 1310, Philip blocked attempts by some Templars to defend themselves using previously forced confessions. Dozens of Templars were burned at the stake in Paris. The elderly Grand Master Jacques de Molay retracted his confession before being declared guilty of being a relapsed heretic. He was sentenced to burn alive at the stake in Paris on the 18th of March 1314 alongside Geoffroi de Charney, Preceptor of Normandy. De Molay reportedly remained defiant to the end asking to be tied so he could face Notre Dame Cathedral. According to legend, he called out from the flames that both Pope Clement and King Philip would soon meet him before God. Clement died only a month later while Philip died while hunting within the same year.
At the Council of Vienne in 1312, Pope Clement issued a series of papal bulls including one which officially dissolved the order. Another turned over most Templar assets to the Hospitallers except in the Kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, and Portugal. Portugal was the first country in Europe where they had settled occurring only two or three years after the order's foundation in Jerusalem. The Portuguese king Denis I refused to pursue and persecute the former knights as had occurred in some other states under influence of Philip IV. Under his protection, Templar organizations simply changed their name from Knights Templar to the reconstituted Order of Christ. Both are considered successors to the Knights Templar. Following the dissolution of the Knights Templar, the Order of Christ was erected in 1319 and absorbed many of the Knights Templar into its ranks along with properties in Portugal. Its headquarters became a castle in Tomar, a former Knights Templar castle. The Military Order of Christ considers themselves the successors of the former Knights Templar. After the Templars were abolished on the 22nd of March 1312, the Order of Christ was founded in 1319 under the protection of King Denis who revived the Templars of Tomar. Denis negotiated with Clement's successor John XXII for recognition of the new order and its right to inherit Templar assets and property. This was granted in the papal bull Ad ea ex quibus of the 14th of March 1319. The remaining Templars around Europe were either arrested and tried under the Papal investigation with virtually none convicted or pensioned off and allowed to live out their days peacefully.
Many sites maintain the name Temple because of centuries-old association with the Templars. Two of the four Inns of Court which may call members to act as barristers are the Inner Temple and Middle Temple in London. The entire area known as Temple, London includes locations like the Temple Bar gateway and the Temple Underground station. Distinctive architectural elements include round buildings designed to resemble the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Many of these structures still stand today including a Templar chapel from the 12th century in Metz France. Once part of the Templar commandery of Metz it is the oldest Templar institution of the Holy Roman Empire. Convent of Christ Castle in Tomar Portugal was built in 1160 as a stronghold for the Knights Templar. It was besieged in 1190 by the Almohads and became the headquarters of the renamed Order of Christ. In 1983 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The use of the image two knights on a single horse appears on many Templar buildings representing the Knights' poverty. The order funded a large number of building projects around Europe and the Holy Land. Their castles became de facto independent lordships with their own markets further growing their political authority. Secular nobles in the Kingdom of Jerusalem began granting them castles and surrounding lands as defense against the growing threat of the Zengids in Syria.
The story of the persecution and sudden dissolution has drawn many other groups to use alleged connections with them as a way of enhancing their own image and mystery. There are no historical connections between the Knights Templar and any other modern organization except the Order of Christ and Order of Montesa in Spain. The earliest of these emerged publicly in the 18th century. Masonic writers added their own speculations in the 18th century and further fictional embellishments have been added in popular novels such as Ivanhoe, Foucault's Pendulum, and The Da Vinci Code. Modern movies like National Treasure, The Last Templar, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade feature the order prominently. Television series Knightfall and video games such as Broken Sword, Deus Ex, Assassin's Creed and Dante's Inferno also explore Templar themes. A legend states that when Louis XVI was executed a freemason dipped a cloth in the king's blood saying Jacques de Molay you are avenged. Another theory claims they are still existent running a secret conspiracy to preserve the bloodline of Jesus. Speculative publications surround the order's early occupation of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as well as speculation about what relics the Templars may have found there. The association of the Holy Grail with the Templars has precedents even in 12th-century fiction where Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival calls the knights guarding the Grail Kingdom templeisen. There is no evidence of any actual connection of the historical Templars with the Grail nor any claim on the part of any Templar to have discovered such a relic.
Common questions
When was the Knights Templar founded and by whom?
The Knights Templar were founded in 1118 by a French knight named Hugues de Payens. He approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem to create a monastic Catholic religious order dedicated to protecting Christian pilgrims.
What financial innovations did the Knights Templar introduce during the Crusades?
By 1150, the Knights Templar began issuing letters of credit for pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land. This system allowed pilgrims to deposit valuables at local preceptories and receive documents to claim equal treasure upon arrival, functioning as an early form of banking and bank cheques.
Who executed the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar and when did it happen?
King Philip IV ordered the execution of Grand Master Jacques de Molay on the 18th of March 1314 in Paris. De Molay was burned alive at the stake alongside Geoffroi de Charney after retracting his forced confession.
Which country successfully preserved the legacy of the Knights Templar after their dissolution?
Portugal is the only European kingdom where the Knights Templar survived under the protection of King Denis I. The Portuguese organization changed its name to the Order of Christ in 1319 and absorbed many former knights and properties into its ranks.
When were the Knights Templar officially dissolved by the Catholic Church?
The Council of Vienne issued a papal bull on the 22nd of March 1312 that officially dissolved the order. Pope Clement IV transferred most Templar assets to the Hospitallers except in Castile, Aragon, and Portugal.