The Knights Templar: The Most Famous of the Military Religious Orders

On a winter day in 1119, somewhere in Jerusalem, a French knight named Hugues de Payens and eight companions presented themselves to King Baldwin II with a request: that they be allowed to form a religious order to protect the pilgrims on the roads of the Holy Land. The chronicler William of Tyre, our principal source for the founding, gives a number — “nine” — that almost certainly became the Order’s romantic origin myth. (The word “nine” has a special status in Templar legend, for reasons that are not entirely clear.) The order was given quarters in the royal palace on the Temple Mount, from which it took the name that would, in time, become the most famous in medieval Europe.

This pillar tells the story of the Templars, from that small beginning to their dramatic suppression in 1312. For deeper dives into specific aspects, see the trial of the Knights Templar, Templar banking and finance, the Templar rule and organization, how the Knights Templar were founded, who destroyed the Knights Templar, and what Templar symbols mean.

A note on the historiography. The standard history of the Templars is Malcolm Barber’s The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple (1994); his earlier The Trial of the Templars (1978) remains the definitive account of the suppression. Stephen Howarth’s The Knights Templar (1982) is the best popular history in English; Régine Pernoud’s Les Templiers (1974) is the best in French. The newer scholarship has refined the picture, especially on the early history (Jochen Schenk, Templar Families, 2012) and on the financial system (Robinson and Saint-Guillain, 2012). I have leaned on Barber for the spine of this pillar.

The founding of the Order, 1119

The traditional founding date of the Order is 1119, but the modern scholarship treats this with caution. The earliest reference we have to a Templar group is from 1120, in a letter of the Jerusalem patriarch Warmund, and the Order may have existed informally for a few years before that. The bull Omne datum optimum of Pope Honorius II in 1129 gave the Order formal papal recognition, and the Council of Troyes in 1129, where the rule was approved, is the date that matters for institutional history.

The early Templars were, by all accounts, a small and committed group. They took the monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and they followed a rule that was drawn up for them by the Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux. Bernard, who was already an influential churchman and would later preach the Second Crusade, wrote a famous treatise in support of the new order, the De laude novae militiae (“In Praise of the New Knighthood”), which became a central text of the Templar tradition. The De laude is a remarkable document, both for its militancy and for its careful theological defence of a class of men who kill. The argument is that the knight who kills in defence of the Christian faith is not a murderer, and the violence of the new knighthood is in fact a service to God. The argument has been influential in Western thinking about holy war ever since.

The rule was approved at the Council of Troyes in 1129, which was attended by 13 bishops and a number of ecclesiastical figures, and was presided over by Cardinal Matthew of Albano, the papal legate. The rule, which was based on the Cistercian model, was austere and demanding. The Templars were to live in community, with shared property, shared meals, and shared prayer. They were forbidden to wear fine clothing, to keep personal property, or to engage in any activity that was not in keeping with their religious vocation.

The Templars as a military order

The Templars played a central role in the Crusading movement for nearly two centuries. They were the most disciplined and best-trained military force in the Holy Land, and they were involved in almost every major military campaign from the 1130s to the fall of Acre in 1291. The Templars were particularly prominent in the defence of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and they were a major factor in the kingdom’s survival in the 12th century.

The Templars fought in many of the major engagements of the Crusades. They were present at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, where they suffered heavy losses, and they were a major factor in the defence of the city of Tyre. They were also involved in the Third Crusade, where they participated in the Siege of Acre and the Battle of Arsuf. The Templars were a major military force until the fall of Acre in 1291, after which the Order retreated to Cyprus.

The Templars’ military role was closely tied to their religious vocation. The Templars were not just soldiers: they were monks who fought. They took religious vows, lived in community, and were subject to the discipline of the Church. The combination of religious devotion and military skill made the Templars one of the most formidable forces of the medieval world.

Organisation and the rule

The Templar rule, which was approved at the Council of Troyes in 1129, was a complex document that governed every aspect of Templar life, from prayer and meals to military operations and behaviour on the battlefield. The rule was based on the Cistercian model, with additions that were specific to the military vocation of the Order.

The Templar organisation was international. The Order was led by the Grand Master, who was elected for life and who resided in the Holy Land. The Grand Master was assisted by a number of high officers, including the Seneschal, the Marshal, the Commander of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Commander of Tripoli, the Commander of Antioch, the Draper, and the Treasurer. The Order was divided into provinces and commanderies, each of which had its own leader and its own properties. The Order had commanderies in every part of Western Europe, from Scotland to Spain, and from Portugal to Hungary.

The Templar organisation was designed to support the military vocation of the Order. The commanderies in the West provided recruits, money, and supplies, while the houses in the East were the bases for military operations. The Order’s organisation was so effective that it became a model for other military religious orders, including the Knights Hospitaller and the Teutonic Knights.

Banking, finance, and the early modern economy

The Templars developed sophisticated financial systems that made them an important part of the medieval economy. The Order’s extensive properties in Europe and the Middle East gave it a network of agents and offices that could be used for the transfer of money and goods. The Templars became, in effect, the first international bankers, and their financial system was a precursor to the modern banking system.

The Templar financial system was based on a simple principle: a pilgrim or a merchant could deposit money or valuables in a Templar house in one part of Europe, and withdraw them in another part of Europe, in a different currency, by means of a letter of credit. The system was secure, efficient, and widely used. The Templars became, in effect, the first international bankers, and their financial system was a precursor to the modern banking system.

The historical significance of the Templar financial system has been much discussed. The older view, that the Templars were the first international bankers and that their system was a major step in the development of modern finance, has been challenged by more recent scholarship, which has pointed out that the Templar system was not as developed as older accounts suggested. The system was, however, real, and it was widely used. The Templars were also important in the development of the early modern economy, especially in the way they managed their property and investments.

The Templar financial system was also important for the development of papal finance. The Templars were often used as papal bankers, and the Order’s financial system was used to transfer money from the papal treasury to the various parts of Christendom. The Templars were also often entrusted with the collection of papal taxes. The relationship between the Templars and the papacy was an important part of the Order’s financial system, and it was a major source of the Order’s income.

The trial of the Knights Templar

The trial of the Knights Templar is one of the most dramatic episodes in medieval history. The Order was suppressed in 1312 by Pope Clement V, on charges of heresy, blasphemy, and sexual immorality. The trial of the Templars has been the subject of intense historical debate, and it has been the basis for many legends and conspiracy theories.

The trial of the Templars began on Friday, 13 October 1307, when King Philip IV of France ordered the simultaneous arrest of all the Templars in France. The charges against the Templars included heresy, blasphemy, sodomy, and the worship of a mysterious idol called Baphomet. The Templars were subjected to torture, and many of them confessed to the charges. The confessions, however, were often contradictory and were later retracted.

The trial of the Templars was a complex legal and political event. Pope Clement V, who had been elected in 1305 with the support of Philip IV, was forced to support the king, but he also tried to limit the damage. The Pope dissolved the Order in 1312, but he also tried to ensure that the Templars were not executed for heresy. Most of the Templars were eventually reconciled with the Church, and only a small number, including the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, were burned at the stake.

The trial of the Templars must be understood in the context of the political and financial pressures of the early 14th century. Philip IV of France was deeply in debt to the Templars, and he saw the suppression of the Order as a way to escape his financial obligations. The Pope, for his part, was under political pressure from Philip, and he had no choice but to support the king. The trial of the Templars was, in many ways, a political trial, and the charges of heresy were a pretext for the suppression of the Order.

The trial of the Templars also has a longer history. The Order had been the subject of various criticisms and rumours for centuries, and the charges of 1307 were not entirely new. The Order’s wealth, its secrecy, and its military power had made it many enemies, and there had been several previous attempts to bring the Order under papal control. The trial of 1307–1312 was the most serious of these attempts, and it ended in the destruction of the Order.

The fall of the castles in the Holy Land

The Templars’ castles in the Holy Land were a major factor in the defence of the Latin East. The castles were designed to be defended by small garrisons against much larger armies, and they were a major obstacle to the Muslim reconquest. The castles were also important centres of administration, and they were the bases for the Templars’ commercial and diplomatic activities.

The fall of the Templars’ castles in the Holy Land was a major event in the history of the Latin East. The most important losses were the fall of the Castle of Safed in 1266, the fall of the Castle of Beaufort in 1268, and the fall of the City of Acre in 1291. These losses marked the end of the Latin presence in the Holy Land, and they were a major blow to the prestige of the Latin West.

The most important of the Templar castles in the Holy Land were the Castle of Safed (one of the most important Crusader castles in the Holy Land), the Castle of Kerak (a major fortress in Transjordan), the Castle of Beaufort (another important Crusader castle), the Castle of Sidon (a major fortress on the coast), and the Castle of Laodicea (a key fortress in Syria). The Temple Mount in Jerusalem was the Order’s headquarters until 1187.

The modern mythology and what to do with it

In the modern period, the Templars have been the subject of intense interest, and they have been the basis for many legends and conspiracy theories. The most famous of these is the claim that the Templars had discovered the Holy Grail, or that they had guarded a great secret, perhaps the secret of the Holy Blood. These claims are not supported by historical evidence, but they have shaped modern perceptions of the Order.

The most important modern works on the Knights Templar include Malcolm Barber’s The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple (1994) and The Trial of the Templars (1978). Barber’s work is the most comprehensive and the most authoritative, and it has helped to refine our understanding of the Order. Other important works include those by Stephen Howarth, who has written a popular history of the Order, and Régine Pernoud, who has written extensively on the Templars and other medieval orders.

The modern mythology of the Templars is not entirely without historical basis. The Order was a powerful and wealthy institution, and it was suppressed in controversial circumstances. The trial of the Templars was, in many ways, a miscarriage of justice, and the Order’s destruction was a major event. The mythology of the Templars, in this sense, is a reflection of the Order’s historical importance, even if the details of the mythology are not supported by historical evidence.

A word of advice, after writing this pillar, on how to read the modern Templar literature. If a book about the Templars claims that the Order discovered the Holy Grail, that it preserved a secret tradition, that it had a relationship with Cathar heretics, or that Friday the 13th is, in some essential way, a “Templar day,” the book is not serious. The real history of the Order is more interesting than the mythology, and the mythology is best read as a reflection of the modern Western imagination rather than of the historical Order.