A brief history of the Knights Templar

In 1118 the First Crusade was over and the Holy Land was back in Christian hands. Baldwyn II was the King of Jerusalem and pilgrims from all over Europe were flocking to the Holy Land on pilgrimages, or just to see what all the fuss was about. What the pilgrims probably didn’t know was that they were entering very dangerous territory. After the crusade, the knights had all returned home leaving the area surrounded by hostile Islamic tribes. The Turks and Muslims who had lost lands to the crusaders were not about to give up their cause, and many pilgrims never made it to Jerusalem. They were robbed and killed by Arab bandits and their goods and money stolen. In one single incident over 300 pilgrims were ambushed and killed on the dangerous road from the port city of Jaffa to the Holy City. Jerusalem itself was often surrounded by bands of brigands making access impossible.

Nine very pious knights led by Hugo de Payens offered their humble services to the King. As knights they had already taken vows of chastity, poverty and obedience but to these they were now prepared to add a fourth – a vow to protect pilgrims on their journey from the coast to the city.

King Baldwyn was impressed by the knights’ dedication and gave them quarters in the eastern part of his palace, which was once the site of King Solomon’s temple. They became known as The Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon or more simply the Knights Templar.

The religious significance of the site Baldwyn gave the knights was very important. Originally, King David had built a small ‘temple’ there to house the Ark of the Covenant, a portable shrine that housed the tablets of stone containing the ten commandments which God had handed to Moses. His son, Solomon, built the first real temple in 950 BC. The temple itself was destroyed in 586BC. More than 500 years later the temple was re built by Herod. It was a magnificent and elaborate building dominating the Kidron valley.

In 70 AD Roman legions recaptured this troublesome territory from insurgents and the city was razed to the ground. So the most wonderful edifice ever seen or heard of at that time was lost again.

Six hundred years later the site would see the building of another holy shrine; with the rise of Islam and the conquering of Jerusalem by the Arabs, the holiest site of Judaism was redefined as the place from which the prophet Mohammed’s horse ascended to heaven. In 691AD, the Dome of the Rock was built on the site and has remained a shrine to Islam ever since, except for the period of the Crusades when it was converted to a Christian Church called Templum Domini, the temple of our Lord, and the mosque was turned into the headquarters of the Knights Templar.

The heroic idea of nine knights heroically defending vulnerable pilgrims quickly caught peoples imaginations and the Templars were regarded with romantic reverence. Many offered themselves as new recruits. Nobles across Europe paid generously to support them with gifts of money and land. So the Holy Order grew in numbers and wealth. The knights were highly trained and their successes in their field mounted. From their original mission of protecting pilgrims they gradually came to be regarded as the Military defenders of the Holy Land.

In less than a hundred years the Templars became one of the wealthiest and most influential bodies in Europe, second only to the papacy itself. They owned huge tracts of land in England, Scotland, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Austria. And with this extensive network of lands and castles they soon established themselves as the worlds first International bankers, arranging credit facilities for bankrupt Royals across Europe, safeguarding pilgrims funds, and effectively inventing the first concept of the travellers cheque. Pilgrims could deposit their gold or other funds at a Templar house local to their point of departure where they would be given a coded note for it. Once they reached their destination they would go to the local Templar House and draw their money against the encoded note.

What began as a small team of nine well intentioned noblemen dedicated to defending the Holy Land became the most powerful and secretive organisation of its time rivalling the Vatican and other Kings of Europe.

And then it all began to go wrong......

Find out how and where in our next magazine!!

Tony Rice-Oxley