The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (
Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici), commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple (
French: Ordre du Temple or Templiers), were among the most famous of the Western Christian
military orders. The organization existed for approximately two centuries in the
Middle Ages. It was founded in the aftermath of the
First Crusade of 1096, to ensure the safety of the many
European Christians who made the
pilgrimage to
Jerusalem after its conquest.
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Founded in the
Holy Land in 1119 to guard the site of the Temple of Solomon and to protect pilgrims en route to visit the site. Because many of the
Crusaders returned home after the first
crusade and the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, there was a shortage of soldiers to provide this steady stream of pilgrims who where harassed and ambushed by brigands and by Muslim irregular forces. Hugh de Payns and Godefroi de Saint Omer, two
knights , swore an
oath to defend the pilgrims, taking an oath of poverty,
chastity , obedience, stylizing themselves as knights but in the tradition of the monasteries. These were the first ‘monks of the sword,’ men whose devotion to
faith as soldiers of Christ bore the full fruit of the
church efforts to ‘civilize’ the early knights.
In 1130, Bernard of Clairvaux drew up the rules for the
order in the Praise of New Knighthood. Bernard set up the order with two main classes of knighthood, the knights and sergeants or serving brethren. Sergeants or serving brothers wore a
black or brown
mantle to show their lower status, while the Knights wore a red cross granted by Pope Eugenius III. Married men who joined the order could only join as sergeants, their property coming into the possession of the Order rather than to their wives upon their death.
The Knights Templar were amazingly successful, attracting men of all stations to serve in their illustrious ranks. Famous knights from all over England took up the mantle of the Templars, even William Marshal took a kind of associate membership, being buried in Templar silk. The Templars received lavish gifts both from knights who joined their ranks and from men wanting to increase their fame by demonstrating their
largesse , to the point where the Templars set up a huge banking industry and were perhaps the richest single entity, next to the Church, at the point when they were brought down.
This amazing story culminated in 1308 when king Philip IV of France, charged their leader with witchcraft and heresy, seizing the Temple assets for fear of their immense power. Persecution followed this instance, the popular notion of ‘poor knights’ operating a large, successful international banking operation and possessing huge, luxurious estates feeding jealousy and making the irony obvious for everyone. The Templars were destroyed at this point, though some popular legend has them going underground.
Another similar order, the
Hospitallers , survived and still exist today.
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