The Knights Templar
Matt McIntyre
201007258
History 232
Donna Trembinski
December 19, 2011
In the year 1312, the cardinals found Jacques de Molay guilty of crimes against the
church, this halted the progress being made by The Knights Templar. Meloy is believed to be
the last grand Master of the Order of the Knights Templar, the power Meloy oversaw was
unrealistic for the time period. The Knights Templar’s gain of power was viewed as threatening
by the church, which extended to influence the general population. This power was based on
advancements in baking systems which are used in modern society. To contain The Knights
Templar’s advancements in power the church executed Molay and other high ranking members
of the Templar, torturing them to forcibly admit to crimes consisting of sodomy, heresy and
idolatry. Meloy’s the church carried out this death sentence by having Meloy burned at the stake.
Before looking at the templars one must look at the events that inspired the order to even
exist in the first place. The crusading movement was a significant event in the history of
medieval Europe. It helped to shape modern day europe by opening an era in which Western
Europe came into direct contact with the great trade routes. Western Europe was not isolated, but
a part of a greater world. Many things flowed along these trade routes. Some were good, such as
paper, the compass, medicines and spices, new crops and advances in mathematics. Some were
not so good, such as leprosy, gunpowder, and bubonic plague.
There was a new spirit of adventure in the art, literature, and actions of the western
Europeans. Due to these reasons there was an increasing popularity in pilgrimages. The idea
behind pilgrimages was for people to go on long journeys to distant lands to worship a place’s
holy relics and ancient Gods. Considering that europe was already in a time of expansion and
considering their new found taste for travel and fighting the idea and support of the crusade
suddenly becomes more clear.
After the victory of the first crusade most of the surviving crusaders returned to Europe
leaving Baldwin to be king of Jerusalem. He had a very large country to rule over stretching
from the red sea north as far as Beirut. Baldwin how ever was not the only king with a large
kingdom to watch over and this made it hard for any of the people of Jerusalem who were out
side the city walls to be protected. There were often bands of thief's and robbers on trails out side
of the cities. This made the idea of pilgrimage especially dangerous. It is thought that this is
when King Baldwin arranged for an audience with a group of french nights.
Initially the Templars had no church and no particular place to call home. In the year
1118, the Templars had rendered such good and acceptable service to the Christian church and
its holy people that Baldwin the King of Jerusalem granted them a place to call home. The
Cardinals proposed that they be referenced as an order of fighting monks. Meaning the Monks
would protect the roadways for pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem. The knights became the
western worlds first military order.1
The Monks were granted a wing of the royal palace as their headquarters. This wing was
the foundation for the Temple of Solomon. Thus receiving their name: "the Knights of the
Temple.” Meaning within the holy structures, partly erected by the Christian Emperor, Justinian,
and partly built by the Caliph Omar. The knights templar were eventually exhibited by the
monks and priests of Jerusalem.
The first Grand Master of the order was noted to be Hugh de Payens a middle ranking
noble man. It is believed that Hugh de Payens and other French knights established the original
order for the “Knights of the Temple”.
1
Initially the mandate of the knights was to unite the idea of a monk and a warrior
together.2 Their goal was to protect the people traveling to the holy land including the people in
and around the area of Jerusalem. Little documentation does not exist to suppose this mandate
nor is there any documentation to support how this mandate was carried out.
Their first decade is there least documented but there is however documented evidence
indicated that the original knights did not recruit any different member’s until nine years after the
original order was established. The rationale indicated for lack of recruitment was due to
financial issues. History dictates that there was no financial means to support neither the existing
“Knights of the Temple” nor the future “knights of the Temple”.
History supports facts indicating that the knights received a source of funds from certain
high ranking members across europe. The increase of the Knights Templar wealth in turn led to
becoming involved in banking which in turn brought even greater wealth into the Knights
Templar order. After all this finical support there seemed to issue recruiting new members to the
Templars, in the year 1127 baldwin sent Huges and a few of his knights on a mission to try and
take away some of the stereo types of the templars. One of those stereo types being that they
were “poor knights”. They sailed to France with hopes of recruiting new knights and also getting
the order recognized by the western church. His mission was a success recruitment was not an
issue after that and member’s came from a variety of countries resulting in an expansion of
order of the “knights of the Temple” across Europe. This is where we start to see the rise of
power in the templar order.
2
Rules and regulations for the knights were developed and implemented by St.Bernard of
Clairvaux in the year 1129. Clairvaux was the most influential Church father of his time. He
realized what was going on in the east and new that the church did not need monks but soldiers
to do gods work. In 1129 Clairvaux publication of In Praise of the New Knighthood (Liber ad
milites Templi: De laude novae militae)was circulated it was essentially the guide lines for this
new bread of holy knights. Clairvaux organized the order with two main classes of knighthood,
(1) the Knights and (2) Sergeants or “Serving Brethren”. The regulations stipulated that married
men who joined the order could only join as Sergeants. Their property came into the possession
of the Templar Order rather than to their wives upon their death. It also stipulated theres quarters,
how they spend there free time and focused also on obedience to there commanding officers and
the church. This gave them the power to disregard orders from common military men and
soldiers alike. This made them there own separate military order only loyal to the church and
each other. This put them on a level above the common people.
The Templar’s had a powerful advocate in Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading Church
member. St. Bernard Clairvaux spoke and wrote persuasively on behalf of The Knights Templar
Order. The Council of Troyes in 1129 and the church officially endorsed The Knights Templar
as an order. With this formal blessing the popularity of the still very young ordered increased
dramatically. “The Knights Templar Oder” became a favored charity throughout the Christian
Community, receiving money, land, businesses, and noble-born sons from families who wanted
to do their part and help with the fight in the Holy Land. The Knights had now dominated for
close to two centuries and had cemented themselves as a power of the church and soldiers doing
gods work. In addition, in 1139, Pope Innocent II's three Papal Bull Omne Datum Optimum
exempted the Order from obedience to local laws making them immune to almost any type of
perjury.3 This ruling meant that the Templars could pass freely through all borders, were not
required to pay any taxes, and were exempt from all authority except that of the leader of the
church the Pope. The pope also made the order swear allegiance to him and only him. This rise
in power was very unrealistic. For any order to gain that much support from the church over only
a very short period of time scared the common person and kings alike. It also caused much
jealousy.4
Very quickly the Templars became one of the wealthiest and powerful organizations in
the world. They were viewed and noble men and nothing like common knights. They owned
large amounts of land in Europe and became bankers and traders .The Knights Templar banking
activities led to their involvement with Usury. Usury was a form of money lending; It worked by
the templars loaning out money and get a certain interest rate that the borrow would have to pay
back onto of the original amount. The increase of the Knights Templar wealth in turn led to
becoming involved in banking that brought even greater wealth into the Knights Templar order.
Their financial power due to their banking activities led to great political power in all of the
countries in Europe of the Middle Ages. They managed to build their own fleet and could easily
transport soldiers and pilgrims between Europe and the Holy Land . They became the strongest
military force in the Holy Land . They set up Temples in both Paris and London and became a
large financial organizations in England and France . They were a untouchable order it seemed.
Having control of so much money and land made them very powerful and well know.
The templars had been acting as bankers for the then king of france, Philip IV. Philip was
largely in debt to the templars and use there popularity decrease and peoples dislike for the order
3
4
to help with there eventual demise. His goal was to make public enemies of the Knights. His plan
was to have the arrest and charge them with such crimes as heresy and sodomy. The plan went
into action when the then Grand Master of the templars Jacques de Molay came to France to start
financing a new crusade. The end of the Knights began on Friday, October 13, 1307.Most of the
Knights were captured in the first wave of the plan. Many records disagree but most consistently
say there was certain knights that needed to be captured for this plan to succeed. Philips goal was
to arrest all the templars and have them tortured and confessed within a very short amount of
time.5 Philip knew the pope would have a negative reaction; as he did. He demanded that the
pope put out warrants all across europe for the remaining templars. The pope immediately
refused and very few warrants were issued outside of france. In 1312 Philip all but ended the era
of the Temple order. The pope had intentions to end the whole ordeal at the council of Vienna.
Philips response was to place his army outside the city as an intimidation factor. The pope had
not choice but to officially declare the order of the knights templar no more. This ending of the
templar order saw a halt to many major systems such as banking and financing.
The knights rise to power was an unrealistic one. This would end up being there down
fall as the only reason the king saw them as a threat was because they in fact had power over
him. This amount of land and money complimented by the templars various banking and
accounting duties that gave them power over many people is why people considered them such a
threat. The increase of the Knights Templar wealth in turn led to becoming involved in banking
which in turn brought even greater wealth into the Knights Templar order. Their financial power
due to their banking activities led to great political power in all of the countries in Europe of the
Middle Ages.
5
Looking at the years that followed the ending of the order. Most of the banking and
accounting that was done by the Knights was handed off to different orders. All the money and
land that was still in the name of the knights templar was returned to the church or other knight
orders in the church. The amount of wealth that the knights had established over only a few short
years of banking was very large. This is because the knights were able to put in place a system
were they would make money off of lending it. This very much resembles the most basic kinda
of banking system that we see today. Instead of a major bank branch they were there own
separate order so they did not owe any money and were able to finance individuals with a type of
interest, this is a type of major system that is used today. After the fall of the knights there is no
other group that is able to finance and be as profitable as the templars. If the knights had not been
undone they would of been able to keep making profit and expanding.
The surge in power experienced by the knights templar was implausible for the society at
that time to handle. The Knights gaining power over King Philip enraged him enough to seek
their end. He captured and executed the highest ranking and most influential members of the
order. Ending there reign of power and halting all major advances in progress that was being
made by the knights templar. The systems of banking are primitive forms of systems used today.
The acceptance of these systems in the medieval again could of opened up many opportunities
for advancement of the entire human race.
Bibliography:
1) Anne Gilmour-Bryson “Sodomy and the Knights Templar” Journal of the History of
Sexuality
2) Stephen Howarth “The Knights Templar: Christian Chivalry and the Crusades: 1095-1314”
The Wilson Quarterly (1976-)
3) Sophia Menache “The Templar Order: A Failed Ideal?” The Catholic Historical Review
4) Clarence Perkins “The Knights Templars in the British Isles” The English Historical Review
5) Clarence Perkins “The Trial of the Knights Templars in England” The English Historical
Review