The crusades created a new kind of monk, the warrior monk. Three
important groups, the Knight Templars, the Knights Hospitalers, and the
Teutonic Knights were exactly that.
The Knights Templar were founded in 1118 to protect pilgrim routes to
the Holy Lands. The operated out of what they believed were the ruins
of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. Over time, these warrior monks
became key figures in the Crusades. One source estimates that over 20,000 Knights Templar were
killed in the Crusades. The Templars
were notable for the fact that they
answered only to the Pope, and not to
any local ecclesiastical authority.
The Templars established local offices
(called Temples) throughout Western
Christendom. They started what is
considered by many to be the first
European banking system, and it was
their
involvement
as
bankers
that
eventually led to their downfall. By the
early 1300s, King Philip IV of France
was deeply in debt to the Paris Temple. In 1307, he charged the order with heresy. Charges against
the Templars included : deny Christ and spit on the cross, and that the Templars worshiped a
mysterious head named “Baphomet” (perhaps a mangling of “Mohammed”?) These charges were
never proved, except in confessions received under torture at the hands of the Inquisition.
The Council of Vienne in 1312 officially dissolved the order, giving most of their property to a
similar order, named the Hospitalers. The final part of the saga of the Knights Templar occurred in
1314, when Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay was burned alive.
After the Templars were dissolved, the French crown received cancellation of all debts owed to the
Templars, as well as much of their monetary wealth. At their peak in the 13th century, it is estimated
that the Templars owned 9000 castles and manor houses, and had 20,000 members.
Knights Templar Myths:
1. While they were doing some works in the Anciente Temple of Solomon they found
the Ark of the Alliance.
2. The Holy Grail was found by the Templars too.
3. Deaths of the Order's enemies: The last Grand Master of the Templar Order, Jacques
de Molay, was burned in 1314, by order of King Philip IV of France, who had also
pressured Pope Clement V to disband the Order. Legend has it that de Molay issued
his dying curse against the King and Pope Clement V, saying that he would die
before the year was out. Pope Clement died only a month later, and King Philip died
later that year in a hunting accident.
ACTIVITIES.
1. Write down the verbs of “Deaths of th Order's Enemies paragraph” in infinitive, past tense and
participle.
INFINITIVE
PAST TENSE
PARTICIPLE
INFINITIVE
PAST TENSE
PARTICIPLE
2. Who were these people?.
1. Jacques
de
Molay
:
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2. Philip
IV
of
France
:
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3. Clement
V
:
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3. Describe with you own words picture number 2: the Templar Castle of Ponferrada (León).
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4. Define these concepts:
1. Holy
Land
:
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2. Pilgrim:
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3. Holy
Grail
:
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