The Knights Templar, Book Review

The Knights Templar were one of the two most famous Orders of Knights that existed in medieval Europe, the others being the Hospitallers. The knights of the Order of the Temple of Solomon were established in the Holy Land after the First Crusade, and given recognition by the Catholic Church in January 1120. The knights were given a palace by Baldwin II of Jerusalem on the south side of the 'Lords Temple', the Dome of the Rock.

The book gives the full story behind the origins of the knights, ansd then covers different aspects of the Order during its' life time. There are chapters on the actions in the Holy Land and the Crusader States, as well as the Iberian Peninsula, then a front line in the war against the Muslim world.

The book then moves on to the organisation of the order and how it was governed and their service to the Kings of Europe. The religious life of members and their methods of raising funds to fight the wars in the East are described in some detail. The book is well illustrated with a mixture of medieval pictures and photos of existing castles and other buildings.

When Acre fell in 1291 the Templars lost their last holding in the Holy Land, and they were first in line for the blame of loosing the Holy Land. The Pope made efforts to have the military orders merged, but these were resisted until, in 1307, when Philip IV of France launched a series of surprise raids and arrested all the Templar Brothers in France on charges of heresy. The Order soon collapsed as other rulers seized the Orders possessions and imprisoned the knights. Many holdings passed to the Hospitallers, while the fate of the knights is varied. Many were tortured to confess to heresy or executed because they refused to confess. Others were set free and provided with a pension. Their fate seems to have been dependent on their local Kings decision.

The last part of this book covers some of the myths that have grown up since their demise. Their portrayal as the bad guys in books like Ivanhoe, their links with the Freemasons and their search for the Holy Grail are mainly inventions of the 19th century.

Written by a historian for the general public, Helen Nicholson brings a complex but fascinating subject  into one excellent  book.