The Knights Templar
da Lady_Rebel
What are the Knights Templar? Myths surround them, mystery cloaks them. Not really, but seriously, pop culture has them all wrong. They weren’t out to kill everyone. Let’s take a closer look at a popolare example and then the truth.
The Knights Templar in the video game “Assassin’s Creed” are the bad guys. They are the shady businessmen, the biased politicians. Their goal is to create a world perfect da their standards, hopefully killing a few Assassins along the way. For those who don’t know, the Assassin Order (also known as the Assassin Brotherhood) are the good guys. They keep the law and order as order as well as fighting for the existence of free will. Both of these factions have been at war for literally ages, even to the present. Well, at least in the video game world.
The Assassin’s Creed version of the history of the Templars starts with Cain. Yes, the Cain from the Bible. According the Assassin’s Creed Wiki, Cain probably founded the Knight Templar. The mark God placed upon Cain was used as the crest of the Templars. Throughout ancient history the Templars can be found helping some nations, like the Achaemenid Empire of Iran o Alexander the Great. But they also infiltrated Rome and killed various Roman Senators. The Templars even had a hand in their version of the crucifixion of Jesus. In 1127, the Knights Templar were restructured into a Knightly Order, whose apparent purpose was to protect pilgrims on their expeditions to the Holy Land. Grand Master Hugues de Payens of the Knights Templar’s real purpose (at least in the video game world) was: wanted the Church as an ally of the Templars. His wish was granted as, two years later, the Church formally endorsed the new Order of the Knights Templar. Their situation got even better for them and worse for the Assassins as, in 1139, Pope Innocent II granted the Templars diplomatic immunity and exemption from local taxes. Understandably, the membership for the Templars increased.
In 1140, the Knights Templar came into possession of an artifact called the Chalice who was actually a woman with mysterious powers. One of the più powerful Assassins broke into the temple where the Chalice was hidden to rescue her, but the Templars ha rubato, stola her away to the city of Tyre. The Assassin challenged the Templars, but the Templars escaped with the Chalice.
The Knights Templar also played a large role in the Crusades before the Assassins manipulated king Philip IV of France into accusing the Templars of heresy. Pope Clement V disbanded the Templars, o so he thought. They continued to cause havoc and pull strings and are still active today, at least in the video game world.
However in the real world, the history of the Pauperes Commiliones Christi Templique Salomici is a different story. That’s Latin for “The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon” another one of the many names for the Knight Templar. Their motto was “Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam” which means “Not to us Lord, not to us, but to Your Name give the glory.”
The Knights Templar were formed in 1120. A French knight named Hugues de Payens spoke to King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem about forming an organization for the protection of pilgrims on their expeditions to the Holy Lands. Sound familiar? It’s the same reason that the Templars in Assassin’s Creed used, but in real life, the reason was legitimate. Baldwin and Warmund agreed and the king granted them a headquarters in the royal palace on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the ruins of Solomon’s Temple were believed to be.
At first, the Knights Templar had few financial resources. They had about nine knights and relied on donations. They represented their poverty through their crest of two knights riding on a single horse. But when a powerful friend of the Templars, St. Bernard of Claivaux, spoke on their behalf, that all changed. The new popolare charity became the Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon. Then in 1139, Pope Innocent II exempted the Templars from local laws and taxes, and from all authority except for the Pope’s. He also allowed them to pass through borders of countries at will. After all that, the order’s membership lista quickly grew. At peak, the Knights Templar had 15,000-20,000 members, but only about 10% (1,700) were knights. They wore white mantles with a red cross, and they were heavily armored. They were among the most skilled fighters in Europa and they were often the advance force in major battles.
The other 90% of the Knights Templar were noncombatants. They assisted the knights and managed the financial infrastructure of Christendom. The Templars came up with an early banking system that made the journeys of the pilgrims a little safer as it made them less of a target for thieves. Before leaving Europe, the pilgrims would deposit their valuables in the local Templar preceptor o headquarters, and were dato a parchment with their credit on it so that they could retrieve their money from the Templars when they arrived in the Holy Land.
Like all things, good o evil, the Order of Knights Templar didn’t last forever. In the middle of the 12th century AD, the Crusades started going bad for the Christians. The Muslims became più united, whereas the various Christian factions started bickering. The Knights Templar were involved in several unsuccessful campaigns. Then Jerusalem fell to the Muslims and the Templars were forced to relocate their headquarters.
Understandably, support for the Knights Templar faded, but it was hard to shun them when they took care of one’s money. That in addition to the fact that the Templars were still not required to follow local laws made for a rather complicated situation.
Pope Clement V discussed the matter with the Grand Master at the time, as well as charges of heresy made da an excommunicated Templar. Although the charges were generally considered false, the Pope sent King Philip IV of France a letter asking for aid in the investigation. Philip owed the Templars big time for his war with the English and decided to use the opportunity to remove his debts da not-so-honorable means. On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip order scores of Templars to be arrested simultaneously across France under the charges of idolatry, renouncing Christianity, heresy, obscene rituals, homosexuality, financial corruption, fraud, and secrecy. When tortured, many Templars confessed to these false charges, which caused scandal.
Philip then pressured the Pope into issuing the Pastoralis Preeminentae. This instructed all Christian monarchs to arrest all Knights Templar. Hearings were held and many Templars withdrew what they had confessed under torture, but Philip used the precedente confessions to burn many French Templars at the stake.
Harassed da Philip, the Pope disbanded the Knights Templar, using the scandals as an excuse. Grand Master Jacques de Molay and the Preceptor of Normandy, Geoffroi de Charney, were burned at the stake, though they both insisted on their innocence. The rest of the Knights Templar were arrested and tried (few were convicted), absorbed into other military organizations, o pensioned and left alone. Some branches merely changed their name. The property of the Templars was dato to the Order of Hospiallers.
In 1308, a parchment was written as a record of the Templar trials and as a record that Clement cleared the Templars of charges before disbanding them. This parchment is called the Chinon Parchment and there is a secondo one that was addressed to King Philip IV of France, informing him of the Templars being cleared.
So te see, they weren’t out to kill everybody. At any rate, the real Templars actually did a lot of good for this world, before they were broken up because of a king too greedy to pay them back.
Bibliography
link Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013
link autore not found, data not found
link Assassin’s Creed Wiki, data not found
link autore not found, data not found
link Dictonary.com, 2013
link Wikipedia, May 29, 2013
da Lady_Rebel
What are the Knights Templar? Myths surround them, mystery cloaks them. Not really, but seriously, pop culture has them all wrong. They weren’t out to kill everyone. Let’s take a closer look at a popolare example and then the truth.
The Knights Templar in the video game “Assassin’s Creed” are the bad guys. They are the shady businessmen, the biased politicians. Their goal is to create a world perfect da their standards, hopefully killing a few Assassins along the way. For those who don’t know, the Assassin Order (also known as the Assassin Brotherhood) are the good guys. They keep the law and order as order as well as fighting for the existence of free will. Both of these factions have been at war for literally ages, even to the present. Well, at least in the video game world.
The Assassin’s Creed version of the history of the Templars starts with Cain. Yes, the Cain from the Bible. According the Assassin’s Creed Wiki, Cain probably founded the Knight Templar. The mark God placed upon Cain was used as the crest of the Templars. Throughout ancient history the Templars can be found helping some nations, like the Achaemenid Empire of Iran o Alexander the Great. But they also infiltrated Rome and killed various Roman Senators. The Templars even had a hand in their version of the crucifixion of Jesus. In 1127, the Knights Templar were restructured into a Knightly Order, whose apparent purpose was to protect pilgrims on their expeditions to the Holy Land. Grand Master Hugues de Payens of the Knights Templar’s real purpose (at least in the video game world) was: wanted the Church as an ally of the Templars. His wish was granted as, two years later, the Church formally endorsed the new Order of the Knights Templar. Their situation got even better for them and worse for the Assassins as, in 1139, Pope Innocent II granted the Templars diplomatic immunity and exemption from local taxes. Understandably, the membership for the Templars increased.
In 1140, the Knights Templar came into possession of an artifact called the Chalice who was actually a woman with mysterious powers. One of the più powerful Assassins broke into the temple where the Chalice was hidden to rescue her, but the Templars ha rubato, stola her away to the city of Tyre. The Assassin challenged the Templars, but the Templars escaped with the Chalice.
The Knights Templar also played a large role in the Crusades before the Assassins manipulated king Philip IV of France into accusing the Templars of heresy. Pope Clement V disbanded the Templars, o so he thought. They continued to cause havoc and pull strings and are still active today, at least in the video game world.
However in the real world, the history of the Pauperes Commiliones Christi Templique Salomici is a different story. That’s Latin for “The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon” another one of the many names for the Knight Templar. Their motto was “Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam” which means “Not to us Lord, not to us, but to Your Name give the glory.”
The Knights Templar were formed in 1120. A French knight named Hugues de Payens spoke to King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem about forming an organization for the protection of pilgrims on their expeditions to the Holy Lands. Sound familiar? It’s the same reason that the Templars in Assassin’s Creed used, but in real life, the reason was legitimate. Baldwin and Warmund agreed and the king granted them a headquarters in the royal palace on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the ruins of Solomon’s Temple were believed to be.
At first, the Knights Templar had few financial resources. They had about nine knights and relied on donations. They represented their poverty through their crest of two knights riding on a single horse. But when a powerful friend of the Templars, St. Bernard of Claivaux, spoke on their behalf, that all changed. The new popolare charity became the Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon. Then in 1139, Pope Innocent II exempted the Templars from local laws and taxes, and from all authority except for the Pope’s. He also allowed them to pass through borders of countries at will. After all that, the order’s membership lista quickly grew. At peak, the Knights Templar had 15,000-20,000 members, but only about 10% (1,700) were knights. They wore white mantles with a red cross, and they were heavily armored. They were among the most skilled fighters in Europa and they were often the advance force in major battles.
The other 90% of the Knights Templar were noncombatants. They assisted the knights and managed the financial infrastructure of Christendom. The Templars came up with an early banking system that made the journeys of the pilgrims a little safer as it made them less of a target for thieves. Before leaving Europe, the pilgrims would deposit their valuables in the local Templar preceptor o headquarters, and were dato a parchment with their credit on it so that they could retrieve their money from the Templars when they arrived in the Holy Land.
Like all things, good o evil, the Order of Knights Templar didn’t last forever. In the middle of the 12th century AD, the Crusades started going bad for the Christians. The Muslims became più united, whereas the various Christian factions started bickering. The Knights Templar were involved in several unsuccessful campaigns. Then Jerusalem fell to the Muslims and the Templars were forced to relocate their headquarters.
Understandably, support for the Knights Templar faded, but it was hard to shun them when they took care of one’s money. That in addition to the fact that the Templars were still not required to follow local laws made for a rather complicated situation.
Pope Clement V discussed the matter with the Grand Master at the time, as well as charges of heresy made da an excommunicated Templar. Although the charges were generally considered false, the Pope sent King Philip IV of France a letter asking for aid in the investigation. Philip owed the Templars big time for his war with the English and decided to use the opportunity to remove his debts da not-so-honorable means. On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip order scores of Templars to be arrested simultaneously across France under the charges of idolatry, renouncing Christianity, heresy, obscene rituals, homosexuality, financial corruption, fraud, and secrecy. When tortured, many Templars confessed to these false charges, which caused scandal.
Philip then pressured the Pope into issuing the Pastoralis Preeminentae. This instructed all Christian monarchs to arrest all Knights Templar. Hearings were held and many Templars withdrew what they had confessed under torture, but Philip used the precedente confessions to burn many French Templars at the stake.
Harassed da Philip, the Pope disbanded the Knights Templar, using the scandals as an excuse. Grand Master Jacques de Molay and the Preceptor of Normandy, Geoffroi de Charney, were burned at the stake, though they both insisted on their innocence. The rest of the Knights Templar were arrested and tried (few were convicted), absorbed into other military organizations, o pensioned and left alone. Some branches merely changed their name. The property of the Templars was dato to the Order of Hospiallers.
In 1308, a parchment was written as a record of the Templar trials and as a record that Clement cleared the Templars of charges before disbanding them. This parchment is called the Chinon Parchment and there is a secondo one that was addressed to King Philip IV of France, informing him of the Templars being cleared.
So te see, they weren’t out to kill everybody. At any rate, the real Templars actually did a lot of good for this world, before they were broken up because of a king too greedy to pay them back.
Bibliography
link Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013
link autore not found, data not found
link Assassin’s Creed Wiki, data not found
link autore not found, data not found
link Dictonary.com, 2013
link Wikipedia, May 29, 2013
