History of the Knights Templar facts for kids
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Jerusalem, often called the Templars, were a special group of military monks. They were founded around c. 1120.
Who Were the Knights Templar?
The Knights Templar were like an elite army in their time. They were highly trained, well-equipped, and very determined. One of their main rules was never to retreat from a battle unless they were outnumbered three to one, and even then, only if their commander ordered it.
Not all Templars were fighters. Many members worked behind the scenes to gather money and supplies for the small group who fought. The Order had three main groups:
- Knights: These were the highest rank. When they joined, they became monks. They wore white robes and could not own property or get married. They were the main fighters.
- Priests: Similar to military chaplains today, they wore green robes. They led religious services, prayers, and handled important records and letters.
- Brothers: These were the most common members. They wore black or brown robes and often had chain mail armor. They worked in support roles like guards, squires, or stewards.
Because of this strong support system, the Templar knights were very well-trained and armed. Even their horses were trained for combat and wore armor! Being both a soldier and a monk was powerful for them, as dying in battle was seen as a glorious way to go to heaven.
Clever Battle Tactics
The Templars were also smart strategists. They believed that a small, well-led force could defeat a much larger enemy.
One famous example was the Battle of Montgisard in 1177. The Muslim leader Saladin had 26,000 soldiers and was moving towards Jerusalem. King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem had only about 500 knights. Eighty Templar knights joined Baldwin's forces. Saladin thought they were too small to bother with and continued towards Jerusalem, spreading his army out to raid villages.
The Templars and King Baldwin saw their chance! They launched a surprise attack directly on Saladin and his bodyguards. Saladin's army was too spread out to defend themselves well. They had to retreat, losing most of their soldiers. This victory bought a year of peace for Jerusalem and became a heroic story.
Another key Templar tactic was the "squadron charge." A small group of knights on their heavily armored warhorses would charge together at full speed into enemy lines. This terrifying attack often broke through the enemy, giving the other Crusader forces a big advantage.
The Templars, though few in number, often fought alongside other armies. They would lead the charge at the start of a battle or protect the army from the rear. They fought with kings like Louis VII of France and Richard I of England. Besides battles in Palestine, they also fought in Spain and Portugal during the Reconquista, like at the Siege of Tomar in 1190.
The Templars as Bankers
At first, the Templars were an order of poor monks. But when the Pope officially supported them, they became a charity across Europe. They gained more resources when new members joined, as these members often gave their money or property to the Order because they had taken vows of poverty.
The Templars also earned money from business. Since the monks themselves were poor but had a large, trusted international network, nobles sometimes used them like a bank. If a noble went on a Crusade, they might be away for years. They would give their wealth and businesses to the Templars to keep safe until they returned. This made the Order very rich and powerful. Most of their work actually became about managing money, not fighting.
By 1150, their job of protecting pilgrims changed. They started protecting pilgrims' valuables by using "letters of credit," which were an early form of modern banking. Pilgrims would deposit their money or valuables at a Templar house in their home country. The Templars would give them a special letter describing what they had. As they traveled, pilgrims could show this letter to other Templars along the way to "withdraw" funds. This kept pilgrims safe because they didn't have to carry large amounts of money.
The Templars' involvement in banking grew over time. They even found ways around the church's rules against lending money with interest. For example, instead of charging interest, they might charge "rent" on property they held as collateral.
Their wealth was needed to support their military efforts. Keeping horses was very expensive, especially in the hot climate of the Crusader states. Horses also had high death rates from disease and from enemy archers who targeted them. Plus, many knights died in battle, meaning the Order constantly needed to recruit and train new ones, which was very costly.
The Templars' strong connections and business skills made them very powerful in Europe and the Holy Land. They owned huge amounts of land, built churches and castles, bought farms, and were involved in trade. They even had their own fleet of ships and, for a time, owned the entire island of Cyprus.
Challenges and Decline
The Templars' success made other groups, like the Knights Hospitaller and Teutonic Knights, a bit jealous. Nobles also worried about the Templars because of their wealth and their independent army that could move freely across borders.
The Templars' military skill started to falter in the 1180s. On July 4, 1187, came the terrible Battle of Hattin. This was a major turning point in the Crusades. Saladin, who the Templars had beaten before, was much better prepared this time. The Templar Grand Master, Gerard de Ridefort, made some big mistakes. He led 80 knights into battle without enough supplies or water across a dry region. The Templars were overwhelmed by the heat and then surrounded and defeated by Saladin's army. Within months, Saladin captured Jerusalem.
However, in the early 1190s, King Richard the Lionheart, leader of the Third Crusade, worked with the Templars. They fought Saladin and won back much Christian land. The Crusader states were saved, and the Templars became even more powerful, guarding key castles.
But after the Siege of Acre in 1291, the Templars had to move their headquarters to the island of Cyprus.
Jacques de Molay became the last Grand Master around 1292. He traveled across Europe to gather support for the Order and plan another Crusade. He met with Pope Boniface VIII and other kings, who promised some help.
Last Attempts to Regain the Holy Land (1298–1300)
Around 1298, the Templars and Knights Hospitaller fought in Armenia against an invasion. They were not successful, and their last stronghold in Antioch was lost.
In 1300, the Templars, Hospitallers, and forces from Cyprus tried to retake the coastal city of Tortosa. They captured the island of Arwad nearby, but lost it soon after. With the loss of Arwad, the Crusaders had no more land in the Holy Land.
Even though they still had a base in Cyprus and a lot of money, the Templars were an Order without a clear purpose or support. This unstable situation led to their downfall.
The Fall of the Templars
King Philip IV of France did not trust the Templars. He was worried they might try to create their own independent state within France, like the Teutonic Order had done in Prussia. The Templars were already very rich, paid no taxes, and had a large army that could move freely. However, this army no longer had a battlefield in the Holy Land. Philip had also inherited a kingdom that was deeply in debt, and he owed a lot of money to the Templars.
On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip's agents arrested many French Templars. They were later put to death.
In 1308, the charges against the Templars became even more serious. They were accused of denying Christ and worshipping the devil. Many Templars, including old men, "confessed" to these things during secret Templar initiations. However, these confessions were forced, and there was no real evidence or independent witnesses. The Templars asked the Pope for help.
Despite the forced confessions, there was a big scandal in Paris. Mobs demanded action against the Order. Under pressure from King Philip, Pope Clement V issued a command for all Christian rulers in Europe to arrest Templars and take their property. Most rulers didn't believe the charges, but they still started proceedings in places like England, Spain, and Italy.
Many historians believe that King Philip wanted the Templars' wealth and power, and he was frustrated by his huge debt to them. He made up the false charges to seize their money.
Seeing what happened to the Templars, the Knights Hospitaller also decided to stop their banking activities.
The End of the Order
In 1312, after a meeting called the Council of Vienne, Pope Clement V officially dissolved the Order. He was under extreme pressure from King Philip IV. Many kings and nobles who had supported the Templars finally agreed to dissolve the Order in their lands. They were not as harsh as the French king. In England, many knights were arrested but found not guilty.
Much of the Templar property outside France was given by the Pope to the Knights Hospitaller. Many surviving Templars also joined the Hospitallers. In Spain, the Order of Montesa took over Templar assets.
The Order continued to exist in Portugal, simply changing its name to the Order of Christ. This group is believed to have helped with Portugal's early sea explorations. Prince Henry the Navigator led this Portuguese order for 20 years.
Even with Templars joining other Orders, it's still a mystery what happened to all the thousands of Templars across Europe. There were 15,000 "Templar Houses" and a whole fleet of ships. Even in France, where hundreds were arrested, this was only a small part of the estimated 3,000 Templars in the country. Also, the Templars' huge archive of business records was never found.
A popular conspiracy theory suggests that the Templars used a fleet of 18 ships at La Rochelle to escape arrest in France. The story says they left with knights and treasures just before the arrests in October 1307. This idea comes from one person's testimony, but historians doubt its truth. Ships back then were very small and not suited for long trips across the open Atlantic Ocean.
The Church's View
The Pope's investigation found almost no knights guilty of heresy outside France. Fifty-four knights were executed in France by French authorities after they took back their confessions. These executions were likely because Philip wanted to stop the Templars from defending themselves.
Despite the Order's poor defense, the Pope's investigation ended in 1311. It found no evidence that the Order itself believed in false teachings or used a "secret rule."
The Council of Vienne
The arrests of the Templars and King Philip's actions against the Pope led Pope Clement V to call a big meeting called the Council of Vienne in 1311. Most of the church leaders at the council believed the Templars should be allowed to defend themselves. They felt there wasn't enough proof to condemn the Order.
However, King Philip arrived in Vienne and put a lot of pressure on the Pope. So, in 1312, Pope Clement V officially dissolved the Order. He said he did it "with a sad heart, not by definitive sentence, but by apostolic provision." This meant he dissolved them for the common good and to end the scandal, not because they were proven guilty of heresy.
After this, another papal order gave all the Templars' lands and wealth to the Knights Hospitaller. King Philip wanted the lands in France for himself, but he only held onto some until 1318. In many parts of Europe, the land was never given to the Hospitallers and was instead taken by nobles and kings.
Knights who had not confessed or had been forgiven by the Church joined the Hospitallers or other religious orders, or returned to normal life. In Portugal and Spain, new Orders were created, made up mostly of former Templars.
In the end, only Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master, and his two main assistants were accused of heresy by the commission in Paris. They were supposed to publicly deny their heresy. But de Molay bravely declared the Order's and his own innocence. He and Geoffrey de Charney were then burned at the stake in 1314.
In England, the King also owed money to the Templars, and they were persecuted there too. Many were killed, and some fled to Scotland. King Philip IV of France, who also owed a lot of money to the Templars, was perhaps the most aggressive persecutor. The injustice of Philip's actions was so widely known that the "Curse of the Templars" became a legend. It's said that Jacques de Molay, as he burned, cursed Pope Clement and King Philip, saying they would both die within a year. The fact that both rulers did die within a year only added to the scandal.
Chinon and Absolution
In 2001, a historian named Barbara Frale found a copy of the Chinon Parchment in the Vatican Secret Archives. This document, dated 1308, showed that Pope Clement V had actually forgiven the Templar leaders in 1308. In 2007, the Vatican published this parchment. Another Chinon parchment from 1308, well-known to historians, also stated that forgiveness had been given to all Templars who confessed to heresy, bringing them back into the Church.
See also
- List of Knights Templar sites
- List of Knights Templar
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