Knights Templar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
|
|
|---|---|
A Seal of the Knights Templar
|
|
| Active | c. 1119 – c. 1312 |
| Allegiance | The Pope |
| Type | Catholic military order |
| Role | Protection of Christian Pilgrims Shock troops |
| Headquarters | Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem |
| Patron | Saint Bernard of Clairvaux |
| Motto(s) | Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give glory |
| Attire | White mantle with a red cross |
| Mascot(s) | Two knights riding a single horse |
| Commanders | |
| First Grand Master | Hugues de Payens |
| Last Grand Master | Jacques de Molay |
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders. The organization lasted for two centuries in the Middle Ages. It was founded after the First Crusade of 1096, with its original purpose to ensure the safety of the many Christians who made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem after it was taken over.
It was officially endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church around 1129, and became a favored charity by many Christians and grew fast in membership and power. Templar knights wore white mantles quartered by a red cross and were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades.
Those members of the Order that did not fight managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom, innovating financial techniques that were an early form of banking, and building many fortifications throughout the Mediterranean and the Holy Land.
The Templars' success was tied closely to the Crusades; when the Holy Land was lost, support for the Order faded.
Rumors about the Templars' secret initiation ceremony created mistrust, and King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt to the Order, began pressuring Pope Clement V to take action against the Order.
In 1307, many of the Order's members in France were arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake.
In 1312, Pope Clement, under continuing pressure from King Philip, disbanded the Order.
No precise numbers exist, but it is estimated that at the order's peak there were between 15,000 and 20,000 Templars, of whom about a tenth were actual knights.
Contents
Battles
- The Crusades
- Siege of Ascalon (1153)
- Battle of Montgisard (1177)
- Battle of Marj Ayyun (1179)
- Battle of Hattin (1187)
- Siege of Acre (1190–1191)
- Battle of Arsuf (1191)
- Siege of Al-Dāmūs (1210)
- Battle of Legnica (1241)
- Siege of Acre (1291)
- Reconquista
Other pages
Images for kids
-
The first headquarters of the Knights Templar, on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Crusaders called it "the Temple of Solomon" and from this location derived their name of Templar.
-
Battle of Hattin in 1187, the turning point leading to the Third Crusade. From a copy of the Passages d’outremer, c.1490.
-
Convent of Christ Castle in Tomar, Portugal. Built in 1160 as a stronghold for the Knights Templar, it became the headquarters of the renamed Order of Christ. In 1983, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
-
Templars being burned at the stake.
-
Templar chapel from the 12th century in Metz, France. Once part of the Templar commandery of Metz, the oldest Templar institution of the Holy Roman Empire.
-
Templar building at Saint Martin des Champs, France
-
Representation of a Knight Templar (Ten Duinen Abbey museum, 2010 photograph)
-
Depiction of two Templars seated on a horse (emphasising poverty), with Beauséant, the "sacred banner" (or gonfanon) of the Templars, argent a chief sable (Matthew Paris, c. 1250).
See also
In Spanish: Caballeros templarios para niños
