“I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I

send, who will go for us? Then said I, here am I; Send

Me” Isaiah 6:8

TEMPLERS ALIVE ?
Dr Uday Dokras
1
The original historical Order of the Knights Templar was disbanded in 1312 and does not
exist today, though many modern organizations use the name and claim lineage to it, most of
which have no true historical connection and are modern or invented groups, but some
successors like the Knights of Christ or the Knights Templar of Portugal did absorb former
Templars.

The Historical Knights Templar

The Knights Templar were a medieval military and religious order that was dissolved in
1312 by Pope Clement V at the behest of the King of France. The order was never officially
brought back to life by the Catholic Church or any other authority.
After the dissolution, the assets and many former Templars were absorbed by other orders,
such as the Knights Hospitaller, in places like Spain.
Claims of Lineage:
There are many modern organizations and groups that use the name "Knights
Templar," but these are not the original order.
Varied Nature:
Some of these groups are charitable orders (like the SMOTJ, or the Order of the
Temple of Jerusalem) that support Christian causes, while others may be Masonic
organizations or even entirely invented groups.
Lack of Genuine Connection:

Most of these contemporary organizations do not have a genuine, unbroken historical

connection to the medieval Templars.
In summary, while the ancient Knights Templar are gone, their legacy lives on through
historical buildings, myths, and a number of modern groups that carry on their name, though
not their original function or authority

Knights Templar
(1118–1312)
Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon
Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici Hierosolymitanis

Flag used by the Templars in battle

Active c. 1118 – c. 22 March 1312

2
 Allegiance The Pope
Type Latin Catholic military order
Role Protection of the Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem (region)
Shock troops
Size 15,000–20,000 members at peak, 10% of whom were knights[1][2]
Headquarters Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem
Nickname(s) Order of Solomon's Temple
Order of Christ
Patron Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
Motto(s) Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed Nomini tuo da gloriam
(English: Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Thy name give the glory)
Attire White mantle with a red cross pattée
Mascot(s) Two knights riding a single horse

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as
the Knights Templar, was a military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the most
important military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded in 1118 to defend
pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, with their headquarters located there on the Temple
Mount, and existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages. Officially endorsed by
the Catholic Church by such decrees as the papal bull Omne datum optimum of Pope
Innocent II, the Templars became a favoured charity throughout Christendom and grew
rapidly in membership and power. The Templar knights, in their distinctive
white mantles with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades.
They were prominent in Christian finance; non-combatant members of the order, who made
up as much as 90% of their members, managed a large economic infrastructure throughout
Christendom. They developed innovative financial techniques that were an early form
of banking, building a network of nearly
1,000 commanderies and fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land.

The Templars were closely tied to the Crusades. As they became unable to secure their
holdings in the Holy Land, support for the order faded In 1307, King Philip IV of France had
many of the order's members in France arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and
then burned at the stake. Under pressure from Philip, Pope Clement V disbanded the order in
1312. In spite of its dissolution, however, between 1317–1319, a number of Templar knights,
properties and other assets were absorbed within the Portuguese Order of Christ, and the
Spanish Order of Montesa; ] the abrupt disappearance of this major medieval European
institution in its original incarnation gave rise to speculation and legends, which have
currently kept the "Templar" name alive in self-styled orders and popular culture.

3
Names
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes
commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici and French: Pauvres Chevaliers du Christ et du
Temple de Salomon) are also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, and mainly the
Knights Templar (French: Les Chevaliers Templiers), or simply the Templars (French: Les
Templiers).

The Temple Mount where they had their headquarters had a mystique because it was above
what was believed to be the ruins of the Temple of Solomon

History

Rise
After the Franks in the First Crusade captured Jerusalem from the Fatimid Caliphate in 1099,
many Christians made pilgrimages to various sacred sites in the Holy Land. Although the city
of Jerusalem was relatively secure under Christian control, the rest of Outremer was
not. Bandits and marauding highwaymen preyed upon these Christian pilgrims, who were
routinely slaughtered, sometimes by the hundreds, as they attempted to make the journey
from the coastline at Jaffa through to the interior of the Holy Land.

A Seal of the Knights Templar

In 1119, the French knight Hugues de Payens approached King Baldwin II of
Jerusalem and Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and proposed creating
a monastic Catholic religious order for the protection of these pilgrims. King Baldwin and
Patriarch Warmund agreed to the request, probably at the Council of Nablus in January 1120,
and the king granted the Templars a headquarters in a wing of the royal palace on the Temple
Mount in the captured Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The order, with about nine knights including Godfrey de Saint-Omer and André de
Montbard, had few financial resources and relied on donations to survive. Their emblem was
of two knights riding on a single horse, emphasizing the order's poverty.

4
 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.
The impoverished status of the Templars did not last long. They had a powerful advocate in
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading Church figure, the French abbot primarily responsible
for the founding of the Cistercian Order of monks and a nephew of André de Montbard, one
of the founding knights. Bernard put his weight behind them and wrote persuasively on their
behalf in the letter In Praise of the New Knighthood, and in 1129, at the Council of Troyes,
he led a group of leading churchmen to officially approve and endorse the order on behalf of
the church. With this formal blessing, the Templars became a favoured charity
throughout Christendom, receiving money, land, businesses, and noble-born sons from
families who were eager to help with the fight in the Holy Land. At the Council of Pisa in
1135, Pope Innocent II initiated the first papal monetary donation to the Order. Another
major benefit came in 1139, when Innocent II's papal bull Omne Datum Optimum exempted
the order from obedience to local laws. This ruling meant that the Templars could pass freely
through all borders, were not required to pay any taxes and were exempt from all authority
except that of the pope. However, in practice, they often had to respect the wishes of the
European rulers in whose kingdoms they resided, especially in their handling of funds for the
local noblility in their banks.

With its clear mission and ample resources, the order grew rapidly. Templars were often the
advance shock troops in key battles of the Crusades, as the heavily armoured knights on
their warhorses would charge into the enemy lines ahead of the main army. One of their most
famous victories was in 1177 during the Battle of Montgisard, where some 500 Templar
knights helped several thousand infantry to defeat Saladin's army of more than 26,000
soldiers

A Templar Knight is truly a fearless knight, and secure on every side, for his soul is
protected by the armour of faith, just as his body is protected by the armour of steel. He
is thus doubly armed, and need fear neither demons nor men.
― Bernard of Clairvaux, c. 1135
De Laude Novae Militae – In Praise of the New Knighthood

5
Although the primary mission of the order was military, relatively few members were
combatants. The majority acted in support positions to assist the knights and manage their
financial infrastructure. Although individual members were sworn to poverty, the Templar
Order controlled vast wealth even beyond direct donations. A nobleman participating in the
Crusades might place all his assets under Templar management during his absence.
Accumulating wealth in this manner throughout Christendom and the Outremer, in 1150 the
order began to issue letters of credit for pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land: pilgrims
deposited their valuables with a local Templar preceptory before embarking, received a
document indicating the value of their deposit, then showed that document upon arrival in the
Holy Land to claim treasure of equal value to their funds. This innovative arrangement was
an early form of banking and may have been the first use of bank cheques; it protected
pilgrims from robbery, while augmenting Templar finances.

Based on this mix of donations and business dealings, the Templars established financial
networks across the whole of Christendom. They acquired large tracts of land, both in Europe
and the Middle East; they bought and managed farms and vineyards; they built massive stone
cathedrals and castles; they were involved in manufacturing, import, and export; they owned
fleets of ships; and at one point they even owned the entire island of Cyprus. The order
arguably qualifies as the world's first multinational corporation. By the late 12th century the
Templars were also politically powerful in the Holy Land. Secular nobles in the Kingdom of
Jerusalem began granting them castles and surrounding lands as a defense against the
growing threat of the Zengids in Syria. The Templars were even allowed to negotiate with
Muslim rulers independently of the feudal lords. The Templar castles became de
facto independent lordships with their own markets, further growing their political authority.
During the regency after the death of King Baldwin IV in 1185, the royal castles were placed
in the custody of the Templars and Hospitallers: the grand masters of the two orders, along
with the patriarch of Jerusalem, each had a key to the crown jewels

From the mid-12th century, the Templars were recruited (jointly with the Hospitallers) to
fight the Muslim kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula, in addition to their campaigns in the
Latin East.[32] In the kingdoms of Castile and León, they obtained some major strongholds
(such as Calatrava la Vieja or Coria), but their vulnerability along the border was exposed
during the Almohad offensive. In Aragon, the Templars subsumed the Order of Mountjoy in
the late 12th century, becoming an important vanguard force on the border, while in Portugal
they commanded some castles along the Tagus line. One of these was Tomar, which
was unsuccessfully besieged by the Almohad Caliphate in 1190.

Due to the expense of sending a third of their revenues to the East, Templar and Hospitaller
activities in the Iberian Peninsula were at a disadvantage to the Hispanic military orders
which expended all their resources in the region.

War

6
 King Bald
win II presiding over a council with the Templars
Accounts of the Order's early military activities in the Levant are vague, though it appears
their first battles were defeats, because the Seljuk Turks and other Muslim powers used
different tactics than those in Europe at that time. The Templars later adapted to this and
became strategic advisors to the leaders of the Crusader states. The first recorded battle
involving the Knights Templar was in the town of Teqoa, south of Jerusalem, in 1138. A
force of Templars led by their grand master, Robert de Craon (who succeeded Hugues de
Payens about a year earlier), was sent to retake the town after it was captured by Muslims.
They were initially successful, but the Muslims regrouped outside the town and were able to
take it back from the Templars.

The Order's mission developed from protecting pilgrims to taking part in regular military
campaigns early on, and this is shown by the fact that the first castle received by the Knights
Templar was located four hundred miles north of the pilgrim road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, on
the northern frontier of the Principality of Antioch: the castle of Bagras in the Amanus
Mountains.[36][38] It may have been as early as 1131, and by 1137 at the latest, that the
Templars were given the mountainous region that formed the border of Antioch and Cilician
Armenia, which included the castles of Bagras, Darbsak, and Roche de Roissel. The
Templars were there when Byzantine emperor John II Komnenos tried to make the Crusader
states of Antioch, Tripoli, and Edessa his vassals between 1137 and 1142. Templar knights
accompanied Emperor John II with troops from those states during his campaign against
Muslim powers in Syria from 1137 to 1138, including at the sieges of Aleppo and Shaizar. In
1143, the Templars also began taking part in the Reconquista in Iberia at the request of
the count of Barcelona.

In 1147 a force of French, Spanish, and English Templars left France to join the Second
Crusade, led by King Louis VII. At a meeting held in Paris on 27 April 1147 they were given
permission by Pope Eugenius III to wear the red cross on their uniforms. They were led by
the Templar provincial master in France, Everard des Barres, who was one of the
ambassadors King Louis sent to negotiate the passage of the Crusader army through
the Byzantine Empire on its way to the Holy Land. During the dangerous journey of the
Second Crusade through Anatolia, the Templars provided security to the rest of the army
from Turkish raids. After the Crusaders arrived in 1148, the kings Louis VII, Conrad III of
Germany, and Baldwin III of Jerusalem made the decision to capture Damascus, but their
siege in the summer of that year failed and ended with the defeat of the Christian army. In the
fall of 1148 some returning Templars took part in the successful siege of Tortosa in Spain,
after which one-fifth of that city was given to the Order.

7
Robert de Craon died in January 1149 and was succeeded as grand master by Everard des
Barres, one of the few leaders at the siege of Damascus whose reputation was not damaged
by the event.[43] After the Second Crusade, Zengid forces under Nur ad-Din
Zengi of Aleppo attacked the Principality of Antioch, and in June 1149 his army defeated the
Crusaders at the Battle of Inab, where Prince Raymond of Antioch was killed. King Baldwin
III led reinforcements to the principality, which led Nur ad-Din to accept a truce with Antioch
and not advance any further.[45] The force with King Baldwin included 120 Templar knights
and 1,000 sergeants and squires.[46]

In the winter of 1149 and 1150, King Baldwin III oversaw the reconstruction of the fortress
at Gaza City, which had been left in ruins. [47][48] It was part of the ring of castles that were
built along the southern border of the Kingdom of Jerusalem to protect it from raids by the
Egyptian Fatimid Caliphate, and specifically from the Fatimid troops at the fortress
of Ascalon, which by then was the last coastal city in the Levant still under Muslim control.
[48][49]
Gaza was given to the Knights Templar, becoming the first major Templar castle. [48] In
1152 Everard stepped down as grand master for unknown reasons, and his successor
was Bernard de Tremelay.[50] In January of the following year, Bernard led the Templars
when King Baldwin III led a Crusader army to besiege Ascalon. Several months of fighting
went by until the wall of the city was breached in August 1153, at which point Bernard led
forty knights into Ascalon. But the rest of the army did not join them and all of the Templars
were killed by the Muslim defenders. Ascalon was captured by the rest of the army several
days later,[51][52] and Bernard was eventually succeeded by André de Montbard.[53]

After the fall of Ascalon, the Templars continued operating in that region from their castle at
Gaza. In June 1154 they attacked Abbas ibn Abi al-Futuh, the vizier of Egypt, when he tried
to flee from Cairo to Damascus after losing a power struggle. Abbas was killed and the
Templars captured his son, who they later sent back to the Fatimids. [53] In the late 1150s the
Egyptians launched raids against the Crusaders in the areas of Gaza and Ascalon.[54]

Decline

Battle of Hattin in 1187, the

turning point leading to the Third Crusade. From a copy of the Passages d’outremer, c. 1490

8
In the mid-12th century, the tide began to turn in the Crusades. The Islamic world had
become more united under effective leaders such as Saladin, and the reborn Sunni regime in
Egypt. Dissension arose among Christian factions in and concerning the Holy Land. The
Knights Templar were occasionally at odds with the two other Christian military orders,
the Knights Hospitaller and the Teutonic Knights, and decades of internecine feuds weakened
Christian positions, both politically and militarily. After the Templars were involved in
several unsuccessful campaigns, including the pivotal Battle of Hattin, Jerusalem
was recaptured by Muslim forces under Saladin in 1187. The Holy Roman
Emperor Frederick II reclaimed the city for Christians in the Sixth Crusade of 1229, without
Templar aid, but only held it for a little more than a decade. In 1244, the Ayyubid
dynasty together with Khwarezmi mercenaries recaptured Jerusalem, and the city did not
return to Western control until 1917 when, during World War I, the British captured it from
the Ottoman Empire.[55]

The Templars were forced to relocate their headquarters to other cities in the north, such as
the seaport of Acre, which they held for the next century. It was lost in 1291, followed by
their last mainland strongholds, Tortosa (Tartus in present-day Syria) and Atlit (in present-
day Israel). Their headquarters then moved to Limassol on the island of Cyprus,[56] and they
also attempted to maintain a garrison on tiny Arwad Island, just off the coast from Tortosa. In
1300, there was some attempt to engage in coordinated military efforts with the
Mongols[57] via a new invasion force at Arwad. In 1302 or 1303, however, the Templars lost
the island to the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate in the siege of Arwad. With the island gone, the
Crusaders lost their last foothold in the Holy Land.[58]

With the order's military mission now less important, support for the organization began to
dwindle. The situation was complex, however, since during the two hundred years of their
existence, the Templars had become a part of daily life throughout Christendom. [59] The
organization's Templar Houses, hundreds of which were dotted throughout Europe and
the Near East, gave them a widespread presence at the local level. [2] The Templars still
managed many businesses, and many Europeans had daily contact with the Templar network,
such as by working at a Templar farm or vineyard, or using the order as a bank in which to
store personal valuables. The order was still not subject to local government, making it
everywhere a "state within a state" – its standing army, although it no longer had a well-
defined mission, could pass freely through all borders. This situation heightened tensions
with some European nobility, especially as the Templars were indicating an interest in
founding their own monastic state, just as the Teutonic Knights had done in Prussia and the
Baltic and the Knights Hospitaller were doing in Rhodes.[60]

The Templars were accused of enabling corruption in their ranks which often allowed them to
influence the legal systems of Europe to act in their favor and gain influence over local rulers'
lands at the expense of the rulers.[25]

Arrests, charges and dissolution

Main article: Trials of the Knights Templar
In 1305, the new Pope Clement V, based in Avignon, France, sent letters to both the Templar
Grand Master Jacques de Molay and the Hospitaller Grand Master Fulk de Villaret to discuss
the possibility of merging the two orders. Neither was amenable to the idea, but Pope
Clement persisted, and in 1306 he invited both grand masters to France to discuss the matter.
De Molay arrived first in early 1307, but de Villaret was delayed for several months. While
waiting, de Molay and Clement discussed criminal charges that had been made two years

9
earlier by an ousted Templar and were being discussed by King Philip IV of France and his
ministers. It was generally agreed that the charges were false, but Clement sent King Philip a
written request for assistance in the investigation. According to some historians, Philip, who
was already deeply in debt to the Templars from his war against England, decided to seize
upon the rumours for his own purposes. He began pressuring the church to take action against
the order, as a way of freeing himself from his debts.[61]

Convent of Christ Castle, Tomar,

Portugal. Built in 1160 as a stronghold for the Knights Templar and besieged in 1190 by the
Almohads, it became the headquarters of the renamed Order of Christ. In 1983, it was named
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
At dawn on Friday, 13 October 1307, King Philip IV had de Molay and scores of other
French Templars to be simultaneously arrested. The arrest warrant started with the
words: "Dieu n'est pas content, nous avons des ennemis de la foi dans le Royaume" ("God is
not pleased. We have enemies of the faith in the kingdom.").

Claims were made that during Templar admissions ceremonies, recruits were forced to spit
on the Cross, deny Christ, and engage in indecent kissing; brethren were also accused
of worshipping idols, and the order was said to have encouraged homosexual practices.
[64]
Many of these allegations contain tropes that bear similarities to accusations made against
other persecuted groups such as Jews, heretics, and accused witches. [65] These allegations,
though, were highly politicised without any real evidence. [66] Still, the Templars were charged
with numerous other offences such as financial corruption, fraud, and secrecy. [67] Many of the
accused confessed to these charges under torture, and their confessions, even though
obtained under duress, caused a scandal in Paris. The prisoners were coerced to confess that
they had spat on the Cross. One said: "Moi, Raymond de La Fère, 21 ans, reconnais que
[j'ai] craché trois fois sur la Croix, mais de bouche et pas de cœur" ("I, Raymond de La Fère,
21 years old, admit that I have spat three times on the Cross, but only from my mouth and not
from my heart"). The Templars were accused of idolatry and were charged with worshipping
either a figure known as Baphomet or a mummified severed head they recovered, amongst
other artefacts, at their original headquarters on the Temple Mount. Some have theorised that
this head might have been believed to be that of John the Baptist, among other things.[68]

Relenting to King Phillip's demands, Pope Clement then issued the papal bull Pastoralis
praeeminentiae on 22 November 1307, which instructed all Christian monarchs in Europe to
arrest all Templars and seize their assets. [69] Clement called for papal hearings to determine
the Templars' guilt or innocence, and once freed, many Templars recanted their confessions.

10
Several Templars are listed as having come from Gisors to defend the Order on 26 February
1310: Henri Zappellans or Chapelain, Anceau de Rocheria, Enard de Valdencia, Guillaume
de Roy, Geoffroy de Cera or de La Fere-en-Champagne, Robert Harle or de Hermenonville,
and Dreux de Chevru.[70][71][72] Some had sufficient legal experience to defend themselves
in the trials, but in 1310, having appointed the archbishop of Sens, Philippe de Marigny, to
lead the investigation, Philip blocked this attempt, using the previously forced confessions to
have dozens of Templars burned at the stake in Paris.[73][74][75]

With Philip threatening military action unless the pope complied with his wishes, Clement
finally agreed to disband the order, citing the public scandal that had been generated by the
confessions. At the Council of Vienne in 1312, he issued a series of papal bulls,
including Vox in excelso, which officially dissolved the order, and Ad providam, which
turned over most Templar assets to the Hospitallers.[76]

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/
Templars being burned
As for the leaders of the order, the elderly Grand Master Jacques de Molay, who had
confessed under torture, retracted his confession. Geoffroi de Charney, Preceptor
of Normandy, also retracted his confession and insisted on his innocence. Both men, under
pressure from the king, were declared guilty of being relapsed heretics and sentenced to burn
alive at the stake in Paris on 18 March 1314. De Molay reportedly remained defiant to the
end, asking to be tied in such a way that he could face the Notre Dame Cathedral and hold his
hands together in prayer.[77] According to legend, he called out from the flames that both Pope
Clement and King Philip would soon meet him before God. His actual words were recorded
on the parchment as follows: "Dieu sait qui a tort et a péché. Il va bientôt arriver malheur à
ceux qui nous ont condamnés à mort" ("God knows who is wrong and has sinned. Soon a
calamity will occur to those who have condemned us to death"). [63] Clement died only a
month later, and Philip died while hunting within the same year.[78][79][80]

The remaining Templars around Europe were either arrested and tried under the Papal
investigation (with virtually none convicted), absorbed into other Catholic military orders, or
pensioned off and allowed to live out their days peacefully. By papal decree, the property of
the Templars was transferred to the Knights Hospitaller except in the Kingdoms of Castile,
Aragon, and Portugal. Portugal was the first country in Europe where they had settled,

11
occurring only two or three years after the order's foundation in Jerusalem and even having a
presence during Portugal's conception.[81]

The Portuguese king, Denis I, refused to pursue and persecute the former knights, as had
occurred in some other states under the influence of Philip & the crown. Under his protection,
Templar organizations simply changed their name, from "Knights Templar" to the
reconstituted Order of Christ and also a parallel Supreme Order of Christ of the Holy See;
both are considered successors to the Knights Templar.[82][83][84]

Chinon Parchment
Main article: Chinon Parchment
In September 2001, a document known as the Chinon Parchment dated 17–20 August 1308
was discovered in the Vatican Archives by Barbara Frale, apparently after having been filed
in the wrong place in 1628. It is a record of the trial of the Templars and shows that Clement
absolved the Templars of all heresies in 1308 before formally disbanding the order in 1312,
as did another Chinon Parchment dated 20 August 1308 addressed to Philip IV of France,
also mentioning that all Templars that had confessed to heresy were "restored to the
Sacraments and to the unity of the Church". This other Chinon Parchment has been well
known to historians,[85][86][87] having been published by Étienne Baluze in 1693[88] and
by Pierre Dupuy in 1751.[89]

The current position of the Catholic Church is that the persecution of the Knights Templar
was unjust, that nothing was inherently wrong with the order or its rule, and that Pope
Clement V was pressed into his actions by the magnitude of the public scandal and by the
dominating influence of King Philip IV.[90]

Organization
The Templars were organised as a monastic order similar to Bernard's Cistercian Order,
which was considered the first effective international organization in Europe. [91] The
organizational structure had a strong chain of authority. Each country with a major Templar
presence (France, Poitou, Anjou,
Jerusalem, England, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Tripoli, Antioch, Hungary, and Croatia)[92] had a
master of the Order for the Templars in that region.

All of them were subject to the grand master, appointed for life, who oversaw both the order's
military efforts in the East and their financial holdings in the West. The grand master
exercised his authority via the visitors-general of the order, who were knights specially
appointed by the grand master and convent of Jerusalem to visit the different provinces,
correct malpractices, introduce new regulations, and resolve important disputes. The visitors-
general had the power to remove knights from office and to suspend the master of the
province concerned.[93][unreliable source?]

The central headquarters of the Templars had several offices that answered to the grand
master. These were held as temporary appointments rather than for life. The second-in-
command of the Order was the seneschal. The highest ranking military official was
the marshal, while the preceptor (who was also sometimes called the commander) was
responsible for the administration and provisions. The draper was responsible for their
uniforms, the treasurer was in charge of finance, the turcopolier commanded auxiliary forces,
and the prior was the head of the church at the headquarters. [94] The headquarters and its most

12
senior officials were known as the convent[95][96] and its role was to assist and advise the grand
master with running the administration of the Order.[97]

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.[1][2]

Ranks within the order

Three main ranks
There was a threefold division of the ranks of the Templars: the noble knights, the non-noble
sergeants, and the chaplains. The knights wear white mantles to symbolise their purity and
chastity.[98] The sergeants wore black or brown. All three classes of brothers wore the order's
red cross.[99] Before they received their monastic rule in 1129 at the Council of Troyes, the
Templars were referred to only as knights (milites in Latin), and after 1129 they were also
called brothers of their monastic order. Therefore the three main ranks were eventually
known as knight brothers, sergeant brothers, and chaplain brothers. Knights and chaplains
were referred to as brothers by 1140, but sergeants were not full members of the Order until
the 1160s.[100]

The knights were the most visible division of the order. They were equipped as heavy
cavalry, with three or four horses and one or two squires. Squires were generally not
members of the order but were instead outsiders who were hired for a set period of time. The
Templars did not perform knighting ceremonies, so anyone wishing to become a knight in the
Templar had to be a knight already.[101]

Beneath the knights in the order and drawn from non-noble families were the sergeants.
[102]
They brought vital skills and trades from blacksmiths and builders, including
administration of many of the order's European properties. In the Crusader states, they fought
alongside the knights as light cavalry with a single horse.[103] Several of the order's most
senior positions were reserved for sergeants, including the post of Commander of the Vault of
Acre, who also served as the Templar fleet's admiral. But he was subordinated to the Order's
preceptor instead of the marshal, indicating that the Templars considered their ships to be
mainly for commerce rather than military purposes.[104][105]

From 1139, chaplains constituted a third Templar rank. They were ordained priests who cared
for the Templars' spiritual needs.[106] These Templar clerics were also referred to as priest
brothers or chaplain brothers.[107]

The Templars also employed lightly armed mercenaries as cavalry in the 12th century that
were known as turcopoles (a Greek term for descendants of Turks). Its meaning has been
interpreted as either referring to people of a mixed Muslim-Christian heritage who became
Christians, or members of the local population in Syria. Sometime in the 13th century,
turcopole became a formal rank held by Templar brothers, including Latin Christians. [108]

Grand masters

13
 Templar building at Saint
Martin des Champs, France
Starting with founder Hugues de Payens, the order's highest office was that of grand master, a
position which was held for life, though considering the martial nature of the order, this could
mean a very short tenure. All but two of the grand masters died in office, and several died
during military campaigns. For example, during the Siege of Ascalon in 1153, Grand
Master Bernard de Tremelay led a group of 40 Templars through a breach in the city walls.
When the rest of the Crusader army did not follow, the Templars, including their grand
master, were surrounded and beheaded.[109] Grand master Gérard de Ridefort was beheaded
by Saladin in 1189 at the Siege of Acre.

The grand master oversaw all of the operations of the order, including both the military
operations in the Holy Land and Eastern Europe and the Templars' financial and business
dealings in Western Europe. Some grand masters also served as battlefield commanders,
though this was not always wise: several blunders in de Ridefort's combat leadership
contributed to the devastating defeat at the Battle of Hattin. The last grand master
was Jacques de Molay, burned at the stake in Paris in 1314 by order of King Philip IV.[75]

Conduct, uniform and beards

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)
[110]

14
Bernard de Clairvaux and founder Hugues de Payens devised a specific code of conduct for
the Templar Order, known to modern historians as the Latin Rule. Its 72 clauses laid down
the details of the knights' way of life, including the types of garments they were to wear and
how many horses they could have. Knights were to take their meals in silence, eat meat no
more than three times per week, and not have physical contact of any kind with women, even
members of their own family. A master of the Order was assigned "four horses, and one
chaplain-brother, and one clerk with three horses, and one sergeant brother with two horses,
and one gentleman valet to carry his shield and lance, with one horse". [111] As the order grew,
more guidelines were added, and the original list of 72 clauses was expanded to several
hundred in its final form.[112][113]

The daily schedule of the order adhered to the canonical hours in the Rule of Saint Benedict,
with communal prayers designated at specific hours throughout the day. Members unable to
participate must recite the Lord's Prayer at the same hours.

The knights wore a white surcoat with a red cross, and a white mantle also with a red cross;
the sergeants wore a black tunic with a red cross on the front and a black or brown mantle. [114]
[115]
The white mantle was assigned to the Templars at the Council of Troyes in 1129, and the
cross was most probably added to their robes at the launch of the Second Crusade in 1147,
when Pope Eugenius III, King Louis VII of France, and many other notables attended a
meeting of the French Templars at their headquarters near Paris. [116][117][118] Under the Rule, the
knights were to wear the white mantle at all times: They were even forbidden to eat or drink
unless wearing it.[119]

The red cross that the Templars wore on their robes was a symbol of martyrdom, and to die in
combat was considered a great honour that assured a place in heaven. [120] There was a cardinal
rule that the warriors of the order should never surrender unless the Templar flag had fallen,
and even then they were first to try to regroup with another of the Christian orders, such as
that of the Hospitallers. Only after all flags had fallen were they allowed to leave the
battlefield.[121] This uncompromising principle, along with their reputation for courage,
excellent training, and heavy armament, made the Templars one of the most feared combat
forces in medieval times.

Although not prescribed by the Templar Rule, it later became customary for members of the
order to wear long and prominent beards. In about 1240, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines described
the Templars as an "order of bearded brethren"; while during the interrogations by the papal
commissioners in Paris in 1310–1311, out of nearly 230 knights and brothers questioned, 76
are described as wearing a beard, in some cases specified as being "in the style of the
Templars", and 133 are said to have shaved off their beards, either in renunciation of the
order or because they had hoped to escape detection.[122][123]

Initiation,[124] known as "reception" (receptio) into the order, was a profound commitment and
involved a solemn ceremony. Outsiders were discouraged from attending the ceremony,
which aroused the suspicions of medieval inquisitors during the later trials. New members
had to willingly sign over all of their wealth and goods to the order and vow to "God and Our
Lady" (mother of Jesus) poverty, chastity, piety, obedience to the master of the order, and to
conquer the Holy Land of Jerusalem.[125] They were then promised "the bread and water and
poor clothing of the house and much pain and suffering".[126]

15
Most brothers joined for life, although some were allowed to join for a set period. Sometimes
a married man was allowed to join if he had his wife's permission, [115] but a married brother
was not allowed to wear the white mantle.[127]

Legacy
See also: List of Knights Templar sites

Temple Church, London. As the chapel of the New

Temple in London, it was the location for Templar initiation ceremonies. In modern times it
is the parish church of the Middle and Inner Temples, two of the Inns of Court, and a popular
tourist attraction.
With their military mission and extensive financial resources, the Knights Templar funded a
large number of building projects around Europe and the Holy Land. Many of these
structures are still standing. Many sites also maintain the name "Temple" because of
centuries-old association with the Templars. [128] For example, some of the Templars' lands in
London were later rented to lawyers, which led to the names of the Temple Bar gateway and
the Temple Underground station. Two of the four Inns of Court which may call members to
act as barristers are the Inner Temple and Middle Temple – the entire area known as Temple,
London.[129]

Distinctive architectural elements of Templar buildings include the use of the image of "two
knights on a single horse", representing the Knights' poverty, and round buildings designed to
resemble the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.[130]

Modern organizations
The Knights Templar were disbanded in 1309. Following the suppression of the Order, a
number of Knights Templar joined the newly established Order of Christ, which effectively
reabsorbed the Knights Templar and its properties in AD 1319, especially in Portugal.[13][131]

The story of the persecution and sudden dissolution of the Templars has drawn many other
groups to use alleged connections with them as a way of enhancing their own image and
mystery.[132] Apart from the Order of Christ and Order of Montesa in Spain,[13][131][14] there are
no historical connections between the Knights Templar and any other modern organization,
the earliest of which emerged publicly in the 18th century.[133][134][135][136]

Order of Christ
Main article: Order of Christ (Portugal)
Further information: History of the Order of Christ
Following the dissolution of the Knights Templar, the Order of Christ was erected in 1319
and absorbed many of the Knights Templar into its ranks, along with Knights Templar

16
properties in Portugal.[13][131] Its headquarters became a castle in Tomar, a former Knights
Templar castle.[13]

The Military Order of Christ consider themselves the successors of the former Knights
Templar. After the Templars were abolished on 22 March 1312, [137][84] the Order of Christ was
founded in 1319[138][83] under the protection of the Portuguese king Denis, who refused to
persecute the former knights. Denis revived the Templars of Tomar as the Order of Christ,
grateful for their aid during the Reconquista and in the reconstruction of Portugal after the
wars. Denis negotiated with Clement's successor John XXII for recognition of the new order
and its right to inherit Templar assets and property. This was granted in the papal bull Ad ea
ex quibus of 14 March 1319.[12] The Portuguese brought the Order of Christ with them to
Kongo and Brazil, where the Order of Christ continues to be awarded; the Vatican
additionally has awarded the Supreme Order of Christ.[139][140][141]

Temperance movement
Main articles: IOGT and Tempel Riddare Orden
Many temperance organizations named themselves after the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ
and of the Temple of Solomon, citing the belief that the original Knights Templar "drank sour
milk, and also because they were fighting 'a great crusade' against 'this terrible vice' of
alcohol".[142] The largest of these, the International Order of Good Templars (IOGT), grew
throughout the world after being started in the 19th century and continues to advocate for
the abstinence from alcohol and other drugs; other Orders in this tradition include those of
the Templars of Honor and Temperance (Tempel Riddare Orden), which has a large presence
in Scandinavia.[142][143]

Freemasonry
Freemasonry has incorporated the symbols and rituals of several medieval military orders in a
number of Masonic bodies since at least the 18th century. This can be seen in the "Red Cross
of Constantine," inspired by the Military Constantinian Order; the "Order of Malta," inspired
by the Knights Hospitaller; and the "Order of the Temple", inspired by the Knights Templar.
The Orders of Malta and the Temple feature prominently in the York Rite. Though some
have claimed a link between the historical Knights Templar of the 14th century through
members who allegedly took refuge in Scotland and aided Robert the Bruce, this theory has
been rejected by both Freemasons and historians.

Neo-Templarism
Neo-Templarism is a term used to describe movements that claim to be direct continuations
of the original Templars. The Templar degree system in Freemasonry built off an idea that
Templars had embedded themselves within Freemasonry; however, some Freemasons
believed the Templar degrees were not subordinate to masonry and were their own system.
This culminated in 1805, when Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat, a physician who refused to
acknowledge the authority of the Catholic Church, created a revivalist Templar movement,
claiming he had discovered a document that revealed an unbroken history of Templar grand
masters to the present day. Fabré-Palaprat declared himself the grand master of his revivalist
order. This began a long series of revival orders involving various schisms, which Fabré-
Palaprat is usually regarded as the originator of; Fabré-Palaprat's organization eventually
evolved into the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem. The idea that these
orders have legitimate descent from the Templars has been criticized by scholars of Templar
history as dubious and tied to false claims.[146][147]

17
Modern popular culture
The Knights Templar have been associated with legends circulated even during their time.
Many orders, such as the freemasons, claimed to have received esoteric wisdom from the
Templars, or were direct descendants of the order. Masonic writers added their own
speculations in the 18th century, and further fictional embellishments have been added in
popular novels such as Ivanhoe, Foucault's Pendulum, and The Da Vinci Code;[148] modern
movies such as National Treasure, The Last Templar, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade;
the television series Knightfall; as well as video games such as Broken Sword, Deus
Ex, Assassin's Creed and Dante's Inferno.

After the King of France dissolved the Knights Templar and confiscated their properties,
other kingdoms in Europe took a different approach to the Knights Templar.

In Spain, Knights Templars dissolved, but on that same day or a little later, their properties
were ceded to different old or new military orders who hired those same Knights Templars. It
was a change of name. Some of these orders remained today, while others dissolved
throughout history. These are some of those Military Orders that benefited from the
Templars' dissolution.

Do the Knights Templar still exist? Why or why not?

After the King of France dissolved the Knights Templar and confiscated their properties,
other kingdoms in Europe took a different approach to the Knights Templar.

In Spain, Knights Templars dissolved, but on that same day or a little later, their properties
were ceded to different old or new military orders who hired those same Knights Templars. It
was a change of name. Some of these orders remained today, while others dissolved
throughout history.

These are some of those Military Orders that benefited from the Templars' dissolution.

Before their dissolution, the Knights Templars ruled over very extensive lands in Spain, taken
during their fight against the Muslims or given by the Kings as compensation for their
assistance. Besides the control of lands and towns and their revenues, Templars’ properties
included castles, churches, and hermitages.

18
The following are pictures of some of those Templars' castles in Castile or Aragon

Peñíscola, Aragón, above/San Servando, Toledo, Castile

Alcalá de Chivert/Montalbán

19
Grdeny, Lerida, Aragon (Catalonia)

Alba Aliste

20
Burguillos, Castile

Jerez de los Caballeros, Extramadura, Castile

21
Monzón, Huesca, Aragon

Ponferrada, Leon, Castile

Besides castles, many of the current churches in Spain come from the Templars.

As can be seen, the new and old Military Orders in Spain, became even more powerful by
inheriting the Templars’ properties, ending up successful while fighting the Muslims getting
even wealthier with new lands granted to them.

Reliability you can trust with AWS Databases.

22
Your databases should be secure, reliable, and built for performance. Explore how to build
powerful apps.
The Knights Templar, originally established in the 12th century as a Christian military order,
were officially disbanded in the early 14th century, primarily due to political and financial
pressures from King Philip IV of France and the Catholic Church. The order was accused of
heresy, leading to the arrest of many Templars and the eventual execution of their leaders.

While the original Knights Templar no longer exist, various organizations and groups today
claim to be successors or inspired by the Templars. These modern groups often focus on
charitable work, historical preservation, or fraternal activities rather than the military and
religious missions of the original order.

In summary, the original Knights Templar do not exist today due to their disbandment in the
14th century, but there are contemporary organizations that draw on their legacy.
Ask follow-up questions on Poe, a free app from Quora
Tell me more
 What are some of the modern organizations that claim to be successors of the Knights
Templar?
 How did the Knights Templar influence later military or religious orders?
 What were the main reasons for the downfall of the Knights Templar?
 Did the Knights Templar continue to exist in any form after 1312?

The Knights Templar are an interesting story of decline. I believe around 1303, they lost their
last holding in the Holy Land. This confused everyone back in Europe as the Templars were
sort of everywhere. They were deeply ingrained in the culture of Western Europe and
Templar estates were all over France and Germany. However, now with no holdings in the
Holy Land, people became concerned over this sovereign military force in their own
backyards at a time when few countries had any sort of standing army. And as a result,
support for the Templars dwindled.

Strictly speaking, the Templars were dissolved at the council of Vienna in 1312. The Pope
ordered the order’s dissolution. He also, however, ordered many of their assets transferred to
the Knights Hospitaller.

The Knights Hospitaller was another of the three major crusader orders of the time (along
with the Teutonic Knights). The Teutons set up a military monastic state in Prussia and the
Knights Hospitaller established themselves on islands in the Aegean and Mediterranean. The
course of the Hospitallers is also interesting. First, they settled in the island of Cyprus after
the Sultunates started to retake the Holy Land in the 1200s. The order then moved their
headquarters to Rhodes, where they established a quasi-monarchy. From Rhodes, they helped
Italian and European efforts against Muslims on the naval front and finally, in 1523, the
Ottoman Empire conquered Rhodes.

In 1530, the Hospitallers resettled in Malta (given to them by the HRE). Here they stayed and
thrived for the next two hundred fifty years. Christians from throughout Europe would flock
to the order in Malta until the Protestant Reformation, when those in Scandinavia, England,
and northern Germany became disillusioned with the Hospitallers.

23
Throughout the 1700s, the Hospitallers established a few colonies in the Caribbean (which I
found fascinating).

During Napoleon’s time, the French occupied Malta and kicked the Order out. They then
reestablished themselves in Rome, where their headquarters are today. As far as I know, the
Knights Hospitaller (Sovereign Military Order of Malta), are the only stateless sovereign
state in the world. They have “permanent observer status” at the UN and have diplomatic
communications with something like 100 countries.

In the 2000s, the Republic of Malta gave the Order permission to use a section of the strongly
defensive Maltese Fortress on the island.

So to answer your first question, no, the Templars did not exist beyond 1312. However, their
assets and ideas continued on in the Knights Hospitaller, which would become the Sovereign
Military Order of Malta, and are still existent today.

: Did the Knights Templar continue to exist in any form after 1312?
In Portugal yes until 1910, the Portuguese Order of Christ that always served the Kingdom of
Portugal, initially as the Order of the Knights Templar who fought alongside our Kings since
the beginning of the formation of our Kingdom, then a new order was formed on March 14 of
1319, which only he just performed his duties in 1910, the Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
this new Order emerged, as well as a reform of the Templars, continuing the service rendered
to the Kingdom of Portugal.

24
25
26
27
Donate for 1 sq. feet of construction in this marvelous temple!
By contributing to this marvel, you can receive prasadam from Vrindavan Dham.In a few
successor orders and the continuation of families from the original order eg the Military
Order of Christ, the Knights of the Temple of Tomar and Templari Cattolici d’Italia
Others have styled themselves as successors but with no origination from the Templars such
as the Freemasons

28
Key families of Templar descent include Louis, duc de Touraine and Charles de Bourbon-
Orleans, the descendants of Bernard of Clairvaux and Gundelan of Clairvaux in Vezelay, the
modern day de Montbard family in Brittany, the modern day d’Ostie family in Burgundy
(formerly of Apulia), branches of the Percy (de Sessay) and Dawnay family (also de Sezai or
Sessay) and descendants of the de Mandeville and Marshall families. All with the surname
Hepple are likely to trace ancestry to the Templars or a community run by them.

A number of former Templar communities have maintained Templar traditions as found in

the residents around St Stephens or Cressing, la Couvertoirade or Rennes le Chateau while
the English headquarters of the Templars is jointly owned by the Inner Temple and Middle
Temple Inns of Court.

The female Military Order of Christ was Templar and maintained a female Templar tradition
while many of the Priories of Son were founded by the Templars and again maintained a
female Templar tradition at least into the 16th Century

Other Military Orders then took on disbanded Templars and this includes all of the
Hospitallers and Knights of Malta, St George and St Michael in France.

The 14th Century not only saw the papal decree of Clement and their virtual annihilation by
Phillip II but also many houses in Spain and eastern Europe overrun by Muslim or Monghul
invasions, a classic being the Templar guest house in Toledo that has 14th C verses from the
Quran carved into its beams. The templars were mainly financed by the time of their removal
by the interest on loans they had made to various Royal Houses and the papacy all of which
were cancelled overnight (8/9ths of their entire wealth disappeared). It is unlikely that they
were able to thus go underground and revive in their former form but they do have successor
bodies and communities who maintain some of the traditions.

“Templar communities?”

If you mean the Knights Templar, yeah they were officially and legally reformed a few years
ago. They've even obtained “Soveriegn" status and are recognized officially in England again
(they're still growing). It’s more is legitimate than many other Orders who claim to be
Templars and follows the same rules and teachings as it did hundreds of years ago. Their
website is here: Order of the Temple of Solomon

If you mean what became of the “original" Templars, yes. Some surviving Templars in
Portugal, after the inquisition, created the Order of Christ (which is also still around).

If you mean what the Freemasons have done with the Templars, well… the Freemason
branch isn't legitimate and never has had any proveable links or ties to the Templars. Like,
literally none.

29
A2A. I don't know if they exist today,but is more possible, than not to exist.

At least to someone belongs,the chamber in the reconstructed Magister's

Palace of “Hospital”in the Island of Rhodes , 12nese or 12 islands
archipelago, of Hellenic Republic.

Because the days of conquest,of that Greek Island,the heads of the

Temple,are under great pressure, elsewhere [outside France]in the Outremer
and in the Commanderias , have stayed (escaped) only lower dignitaries, of
the said Order. Thus, safest assumption is that,the locked space belong to
The Hospital to whom,the remnants of Temple are merged.

As far their later progress,between the other six Tongues of Rhodes, is not
known very well, but we can say that sooner or later ceased to exist in an
autonomous way and ‘now’ they’re referred as Hospitallers; next time I will
visit that Island's library, I am going to verify the existant sources, if there's
information for comportment , of any Templars,as Knights of Saint John of
Rhodos Island [then why,a 2ble horseman depiction,by the old coastline , in a
bas relief , that myself witnessed , in Saint Dimitris Allied Rodos Cemetery, if
Templars, never been in Rodos? What’s your theory, dear archaeologists?].

Local Greek archaeol. authorities , denied the existence of a function for that
room.They told me that they don’t give informations , to a not authorized

30
persons.I’m just private researcher & that didn’t impressed them at all ; on
the contrary, I would say.

Nevertheless, the directors of all local newspapers confirmed to me, the

existence of that locked space , in the Magister's Palace.

You see,in Rhodos,the locals,know each other quite well….& someone is

cousin of director in the Byzantine Eforia &

they talk unofficially,of course. Is it too late? It's never too late and you’re
always on time.

Rodos Island,this time of the year[is Orthodox Easter of 2019 AD], it's
overloaded by tourists. Since I’m banned from the important details,I try to
imagine ways to find hints ; by myself...

you can spot , many careless tourists, circling the Djamiyeh, at the top,of the
hill,of medieval town, at the end of Socratous Str.; few are turning right,to the
Magister's Palace. Because it is past the closing hours…

Songs and, many, drunk Nordic youths, with few constipated Greeks, local or
from Athens not , really , participating in that “orgy”, because the recent
financial crisis, deprive them from that extra cash you need if you really want
to fly.

Because the days of conquest,of that Greek Island,the heads of the

Temple,are under great pressure, elsewhere [outside France]in the Outremer
and in the Commanderias , have stayed (escaped) only lower dignitaries, of
the said Order. Thus, safest assumption is that,the locked space belong to
The Hospital to whom,the remnants of Temple are merged.

No. The Knights Templar were abolished by Pope Clement V in March 1312
following an extensive papal inquiry into charges of heresy, sodomy, and
more. The inquiry was marred by executions of key witnesses for the defense
by the French authorities in the midst of the trial and by demands for the use
of torture in all places where the Templars had been found innocent. Despite
demands for the use of torture, the Templars had put up a spirited defense
and many prelates of the church remained unconvinced of their guilt. As a
result, the papal decree abolishing the Knights Templar did not condemn
them. One can also confirm that the Knights Templar do exist here in the
twenty-first century. My family bloodline is linked to the Order and has been
for centuries. Although through treachery, lies and envy the Order was
dissolved in 1312 AD. However, many Templars evaded the mass arrests

31
having been warned months beforehand by Order’s network of spies. Much of
the Templar wealth, holy relics and important documents were spirited out of
France to safe places well before July 13th 1307 AD. One of these safe
locations was in Scotland where my family name originates from (Moffat, also
a town in the Dumfries).
We have been the ‘Guardians’ of items of importance since the early
thirteenth century and built an organisation that now covers our globe. Many
of our current members have a proven family ‘bloodline’ linking them to the
medieval Order. Today the Templars involve themselves with secret
charitable work and the military wing established in the late 1980’s,
investigates the misuses of power, privilege and position across the
spectrum. The Order today is totally self-funding and an estimate of its
current wealth is somewhere in the region of £346 million.

Beauseant !

The Templars were the subject of many conspiracy theories and legends. A legend
is that when Louis XVI was executed, a freemason dipped a cloth in the king's blood
and said, "Jacques de Molay, you are avenged.", the idea being that the king of
France was responsible for destroying the Knights Templar back then. A theory
states that they are still existent and running a secret conspiracy to preserve the
bloodline of Jesus.

There have been speculative popular publications surrounding the order's early
occupation of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as well as speculation about
what relics the Templars may have found there. The association of the Holy
Grail with the Templars has precedents even in 12th-century fiction; Wolfram von
Eschenbach's Parzival calls the knights guarding the Grail Kingdom templeisen,
apparently a conscious fictionalization of the templarii.

Several organizations that claim to be The Actual Knights Templars some of them
are Freemasonic but others seem to be Christian.

Here is an Excerpt From one of Them.

"Joining the Knights Templar is not for everyone. We are only searching for
dedicated Christian men and women who possess a strong desire to glorify God
through fighting today's enemies of society, namely disease and social distress. Our
mission is the same today as it was 900 years ago...to defend those who cannot
defend themselves.
Although the sacrament of baptism and a profession of our Lord Jesus Christ are
obvious requirements, you don't have to be wealthy, influential or of a certain social
status to become a member of the Order. "

So are these Organizations that want to revive the Templars or are they Masonic
Larpers?

Here are some of them I found (There are more):

knighttemplar.org
Indiana Knights Templars [Okay, This is probably Masonic Larpers]

32
Knights Templar UK [Denies Being Masonic]

Yes…they are now largely, ‘neo’ fake versions in the ‘public eye’…the ‘old
guard’ is one that is very concentrated and potent and ‘sleeps’ until it is time
( which is approaching, the shin is over, the world must be ‘balanced’ yet
again). http://www.knightstemplarorder.o... …this is common of the ‘neo’.
The forces of king philip Philip IV of France managed to arrest 600 of the
3200 knights in France, do you really think the majority of that Order ‘went
away’ because a heretical pope said so? :)

The original Templars were from the carbonari French Freemasons, who were
merovingian ancestors and whose Freemasonry grew out of Akhenaten-
Moses’ Brotherhood of the Sun ( it was with Akhenaten-Moses that the
Benjaminite tribe left Egypt, they were second in power only to the Pharaoh).
The Merovingians were largely from the Benjaminite tribe. The two most
powerful Merovingian families the Plantagenet and the Angevin (Judahite)
were responsible for forming and supporting the Templars. For more see my
answer here John Templar's answer to What are the differences between
masons and templars? You are asked to become a Templar today, just as you
are asked to become a knight of malta.

The early degree process, prior to the jesuit infiltration of the craft, had a
combined Royal Arch/Templar degree (which was obtained after becoming
Super Excellent), held elements of the Scottish Templar ritual and Joseph
Warren and Paul Revere were made brother knights through this. There was
an attempt to reintroduce under the ‘Rite of Strict Observance’ banner many
of the Templar rituals, though, they too had an element thought to be of
jesuit corruption, as an oath to ‘unknown superiors’ (which may have actually
been legitimate or simply a ploy by the House of Stuart) was present in this
version, however, the desired outcome of the Congress of Wilhelmsbad in
1782 was even further corrupting of the craft and this Templar connection
was rejected in favour of more extreme corruptions, which were adopted.

33
The combining of a Knight of Malta degree and a Knight Templar degree in
the current York Rite is the ultimate corruption of the craft and shows the
current level of infiltration and takeover of it by the jesuits. The ‘rectified’
Scottish Rite today, is a complete fabrication of the jesuit influence (clermont,
france), and the American version corrupted largely due to the efforts of al
pike and al crowley after him.

Those that say the Templars were ‘disbanded’ are misinformed. Only those
that chartered the encampments had the power to ‘disband’ them, and the
pope had NO power over them. The Brotherhood of the Sun still exists and
carries out its duties. The order continued to exist by the name, the Poor
Knights of Christ ( among others) and the pope( Innocent 6) returned all
confiscated properties to them by 1359.

“Here's what we do know... after the formal disbandment of the Templars.

1. It is believed that a formal Knights Templar cavalry rode with Robert the
Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

2. Some group with a excellent secret organization led the Peasants Revolt in
England in 1381 and seemingly sought their revenge upon the Hospitallers,
killing their leadership and dismantling their buildings through England. As
mentioned earlier, the Hospitallers were arch rivals of the Templars, had tried
to convince the Pope to merge the two groups to be headed by a
Hospitallers. Most importantly, they had lobbied for and received title to the
Templar properties after 1306.

3. The St. Clair family (whose ancestor, William St. Clair, had been among the
first Templar Knights to visit Jerusalem in 1128 and whose sister married
Hughes de Payens, the founder of the Templars) built the Roslyn Church
between 1440 and 1490 which depicts Templar Knights and is dedicated to
them -- it also is a perfect duplicate of the Temple of Jerusalem.

4. There is increasing evidence that freemasonry which appeared publicly for

the first time in the mid-1600s may have had its origins in a continuation of
the squires and artisans of the Knights Templar and modern freemasonry
incorporates many of the Templar customs and rituals.

5. There is a disputed claim that the Duke of Orleans, as Grand Master, called
a Convent of the Knights Templar at Versailles in 1705.

6. A list called “The Charter of Larminius” was published in 1785 claiming to

be a list of the unbroken chain of the Grand Masters of the Order from 1129
until 1785.

7. During the French revolution, the Knights Hospitallers were again singled
out and the leadership denounced and sent to the guillotine and their
properties demolished. No similar effort was made against any Templars,
although they were believed to be active in France at this time.

8. In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte officially recognized the Knights Templar and

encouraged his officers and the nobility in France to join.

34
9. In 1814, King Louis XVIII of France agreed to become the royal protector of
the order following a meeting with the Templar Grand Prior of England --
British Admiral Sir William Sidney-Smith, Commander of the British Fleet.

10. In 1830, Templars were active in the leadership of the second French
revolution when Charles X attempted to restore an absolute monarchy in
France.

11. In 1833, Templars were active in the Belgium revolt against the Dutch,
which resulted in the independence of Belgium in 1833.

12. In 1845, Pope Gregory XVI offered to restore the Papal charter to the
Order on the condition that the Order expel any non-Roman Catholic
Templars. Since the Templars have been an ecumenical order since 1310 and
many Templars (although still a minority) were of other Christian faiths, the
Templars declined.”- Electric Scotland is all about the history of Scotland and
the Scots.

The wealth of the Templar Order in France was sent to Portugal to be placed
under the direction of King Denis Denis of Portugal - Wikipedia , a Templar
King Order of Christ (Portugal) - Wikipedia . That wealth funded all the
explorations of the Templar navigators such as Henry the Navigator, Gaspar
Corte Real and Vasco de Gama.

“In 1289 Denis had signed an agreement with Pope Nicholas IV, swearing to
protect the Church's interests in Portugal. When Pope Clement V allowed the
annihilation of the Knights Templar throughout most of Europe on charges of
heresy, Denis created in 1319 a Portuguese military order, the Order of
Christ, for those knights who survived the purge. The new order was
designed to be a continuation of the Order of the Temple. Denis negotiated
with Clement's successor, John XXII, for recognition of the new order and its
right to inherit the Templar assets and property.” - Denis of Portugal -
Wikipedia

Only an ignorant and uninformed person would say the Order no longer
exists…every time the Portuguese Air Force flies overhead you’re seeing the
Order.

Roundel of the Portuguese Air Force…can it be any more obvious they’re the
Brotherhood now in cockpits instead of saddles.

35
 Knight TEMPLERS AS SPECIAL FORCES
Dr Uday Dokras Phd Stockholm
Architect SRISHTI DOKRAS
Due to predominant involvement of non-state actors in modern conflicts the rules of
engagement were changed. Such illusive enemy required participation of a similar
nonconformist irregular to balance the equation. The irregulars optimum utility in special
forces depends upon firstly, identifying their niches of civilian careers and taking advantage
of these strong suits. Secondly, they have to be a “purpose-driven” force rather than simply a
copy of establishing them on the lines of Infantry, Armor etc of the regular army. . Special
troops cannot win wars, not in the military sense. However, these forces can certainly keep
their enemies from winning; they endeavor to wear them down, annoy them, exasperate them
to an extent where they loose the will to fight, as Winston Churchill said, “The war will be
ended by the exhaustion of nations will rather than the victories of armies

36
 Russians in Chechnya
TODAY : The 21st Century has ushered in revolution in warfare just like the previous ones
brought in mobility and firepower. The revolution is in ‘fighting unconventional - fighting
different’. Realizing the potential of this emerging face of modern warfare, countries like US
have gone to an extent of creating a Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) for
promoting unconventional culture

37
Special forces emerged in the early 20th century, with a significant growth in the field
during the Second World War, when "every major army involved in the fighting" created
formations devoted to special operations behind enemy lines. [5] Depending on the country,
special forces may perform functions including airborne operations, counter-
insurgency, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, covert ops, direct action, hostage
rescue, high-value targets/manhunt, intelligence operations, mobility operations,
and unconventional warfare.

Special forces have played an important role throughout the history of warfare,
whenever the aim was to achieve disruption by "hit and run" and sabotage, rather than more
traditional conventional combat. Other significant roles lay in reconnaissance, providing
essential intelligence from near or among the enemy and increasingly in combating irregular
forces, their infrastructure and activities. To most inhabitants of early Medieval Europe,
all Vikings were considered formidable opponents in battle. But the most fearsome of
Norsemen were the Berzerkers, an uber-fanatical sect of Dane warriors noted for their drug-
induced frenzies. When whipped into their notorious frenzies, Berzerkers charged into battle
without armour. Those that weren’t struck down by enemy arrows often ripped their
opponents to pieces in their fits of bloodlust. “[They] rushed forward as mad as dogs or
wolves. They bit their shields and were strong as bears or wild oxen,” said one contemporary
chronicler.[1] Some would even don tunics made of animal skins while in their rages,
believing that the shirts or serkrs helped them channel the spirit of their god Odin.
Chinese strategist Jiang Ziya, in his Six Secret Teachings, described recruiting talented and
motivated men into specialized elite units with functions such as commanding heights and
making rapid long-distance advances. Hamilcar Barca in Sicily (249 BC) had specialized
troops trained to launch several offensives per day. In the late Roman or early Byzantine
period, Roman fleets used small, fast, camouflaged ships crewed by selected men for
scouting and commando missions. Muslim forces also had naval special operations units,
including one that used camouflaged ships to gather intelligence and launch raids and another
of soldiers who could pass for Crusaders who would use ruses to board enemy ships and then
capture and destroy them.[8] In Japan, ninjas were used for reconnaissance, espionage and
as assassins, bodyguards or fortress guards, or otherwise fought alongside conventional
soldiers. During the Napoleonic wars, rifle and sapper units were formed that held
specialised roles in reconnaissance and skirmishing and were not committed to the formal
battle lines.
Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted by "specially designated,
organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and
modes of employment," according to NATO. Special operations may
include reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions, and are
typically conducted by small groups of highly-trained personnel, emphasizing sufficiency,
stealth, speed, and tactical coordination, commonly known as "special forces".“Armies for
thousands of years have maintained battalions of highly trained elite troops to perform only
the most dangerous and specialized missions.”

Perhaps the best pre-modern equivalent of present-day special forces would be the
Ninjas of feudal Japan. The legendary fighters were masters of covert operations and
specialized in infiltration, sabotage, camouflage and assassination. Also known as shinobi,
the elusive killers made their most noted contributions during Japan’s warring states era of

38
the 15th Century where they rented themselves out to the various factions as spies and hit-and-
run-style raiders. Unlike the Samurai class that emphasized a more chivalrous and
honourable style of combat, Ninjas literally fought from the shadows having been trained to
disguise themselves as monks or merchants or blend in with the terrain if necessary. Their
weapons included swords, spikes, blowguns, poison and even explosives. Mankind seeks
solutions to specific problems and as history never really repeats itself, these kinds of
solutions history rarely provides. What it does offer is vast array of examples which illustrate
general principles. A lesson the British thought they had learned from the Anglo-Boer War
was the importance of mounted men in modern warfare, so they sent thousands of horsemen
to France in 1914. The real lessons, of course, concerned the more general principles of
providing mobility to army .

Templers

Swift, silent and deadly. Most who died at the hands of Ninjas probably never even saw their
attackers.

39
Understanding the need and creating a unique force to meet the need resulted in
raisingTemplers which was raised primarily to fight the Assasins Templers were far more
than the special forces of their time in that they didn’t really go out behind enemy lines and
carry out missions. They were however ferocious soldier monks.

Started in France by 9 members of the same noble family (brothers and cousins). Their
original intention was to go to the Holy Land and protect pilgrims who were travelling from
the Mediterranean ports to the holy sites in Jerusalem and nearby. It seems that that role was
very quickly forgotten as they persuaded the authorities in Jerusalem to billet them in the
Temple Mount where they excavated for several years. Its is not known what they were
looking for or if they found it but they then went back to soldiering. King Baldwin II of
Jerusalem learned of this and offered them rooms in the royal palace, formerly the Temple of
Solomon. This small group grew into the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of
Solomon.

Their duties protecting the pilgrims would become much easier, they knew if pilgrims
weren’t carrying their life savings on their backs, and so the knights looked for a new method
of finance.

What if, instead of having pilgrims bring all the cash and valuables they would need, pilgrims
were able to deposit most of their money in Europe as they set out and then pick up a
commensurate amount of money in the Holy Land after arrival. They established a program
to do exactly that, turning the Knights Templar into the first international bank.

The Pope then gave them the right to travel across all christian countries without hindrance
and to set up a banking system on which quite a lot of the modern banking methods are
based. It was unsafe for a merchant to travel with large amounts of money. The Templars had
by then grown to have Commanderies through Europe and the holy land. So a merchant
would go to his local Templars and deposit money or some property with them. They, for a
small commission, would then write an encrypted authority for the Merchant to take to the
Templars closest to his destination. Once handed over the Templars would reimburse the
amount agreed in the message less another small fee for the service.

Being monks the Templars took a vow of chastity poverty, and humility. They also vowed
never to retreat in battle. They were generally the first into the battle and the last out of it.
(Maybe their fighting prowess had something to do with the vow of chastity. It must have
been quite frustrating for an able bodied soldier).

They loaned a large amount of money to Phillip the Fair of France to fund his wars.
Unfortunately Phillip had nop intention of paying back the loan or the interest accrued. He
forcedthe Pope to sign a papal see excommunicating the Templars for alleged devil worship,
homosexuality, and other offences. Phillip didn’t put the see into action straight away which
was a little stupid as the Templars got wind of the upcoming persecution and managed to hide
most of their money and the Templar archive of the trade done before Phillip pounced.

Notwithstanding that many Templars were torured and burned by Phillip many escaped to
friendly countries such as Scotland were they were able to exist as mercenaries whilst
retaining their vows.

Do not confuse the ancient Templars with any modern organisations using that name. There
are very few true Templar chapters still existing if any
40
There isn’t really a good analogy for the Templars in the modern day because the Church no
longer operates like that. Even in their time, the Templars were so unique that they sparked
numerous imitators, but still did their own thing and garnered a lot of criticism, and weird
praise from people back in Europe who totally didn’t get their real mission.

Perhaps the best way to put it is if a small group of benevolent-minded civilian contractors
got together in a former war zone to act as a local police force (not unlike, say, if the
Magnificent Seven formed the Texas Rangers or the RCMP) and then were nominally
absorbed into the UN Peacekeeper forces, while still retaining their original goal.

41
The capture of Jerusalem by Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay in 1299. ABOVE

Initially (according to noted Templar historian Malcolm Barber), the Templars actually did
quite miserably in pitched battle. This makes sense if you remember that in modern terms,
they were cops, not soldiers.

That lack of competence changed with the Second Crusade because they were so well-
organized that Louis was able to restructure his collapsing army around their leadership. But
in between crusades and other battles, they always remains a kind of sheriff-in-town law
enforcement and that’s where they did their best work. They were more like armed security
guards. Their primary mission was to insure the safe travel of pilgrims to and from the Holy
Land.When engages in open combat, they were more effective than most because their lives
were dedicated to only two things: 1) Religous devotion 2) Combat arms.

Templar Knight training would have revolves around the ancient art of praying, living a
monastic lifestyle, reading and writing, navigating the path to and from the Holy Land,
accounting, and various procedures for the fledgling industry of international banking.

The Templars were a monastic knighly order, which did mean that they were an organization
of knights, a kind of caste of warriors, but in making war they were not strictly unique from
their other knightly peers.Templars would be recruited from people who had already become
knights through the normal process, usually being low nobility who were first pages in the
courts of nobles, Squires under other knights, and then knighted when they had enough
money and experience, at which point they could take their vows and join the Templars.

In this way, the Templars were trained much like any other Knight, in riding, weapons of
various types, unarmed combat like wrestling, basic gymnastics like tumbling off of horses
and climbing undersides of ladders while in armor, ettiquet and procedures, and basic tactics
strategies.The Templars did do a lot of patrolling of routes to the holy land, and defended
many fortresses, and helped other Crusaders raid and patrol, but what made them distinct was
their side business of running one of the first, if not the first, international money transfer
services.

The Knights Templar did have a reputation for ferocity in battle against the Saracens, but
there are two other factors to consider:

1. As a monastic order each Knight could expect support in ransom or just

recompense for lost horses and gear so they could afford to show fantatism that a
common knight could not without expecting to bankrupt himself if he didn't die
2. The Knights Templar needed to show effectiveness against raiders and bandits to
maintain the business. A strategic withdrawal in the face of an enemy might be
tactically prudent but would be devastating to their reputation as protectors of
pilgrims, so they would have to show uncommon stubbornness in the field.
3.

42
In regards to special forces, this is more difficult to pin down. Many special forces are special
because they are solo operators, sometimes tasked with training local partisan fighters and
guiding them as allies. Knights in general were the elite arm of a medieval army, serving as
shock cavalry, by sometimes also as infantry. I'd compare them more to tanks than special
forces.The Templars are known for the drama of their downfall or their role as medieval
special forces. But they had a vast business and commercial empire, with lands generating
agricultural produce and revenue all the way from Ireland to Cyprus and the Crusader states.
They owned property in big cities which was rented out and chartered shipping in worldwide
ports.
Then there was the banking side of things. It’s sometimes said the Templars were the world’s
first bankers. There was a system of banking of deposits — King John of England deposited
the crown jewels with the Templars in London when he was in trouble before the Magna
Carta. But that doesn’t do them justice. They weren’t the first world’s bankers. They were
providing the world’s first financial-services company.

In what ways were they a financial-services company?

For example, in France for about a hundred years during the 13th century, the Templars
subcontracted huge swathes of French Treasury functions. They were paying royal officials
there on behalf of the crown and running the books for the French King, his brothers and
mother. They were collecting, on behalf of the Pope, the crusading taxes levied by the church
in England, France, Hungary and parts of Spain and Italy.Their spread of properties all across
Europe and presence in just about every kingdom made them unique. They crossed
boundaries and weren’t subject to the authority or policies of any particular king. They were
tax exempt in many jurisdictions across Europe. If you think about the deal between Google
and the Irish government, the Templars had that times 20.

How could they afford this?

They had a wide pool of donors of every sort. They were pulling in money from at the top
end — Alfonso I, the King of Aragon, left them a third of his kingdom in his will and Queens
and Kings gave them huge landed estates. They were also the recipients of popular donations,
what today we would call crowdfunding. People left them in their wills a donkey or a little

43
plot of land, tiny donations that when you added them up were massive and funded military
operations.

The early masters of the Templars were adept at raising finance. As soon as the Templars
were set up in 1119-20, Hughes de Payens the first Grand Master, didn’t hang around waiting
to get killed in Jerusalem. He went back to Europe and toured the royal courts attracting high-
level investment. He persuaded Henri I, son of William the Conqueror, to raise treasure from
his barons which was then funneled back to fund this new organization he had set up. It was
like raising venture capital. As it turns out in that instance, it didn’t work out very well
because the men he convinced to join the order were killed and the money he raised was
wasted because it was pumped into a campaign to attack Damascus which went badly
wrong.It’s hard to tell. I think the vision was small to begin with but the Templars attracted
brains who saw the potential to make it more than just an ad hoc roadside rescue service for
pilgrims, something that would have a reach into people’s lives everywhere from the British
Isles to the Holy Land.

If you were a young guy who wanted to go to war and fight for God, you could join the
Templars. If you were an old guy who wanted to atone for a sinful life but was no good for
fighting, you could join and run the books in a regional Templar house. If you didn’t wish to
join but wanted to accrue the spiritual benefits of involvement, you could donate. They had
what today in business terms would be called amazing international branding. The white
mantle, the red cross. It’s the Nike swoosh, the McDonald’s arches, the Apple logo of the
day. You don’t need language to understand it.

EGYPTI
AN

44
45
46