ATTENTION BOOK WRITER:

The Knights Templar Order

Book Description

The secret organization, mysterious society or humanitarian monastic

order? For almost 800 years the Knights Templar is followed by the hype which
is not connected to any similar knighthood. What is the truth? This is the
question that follows historians, theologians, as well as curious people for
generations. Have they really been the guardians of the Holy Grail, or just a
group of bandits and thieves, whether they were formed by the Pope to be the
muscle of the Vatican and was Hugues de Payens a more enigmatic person than
we all thought?
Their history began with the Crusades, around the year 1118 and lasted for
approximately 200 years. They had significant support from the Roman Catholic
Church, which is embodied in the figure of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Although
they began as a poor monastic order, which was supposed to assist the pilgrims in
the Holy Land, for several decades, they have helped the Roman Catholic Church
become the most important financial institutions in the Middle Ages.
The main question is what is it that has managed to keep them forsuch a
long time in history? The general opinion is that during their stay in the Holy
Land they have found the Holy Grail in the basements of the Temple of Solomon.
Nobody knows for sure what the Holy Grail actually is. Some say it is the chalice
of the Last Supper, others are speaking about the Ark of the Covenant or the
lance that pierced Jesus Christ.

However it may be, the Holy Grail is the physical proof of the existence of
Christianity. Whether that was what made them powerful for decades or not,
remains a big question, because Philip IV abolished them in 1312, when he killed
the Grand Master Jacques de Molay.
Introduction

Due to the long and excruciating wars in the middle east, far away from
Europe, there is a cloud of mystery and enigmas that took shape around the order
of the Knights Templar. During the time of their full activity in the medieval
times, from 12th to 14th century, but also long after that all the way to the 21 st
century, that cloud follows the story of the Knights Templar.
Since the very beginning there is a battle fought between historical reality
and myths and popular fiction. The historical existence of Knights Templar and
their great role in the world’s history in the period from 12 th to 14th century are
significant and undeniable.
In spite of that, there is a constant tendency to embellish the story of the
Knights Templar and implant interesting and mysterious fictional details, which
most usually have origins within our fascination and curiosity about mysterious
and secretive things.
Chapter 1- The beginning of the order

During the crusades was the first time that the Knights templar first
appeared as an institution, or rather as a movement. When Arabs conquered
Jerusalem the Roman Catholic nobles of Europe, under the leadership of the
Pope, began to organize themselves for a "Holy War”, wanting to reclaim Christ's
City from the arms of “infidels”. When the first crusade ended, the remaining
nobles mostly from France and the Holy Roman Empire began to form fragile
Christian institutions. With the aim of protecting these institutions many orders
where formed. First order that was established was The Knights Hospitallers,
who took care of the wounded and sick, hence the name Hospitallers. There real
name was Knights of St. John.
Far better is known the monastic order of the Knights Templar, which was
founded by Hugues de Payens. In 1118 he asked King Baldwin of Jerusalem to
allow him to form order of protectors, who would be guarding the believers
coming to the Holy Land. With the approval of King Baldwin he gathered eight of
his friends and formed The Order Of The Knights Templar. Their formal name
was: Pauperes Commilitiones Christi Templique Salomonis. This name was
given to them because they operated from the Al-Aqsa Mosque, wich was given
to them by the Roman Catholic Patriarch Warmund. Al-Aqsa Mosque was built in
the place of the famous Temple of Jerusalem, hence the name of the order, The
Knights Templar.
Already at the beginning we see the history and the mystery intertwining.
We cannot do otherwise but to ask ourselves about that man who started it all.
Who was Hugues de Payens, and how was he able to persuade the Christian King
of Jerusalem to grant him such a wish and so much power. This is not a question
one can easily answer because much of his life is shrouded in mystery, especially
the part before he came to the Holly Land.
We know that he was probably from France. Geographic origin of his
surname indicates to the small village called Payns, which is located near the
town of Troyes. It is known that he had at least one son. We know that because
this son of his later became a monk in the Roman Catholic Church. Hugues de
Payens was mentioned at the convocation of Nables, which was held in year 1120.
By that time the order was already well known. Crusader representatives
of both church and state, gathered here to establish rules of conduct and social
relations for the newly conquered, or liberated, as they would said, territories of
Middle East. Most probably that this was the time and the place where the order
was formally recognized. The pope formally recognized the order in after the
convocation of Troyes, which was probably held in year 1128 or year 1129.
Chapter 2 – Laying the foundation

Besides Hugues de Payens, whose role in the making of this order is the
largest and most important, a great contribution to the development of the
Templar order was given by the famous medieval theologian Bernard of
Clairvaux. Throughout the Western Christian world he enjoyed a great
reputation. As a very young man he had in his heart a great understanding of
Christianity, and its principles. He performed many tasks with great ease,
because of that. This is the reason that he was noticed by the inner circles of the
Roman Catholic Church, and was given more and more important tasks. By the
time he reached adulthood he was already a confidant of many rulers and
important people of his time. That influence was probably used to give Templers
many of their privileges. Later on, he vas canonized by the Holy Roman Church.
When talking about Knights Templar, one must ask the obvious question.
How did the Knights Templar begin as a minor order of modest monks and end
up being one of the most important and most influential organization of the
Medieval period. Well the clues should be sought after in its very foundations.
Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a book that was used as a rulebook for the
Knights Templar for many centuries. The book was compiled of seventy-six rules,
or canons, that served as guideline and those where mostly modified rules of the
Benedictine order.
St. Bernard wrote another book, a motivational one. This book’s name was
“Liber Ad Milites Templi De Laude Nova E Militiae” which translates to “Book to
the knights of the temple, in praise of the new knighthood”. This book was
dedicated directly to the grand master Hugues, so it was most probably written
before his death in the year 1136. The book was divided into two parts. In the first
part St. Bernard writes praises to the knights templar and demeanors the rest of
the western European knights who didn’t respond to the pope’s summoning to
stand in defense of Christianity and Holy Places. In the second part of the book
he gives detailed descriptions of the most significant places in the Holy Land.
All of this points out that by the external form they were indeed a simple
monastic order.
We cannot help but to ask ourselves how was this simple monastic order
ever brought in correlation with the vast amounts of gold and even bigger
influence that knights templar had in the Christian road.
Chapter 3 – A rise to power

In answering the question whether these were simple monks, influential bankers
or dangerous heretics, one must have take under consideration very close
relations that the order of the knights templar had with the Roman Catholic
Church in the first years since their founding. What is a very interesting fact
which we should point out is that after he had recognized the order, the Pope put
them under his direct control. The knights templar held no other responsibility to
anybody else, just to the Roman Catholic Pope. Perhaps in this fact is where the
great confidence of the Christian world towards the knights templar lies. It is
most probable that in the first years of their founding knights templar had lived a
modest life. They lived Al-Aqsa Mosque and they protected and took care of the
pilgrims who were in grave danger and in constant fear of Saracen attacks. Over
time they attracted much attention from knights and noble men from Europe
who, for their bravery and sacrifice, brought them gold and gifts.
One thing led to another and Hughues de Payens was sent in a first diplomatic
mission to Europe, which is another proof that the order was not without
influence. Missions that Hughues undertook had proven to be very successful, he
had made good contacts with the European leaders. This is how he was gifted his
first estate for the order in the province. During all this time the order of knights
templar was gaining more and more members. What is interesting to mention is
that during one of his travels Hughues had spoken of his order of knights, of their
structure, organization and rules by which they lived. What he said was that every
brother had to attend God’s service, eat his meal in silence, wear simple garments
and live his life without women, in celibacy. Each and every brother, when joining
the order, had to take a vow of poverty, celibacy and obedience. Since the knights
were often called out of the temple, they were allowed to have a horse and a few
servants. Both knights and servants were under Hughues’ command and the
whole order was subjugated to the archbishop of Jerusalem.
Most significant estate or revenue, which in the same time was a turning point for
the templar’s business, was the king Alfonso I who left them the kingdom of
Aragon. Since that moment knights templar became a defining force in the battle
against Muslims in the south of Europe. As the estates and revenues grew so did
their power. Three papal decrees which were given to them with the help of their
second grand master, Robert de Craon, definitely lifted the order into the one of
the most significant organization in Christian Europe. Only God and Pope were
above them.
The first decree that was given to the Templars was working directly in favor of
them and its name was “Omne Datum Optimum” which translates to “Every
Perfect Gift”. With this decree exclusive subjugation to the pope was confirmed.
Also, every gift given to them was once again confirmed as their ownership. The
decree Milites Templi (Soldiers of the Temple) was primarily aimed at the clergy
because with it the Pope gave an order to the priests of the Roman Catholic
Church to gather the nations for the knights templar, because they are the
defenders of the faith and the faithful. The third decree also had a symbolic
name. Militia Dei, God’s Soldiers, allowed templars to take priests and monks for
their order.
Because of the power they gained with these decrees knights templar were often
accused of working against the church or of being a church within a church. This
had no effect to their work, none whatsoever. In one word the order became
grandiose. They distinguished themselves in building many significant structures
in the middle east. They built on the liberated territories of Latin Syria, church in
Bethlehem and a grave for King Baldwin IV. They also built churches and
fortifications in the west, especially in today’s Great Britain.
Chapter 4 – Envy, The beginning of the end

There are many unofficial stories and claims regarding the order of knights
templar. They have often been accused of dealing in non Christian businesses.
They have been accused of usury and that they used vile schemes to gain estates
and riches. It is enough to say that by the end of thirteenth century there were
more than fifteen thousand knights templar. The estates scattered all over Europe
and the Middle East included more than 9000 castles and they had a quite large
bank account of compiled gold and jewelry of estimated today’s worth larger than
6 billion US dollars.
With all this knights templar also managed a significant number of credit
houses. Those were institutions similar to today’s banks, which gave out
certificates of money ownership, assigns (checks) and other papers of value which
were used by the traders to evade material damage in case of outlaws, robbers or
bandits attack.
They have also been accused for developing a intelligence service, which
they brought to Europe and thus became very dangerous, not just for enemies of
Christian faith, but also for the rulers, noblemen and land owners all across
Europe.
After Jerusalem fell in year 1197 knights templar started leaving the Holy
Land so they moved their seat of power to Cyprus and Paris. After the fall of the
city Acre knights templar were forced to abandon the Holy Land and return to
Europe and, by the first looks of it, this didn’t come too hard on them due to the
extremely well developed network of businesses they owned.
To put it in today’s terms, they had a well organized and well developed
multinational company. In the meantime, there was a great battle in Europe for
supremacy between the European rulers, who were also fighting to limit the
Pope’s influence, which highly grew after the crusade wars. One of the main
voices in these fights was the French king Fillip the fourth.
Chapter 5 – Downfall of the Order, the birth of
mystery

After a long period of domination In the world’s money flow the Templar
Knights came to become disgraceful. Whether the key reason of this was hidden
in the great greed of the French King Phillip the fourth, or if the series of facts
that followed them throughout decades was actually truthful, history has never
given us an answer, even though we had enough proof for both cases. Let us look
back on a couple of the most controversial claims, regarding the case of the
Knights Templar.
No matter how much we relied on the historical claims, still there is no
reliable evidence of the exact time of their establishment, and therefore it is not
known who exactly has founded the order, nor for what reason. Some authors
who have dealt with this theme, consider that the Order of the Knights Templar
emerged from the movement Militia Christi (Christ's Soldiers), and the
movement has existed before he has officially created Order of the Knights
Templar. As we have already mentioned, the fact that before Parliament in Troyes
practically nothing is known about the Templars, almost as if they did not exist,
adds to the mystery of the Order. Before the Parliament, the Templars are
mentioned in four documents and none of them mentioned that they were
protecting the European pilgrims. This obviously raises the question of what they
were actually doing there? As well as whether the story of the Templars is in fact
part of a wider project of the Roman Catholic Church? There is no clear evidence
about this subject, but also none to prove they were not.
We come to the part that was causing the mystery for centuries, and it
refers to the claim that the Order of Knights Templar actually engaged in
archaeological excavations near the Temple of Solomon, it was thought that the
space under the Temple was hiding the wealth aged thousands of years, that is
from the time of the demolition of the temple. Legend says that within these
digging actions, they indeed have found something.
There was too much speculation about the items that were found within
the Temple. Some said that it was the head of St. John the Baptist, others claimed
that the documents on the true origins of Christianity were found, and some say
that it was the Ark of the Covenant. There were also those who believed that the
Knights Templar found a huge amount of gold and silver. However, the greatest
hype related to the Templars is associated with the Holy Grail. This is what has
labeled them all the way from the beginning. The myth of the Holy Grail has
come to existence long before the Templars period.
 It was believed that Joseph of Arimathea took the chalice from which
Christ drank at the Last Supper. The chalice was actually the most valuable
physical evidence of Christianity. If they have indeed come into possession of the
most important Christian relics, it should not be surprising that they have
become the most important organization in the twelfth century. In addition,
mystical properties were attributed to the Holy Grail.
Knights of the Templar order were also criticized for the peaceful
relationship with the Arabs after the conquest of the Holy Places. It is known that
the Templars have taken local residents into the service, and many knights, after
a few years, had learned Arabic. Soon enough it was talked about in the West that
the Templars cooperated with the Arabs, even with the Assassin sect, of which we
will speak later on. Some accused them even of sabotage in the battles. Simply, it
was difficult for a Westerner to understand the specific situation in the East, not
to mention there were those who wanted to reduce the significance of the
troubles.
Another statement regarding the Templars, which has not been studied
thoroughly, was in regards to the charges of heresy. With this subject we should
be careful, because there is a real possibility that the accused of heresy simply for
the reason of lessening the importance of the top of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Templars were associated dualistic sect of the twelfth century, known as the
Cathars or Cathari heresy. According to some legends Knights Templar were
found among members of this sect, especially in Europe, where the members of
this sect were active. In some places a higher percentage belonged to the Knights
Templar Cathars than Roman Catholics, but if you take into account that the
Templars have accepted into their order them everyone they could come by,
especially those who were excommunicated because they needed soldiers for the
battles in the east, then this would be no wonder at all.
Then again, there is the assertion that they were in favor of Johanit sect, or
those who believed that the true Messiah, was not Christ, but St. John the
Baptist. The fact that these allegations are not naive is proven by a letter from
1208 that they were sent by Pope Innocent III and in which they suggest to the
harmfulness of the heretical studies. In order to discredit the Knights Templar as
much as possible in the time of persecution by king Philip IV of France, it was
attributed to them that they were worshiping the devil or Baphomet. However,
almost all researchers and scientists, who have studied this issue, consider this
part of the history of the Templars not to be true.
Chapter 6 – The end, The curse and The conspiracy

The French king had gone into battle with the Pope and the European
royalty, because of which he was expelled from the Roman Catholic Church.
However, he did not give up. In order to fully resolve the situation in his favor he
even captured the Pope Clement In (1305-1314) and moved the seat of the Pope
in Avignon, a city in France, to make him easier to control. This period in the
history of the Roman Catholic Church is known as the Avignon Pope slavery. The
King of France has had a desire to fight with the Templars, who were now more
serious, branched financial organization, for a long time and believed that the
pope could use them against him. The Pope believed the same. He believed for
the Order to have too much influence, that they were more powerful, even from
him. And this silent agreement between the Pope and the King of France was the
end of the Order of the Templars.
The king ordered the arrest of Jacques de Molay, in that moment he was
the head of the organization, as well as all prominent members of the Knights
Templar in Paris, where the Order was located. They were accused of the worst
crimes, and it was accentuated the most on charges of heresy and insisted on one
part of the Templar rituals that involved the trampling of the Crucifixion, ie. A
Cross with Jesus Christ. That part really was true, and there indeed was one
element in the ritual of initiation at The Templars that has involved trampling on
the Christian relics. However, the Grand Master Jacques de Molay was trying to
explain that it is provided, if by any chance one of the locks falls into the hands of
the Gentiles, to make it seemingly easier to give up the faith.
Prosecutors have, during the process, attempted to discover whose
teachings can be found in the rituals and ceremonies of the Templars. Their
arrest and prosecution was followed by the embarrassing process of confiscation
of property all across Europe. Not even their enormous wealth could not save
them. Clement has in his decree Vox in Excelso on 22 nd of March 1312, formally
abolished the Knights Templar.
A little later, on 2nd May of the same year, the decree Ad Providam awarded
all Templar estates to the Hospitallers. The Templars were tortured in the
imprisonment with broad application of devices which were at the peak of their
use at that time. It was not difficult to draw a confession from the man while
using red-hot iron and nailers under the nails, even for those things which he had
never done. Proud leader of the order, Jacques de Molay, and his most loyal
associate Zofroa de Sarno eventually refused the imprisonment, by stating out
that their confessions were extracted by force and torture. Of course, at that time,
the punishment for doing so was a burning at the stake. In the morning of 18 th
March 1314, after seven years of torture, de Molay and de Sarno were burned at
the joint stake placed at the Jewish island in the Seine, near Paris.
 There are some sources that suggest that Jacques de Molay, at the time
when he was already surrounded by flames of the pyre roared: Clemente, and
you, Philip, traitors of the faith given, I assign to you both the God's judgment!
You, Clemente, in 40 days, and you, Philip, in the course of the year! Whether
this was the most famous curse in known history or only a fabricated story to
show the Templars power in the divine light, it will probably never be
determined. However, the undeniable fact is that Pope Clement V had died 28
days later (he was 49 years old), and King Philip IV died on 29 November of the
same year (he was 46 years old). In addition to this, the three Philip's sons died in
the next 14 years, and none of them left a male heir, as thus the Capetian dynasty
died out in 1328. This is how Friday, 13 th October 1307, the day when Jacques de
Molay was arrested, entered the history as Black Friday.

The history of the Knights Templar ends here and a fairy tale begins which
was created for centuries. The legend arose that the Order continued to live after
Jacques de Mole, because during the long stay in prison the Knights Templar
found a deputy who has secretly continued to lead the organization. For others
the Templars were involved in the struggle for the creation of Switzerland, by
fighting on the side residents of the future cantons against the Holy Roman
Empire. The evidence for this claim was the fact that immediately after the
independence of Switzerland, it has received a very seriously trained army. A
second proof is the perfectly developed banking system. There are historians and
researchers who to may assign this achievement to the Knights Templar. This is
just one of the theories that have been developed to this day.
Conclusion

When viewed from a modern perspective, there are several organizations

and institutions that represent and lead themselves in relation to the Order of the
Knights Templar. We will mention the most important and perhaps most
relevant.
First, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem
of Rhodes and of Malta. Why them? They are made for the same reasons as the
Templars, therefore, to help the old, the sick and wounded. They are formed at
the same time as the Templars, and after losing territory on areas of the Holy
Land they had moved to Rhodes, and Malta. As for the symbols, they were similar
to the Templar’s. In the beginning it was a white cross on a black uniform, but
after moving to Malta they changed colors on their uniforms. Since then, the
symbol is white Maltese cross on a red shield. There are reasonable grounds for
which they are associated with the Templars. After Philip IV seized the property
from the Knights Templar, part of the seized resources is given to them, so there
is a possibility that a certain number of the Knights Templar had just joined this
order. They have accurate records of its prominent members, and today they have
diplomatic presidency in almost all countries in the world and are actively
engaged in humanitarian work.
Another organization that should be mentioned is the DeMolay
International. The organization was founded in 1919, is named for Jacques de
Molay and is organized according to similar principles as the ancient knightly
order. The main purpose of this society is to support young people in achieving
their life goals. What is immediately obvious is that the organization is organized
according to the principles of organization borrowed from Freemasonry.
Although the organization itself was not a secret, there are certain values that
were instilled in the essence of the association, which are: love between parents
and children, respect for sacred things, kindness, comradeship, fidelity, purity,
patriotism. Their organization is similar to the ancient order of knights, and some
of the prominent members of the association were Bill Clinton, Walt Disney, Lee
S. Dreyfus, John Steinbeck and many others. Today, the association has over 15
000 members.
In the end, not so far in 1804. Bernard-Raymond Fabre-Palaprat together
with his friends founded Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitana also
known as the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem. They act as
an all Christian ecumenical movement that insists on the values of civil society
and the Christian faith. They are an order dealing with young people and helping
Christian organizations, especially those located in the Holy Land, and active in
providing of humanitarian assistance. Over time they introduced more rituals in
their practice, which resembled the rites of the Knights Templar. It would
not sound so interesting if this Order had not received the consultative status in
the year 2001 at the United Nations organization by the Economic and Social
Council.
The question is, have the Templars really disappeared without a trace at
the beginning of the fourteenth century or are they perhaps still among us,
somewhere in New York or Geneva keeping their Holy Grail.