Sometimes the truth is even more amazing than the fantasy!
The Knights Templar are famous today for their cameos in The Da Vinci Code and Assassin’s Creed, but in real life they were warrior monks who fought in some of the most bloody battles in the Middle Ages. As a military religious order sanctioned by the Pope, they took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
The Order Of The Poor Knights Of The Temple Of Solomon (aka The Templars) was founded in Jerusalem in 1119 to protect pilgrims travelling around Christian sites of worship in the years after the armies of the First Crusade had seized the Holy Land from Muslim rule. Over the next two centuries they developed into an elite paramilitary organization with a sideline in banking and financial services. They became extremely wealthy through many generous donations of both money and land.
However by the early 14th century the crusades were failing and the Templars were going out of fashion. French king, Philip IV, with an eye on their money, decided to destroy them. The first round-ups of The Templars started in France in 1307. It was one of the ugliest political persecutions in history.
As Philip attacked them, ministers produced a sexed-up dossier of allegations, accusing Templar brothers of spitting on images of Christ, having secret homoerotic induction ceremonies and worshiping statues. It was all phony, but the idea took root and by 1312 the Pope had ordered the Templars to be put to a final end. Their leading members, including the last master, Jacques de Molay, were burned at the stake in 1314.
Popular fascination with The Templars goes back to well before the age of cinema and video games. It began around 1200 AD when a German poet, Wolfram von Eschenbach, wrote his version of the King Arthur stories and included some knights called The Templeisen as guardians of a mysterious object called The Grail, which didn’t really exist.
In this sdg we will also learn about the bizarre conspiracy theories that continue even today. In the epilogue to this narrative history, acclaimed historian Dan Jones does an admirable job of putting this nonsense to rest . Described by author Philippa Gregory as a “gripping page-turner, (our core book) is genuinely moving and a chilling contemporary warning about the abuse of power through persecution and lies.”
Weekly reading averages 50 pages.
1. Introduction, Ch 1 "A Golden Basin Filled with Scorpions through Ch 3 "A New Knighthood"
2. Ch 4 "Every Good Gift" through Ch 7 "The Godforsaken Tower"
3. Ch 8 " Power and Riches" through Ch 11 "Woe to You, Jerusalem" up to symbol on p. 158
4. Ch 11 from symbol on p. 158 through Ch 14 "Damietta!" up to symbol on p. 211
5. Ch 14 from symbol on p. 211 through Ch 16 "Unfurl and Raise Our Banner"
6. Ch 17 "A Lump in the Throat" through Ch 19 "At the Devil's Prompting"
7. Ch 20 "Heretical Depravity" through "Epilogue: The Holy Grail"
Jones, Dan. The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors. Penguin Books. 2017.