The Origins of the Knights Templar

The First Crusade

Call for a Holy War

"In medieval Europe "the ethics of the ruling class remained those of the Nibelungenlied and the Icelandic sagas. As late as the tenth century a heathen religious order called the Joms-Vikings appeared in Scandinavia, restricted to warriors of proven bravery who submitted to a harsh discipline, sleeping in barracks without women. Death in battle was their dearest ambition - to join Woden in Valhalla. The House-Carles who gave a grim an account of themselves at Hastings had been founded by King Sweyn Forkbeard, a former commander of these Jomsburg brethren, and many European noblemen had Scandinavian blood. The traditions of the northern war-band were very much alive in the twelfth century and the chansons de geste expressed the same pagan ideals: physical prowess, the joy of plunder and the duty of revenge." - Desmond Seward, The Monks of War

The followers of the Warrior Cults of Northern Europe were feared for their frenzied ferocity in battle. Operating under a patchwork of warlords, they stood in the way of a pacified and united Europe operating under the Holy Roman Empire.

"The church tried desperately to stop the unending bloodshed. An early expedient was the 'Truce of God', specified days on which noblemen wore not to fight. The long-term policy was chivalry, an attempt to tame murderous instincts by providing a Christian ideal of the warrior; ultimately knighthood, originally a reputation for skill in battle, became almost a religious calling, hallowed by quasi-sacramental rites - vigils, weapon blessings, even vows of chastity. The code of the Germanic comitatus gave way to one of prayerful self-sacrifice, which exalted the protection of the defenceless. - Desmond Seward, The Monks of War

"A knight must be merciful without wickedness, affable without treachery, compassionate towards the suffering, and open handed. He must be ready to help the needy and to confound robbers and murderers, a just judge without favour or hate. He must prefer death to dishonour. He must protect the Holy Church for she cannot defend herself." - Chretien de Troyes, Lancelot (Vulgate Cycle)

"Sagas were replaced by romances of King Arthur and Amadis of Gaul, the berserk transformed into Don Quixote. It was an example of the Catholic Church at her syncretic best, civilizing the barbarian invaders of the Roman Empire. But this process took centuries so there was urgent need of another, quicker solution. "The ascetic impulse produced a papal revolution. Gregory VII (1073-85) set the papacy firmly on a course towards the position of leader and judge of Western Christendom, demanding that temporal power be subordinated to spiritual just as the body depends on the soul, envisaging a papal army, the militia Sancti Petri. Europe listened to the priest-kings with new respect. When in 1095 Pope Urban II called upon the faithful to recover Jerusalem - occupied by the Moslems since 638 - his appeal inspired extraordinary enthusiasm. Palestine's importance was heightened by the new appreciation of Christ's humanity; the scenes of the Passion were still pointed out at Jerusalem. That His City should belong to infidels was contrary to the law of God. And Holy War would provide a magnificent outlet for the destructive energy of barbarous nobles. "These saw the crusade as a summons by God to render military service and also as an opportunity to win new manors in the way they had been won in England and southern Italy. Shouts of 'Deus li volt' resounded throughout Europe and a great host of warlike pilgrims from all classes converged on the Holy Land singing the ancient, triumphant hymn 'Vexilla regis prodeunt':

'Behold the royal ensigns fly, The Cross's shining mystery; Where Life itself gave up its breath And Christ by dying conquered death...'

Its tune was an old marching song of the Roman legion." - Desmond Seward, The Monks of War

"The knighthood which had taken part in the first Crusades had been made up of acquisitive groups of warriors who hunted together, and who subordinated individual courage to the joint discipline of the pack. By the end of the thirteenth century this earlier knighthood, which had been taunted by St Bernard for its greed, its vanity, its evil violence, had begun to give was to the literary idea of knighthood as an individual quest, a kind of lay parallel to the divine pilgrimage of the monks. The knight-errant who sought 'adventure' in a personal search which was often connected with worldly, erotic experience had little in common with the violent sinners who sought to purge grave sins by taking the cross." - Peter Partner, The Murdered Magicians

"Jerusalem was stormed in July 1099. The rabid ferocity of its sack showed just how little the Church had succeeded in Christianizing atavistic instincts. The entire population of the Holy city was put to the sword, Jews as well as Moslems, 70,000 men, women and children perished in a holocaust which raged for three days. In places men waded in blood up to their ankles and horsemen were splashed by it as they rode through the streets. Weeping, these devout conquerors went barefoot to pray at the Holy Sepulcher before rushing eagerly back to the slaughter."

"Those who stayed in Palestine were adventurers, mainly French, with nothing to go back to, and the state they created reflected the feudalism of their own land." "The king dressed in a golden burnous and keffiyeh and gave audiences cross-legged on a carpet. Nobles wore shoes with up-turned points, turbans, and the silks, damasks muslins and cottons that were so different from the wool and furs of France. In the towns they lived in villas with courtyards, fountains and mosaic floors, reclining on divans, listening to Arab lutes and watching dancing girls. They ate sugar, rice, lemons and melons and washed with soap in tubs or sunken baths, while their women used cosmetics and glass mirrors, unknown in Europe. Merchants, grown accustomed to bazaars, veiled their wives, and professional wailers were seen at Christian funerals. Coins had Arabic inscriptions....The climate, with its short but stormy winters and long sweltering summers, and the new diseases, caused heavy mortality despite Arab medicine. The majority of the population was Moslem. Life, perpetually overshadowed by the sinister spectres of death, torture or slavery, could only be endured by men of strong self-discipline." - Desmond Seward, The Monks of War

"Once you know that the Church is being continually worn down by such a succession of disasters and by so many deaths of the sons of God as a result of the oppression of the pagans, we believe that not one of you will lie low. We urge you . . to do your utmost to defend your brothers and to liberate the Churches." - Pope Calixtus II, 1123

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Jerusalem

 Jerusalem had been absorbed into the Roman Empire in 63 BC , governed from Rome. When the Roman Empire was divided by ? in ? into Eastern and Western Parts Jerusdalem became part of the Eastern Roman, later Byzantine, Empire, ruled from Constantinople. In 638 Jerusalem fell peaceably to the armies of Islam and was incorporated into the Muslim Empire.

Call for a Holy War

"In medieval Europe "the ethics of the ruling class remained those of the Nibelungenlied and the Icelandic sagas. As late as the tenth century a heathen religious order called the Joms-Vikings appeared in Scandinavia, restricted to warriors of proven bravery who submitted to a harsh discipline, sleeping in barracks without women. Death in battle was their dearest ambition - to join Woden in Valhalla. The House-Carles who gave a grim an account of themselves at Hastings had been founded by King Sweyn Forkbeard, a former commander of these Jomsburg brethren, and many European noblemen had Scandinavian blood. The traditions of the northern war-band were very much alive in the twelfth century and the chansons de geste expressed the same pagan ideals: physical prowess, the joy of plunder and the duty of revenge." - Desmond Seward, The Monks of War

The followers of the Warrior Cults of Northern Europe were feared for their frenzied ferocity in battle. Operating under a patchwork of warlords, they stood in the way of a pacified and united Europe operating under the Holy Roman Empire.

"The church tried desperately to stop the unending bloodshed. An early expedient was the 'Truce of God', specified days on which noblemen wore not to fight. The long-term policy was chivalry, an attempt to tame murderous instincts by providing a Christian ideal of the warrior; ultimately knighthood, originally a reputation for skill in battle, became almost a religious calling, hallowed by quasi-sacramental rites - vigils, weapon blessings, even vows of chastity. The code of the Germanic comitatus gave way to one of prayerful self-sacrifice, which exalted the protection of the defenseless. - Desmond Seward, The Monks of War

"A knight must be merciful without wickedness, affable without treachery, compassionate towards the suffering, and open handed. He must be ready to help the needy and to confound robbers and murderers, a just judge without favour or hate. He must prefer death to dishonour. He must protect the Holy Church for she cannot defend herself." - ChrÚtien de Troyes, Lancelot (Vulgate Cycle)

In 1071 a large Byzantine army was defeated at the Battle of Manzikert by a force of Seljuk Turks led by Sultan Alp Arsan. The Byzantine emperor Romanus IV Giogenes was taken prisoner and subsequently the Seljuk Turks swept across Asia Minor. the Byzantine city of Nicaea, less than 100 miles from Constantinople, fell to the Seljuks in 1080. Facong disaster the Byzantine emperor Alexius appealed for aid to his fellow Christians in the west.

On the 27^th of November (insert date here) in a field outside Clermont Pope Urban II addressed a large crowd from his raised throne. The Pope announced a crusade to re-capture the holy city of Jerusalem for Christianity. In this he was responding to an appeal from the Byzantine emperor (insert name here) for western aid against the incursions of the Seljuk Turks, who were threatening the frontiers of the Byzantium. Anyone taking part in the crusade would have all previous sins forgiven. The author of a recent book, Michael Parry(check name), describes Urban’s appeal as a ‘combination of Christian piety, xenophobia and imperialist arrogance.’ (The Bible and Colonialism.)

Jerusalem fell to the crusaders in July 1099 and the conquerors embarked on a massacre of the inhabitants, irrespective of their religion. Raymond of Toulouse’s chaplain Raymond of Aguilers, described the scene in his chronicle ‘In all the streets and squares of the city, mounds of heads, hands and feet were to be seen. People were walking quite openly over dead men and horses.’

"The knighthood which had taken part in the first Crusades had been made up of acquisitive groups of warriors who hunted together, and who subordinated individual courage to the joint discipline of the pack. By the end of the thirteenth century this earlier knighthood, which had been taunted by St Bernard for its greed, its vanity, its evil violence, had begun to give was to the literary idea of knighthood as an individual quest, a kind of lay parallel to the divine pilgrimage of the monks. The knight-errant who sought 'adventure' in a personal search which was often connected with worldly, erotic experience had little in common with the violent sinners who sought to purge grave sins by taking the cross." - Peter Partner, The Murdered Magicians

The crusaders established the kingdom of Jerusalem and several other states. From the North – The Norman principality of Antioch headed by Bohemund of Taranto.

Inland (to the west) the county of Edessa ruled by Baldwin of Boulogne.

Immediately south of Antioch was the county of Tripoli ruled by the Count of Toulouse, Raymond of saint-Gilles.

And stretching all the way from Beirut in the north to Gaza in the south was the Kingdom of Jerusalem, ruled by Godfrey of Bouillon.

In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem the majority of the crusaders had gone home with their loot and their sins absolved.

The remaining ex-crusaders were occupied in taking the remaining castles and the port cities. While the nobles were occupied securing the castles and cities for themselves the countryside descended into banditry. The cities/castles were secure (ish) but the roads were not. Pilgrims to the holy sites across Outremer were attacked, robbed, murdered, enslaved in droves.

The crusade, to stop the ‘oppressment and harassment of Christian pilgrims to the holy city of Jerusalem’ had left the pilgrims much, much worse off.

On to the stage now steps a group of eight, or maybe nine, knights

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Call for a Holy War






In 1071 a large Byzantine army was defeated at the Battle of Manzikert by a force of Seljuk Turks led by Sultan Alp Arsan. The Byzantine emperor Romanus IV Giogenes was taken prisoner and subsequently the Seljuk Turks swept across Asia Minor. the Byzantine city of Nicaea, less than 100 miles from Constantinople, fell to the Seljuks in 1080. Facong disaster the Byzantine emperor Alexius appealed for aid to his fellow Christians in the west.
On the 27th of November (insert date here) in a field outside Clermont Pope Urban II addressed a large crowd from his raised throne. The Pope announced a crusade to re-capture the holy city of Jerusalem for Christianity. In this he was responding to an appeal from the Byzantine emperor (insert name here) for western aid against the incursions of the Seljuk Turks, who were threatening the frontiers of the Byzantium. Anyone taking part in the crusade would have all previous sins forgiven. The author of a recent book, Michael Parry(check name), describes Urban’s appeal as a ‘combination of Christian piety, xenophobia and imperialist arrogance.’ (The Bible and Colonialism.)



"Jerusalem was stormed in July 1099. The rabid ferocity of its sack showed just how little the Church had succeeded in Christianizing atavistic instincts. The entire population of the Holy city was put to the sword, Jews as well as Moslems, 70,000 men, women and children perished in a holocaust which raged for three days. In places men waded in blood up to their ankles and horsemen were splashed by it as they rode through the streets. Weeping, these devout conquerors went barefoot to pray at the Holy Sepulcher before rushing eagerly back to the slaughter."

Jerusalem fell to the crusaders in July 1099 and the conquerors embarked on a massacre of the inhabitants, irrespective of their religion. Raymond of Toulouse’s chaplain Raymond of Aguilers, described the scene in his chronicle ‘In all the streets and squares of the city, mounds of heads, hands and feet were to be seen. People were walking quite openly over dead men and horses.’



"Sagas were replaced by romances of King Arthur and Amadis of Gaul, the berserk transformed into Don Quixote. It was an example of the Catholic Church at her syncretic best, civilizing the barbarian invaders of the Roman Empire. But this process took centuries so there was urgent need of another, quicker solution. "The ascetic impulse produced a papal revolution. Gregory VII (1073-85) set the papacy firmly on a course towards the position of leader and judge of Western Christendom, demanding that temporal power be subordinated to spiritual just as the body depends on the soul, envisaging a papal army, the militia Sancti Petri. Europe listened to the priest-kings with new respect. When in 1095 Pope Urban II called upon the faithful to recover Jerusalem - occupied by the Moslems since 638 - his appeal inspired extraordinary enthusiasm. Palestine's importance was heightened by the new appreciation of Christ's humanity; the scenes of the Passion were still pointed out at Jerusalem. That His City should belong to infidels was contrary to the law of God. And Holy War would provide a magnificent outlet for the destructive energy of barbarous nobles. "These saw the crusade as a summons by God to render military service and also as an opportunity to win new manors in the way they had been won in England and southern Italy. Shouts of 'Deus li volt' resounded throughout Europe and a great host of warlike pilgrims from all classes converged on the Holy Land singing the ancient, triumphant hymn 'Vexilla regis prodeunt': 'Behold the royal ensigns fly, The Cross's shining mystery; Where Life itself gave up its breath And Christ by dying conquered death...' Its tune was an old marching song of the Roman legion." - Desmond Seward, The Monks of War






The crusaders established the kingdom of Jerusalem and several other states. From the North – The Norman principality of Antioch headed by Bohemund of Taranto.
Inland (to the west) the county of Edessa ruled by Baldwin of Boulogne.
Immediately south of Antioch was the county of Tripoli ruled by the Count of Toulouse, Raymond of saint-Gilles.
And stretching all the way from Beirut in the north to Gaza in the south was the Kingdom of Jerusalem, ruled by Godfrey of Bouillon.
In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem the majority of the crusaders had gone home with their loot and their sins absolved.
The remaining ex-crusaders were occupied in taking the remaining castles and the port cities. While the nobles were occupied securing the castles and cities for themselves the countryside descended into banditry. The cities/castles were secure (ish) but the roads were not. Pilgrims to the holy sites across Outremer were attacked, robbed, murdered, enslaved in droves.
The crusade, to stop the ‘oppressment and harassment of Christian pilgrims to the holy city of Jerusalem’ had left the pilgrims much, much worse off.
On to the stage now steps a group of eight, or maybe nine, knights

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