The Knights Templar: the history of the Order of the Temple from Jerusalem to Vienne

In a wing of the royal palace of Jerusalem, right beside the Temple of the Lord, nine knights with no house and no church of their own were living soon after 1118. This small community became the Knights Templar, the first military religious order of the Church. Barely two hundred years later the Order of the Temple held castles in the Holy Land and houses throughout Europe, and then it was suddenly gone. This guide tells the history of the Templars from the sources: their foundation, their Rule, the praise of St Bernard, the trial, the end of the last Grand Master and what the legends get wrong.

Who were the Knights Templar?

The Knights Templar were members of the Order of the Temple, the first military religious order of the Church. They lived under a monastic Rule with the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and as knights they defended the pilgrims and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Their full name was Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici, the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1912 calls them the earliest founders of the military orders and the model on which all later military orders were formed. The order had four ranks: the knights as heavy cavalry, the sergeants as light cavalry, brothers who administered the estates, and the chaplains, who alone were priests. Today the emblems of the crusaders are carried by the rosaries of our Deus Vult series: the Jerusalem Cross, shield beads and the psalm verse Non nobis, Domine.

When and where was the Order of the Temple founded?

The Order of the Temple was founded in Jerusalem shortly after the First Crusade. William of Tyre places its foundation in the year 1118; modern scholarship mostly gives 1119 or 1120. Its founder was the knight Hugh of Payns from Champagne, together with Godfrey of Saint-Omer.

William, Archbishop of Tyre, wrote the history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem around 1170. According to his account, the first knights made their vows into the hands of the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Because they had neither a church nor a fixed dwelling, King Baldwin II gave them part of his palace, which lay on the south side of the Temple of the Lord.

That is where the name comes from: they were called fratres militiae Templi, the brothers of the knighthood of the Temple. Their first task was laid on them by the Patriarch and the other bishops for the remission of their sins: to keep the roads and highways safe from robbers, above all for the welfare of pilgrims. For nine years they wore secular clothes given them by the people, and for nine years they numbered only nine men.

What Rule did the Knights Templar follow?

The Templars received their Rule at the Council of Troyes, which the Catholic Encyclopedia dates to 1128. The Rule followed the Cistercian way of life and bound the knights to choir prayer, a common table and a common dormitory. To this was added the white mantle, which soon bore the red cross.

According to William of Tyre, the archbishops of Reims and Sens, the Bishop of Albano as papal legate and the abbots of Cîteaux, Clairvaux and Pontigny were assembled at Troyes, on behalf of Pope Honorius II and Stephen, Patriarch of Jerusalem. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, St Bernard of Clairvaux was the driving force. By his own account, the Latin text was written down by one John Michaelensis "at the command of the council and of the venerable Abbot of Clairvaux".

According to the introduction to the Latin edition of Bernard's works, the Rule had 72 chapters and took over much word for word from the Rule of St Benedict. The sources differ on when the red cross was added: the Catholic Encyclopedia already mentions it for Troyes, while William of Tyre writes that it is said to have been sewn on under Pope Eugene III.

What did Bernard of Clairvaux write about the Knights Templar?

Bernard of Clairvaux wrote for the Knights Templar the little book De laude novae militiae, "In Praise of the New Knighthood", dedicated to the Master, Hugh of Payns. In it he presents the Templars as a new kind of knight, fighting at once against visible enemies and against the powers of evil.

When the work was written is not certain. The introduction to the Latin edition of his works places it between about 1132 and 1136, that is, after Troyes and before Robert Burgundio succeeded Hugh as Master around 1136. Bernard begins with the sentence Novum militiae genus ortum nuper auditur in terris: it is reported that a new kind of knighthood has lately arisen on earth.

He rebukes the worldly knights for their vanity and praises the opposite in the Templars: they arm themselves "within with faith, without with iron, not with gold" (intus fide, foris ferro, non auro). At the same time Bernard insists that even the pagans may not be killed if their attacks on the faithful could be warded off in some other way.

"They appear gentler than lambs and fiercer than lions, so that I almost doubt whether I ought rather to call them monks or knights."

Bernard of Clairvaux, De laude novae militiae, ch. IV, no. 8; our translation from the Latin

How rich and powerful were the Knights Templar?

Within a few decades the Knights Templar became rich and powerful. The popes placed the order directly under their own protection and exempted it from tithes and from episcopal jurisdiction. It held castles in the Holy Land and houses throughout Europe, and in Paris it even kept the royal treasury.

The fundamental privilege is held to be the bull Omne datum optimum of Pope Innocent II from the year 1139. Its title quotes Jas 1:17 in the Vulgate: "Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above." According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the order had eleven bailiwicks with more than 42 commanderies in France, and in all it is said to have held 9,000 estates.

In the East the Templars built castles such as Safed (1140) and Château Pèlerin on the coast (1217). Around 1170 William of Tyre counted some 300 knights in the convent, the brothers beyond counting. The price was high: in less than two centuries almost 20,000 Templars are said to have fallen in battle. At the siege of Safed, which the Catholic Encyclopedia dates to 1264, eighty Templars were taken prisoner and died because they would not deny Christ.

Why was the Order of the Temple dissolved?

The Order of the Temple was dissolved because King Philip IV of France accused it of heresy and put Pope Clement V under pressure. On 22 March 1312, during the Council of Vienne, Clement suppressed the order, expressly not by a judicial sentence but by an apostolic provision.

In October 1307 Philip had all the Templars in France arrested on the same day. Under torture many confessed to having spat on the cross and denied Christ. Clement V protested, declared the royal proceedings null and had the order investigated throughout Europe. In Portugal, Spain, Germany and Cyprus the Templars were found innocent. In France, by contrast, fifty-four Templars who had retracted their confessions were burnt on 12 May 1310.

At the Council of Vienne in the autumn of 1311 the majority spoke in favour of preserving the order. The Pope chose a middle way: the bull Vox in excelso suppresses the order non per modum diffinitivae sententiae sed per modum provisionis seu ordinationis apostolicae, "not by way of a definitive sentence, but by way of apostolic provision or ordinance". With the bull Ad providam of 2 May 1312 its property passed to the Knights Hospitaller.

How did Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master, die?

Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, died at the stake in Paris on 18 March 1314. When his sentence was read out in public, he retracted his confession and declared the order innocent. That very same day King Philip had him burnt.

Clement V had reserved to himself the judgement on the Grand Master and three other dignitaries. In front of Notre-Dame they were to confess their guilt solemnly and be reconciled with the Church. Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay, the Preceptor of Normandy, withdrew their earlier statements. As relapsed heretics both were burnt before the royal palace on 18 March 1314 itself. Their death made a deep impression on the people. Because Pope Clement V died on 20 April and King Philip IV on 29 November of the same year, the legend arose that Molay had summoned both from the flames before the judgement seat of God. The Catholic Encyclopedia expressly calls it a legend.

Was there a treasure of the Knights Templar?

The sources give no evidence of a hidden Templar treasure. The order's wealth consisted of estates, castles and money deposited in its houses in Paris and London. With the bull Ad providam its property passed in 1312 to the Knights Hospitaller, in Portugal and Aragon later to two new military orders.

The legends began with the secret reception ceremonies: because the chapters were held behind closed doors, the order's opponents could read all manner of things into them. The Catholic Encyclopedia states that neither heresy nor a secret second Rule was ever proven against the order as a whole.

Novels and computer games nevertheless like to tell of hidden gold, the Holy Grail and secret knowledge. In the Assassin’s Creed games, published since 2007, the Templars are a secret organisation that survives into the present day. That is fiction. The Hospitallers, who inherited most of the property, are known in later times as the Order of Malta.

Mentioned in this article DEUS VULT Templar Rosary Hand-knotted from red 550 paracord, with stainless steel beads, the Jerusalem Cross and the Templar motto on the cross. View the rosary

Frequently asked questions about the Knights Templar