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The Rise and Fall of the Templars
Approximately twenty years after the First Crusade ended in victory the group that came to be known as the Templars first offered their services. These knights wanted to protect the pilgrims as they made their way to the Holy Lands. They offered their services through two knights who had fought in the crusades and felt that at least part of the battle had been to allow these pilgrimages to occur without danger to the peasants making the journeys. The two men, Hugues de Pavens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer, volunteered to put together a group of knights who would protect the pilgrims from the horrors of their journey. So often they were robbed or murdered by bandits as they attempted their pilgrimage. The group was first called the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon. It was made up of nine knights who had very little money to make their journey. News of what they wanted to do brought a flood of donations to feed and clothe them. The emblem they wore showed two knights riding one horse. This was in part to show how little they had.
It is believed that during their first nine years there were only nine knights who were the members of their organization. It seems that although people were pleased to have their protection few wanted to join. In 1129 the nephew of a member of the Templars, Bernard of Clairvaux, spoke at a meeting and was so eloquent with his words that the Church endorsed the group, This endorsement was what they needed to officially be able to be given money as a charity. This Church endorsement was also what changed the group from a mere nine fighting knights to a group that was accepted by everyone from the peasants to the nobles. They were able to raise money, not pay taxes, not have to abide by local laws, to travel freely and easily recruit members.
The members of the Templars were not permitted to own anything but the organization was. They were even given land by some and this was farmed to earn funds to keep the organization going strong. They eventually became quite wealthy because what they did pleased the Church and the nobles. Despite the fact that they were known to have lost as many battles as they won, perhaps more, they were well respected to the point of having the reputation as the best army of their time. This reputation continued for nearly two hundred years until they began to lose battles in the Holy Lands that were considered more important; losing all the territory that they held. This was the impetus, their weakened popularity after the losses, for King Philip IV of France to try to bring them down. His jealousy and greed was their undoing.
Philip took some old accusations, ones that had been proven false, and turned them into a weapon against the Templars. He ordered that arrest of those Knights of the Templar who were in France and charged them with heresy and blasphemy. He had them tortured until they confessed. These confessions were used to convince the Pope to disband the knights for good. In 1307 the Templars were disbanded, their assets seized; they were arrested all across Europe. Since then many groups have claimed to continue their work as a secret order, but none have shown that they actually have continued as a part of the original Templar Knights. One organization is currently claiming to be a descendant order and to prove their claims has filed a court action against the Church demanding restoration of the funds taken from the original group. They claim the money is not their issue, that they only want their good name restored.
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