Knight of the Temple: The Knights Templar

Knights Templar: Truth or Legend?

If the Knights Templar was one of the most powerful medieval organizations, then how come they were nearly wiped off the history books? On October 13 (Friday the 13th) 1307, all of the Knights Templar in France were arrested including the Grand Master Jacques de Molay and were soon burned at the stake, accused by the Pope and the King of France of heresy. Shortly before his arrest, Jacques de Molay ordered most of the manuscripts regarding the Templar to be burned. Even to this day, many Templar mysteries remain unknown. But their identity and most of what they have done are confirmed.

Somewhere between 1118-1120, a few years after the victory of the First Crusade, Hugues de Payens and nine others formed the Knights Templar with the permission of King Baldwin II. They were granted a wing of the Royal Palace on the Temple Mount, otherwise known to be Solomon’s temple as headquarters. For the first few years of formation of the Knights Templar, it has been widely accepted that the Templars kept their small number of members for secret purposes. The Templars were warrior monks. Just like monks, they prayed five times a day and were sworn to poverty, yet they were the richest organization of their time. As warriors, their original purpose was protecting pilgrims that went to the Holy Land, however many agree that this is to hide their real intentions. They had a very strict rule of conduct; in battles they weren’t allowed to retreat unless if it’s three to one. By 1200, the Templars had grown from a small group of nine to more than 200 members.

A few years after their formation, the Pope gave them many liberties for fighting under the name of God. One of them was to form banks which made it easier for people to store money. Like any large corporate bank of today, the Templars lent money to money desperate monarch. But in turn, the Templars charged a ten percent interest to earn money, another one of the many powers the Pope granted them. This is when the Templars came up with the invention of the check. The check made it safer for people to give or borrow money to another person far away. When King Baldwin II gave permission for the Knights Templar to be formed, he thought they would protect the pilgrims going to the Holy Land. Even though, this was considered one of their highest duties, most Templar historians agree that this was a disguise for their true intention, to find the treasure under Solomon’s temple. In 1947 a shepherd discovered the Dead Sea scrolls; they also discovered a copper scroll inscribing the location of Solomon’s treasure. When they got to the location the scroll inscribed, the treasure was gone, but they found artifacts proving the Templars have been there. One of the possible candidates of what might the treasure might have been is the “Holy Grail”.