Knights Templar in 250 Facts

[RolandVT]

Contrary to some wild conspiracy theories, neither Hugh of Champagne nor Bernard of Clairvaux ever intended (let alone planned) to grow the order of Knights Templar into a shadow pan-European state. They envisioned a military-religious order with the Divine Mission to keep and protect the Ark of the Covenant and – by extension – Jerusalem and the Outremer (Crusader states in the Holy Land).

This Divine Mission drove strategic objectives of Hugh and Bernard – and thus of the order of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon: at minimum, preserve the existing borders of the Outremer (and thus its territory) and ideally expand the latter to the maximum extent possible.

To achieve these strategic objectives, the order had to develop four key components: the fighting force (shock troops of the Christian army); local secular support staff (cooks, repairmen, etc.); local religious support staff (priests) – and the European system of recruiting and financing of all of the above.

Quite unexpectedly for the duo (obviously, they did not live long enough to see it with their own eyes), the latter grew into the first genuinely multinational corporation in human history supported by its own church (with Ark Templar and Christian components) and – after the fall of Acre in 1291 – with its own army.

Consequently, into a full-fledged shadow pan-European state. The shadow state that (1) could have taken over the whole Christendom; and (2) was totally incompatible with the existing structure of European civilization.

Therefore, Knights Templar faced a genuinely existential church: either take over the whole Europe (thus creating the “EU of the 14th century”) … or be destroyed by an especially hostile king (and/or the Pope).

Could Templars have taken over the whole Europe? Yes, if they had made the decision to do it right after the fall of Acre in 1291 and created the necessary clandestine organization (e.g., Christian version of the Assassins – the latter were a genuinely a substantial strategic threat to Fatimid, Abbasid, and Seljuk authority).

Could Templars have built an overt pan-European state? Yes, had they merged (took over, actually) the Teutonic order – instead of discussing the merger with Knights Hospitallers. By that time, the Teutons had their successful state which could have been used as a model for the pan-European Ordensstaat.

Unfortunately for them, the Templar leaders did not see “the writing of the wall” and did not have the imagination (or the courage) to go for the whole Europe. So, the order was destroyed – and its leaders were burned at a stake as heretics.

[RolandVT]

De-facto Mission Statement of Knights Templar (they did not have one in modern terms, of course) had two components: external and internal. External component had two versions: official (overt) and secret (covert).

Official external Mission Statement is well-known:

“To serve Jesus Christ and His Church by keeping and protecting from Muslims and other enemies Jerusalem and the Outremer (Crusader states in the Holy Land)”

Secret external Mission Statement is obvious:

“To serve God the Heavenly Father by keeping and protecting from Muslims and other enemies the Ark of the Covenant and – by extension – Jerusalem and the Outremer (Crusader states in the Holy Land)”

Internal Mission Statement is obvious, too:

“Lead all Templars to Kingdom of Heaven in the afterlife”

In other words, salvation of their souls (from Hell, obviously).

These Mission Statements defined strategic objectives of the order: (1) maintaining existing borders of the Outremer – at a minimum; (2) expanding these borders whenever and wherever possible; and (3) creating internal conditions for Templars which will all but guarantee salvation of their souls in the afterlife.

To achieve this objective, Hugh of Champagne and Bernard of Clairvaux (the real founders of Knights Templar) envisioned a military-religious monastic order (religious first and military second) supported locally by priests and secular workers. And in Europe – by a giant, powerful and efficient financing and recruiting machine (a pan-European multinational Templar corporation).

To achieve their military objectives, the Templars must become the elite shock troops of the Cristian army which will all but guarantee the victory of the latter in every battle with their Muslim adversaries.

[RolandVT]

One of the myths/legends about Knights Templar claims that the order allegedly owned a large fleet of merchant ships that after the arrest of Templars in France took their immense treasure… somewhere (some even suggest Oak Island – now in Nova Scotia, Canada.)

The reality was (as usual) quite a bit more mundane. Templars did conduct naval operations (military and civilian); however, when they needed ships, they just… rented them (this was a common medieval practice). To transport new knights, pilgrims, horses and supplies to Outremer.

Merchant ships of the period—which doubled as warships—were privately owned, often by their captains. Rent included the captain and crew. A little-known fact is that many of the English ships that fought the Spanish Armada were owned by their captains or private investors, not by Elizabeth I.

The European ports of departure were usually Marseilles or Barcelona. The primary port of debarkation was the fortified Crusader port of Acre, now Akko in Israel. La Rochelle was used primarily for shipping wine and products to customers (wine transport was a particularly lucrative Templar enterprise). These rented ships would fight the Moslems under way only when it could not be avoided.

The records that still exist indicate the Templars did own a handful of oared warfighting galleys and at least four merchant/fighting caravels. Templar warfighting galleys and caravels were part of the fleet that besieged the sea tower and city of Damietta on the Nile in 1217.

Records list three engagements by Templar ships and implies that there were more. The first was during an early unsuccessful assault on the tower, when one Templar galley managed to moor on the tower’s small island but was driven off after enduring “no slight damage.”

A second was when a Templar galley approached the shore-edge walls of the city but was destroyed by Greek fire (incendiary weapon system used by the Byzantine Empire from the 7th to the 14th centuries and sporadically by the Muslims).

The Templar’s own caravels operated primarily as commerce raiders along North Africa throughout the 1200s and into the 1300s, but there are few available details. We know the name of a particularly successful vessel – the Falcon – primarily because of her captain, one Roger de Flor, who was notorious even in his lifetime.

[RolandVT]

There are two versions of the (in)famous curse allegedly uttered by Jacques de Molay, as he was slowly burned at the stake on March 11th 1314. The short – and most common – one is that he cursed just King Philip IV the fair of France and Pope Clement V (two criminals who destroyed the order of Templars), saying that he would meet them before God before the year was out.

The longer version is that de Molay cursed all descendants of the king… and Guillaume de Nogaret. The latter was very strange indeed, because de Nogaret died almost a year earlier.

However, I believe that the longer version is correct – the eyewitness simply misunderstood de Molay – as it was quite noisy near the fire. I think that de Molay did curse all descendants of the king – and said that before the year end the king and the pope will meet Guillaume de Nogaret who died a year earlier.

Which makes complete sense as de Molay – as a martyr – would undoubtedly go to Heaven while the duo of criminals (and thus the servants of the Devil) would meet their third accomplice (and principal conspirator) in Hell.

The curse itself made complete sense as in that situation it was only natural for the last Grand Master (dying a horrible death) to get back at his murderers – let’s call a spade a spade – in the only way he could.

And the curse worked – Pope Clement died only a month later, King Phillip died later that year in a hunting accident. Further, within a short span of years thereafter each of Phillip’s sons died at relatively young ages, resulting in the end of the House of Capet, leading to The Hundred Years’ War.

Consequently, the end result of destruction of the order Templars for the King was a destruction of his dynasty and for France – the most catastrophic disaster in its history.

Did Jacque de Molay invoke the immense power of the Ark (he was undoubtedly one of the 12 “apostles” of Ark Templar religion)? I believe that the Ark did put an end to the House of Capet and ignited to The Hundred Years’ War… however, I am confident that all three murderers were murdered themselves.

Not necessarily by escaped Templars – the list of mortal enemies of any of them is a mile long. They just hid behind Templar debacle – and de Molay curse.

A legend claims that after Louis XVI was guillotined, an anonymous French Freemason rushed from the crowd, dipped his hand in the king’s blood and yelled, “Jacques de Molay, thou art avenged!”. Templars were quite popular among Freemasons (and king was not) so this story is probably true.

[RolandVT]

By definition, a conglomerate is a type commercial (business) entity that consists of several different and unrelated business entities that operate in various industries.

The order of Knights Templar fit this definition to a “t” as its commercial (financing) arm consisted of vastly different businesses: agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, banking, financial services, etc.

Although individual members were sworn to poverty, the Templar Order controlled immense wealth that rivaled many kingdoms. Templars owned and managed farms and vineyards; they were involved in manufacturing, import, and export; they owned a flees of ships; and at one point they even owned the entire island of Cyprus (!!).

They started their financial services arm with assets management (a nobleman participating in the Crusades would place all his assets under Templar management during his absence) and safekeeping – no sane burglar would want to mess with Templars.

From that they expanded into providing loans to kings and nobles – and in 1150 the order began to issue letters of credit to pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land.

Pilgrims deposited their valuables with a local Templar preceptory before embarking, received a document indicating the value of their deposit, then showed that document upon arrival in the Holy Land to claim the equal amount.

This innovative arrangement was the first use of Traveler’s cheques (the latter were reinvented in Great Britain 600 years later); it protected pilgrims from robbery, while augmenting Templar finances.

It was a genuinely multinational conglomerate (the first de-facto multinational corporation in history) as it operated not only in Palestine, but all over Europe: in modern-day France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, England, Scotland, Wales, Cyprus – and even in Eastern Europe (Poland, Slovenia and Czech lands).

However, it was a unique conglomerate because it included non-commercial (and non-government entities): a fundraising arm; special forces (shock troops of Christian armies in the Outremer); its own churches and a recruiting organization. And even a secret heretical religious sect – Ark Templar.

Ultimately (after they were driven out of the Holy Land) the Templars became a genuine pan-European shadow state (although their founders never planned it). Which became a primary reason for their downfall.

[RolandVT]

Templars acquired large tracts of land, both in Europe and the Middle East; they bought and managed farms and vineyards; they built massive stone cathedrals and castles; they were involved in manufacturing, import, and export; they provided banking and other financial services (they invented Traveler’s cheques).

They owned a fleet of merchant ships – and at one point they even owned the entire island of Cyprus (!!). The order definitely qualifies as the world’s first multinational corporation (conglomerate, to be more precise).

But they were much more than that – being exempt from all authority except the Pope, they became a genuine shadow pan-European state complete with its own financial and economic infrastructure; its own army; Christian temples and priests, its secret religion (Ark Templar) … and even the Ark of the Covenant.

Obviously, such state did not fit into European political structure (a system of kingdoms under spiritual authority of the Pope or local Orthodox patriarch). Consequently, one of the two had to go.

Either the “Templar state” would take over the entire kingdom – or one especially active king would subdue the Pope and destroy this shadow state. Both outcomes were possible; however, at the time the Templars did not have the leaders of the same caliber as their founders.

Jacques de Molay was totally clueless that he and his order were facing a genuinely existential threat; and although he did plan a mega-crusade (“crusade to end all crusade”), he did not realize that to make it happen – and to save his order and himself – he had to team up with Teutonic order and take over Europe.

Hence, not surprisingly, the especially determined king (King of France Philip IV) and a weak Pope (Clement V – Frenchman by blood and birth) conspired to destroy the order of Knights Templar. And destroyed it – although the whole conspiracy was spearheaded by Guillaume de Nogaret – the second-in-command in France.

Not very surprisingly, all of them became victims of the “boomerang law”. Most likely, all three were murdered and Philip’s died in quick succession without surviving sons of their own. Which terminated the House of Capet and led to the Hundred Years’ War – the most catastrophic disaster in the history of France.

[RolandVT]

One of the most ridiculous charges leveled against the Templars by French inquisitors (pawns of King Philip IV) was worshipping the idol called Baphomet.

The indictment read

“… that in all the provinces they had idols, that is to say, heads, some of which had three faces, others but one; sometimes, it was a human skull … That in their assemblies, and especially in their grand chapters, they worshipped the idol as a god, as their savior, saying that this head could save them, that it bestowed on the order all its wealth, made the trees flower, and the plants of the earth to sprout forth.”

Confessions (no surprise here) were obtained under torture; however, despite all the efforts of inquisitors and their henchmen, there was no uniformity in confessions. Some Templars denied any knowledge of it, while others, who confessed under torture, described it as being either a severed head, a cat, or a head with three faces… etc.

Gauserand de Montpesant, a knight of Provence, said that their superior showed him an idol made in the form of Baphomet; another, named Raymond Rubei, described it as a wooden head, on which the figure of Baphomet was painted.

He added, that he worshipped it by kissing its feet, and exclaiming, ‘Yalla’, which was a word taken from the Muslims. A templar of Florence declared that, in the secret chapters of the order, one brother said to the other, showing the idol,

“Adore this head—this head is your god and your Mahomet”

As no specific evidence of Baphomet appears in either the Templar Rule or in other medieval period Templar documents, it is obvious that Baphomet was invented by French inquisitors and based on Mahomet (distorted Muhammad).

This conclusion is supported by the well-established fact that accusations of worshipping the idol named Baphomet were unique to the trials of the Templars. And were totally bogus – as just about all other charges against the latter.

The modern image of Baphomet (an entity incorporated into various occult and Western esoteric traditions) is an invention of an (in)famous French esotericist Éliphas Lévi (surprise, surprise).

He drew a picture of winged humanoid goat with a pair of breasts and a torch on its head between its horns. This image has become the standard representation of Baphomet… but has nothing to do with the image invented by French inquisitors.

[RolandVT]

The Battle of Bannockburn was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence.

It was a decisive victory for the Scottish army and became a major turning point in the war, which ended 14 years later with the de jure restoration of Scottish independence. Hence, this battle is considered a key moment in Scottish history.

It was a genuinely remarkable victory as the English outnumbered the Scots 3:1. For the English it was a genuinely catastrophic disaster (one of the worst in their history): 700 knights and other cavalry killed; 500 knights and men-at-arms captured by the Scots and up to 11,000 infantry soldiers killed. Several prominent commanders were either killed or captured.

This overwhelming defeat of the far better-trained and better-organized force by the one that was outnumbered 3:1 led to speculations that Scottish victory was engineered by Knights Templar who fought for King Bruce in exchange for an essential amnesty (there is no record of any Templar trial in Scotland).

However, it appears that there was a much more mundane reason for such a devastating defeat of the English: betrayal. A Scottish knight who was fighting for the English, deserted the English camp, came to the other side and told Bruce that English morale was low and encouraged him to attack.

He undoubtedly supplied the Scots with crucial information about the position, composition, strengths and weaknesses of the English which allowed the Scots to launch a devastating surprise attack that destroyed the English army.

True, Robert the Bruce was excommunicated by Pope Clement V for the murder of John Comyn (which did not prevent him from becoming king of Scots and thus did not have to abide by Pope’s decision to persecute the Templars (and he didn’t).

There is no record of any Templars fleeing from anywhere to Scotland, although it was possible. It was also possible that these Templars – and at least some of the Scottish ones – joined King’s army and were present at Bannockburn.

However, there were only a few dozen of them – and the Scottish army was about 8,000 strong. So, while Templars most likely did take part in a battle, they did not play a decisive role in Scottish victory at Bannockburn.

[RolandVT]

Undoubtedly the top Templar myth is the story of (allegedly) immense treasure that French Templars that (allegedly) escaped arrest on October 13th, 1307 (allegedly) hid from King’s henchmen and (allegedly) moved… somewhere.

As usual, the reality was quire different. True, the order of Knights Templar was immensely wealthy – wealthier than many European kingdoms. However, this wealth was mostly in land, building, manufacturing, warehousing and transportation facilities… something that they could neither hide nor move.

It is also true that the banking component of a multinational business conglomerate of Knights Templar was huge (it was possibly the biggest bank in Europe at that time).

However, even if its coffers held vast amounts of gold, silver, precious jewels, and other valuable liquid assets (and there is no evidence of that), most of it did not belong to the Templars.

It belonged to those who gave it to Templars for safekeeping or put it on deposit (to make some interest income). Stealing from their clients was out of the question for Templars – even faced with mortal danger – so this wealth went nowhere.

True, Templars had some money and other valuable liquid assets of their own, but – like in every other bank – they were mostly given out as loans. Like in every bank, the bulk of financial assets of Templars consisted of loan contracts with kings, nobles and other prominent individuals.

The most common version of this myth alleges that the Preceptor of the French Templars, Gerard de Villiers, had been tipped off about the imminent arrests and led over 50 horses out of Paris, before setting out to sea with 18 galleys.

This story is a fake because (1) there is no evidence of a tip-off; on the contrary, the arrests were so swift and unexpected that practically all Templars in France went to royal jails in a matter of hours… and Templars never had 18 galleys.

However, there might still be some truth to the story of Templar Treasure. Ark Templar was a religious organization independent of the order so it might have had a sizable amount of valuables in its coffers. In this case, these valuables sit next to the Ark of the Covenant in the underground chapel in Paris – and are waiting to be found.

[RolandVT]

Holy Grail is… well, a myth – an important part of Arthurian mythology (that of fictional King Arthur and his no less fictional associates). Different versions of this mythology describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, providing eternal youth or sustenance in infinite abundance, often guarded in the custody of the Fisher King and located in the hidden Grail castle.

Initially, Holy Grail had nothing to do with Jesus Christ, Golgotha, Last Supper, Jerusalem, Holy Land, etc.; however, thanks to Robert de Boron, French poet active around the late 12th and early 13th centuries (no one knows exactly when), Holy Grail suddenly became synonymous with the Holy Chalice.

The Holy Chalice was the vessel that Jesus used at the Last Supper to share His blood (wine transformed into His blood, to be more precise) with His disciples. Subsequently, one Joseph of Arimathea used the same cup to catch Christ’s blood at the crucifixion. The former was true; the latter… not likely (Roman soldiers guarding the crucified Christ would not have allowed it).

There are several versions of this particular Templar myth; the most common being that in 1118 or so Templars conducted massive archaeological excavations on Temple Mount (which was true) and found the Holy Chalice (which was not – they found the Ark of the Covenant). Then became the guardians of the Holy Chalice which they ultimately hid from the French king and then moved… somewhere.

No one knows for sure what happened to the Holy Chalice… however, it is obvious that it was not buried (or otherwise hidden) in some cave, underground room or elsewhere on Temple Mount. Hence, the Templars could not have found it there and Templar-Grail-Chalice connection is a myth.

IMHO, the Holy Chalice was saved by one of the disciples of Jesus – not necessarily Saint Peter – and then (most likely) was lost during the very first (Jewish) persecution of Christians… or during the Great Jewish Revolt.

In the 6th and 7th centuries pilgrims to Jerusalem were led to believe that the Holy Chalice was still venerated in the church of the Holy Sepulcher… later it turned out not to be the case.

According to another account, Saint Peter brought it to Rome and passed it on to his successors (the Popes). In 258, when Emperor Valerian demanded that relics be turned over to the government, Pope Sixtus II instead gave the cup to one of his deacons, Saint Lawrence. Who gave it to someone else for safekeeping… and was burned alive. As no one knew who he gave the cup to, it was lost for good.