Knights Templar

The Knights Templar were a monastic military order
formed at the end of the First Crusade with the mandate of protecting
Christian pilgrims on route to the Holy Land. Never before had a group
of secular knights banded together and taken the monastic vows. In this
sense they were the first of the Warrior Monks. The Templars fought
along side King Richard I (Richard The Lion Hearted) and other
Crusaders in the battles for the Holy Lands.

From humble beginnings of poverty when the order
relied on alms from the traveling pilgrims, the Order would go on to
have the backing of the Holy See and the collective European monarchies.

Within two centuries they had become powerful enough
to defy all but the Papal throne. Feared as warriors, respected for
their charity and sought out for their wealth, there is no doubt that
the Templar knights were the key players of the monastic fighting
Orders. Due to their vast wealth and surplus of materials the Templars
essentially invented banking, as we know it. The church forbade the
lending of money for interest, which they called usury. The Templars,
being the clever sort they were, changed the manner in which loans were
paid and were able to skirt the issue and finance even kings.

They were destroyed, perhaps because of this wealth
or fear of their seemingly limitless powers. In either case, the Order
met with a rather untimely demise at the hands of the Pope and the King
of France in 1307 and by 1314, "The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and
the Temple of Solomon" ceased to exist, at least officially.

Although originally a small group of nine knights,
they quickly gained fame largely due to the backing of Bernard of
Clairvaux and his "In Praise of the New Knighthood". Bernard at that
time was often called the Second Pope and was the chief spokesman of
Christendom. He is also the one responsible for helping to draw up the
Order's rules of conduct.

In European political circles, they became very
powerful and influential. This was because they were immune from any
authority save that of the Papal Throne. (Pope Innocent II exempted the
Templars from all authority except the Pope.) After the crusades were
over, the knights returned to their Chapters throughout Europe and
became known as moneylenders to the monarchs. In the process many
historians believe they invented the Banking System.

The secret meetings and rituals of the knights would
eventually cause their downfall. The King of France, Philip the Fair
used these rituals and meetings to his advantage to destroy the
knights. The real reason for his crushing the Templars was that he felt
threatened by their power and immunity. In 1307, Philip, who
desperately needed funds, to support his war against England's Edward I
made his move against the Knights Templar.

On October 13th, 1307, King Philip had all the
Templars arrested on the grounds of heresy, since this was the only
charge that would allow the seizing of their money and assets. The
Templars were tortured and as a result, ridiculous confessions were
given.

Philip was successful in ridding the Templars of
their power and wealth and urged all fellow Christian leaders to do the
same thing. On March 19th, 1314 the last Grand Master of the Knights
Templar, Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake. De Molay is said to
have cursed King Philip and Pope Clement, as he burned, asking both men
to join him within a year. Whether he actually uttered the curse or if
it is simply an apocryphal tale; what remains as fact is that Clement
died only one month later and Philip IV seven months after that.