Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar

This work offers a highly readable look at the lifespan of the famous Knights Templar who were warrior monks and the first disciplined and uniformed standing army since antiquity, and perhaps an institution guarding dark secrets. This is the story of how nine knights came from France to guard pilgrims in the Holy Land and how they gained the site of the Temple of Solomon and what they did there. This work shows how an unprecedented religious Order grew, pledged to bloodshed in defence of pilgrims and the territory conquered by the Crusaders. The Order's contribution to the ongoing Crusades, their military tactics and organisation and the fortresses and bases they established are all explored. This work also explores the fate of the Order after the failure of the Crusades, including a detailed examination of the charges of occult rituals involving idol worship, spitting on the Cross and obscene kisses, through to the burning of the last Grand Master Jacques de Molay in 1314.