From their hidden treasures around the world,
to their escape to the Americas, here are
10 mysterious facts of the Knights Templar….
10.
Who were the Knights Templar?
The first crusade was a military campaign
organized by western rulers, the Pope, and
the Byzantine Empire to take Jerusalem away
from Muslim control.
In the year 1099, the capture of Jerusalem
led to thousands upon thousands of Christian
pilgrims making the journey to the Holy Land.
While the city itself was secure, the area
around it, known as Outremer, was a place
of bandits and marauders.
Pilgrims were often robbed or killed as they
passed through and, in 1119, Hugues de Payens,
a French knight, suggested to Baldwin II of
Jerusalem that they create an armed monastic
order to protect those trying to reach Jerusalem.
This request was granted, and the Poor Fellow
Soldiers of Christ of the Temple of Solomon,
also known as the Knights Templar, were formed.
At first, they had very few resources, but
following support from Pope Innocent II and
Catholic noblemen across Europe, they quickly
rose to prominence in a military capacity,
and they played a crucial role in aiding the
Crusader armies.
By the end of the 13th century, though, Jerusalem
had been lost to Muslim forces once again,
and the Templars were forced to leave the
Holy Land.
The French King Philip IV had found himself
deep in debt with the order and convinced
the Catholic church to take action against
them.
But he wasn’t the only one!
There were many who thought that they had
way too much power and were now an inconvenience.
In 1307, Templar Knights across France were
arrested on charges of fraud, conspiracy,
and paganism, with many of them paying for
their supposed crimes with their lives.
On the 18th March 1314, Jacques de Molay,
the Templar Grand Master, was executed by
French officials, and the order was officially
disbanded.
There are, however, many who believe that
a number of the Knights Templar managed to
evade capture, and went into hiding, along
with the vast treasures they had managed to
acquire.
9.
The Temple of Solomon
While in Jerusalem, the order set up their
headquarters in the building that was formerly
the Al Aqsa mosque, from where they organized
their operations.
There was more to this choice of location
than many believed, as the Knights believed
it to be the site of the Temple of Solomon.
The building stood on the Temple Mount, which
was where the vast temple of the Jews of the
Old Testament once stood, and while the buildings
atop the mount had long been destroyed, the
Knights suspected there may still be hidden
structures beneath.
There’s a maze of tunnels beneath the Temple
Mount, which in Islam is known as Haram al-Sharif.
Some even think the reason for setting the
order up in the first place was to guard the
profound treasures that were found there following
the Christian takeover of the city.
Could it have been the hiding place for the
Holy Grail, the shroud of Jesus, the head
of John the Baptist or even the Ark of the
Covenant?
If this was the case, one question remains-
what happened to the treasures that were discovered
in the Temple of Solomon?
Did the Knights ever find them?
Did they take them away when they fled Jerusalem,
and where might they be today?
And now for number 8, but first, do you believe
there is treasure hidden by the Knights Templar
still out there?
Let us know in the comments below!
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8.
Temple Church
The Knights Templar had strongholds across
Europe, but there’s actually one that you
can visit today!
In an area of London, England, known as ‘Temple’,
you can walk through a stone archway onto
Inner Temple lane where you’ll find yourself
surrounded by gothic and Victorian architecture.
It was here that the Knights Templar built
monastic dormitories and chambers and, most
significantly, the Temple Church.
They built it in 1185, modelled after the
Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, to serve as the
headquarters for their London chapter and,
at the time, would perform a vital role to
the people of the Middle Ages- it was the
closest they could come to being in Jerusalem,
without making the epic journey themselves.
Effigies of the Knights can be found around
the church, including one of William Marshal
of Pembroke, who was integral to the creation
of England’s Magna Carta- a document that
would go on to influence the development of
law across Europe and America.
Following the dissolution of the Knight Templar,
the premises went into the hands of the Knights
Hospitaller, another order, who leased the
land to lawyers in 1346.
Nowadays it's the center of England's legal
profession- but don't worry- you can still
visit the church without fear of having to
encounter an attorney!
7.
Rosslyn Chapel
The chapel in the town of Rosslyn, just to
the south of Edinburgh in Scotland, is inconspicuous
at first glance, but its links with the Knights
Templar have led to theories suggesting it’s
the hiding place of something incredibly significant.
If the weather-worn gothic architecture seems
familiar, then you may know this place from
the movie, the Da Vinci Code, which featured
the chapel.
Dan Brown based his books on these legends,
and it's clear to see why this site inspires
mystery and awe.
The mixture of Christian, Jewish, Egyptian,
and Pagan symbology is unusual, all of which
seem like pieces of a puzzle.
From the eight Nordic dragons forming a ring
around the base of a pillar to pagan deities
looking out from the stonework, people dancing
with skeletons, and a double-humped camel-
there surely was something curious going on
here.
Many believe it was where the Templars hid
their treasures that they had acquired through
their work, and it's quite possible there's
still a lot more to discover hidden deep within
the vaults.
6.
The 12 Who Escaped
According to legend, during the rounding up
and execution of the Knights Templar in France,
it’s thought that 24 managed to escape.
12 of this group were named in a document
from 1307, which suggests that they were,
in particular, being searched for by the king,
but what was so special about them?
We actually know quite a lot about them.
Humbert Blanc, for example, had been in the
order for about 40 years and in 1299 became
master of the Province of Auvergne.
He spent his time between France and England,
which is likely how he managed to evade capture
but was finally arrested by English authorities
and imprisoned on charges of Blasphemy.
Pierre de Bouche was a younger Knight, no
older than 25 years old at the time of the
arrests, and he had even changed his clothes
and shaved his beard to evade capture, but
was finally found a few years later.
The most interesting thing that comes from
the documents of the 12 who escaped, though,
is the confession of Jean de Chalon that suggests
those who were never captured had fled with
the Templar treasures.
A passage of text that is stored in the Vatican
archives recorded what he said, ‘The leaders
of the order, expecting the trouble, have
fled, and he himself met the brother Gerard
de Villiers, who had 50 horses with him, and
heard people talking that he put to sea with
18 galleys and the whole treasury of the brothers'.
This is why everyone thinks there is still
Templar treasure out there waiting to be found!!
5.
Templar Towns
As we have seen, the Knights Templar constructed
buildings across Europe, and maintained a
stronghold in Jerusalem for as long as possible,
but did you know that they also built entire
towns?
Partly as a result of the wealth, they accumulated,
and because they needed to provide their followers
with secure places to live, these Templar
outposts can be found throughout Europe, particularly
in the hills on the border between Spain and
Portugal.
The town of Aracena was one of their strongholds,
and their symbols can be seen everywhere-
including in the town’s coat of arms.
When they first arrived in the region, the
Knights Templar rebuilt the fortress that
they had found here, and they went on to build
the Castle Church with influences from Christianity
and Islam.
Some believe there are underground tunnels
connecting sites together in the region, to
allow the order to hide and move between places.
Especially because toward the end, they needed
to remain hidden.
4.
Did they Visit America?
Following the arrest of most of the order,
those who evaded capture fled to far-flung
places, and some believe they may even have
made it as far as the Americas.
When the French authorities raided the Paris
Temple, they found it to be completely empty.
This is where the Templars had kept all that
was valuable to them, and they had time to
escape with it- with most scholars believing
they fled to La Rochelle, where they commandeered
ships to cross the channel to England.
From here they journeyed across the land to
Scotland, and it's believed they set sail
again towards Iceland on the old Viking routes.
Had they continued along this path, it’s
very possible that they managed to reach Vinland,
the settlement that had been established by
the Vikings in the new world, and today is
known as Nova Scotia.
There's evidence for this, too, as the local
peoples of the time spoke of white-skinned
travelers who came from overseas in folklore,
and there are numerous Templar crosses that
have been found in buildings and rocks around
the area.
It's also thought that they may have taken
their treasure to Canada, possibly burying
their treasure in a new hiding place such
as a chapel vault, or maybe even on Oak Island.
Which would explain the mystery of the supposed
treasure hidden there!
3.
Supposed Worship of Baphomet
One of the claims against the Templars, when
they were arrested, was of blasphemy.
While they disputed this, they certainly had
some unusual rituals, one of which was supposedly
the worship of Baphomet.
You may recognize images of Baphomet from
things ranging from heavy metal albums to
religious propaganda, as the icon is often
associated with Satanism.
The roots of Baphomet aren’t actually so
dark though, and even the links with the Templar’s
worship of a goat’s head aren’t necessarily
related.
Since their formation, the Templars had a
close understanding of Islam- after all, they
were based in a mosque in Jerusalem, and it’s
generally accepted that the true origin and
meaning of Baphomet was Mohammed, the prophet
of Islam.
It makes perfect sense that the Knights Templar
would have included parts of Islam in their
beliefs- after all, the buildings and churches
they built incorporated ideology from multiple
religions.
As for the head that the Templars worshipped,
there are a number of theories on this, but
the most interesting one is that it could
have been the preserved skull of John the
Baptist- one of the treasures they possibly
found in the temple of Solomon.
2.
There Were Female Members
We only ever see depictions of the Knights
Templar being men and, what with the way the
world was, it would be a fair assumption to
believe that the only members of the monastic
order were male… but that’s not entirely
true.
While the Knights Templar were formed to fight
battles, and the Order’s rule, set out by
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, explicitly forbade
women from joining to prevent temptation,
you know, distracting the men and all that,
this particular rule was not strictly followed.
In the Austrian town Mühlen, there was a
Templar nunnery, that was officially labeled
as such, which provided refuge for Templars
that passed through.
Furthermore, throughout the various Templar
houses, there are countless records of female
members, who mainly held the rank of Consoror
or Donat – meaning those that were bound
to the order as lay sisters, or as donors
to the cause.
One of the most prominent was Ermengarda of
Oluja, who became a member along with her
husband after donating land.
She was unique, in that she was a full-fledged
Sister of the Order, the equivalent rank to
a Brother of the Order, and she is recorded
as being a preceptrix, or commander, of the
house of Rourell in Catalunya, Present day
Spain.
She was a serious force in the order and recruited
many more women to join.
1.
They Still Exist Today!
Despite the order of the Knights Templar having
been officially disbanded in 1314, their influence
and teachings can still be felt today.
Of course, it’s long been thought that Knights
have continued to protect the legendary treasures
that were hidden, but the truth behind this
has so far evaded discovery.
You can, however, join the Knights Templar
yourself if you wish- as there are organizations
around the world that exist in tribute to
the original order.
They are not in any way affiliated to the
original Knights Templar but expect their
members to adhere to their morals and beliefs.
With ceremonies based around Templar traditions
and the importance of assisting one another,
these groups are an important part of their
members' lives- despite seeming like no more
than Monastic Order Cosplay to outsiders!
Thanks for watching,Would you join the Knights
Templar?
Let us know in the comments below!!
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