The Death of a Templar Master
The Templars were forbidden to engage in fighting against other Christians. Shockingly, however, the Templar Master Brian le Jay died fighting for Edward I against the Scots in 1298. How was this possible and what did it mean?
Templars and the Royal Navy
The Templars played an important, but almost unknown, role in the formation of the English navy under King John and Henry III.
Have Sword Will Travel: The Templars as Military Consultants
We tend to think of the Templars as warriors, but with the caveat that they could not fight against fellow Christians. There were exceptions, however. Even the Templars could act as hands-off mercenaries in the murky world of medieval politics.
King John and the Templars: Strange Times, Strange Partners
The extraordinary story of how the Templars stepped up to act as diplomats for England’s least diplomatic king.
British Templars at War – The Doomed Band of 1185-1187
The British Templars were not just bankers, diplomats and estate managers – many were swept up in the disastrous events unfolding in the Holy Land in 1187
William Marshal – Templar and Crusader?
Doubts have been raised about William Marshal’s career as a crusader – but what was the truth behind the claims?
The Templars and Saladin
The fight between Saladin and the Templars was personal – a relationship based on a toxic blend of fear, grudging respect and animosity.
Templars in Ireland: Colonialism and Conquest?
The Templar presence in Ireland was far less nationalistic than has often been supposed – the international order had its own unique agenda.
Robert of Sablé: From British Templar to Video Game Villain
Templar master, trusted admiral and skilled diplomat, Robert of Sablé had a chequered past – but he does not deserve the parody reputation that has emerged as a product of modern video gaming.
The Templars and the Murder of Becket
The Templars wanted peace in the West – but if that was not possible, they could turn moral outrage into money for the defence of the East.
The Templars and the Two Mathildas
Even the Templars, one of the medieval world’s most masculine institutions, were eager to get in touch with their feminine side when money and power was at stake.
The Templars in Scotland
Scotland played an unrecognised but central part in creating the power template for the Templar order in Britain.
The Templars in Britain with Steve Tibble
Myths and conspiracies aside, the real medieval Templars were indeed a formidable fighting force, as well as being financially savvy diplomats at many of the major courts of the time. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Steve Tibble about the Templars’ role in Britain and Ireland, their activities on and off the battlefield, and some of the major political events they were involved with.
The Templars in Britain: A Difficult and Ominous Beginning
The Templars went on to achieve great things and a high-profile reputation. But they came from very humble beginnings. In Britain, they got off to a very difficult start.
True Crusader Crime: Petty Crime and Petty Quarrels
High-profile crime might be plastered across the chronicles, but it was just the visible end of a much bigger problem. Criminality was everywhere.
True Crusader Crime: Murdering Monks
Not surprisingly, the crusades were full of headstrong and heavily armed soldiers who were hard to police.
The Fall of the Templars: How to destroy a military order
Why did the king of France think that he had the power to bring about the Templars’ downfall?
10 Things You Might Not Know About The Templars
There are a few things about the military order that are not so widely known. Here are our favourite facts about the Templars.
Templar Banking: How to go from Donated Rags to Vast Riches
While the Crusades gave the Templars a stage to project their might, their true source of power lay within a revolutionary new financial system: the Templar Bank.
The Knights Templar and Historical Revisionism in the Modern Era
As early as the nineteenth century, many political extremists have modelled themselves upon the Templars. Today, both the US and UK are home to groups that imitate these medieval knights, pledging to fight a ‘new crusade’ against multiculturalism, ‘cultural Marxism’, or a ‘New World Order’.
Torture and Confession in the Templar Interrogations at Caen, 28–29 October 1307
Perhaps more clearly than anywhere else in the documentation of the “Trial of the Templars,” these acts reveal how royal agents extracted confessions from the Templars in the weeks following their arrest.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Medieval Church as a Military Power
By the late 11th century the Roman Catholic Church began to evolve into a distinctive – and powerful – controller of military power.
Who were the Templars?
The idea of the Knights Templar looked good on paper. Have knights from across Europe join a monastic order that would defend the Holy Land from non-Christians. They would be devout warriors fighting on behalf of God, an example for all of Christendom. What could go wrong?
The Templar Lands in Lincolnshire in the Early Fourteenth Century
The focus of the study is the Templar estates in Lincolnshire during the first four decades of the fourteenth century. Within this context, two themes are explored: the characteristics of Templar farming and estate management and the fate of the former Templar properties between 1312 and 1338.
Aspects and Problems of the Templars’ Religious Presence in Medieval Europe from the Twelfth to the Early Fourteenth Century
What has been neglected in the debate on military order religion is a more focused discussion of how the religion of individual military orders was understood and experienced by outsiders through the ecclesiastical property these orders possessed and the devotional spaces they created and maintained.