Europe Penetrated by Islam. The Orientalization of the Order of the Templars (original) (raw)
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The Changing Face of the Templars: Current Trends in Historiography
History Compass, 2010
Although French, German and British scholars of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries did much to lay the foundations of scholarly study of the Knights Templars, until the 1970s there were few good general histories of the Templars. Over the last three decades, there has been enormous growth in scholarly research and publication on the history of the Templars, although the mushrooming myths about the order make it difficult for non-experts to distinguish between good and bad history. The Templars were a religious order, protected by the pope. They were also a military order, which fought against Islam in defence of Christian pilgrims and Christian territory and played a key role in the crusades. Their leading members were knights, but most of their members were not warriors, and included priests and women, who served God through prayer rather than by fighting. As well as castles and estates in the Middle East, they had property throughout Europe; they served kings and popes as diplomats and advisors. Far from being secretive-as the mythmakers claim-they opened their churches to local people and lodged travellers in their houses. They were pious men who shared the same faith as the Christians they protected. Historians disagree over where the initiative for the order came from-was it the idea of the first Templars themselves, or did Churchmen suggest it to them? The significance of the Templars' operations in the 'crusader kingdoms' in Palestine and Syria has been much discussed. Historians also disagree over the causes of the trial of the Templars (1307-1312), and how far the Templars were innocent victims of a struggle for supremacy between the papacy and the monarchy of France.
Saints or Sinners? The Knights Templar in Medieval Europe
History Today, vol. 44.12, 1994
In October 1307, by order of Philip IV of France, all the Knights Templar within the French domains were arrested. In November, Pope Clement V sent out orders for the arrest of the Templars throughout Europe. The brothers were accused of a variety of crimes, which were said to be long-established in the order. There were, it was claimed, serious abuses in the admission ceremony, where the brothers denied their faith in Christ. The order encouraged homosexual activity between brothers. The brothers worshipped idols. Chapter meetings were held in secret. The brothers did not believe in the mass or other sacraments of the church and did not carry these out properly, defrauding patrons of the order who had given money for masses to be said for their families' souls. What was more, it was alleged that the Templars did not make charitable gifts or give hospitality as a religious order should. The order encouraged brothers to acquire property fraudulently, and to win profit for the order by any means possible. During the trial of the Templars witnesses claimed that the order's abuses had been notorious far many years and under interrogation, including torture, many brothers confessed to at least some of these crimes. In March 1312, Pope Clement dissolved the Order of' the Temple, giving its property of the Order of the Hospital, and assigning the surviving brothers to other religious orders. Despite this, the question of the order's guilt has never been settled. Just what were the accusations made against the Templars before 1300, and were these related to the trial? What did contemporaries think about the other military orders, such as the Knights Hospitaller and the Teutonic Knights? This article argues that, from the evidence, the famous, shocking charges brought against the Templars in 1307 were unknown before 1300. The order was certainly guilty of Fraud and unscrupulous greed, but so too were other religious orders. The brothers' real crime was their failure to protect the Holy Land after claiming to be solely responsible for its defence.
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 legitimacy of the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem
freiherrvonquast.wordpress.com, 2017
The original order of the Knights Templar was founded by Hugh de Payens, a French nobleman from the Champagne region, along with eight of his companions, in Jerusalem around 1119. The Knights Templar, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, became an important charity throughout Christendom, thus growing rapidly and becoming a very powerful Christian institution. The knights were prominent in international finance and were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. In 1307, Philip IV of France arrested the Knights Templar on charges of blasphemy, idolatry, and sodomy. The investigation and trial into the alleged misdeeds of the Knights Templar took place in Rome between 1307 and 1312. On 18 March 1314, the Grandmaster and other knights of the Order were burned alive by order of King Philip. In September 2001, Barbara Frale, an Italian paleographer, found a copy of a document, known as the ‘Chinon Parchment in the Vatican Secret Archives. The document explicitly confirms that in 1308, Pope Clement V absolved Jacques de Molay and other leaders of the Order including Geoffroi de Charney and Hugues de Pairaud (Barbara Frale 2004, “The Chinon chart – Papal absolution to the last Templar, Master Jacques de Molay”, Journal of Medieval History 30 (2): 109–134). Another Chinon parchment, dated 20 August 1308 and addressed to Philip IV of France, stated that absolution had been granted to all those Templars that had confessed to heresy “and restored them to the Sacraments and to the unity of the Church” (Pierre Dupuy, Histoire de l’Ordre Militaire des Templiers Foppens, Brusselles 1751; Étienne Baluze, Vitae Paparum Avenionensis, 3 Volumes, Paris 1693. Nonetheless, the Pope suspended the order.
The Military Orders and Holy War against Christians in the Thirteenth Century
The English Historical Review, 1989
UNTIL the end of the twelfth century the Crusade was a weapon that appears to have been us/ed exclusively against the infidel, 1 and it was similarly for the purpose of combatting non-Christians that Military Orders were established during the twelfth century in the Holy Land and Spain. In the thirteenth century, however, a growing number of Crusades were launched against Christians. The faithful were encouraged to take the cross not only against heretics, schismatics and other enemies of the Church, but also in support of secular rulers whose cause was favoured by the papacy: in the 1260s, for example, Urban IV and Clement IV were both prepared to order the preaching of the cross against Henry Hi's opponents in England. 2 It is not surprising therefore that in the thirteenth century the role of the Military Order was also extended. Once fighting against heretics and other enemies of the Church was thought worthy of spiritual reward and regarded as a means of salvation, 3 participation in such warfare could be considered a fitting task for a Military Order. Of course, to divert the manpower and resources of Orders which had been founded for the purpose of fighting against the infidel might provoke criticism; and in thirteenth-century statutes of the Teutonic Order brethren were in fact expressly forbidden to give any aid to those embarking on military campaigns against Christians: nullus fratrum scienterprestet equitaturam vel aliud subsidium eunti ad exercitum contra christianos vel 1. The validity of this statement depend*, of course, on the precise way in which the term 'crusade' is defined; but see N. Housley, 'Crusades against Christians: their Origins and Early Development, c. iooc-I2i6\ in P. W. Edbury(ed.)> CTUSMU tndSettlement (Cardiff, 1985), p. 28: 'strictly speaking ... the crusade launched in 1208 should be regarded as the first fully-authenticated crusade against Christians'. 2. S. Lloyd,' "Political Crusades" in England, c 121 j-i/andc 1263-5', Crustde imd Settlement, p. 116. 3. This was happening well before the thirteenth century, although the practice did arouse criticism: Housley, 'Crusades against Christians', pp. 17-36.