The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, commonly called the Knights Templar, was a military group that followed the Catholic faith. It was one of the most important military groups in Western Christianity. The order was started in 1118 to protect pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. Their main base was on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and the group existed for almost two centuries during the Middle Ages.

The Catholic Church officially supported the Templars through decisions like the papal bull Omne datum optimum issued by Pope Innocent II. This made the Templars a popular charity across Christian lands, and their membership and influence grew quickly. The Templar knights wore white robes with red crosses and were among the strongest fighting forces during the Crusades. They also played a major role in Christian finance. Many members of the order, up to 90% of the group, were not soldiers but managed a large system of economic activities across Christian lands. They created new methods for handling money, such as early forms of banking, and built nearly 1,000 bases and forts in Europe and the Holy Land.

The Templars were closely connected to the Crusades. As they lost control of their lands in the Holy Land, support for the order declined. In 1307, King Philip IV of France arrested many Templars in France, forced them to make false confessions through torture, and then executed them by burning. Under pressure from Philip, Pope Clement V officially ended the order in 1312. Even after its end, some Templar knights, their property, and other resources were taken over by the Portuguese Order of Christ and the Spanish Order of Montesa between 1317 and 1319. The sudden end of this major medieval group led to many guesses and stories, which continue to keep the name "Templar" alive in unofficial groups and modern culture.

Names

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici and French: Pauvres Chevaliers du Christ et du Temple de Salomon) are also called the Order of Solomon's Temple. They are most commonly known as the Knights Templar (French: Les Chevaliers Templiers) or simply the Templars (French: Les Templiers).

Their main base was located on the Temple Mount, which had a sense of mystery because it was believed to be above the ruins of the Temple of Solomon.

History

After the Franks captured Jerusalem from the Fatimid Caliphate in 1099, many Christians traveled to holy places in the Holy Land. While Jerusalem was safe under Christian control, other areas of Outremer were not. Thieves and robbers attacked Christian pilgrims traveling from Jaffa to the interior of the Holy Land, often killing hundreds of them.

In 1119, a French knight named Hugues de Payens asked King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Warmund, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to create a religious group to protect pilgrims. King Baldwin and Patriarch Warmund agreed, likely at the Council of Nablus in January 1120. The king gave the Templars a base in a part of the royal palace on the Temple Mount, which was once the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The group started with about nine knights, including Godfrey de Saint-Omer and André de Montbard. They had little money and depended on donations. Their symbol showed two knights sharing one horse, showing their lack of wealth.

The Templars gained support from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a powerful church leader and a relative of André de Montbard. Bernard wrote a letter called In Praise of the New Knighthood and helped the Templars gain approval at the Council of Troyes in 1129. With church support, the Templars became a popular charity, receiving money, land, and even noble sons who wanted to help in the Holy Land. In 1135, Pope Innocent II gave the Templars their first donation from the church. In 1139, a papal rule called Omne Datum Optimum allowed the Templars to avoid local laws, meaning they could travel freely, avoid taxes, and answer only to the pope. However, they often had to follow the wishes of European rulers where they lived, especially when managing money for local nobles.

The Templars grew quickly. They fought in many battles, leading attacks with heavily armed knights on warhorses. One famous victory was in 1177 at the Battle of Montgisard, where 500 Templar knights helped thousands of soldiers defeat Saladin’s army of over 26,000 soldiers.

A Templar knight was described as brave and protected, both by faith and steel armor. He was said to fear neither enemies nor demons.

Although the Templars’ main job was military, most members worked in support roles, managing money and supplies. Even though members vowed to live simply, the order controlled large amounts of wealth. Nobles on Crusades sometimes gave their property to the Templars while they were away. By 1150, the Templars began giving pilgrims paper notes to carry their money safely. Pilgrims left their valuables with local Templar groups, received a document showing their deposit’s value, and used it to claim the same amount in the Holy Land. This was an early form of banking and may have been the first use of bank checks.

The Templars built financial networks across Europe and the Middle East. They owned large farms, vineyards, cathedrals, castles, and ships. They even owned the island of Cyprus. They were considered the first multinational corporation. By the late 12th century, they were politically powerful in the Holy Land. Nobles in the Kingdom of Jerusalem gave them castles to defend against Muslim forces. The Templars could even negotiate with Muslim rulers independently of feudal lords. Their castles became independent areas with their own markets, increasing their power. After King Baldwin IV died in 1185, the Templars and Hospitallers were given control of royal castles. The leaders of these two orders, along with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, each held a key to the royal treasures.

From the mid-12th century, the Templars fought in the Iberian Peninsula alongside the Hospitallers. In Castile and León, they controlled strongholds like Calatrava la Vieja and Coria. However, they struggled during Muslim attacks. In Aragon, they took over the Order of Mountjoy, becoming a key force on the border. In Portugal, they controlled castles along the Tagus River, including Tomar, which was attacked but not captured by Muslim forces in 1190.

The Templars and Hospitallers faced challenges in Iberia because they had to send a third of their money to the East, making them less strong than other local military groups.

Early accounts of the Templars’ battles in the Levant are unclear, but their first recorded fight was in 1138 at Teqoa, south of Jerusalem. Templars led by Grand Master Robert de Craon tried to retake the town after it was captured by Muslims. They won at first, but the Muslims later took it back.

The Templars’ mission changed from protecting pilgrims to fighting in regular battles. This is shown by the first castle they received, Bagras, located 400 miles north of the pilgrim road in the Amanus Mountains. By 1137, the Templars controlled the border area between Antioch and Cilician Armenia, including castles like Bagras, Darbsak, and Roche de Roissel. They were there when Emperor John II Komnenos of Byzantium tried to unite the Crusader states of Antioch and Tripoli.

Organization

The Templars were organized as a monastic order, similar to Bernard's Cistercian Order, which was considered the first effective international organization in Europe. The order had a clear chain of authority. Each country with a major Templar presence—France, Poitou, Anjou, Jerusalem, England, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Tripoli, Antioch, Hungary, and Croatia—had a master of the Order for that region. All masters answered to the grand master, a leader chosen for life. The grand master oversaw both the military actions in the East and the financial activities in the West.

The grand master used visitors-general, knights appointed by the grand master and the convent of Jerusalem, to manage the order. These visitors-general traveled to different regions to fix problems, create new rules, and settle disputes. They had the power to remove knights from their positions or suspend regional masters.

The central headquarters of the Templars had several offices that reported to the grand master. These roles were temporary, not for life. The second-in-command was the seneschal. The highest military official was the marshal, while the preceptor (also called the commander) managed daily operations and supplies. The draper handled uniforms, the treasurer managed money, the turcopolier led auxiliary forces, and the prior was the head of the church at the headquarters. The headquarters and its senior officials were called the convent, and their job was to help and advise the grand master in running the order.

It is estimated that at the order’s peak, there were between 15,000 and 20,000 Templars, with about 1,500 to 2,000 being actual knights.

The Templars had three main ranks: noble knights, non-noble sergeants, and chaplains. Knights wore white mantles to show their purity and chastity. Sergeants wore black or brown clothing. All ranks wore the order’s red cross. Before 1129, the Templars were called knights (milites in Latin). After 1129, they were also called brothers of their monastic order. This led to the three main ranks being known as knight brothers, sergeant brothers, and chaplain brothers. Knights and chaplains were called brothers by 1140, but sergeants were not full members until the 1160s.

Knights were the most visible part of the order. They were heavy cavalry, each with three or four horses and one or two squires. Squires were not members of the order but were hired for a set time. The Templars did not perform knighting ceremonies, so only those already knights could join.

Sergeants, from non-noble families, brought skills like blacksmithing and building. They managed many of the order’s European properties. In the Crusader states, they fought as light cavalry with one horse. Some senior positions, like the Commander of the Vault of Acre (who also led the Templar fleet), were held by sergeants. However, they answered to the preceptor, not the marshal, showing that the fleet was used mainly for trade, not war.

Chaplains became a third rank in 1139. They were ordained priests who cared for the Templars’ spiritual needs. They were also called priest brothers or chaplain brothers.

The Templars also used turcopoles, lightly armed mercenaries from the 12th century. The term turcopole comes from Greek and may refer to people of mixed Muslim-Christian heritage who became Christians or local Syrians. By the 13th century, turcopoles became a formal rank held by some Templar brothers, including Latin Christians.

The highest position in the order was the grand master, held for life. Most grand masters died in office, often during battles. For example, Grand Master Bernard de Tremelay was killed during the Siege of Ascalon in 1153, and Grand Master Gérard de Ridefort was beheaded by Saladin at the Siege of Acre in 1189. The grand master managed both military operations in the Holy Land and financial matters in Western Europe. Some grand masters also led armies, though mistakes in leadership, like those of de Ridefort, caused major defeats. The last grand master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake in 1314 by King Philip IV of France.

Bernard de Clairvaux and founder Hugues de Payens created the Latin Rule, a code of conduct for the Templars. It had 72 rules that outlined daily life, including clothing, horse ownership, and meal times. Knights were to eat meat no more than three times a week, avoid contact with women, and wear their white mantle at all times, even during meals. As the order grew, the rules expanded to hundreds of clauses.

The Templars followed the canonical hours from the Rule of Saint Benedict, with set times for communal prayers. Members who could not attend had to say the Lord’s Prayer at the same times.

Knights wore a white surcoat and mantle with a red cross. Sergeants wore a black tunic with a red cross and a black or brown mantle. The white mantle was introduced at the Council of Troyes in 1129, and the red cross was likely added during the Second Crusade in 1147. Knights were required to wear the white mantle constantly.

The red cross symbolized martyrdom, and dying in battle was seen as a great honor that ensured a place in heaven. Templars were never allowed to surrender unless their flag had fallen. Even then, they were to regroup with other Christian orders, like the Hospitallers, before leaving the battlefield. This strict rule, along with their bravery, training, and heavy armor, made the Templars one of the most feared military groups in medieval times.

Legacy

The Knights Templar used their military role and large amount of money to fund many building projects across Europe and the Holy Land. Many of these buildings still exist today. Some places, like the Temple Bar gateway and Temple Underground station in London, keep the name "Temple" because they were once connected to the Templars. Two of the four Inns of Court in London, called the Inner Temple and Middle Temple, are also named after the Templars.

Templar buildings often had special features, such as a picture of "two knights on one horse" to show their simple lifestyle, and round buildings that looked like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The Knights Templar were officially ended in 1309. After this, some members joined the Order of Christ, which was created in 1319. This new group took over many Templar properties, especially in Portugal.

Many groups today claim to be connected to the Knights Templar to make themselves seem more mysterious or important. Examples include the Order of Christ and the Order of Montesa in Spain. However, there is no real historical link between the original Templars and most modern organizations, which began appearing in the 18th century.

After the Templars were dissolved, the Order of Christ was formed in 1319 with the help of King Denis of Portugal. This group was allowed to keep Templar lands and was based in a castle in Tomar, which had once belonged to the Templars. The Order of Christ later moved to Kongo and Brazil, where it still exists today. The Vatican also awards the Supreme Order of Christ.

In the Catholic Church, some groups, like the Militia Templi, have modeled themselves after the Knights Templar. Founded in 1979, the Militia Templi is based in a castle that once belonged to the Templars. Members include religious knights, married couples, and others who pray daily.

Some temperance groups, like the International Order of Good Templars, use the name of the Knights Templar because they believe the original Templars avoided alcohol. These groups work to stop people from drinking alcohol or using drugs.

Freemasonry, a group that uses symbols and rituals from medieval times, includes the Order of the Temple, inspired by the Knights Templar. Other groups, like the Order of Malta, are also based on older military orders. Some people think the Templars helped Scottish leaders, but this idea is not accepted by historians or Freemasons.

Neo-Templarism refers to groups that claim to be direct descendants of the original Templars. Some Freemasons believe the Templars were part of their traditions, but others think the Templar degrees were separate. In 1805, a man named Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat created a new Templar movement, claiming to have found proof of a continuous Templar line. His group later became the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem. Scholars say these groups are not truly connected to the original Templars.

The Knights Templar have been linked to many legends and stories. Freemasons and others have claimed to have received secret knowledge from the Templars. Books like Ivanhoe and The Da Vinci Code, as well as movies and video games, have added fictional stories about the Templars.

Some people believe the Knights Templar are still alive and working in secret to protect the bloodline of Jesus. Others think the Templars found important relics on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, though this is not proven. The idea of the Holy Grail being connected to the Templars appears in old stories, such as the 12th-century poem Parzival.