The Knights Templar: A History Strange and True

Begin your journey with an introduction to the Knight Templar, an order of monk-knights founded around 1119. Before delving into their rise to power, this first lecture sets the stage with an exploration of Jerusalem in the Middle Ages. Learn about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

With the stage set, now it's time to explore what led to the founding of the Knights Templar. Here, dive into the First Crusade, beginning with Pope Urban II's 1095 call to reclaim Jerusalem and resulting in the need for Christian pilgrims to be protected as they traveled from Europe to the Holy Land.

Meet Hugues de Pans and Godfrey de Saint-Omer, two knights who recognized the need for a protective order and decided to do something about it. In their early years, the order defied the traditional Three Estates Model, blending knightly and monastic duties. Trace their rise from humble beginnings to papal legitimacy.

The Knights Templar gained papal support through Bernard of Clairvaux's advocacy at the Council of Troyes in 1128. This lecture walks through some of the sources that tell us about the knights and how their unique position allowed them to collect spoils of war, giving them power and wealth but also setting them up for criticism.

In 1144, the fall of Edessa to the Muslim leader Zengi sparked the Second Crusade from 1147-1148. In addition to playing a role as warriors, the Knights Templar also loaned funds to King Louis VII of France, illustrating the controversial new role in military and political affairs.

After the Second Crusade, the daily life of Templar Knights highlighted their unique monk-warrior structure. In this lecture, Dr. Armstrong walks you through the order's structure of roles, knightly behavior, and prohibitions. She also dives into other aspects of daily life in the order, including education.

Because the medieval world was largely illiterate, signs and symbols took on important meanings. One of the most widely recognized symbols of the 12th century was the red cross of the Knights Templar. Dig into this and other iconography, including financial tokens, prison graffiti, and church naves modeled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Starting in the 1120s, donations of land and goods fueled the expansion of the Knights Templar. Thanks to this growing wealth, they developed an innovative banking system for pilgrims in the Holy Land, which in turn fed rumors of greed and sowed the seeds of their eventual downfall.

Continue your study of Templar power with a look at their extensive fortress network, which spanned from England to Jerusalem and secured their banking network. Visit several key strongholds, including Baghras, Tortosa, Chastel Blanc, Safad, and Atlit. Reflect on how the fall of Acre in 1291, a notable turning point in Templar fortunes.

Toward the end of the 12th century, the Templars suffered a devastating defeat in the Battle of Hattin. This lecture explores the Crusaders' disunity, the reckless attack on Saladin, the fall of Jerusalem, and the symbolic shift that reshaped the Holy Land. In the end, Muslims united under Saladin while Christians planned a counteroffensive from Tyre.

Examine the chaotic aftermath of the 1187 Battle of Hattin and the fall of Jerusalem. Medieval Europe was shocked, leading Pope Gregory VIII to call for a Third Crusade. Follow the story of Richard the Lionheart's leadership and Templar discipline as they preserved some Christian control of the region-but not of Jerusalem.

After the 1192 Treaty of Jaffa, Jerusalem was under Muslim control while Crusaders were based in Acre. Here, with instability in Jerusalem, see how the Templars' wealth strengthened their influence, giving them a critical role in subsequent Crusades in the early 13th century.

Step into the 13th century, when new powers began to shape the Levant. After the Mongols displaced the Khwārezmian Turks, the latter people sacked Jerusalem in 1244, massacring Christians and overwhelming the Templars. Then came the Mamluks, who launched a ruthless campaign that decimated the Crusaders.

Shift your attention from battles in the Levant to Western Europe's response to Crusader losses. In France, King Louis IX's failures and Templar loans fueled resentment. Although Iberian leaders appreciated the Templars for the Reconquista, disillusionment was growing.

In the late 13th century, the city of Acre was one of the few remaining Crusader bastions in the Levant. Here, you will survey the stunning siege of the city in 1291, a defeat that marks the collapse of Christian control in the Holy Land. Go inside the fortress and meet fighters such as Guillaume de Beaujeu, the Templar grand master.

After the fall of Acre, the Templars relocated to Cyprus. Jacques de Molay, the new Templar Grand Master, faced hostile questions about the order's role as well as pressure to merge with the Hospitaller knights. Meanwhile, King Philip IV's financial schemes and persecution tactics were setting the stage for the end of the Templars.

In this lecture, Dr. Armstrong takes you inside the astonishing arrest of hundreds of Templars in France on October 13, 1307, a day that marked a turning point for the order. Deep in debt and envious of the Templars, King Philip IV accused the order of heresy and blasphemy, and used the arrests as an excuse to seize Templar wealth.

Following the events of October 13, King Philip IV clashed with Pope Clement V over Templar arrests, tortured confessions, and secret absolutions. This first of two lectures digs into the economic motives and religious zeal that drove this dramatic struggle and sealed the Templars' fate.

The Templar trials continue. Here, you will witness their defiant stand against Philip IV's persecution, the tragic burning of 54 knights, and the Order's 1312 dissolution. Jacques de Molay and Geoffroi de Charny took a final stand, proclaiming innocence, and were burned at the stake-sparking rumors of de Molay's curse.

In the wake of the Templars' dissolution in 1312, the Hospitaller knights benefited the most by inheriting property and membership from surviving Templars. King Philip IV and Pope Clement V died in short order and were memorialized for greed and complicity in Dante's Divine Comedy.

Although the Templars have been gone for centuries, rumors about the order continue to persist. What treasures did they uncover during the Crusades? Did they ever discover the "Holy Grail"? What about the Shroud of Turin? Unravel the myths linking sacred relics to the Templars' legacy.

Continue your exploration of Templar myths and legends with a look at another "secret society." In the 18th century, conspiracies arose around possible links between the Templars and the Freemasons. French revolutionaries and America's Founding Fathers' Masonic ties added to the conspiracy theories.

Fast forward to 1799, when a cache of hidden treasure was discovered on Oak Island in Nova Scotia. Despite no definitive link, certain artifacts resembled Templar graffiti, leading some to speculate that Templars fled to Nova Scotia post-1307. Would such a feat have been possible? Why has this tantalizing myth persisted?

In the 21st century, the Templar legacy took a dark turn when the order's legacy was co-opted by alt-right groups for racist agendas. In this final lecture, contrast the modern conspiracy groups with the Templar's own pragmatic relationship with the Muslim world. See how the Templar's real history is more compelling than fiction.