The Templar Order

The Templars were formed in 1118, when nine knights took holy vows to defend Jerusalem. In 1128, their founder received a blessing from the pope to formally form a new order of warrior knights. They adopted the order of St. Benedict and the white robes of the Cistercians and began recruiting. Men flocked to join, and were accepted in a hierarchical system of knights, sergeants (who wore black robes), farmers, and chaplains. Within fifty years, the order became one of the largest landowners not only in the Holy Land but in France and England. They became money lenders in the major cities, and were one of the finest fighting forces in the world. On the way to accumulating land, wealth, and the power that came with it, they established monasteries throughout Europe, called commanderies. We visited five such commanderies on Read more…

The Ninth Crusade

Edward I of England took the cross in 1268.  His father, King Henry, was still alive at the time so he was able to take the opportunity to campaign in the Holy Land. The eighth crusade, which was very short and only lasted a few months, is sometimes lumped into the ninth.  It’s leader, however, was Louis the IX of France, “sailing from Aigues-Mortes, initially to come to the aid of the remnants of the crusader states in Syria. However, the crusade was diverted to Tunis, where Louis spent only two months before dying.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades By 1270, things had deteriorated for the Christian states in the Middle East considerably.  Jerusalem had fallen in 1244 AD and was never recovered.  For Edward’s purposes, the Baron’s War against Simon de Montfort was over and the Welsh threat contained with the Treaty of 1267.  Read more…