The pocket A-Z of the Knights Templar : a guide to their history and legacy
Napier, Gordon2014
Books, Manuscripts
The order of the Knights Templar, which existed for about two centuries in the Middle Ages, was created after the First Crusade of 1096 to ensure the safety of European pilgrims to Jerusalem after its conquest. Officially endorsed by the Catholic church in 1129, the order became a favoured charity across Europe, and grew rapidly in membership and power. Templar knights, easily recognisable in their white mantle with a distinct red cross, were some of the best equipped, trained, and disciplined fighting units of the Crusades. When the Holy Land was lost and the Templars suffered crushing defeats, support for the Order faded. Rumours about the Templars' secret initiation ceremony created mistrust, and King Philip IV of France, on 13 October 1307 had many of the order's members in France arrested, tortured into 'confession' and burned at the stake. This book is provides an A to Z of the Knights Templar.
Main title:
The pocket A-Z of the Knights Templar : a guide to their history and legacy / by Gordon Napier.
Author:
Napier, Gordon, author
Imprint:
Stroud : Spellmount, 2014.
Collation:
360 pages ; 20 cm
ISBN:
9780752498676 (pbk)0752498673
Dewey class:
255.7'913255.7913
Local class:
255.791
Language:
English
Subject:
BRN:
897122
More Information: