[[The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon]] | [[Louis VII of France]] | [[Christianity]] | [[Jerusalem]] | [[The Roman Catholic Church]] | [[Crusaders]] | [[Pope Innocent II]] | [[Pope Honorius II]] | [[Godfrey de Saint-Omer]] | [[King Philip IV]] | [[Bernard of Clairvaux]] | [[12th Century]] | [[13th century]] | [[14th Century]] | [[Acre]] | [[Cyprus]] | [[Paris]] | [[Hugues de Payens]] # Holy Warriors, International Bankers, and History's Most Legendary Scapegoats _They weren't just warrior monks. The Knights Templar built the medieval world's first multinational banking system, accumulated wealth and power that rivaled kingdoms, and were destroyed in a single coordinated strike by a bankrupt French king who owed them money. Everything that came after — the conspiracy theories, the occult legends, the Masonic connections, the Holy Grail myths — is built on the foundation of what they actually were: a military-religious order that became too rich, too powerful, and too independent for any monarch to tolerate. --- ## The Basics **The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon** (Latin: _Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici_), commonly known as the **Knights Templar** or simply **the Templars**, were a Catholic military order founded in **1119** and officially dissolved in **1312**. **Founded:** ~1119 in Jerusalem **Founders:** - **Hugues de Payens** (first Grand Master) - **Godfrey de Saint-Omer** - Seven other French knights (names disputed) **Official recognition:** **Council of Troyes, 1129** — Pope Honorius II and the Catholic Church officially endorsed the order **Headquarters:** - **Temple Mount, Jerusalem** (1119–1187) - **Acre** (1191–1291, after Jerusalem fell) - **Cyprus** (1291–1312, final headquarters) - **Paris** (European administrative center) **Peak membership:** Estimated **15,000–20,000 members** (though only about 10% were actual knights; the rest were sergeants, chaplains, and support staff) **Peak wealth:** Impossible to calculate precisely, but by the early 14th century the Templars controlled vast estates across Europe, operated the medieval world's most sophisticated banking network, and held loans to kings and popes. Conservative estimates suggest assets equivalent to **billions in modern currency**. **Dissolution:** **1307–1312** — King Philip IV of France arrested all Templars in France on Friday, October 13, 1307. Pope Clement V officially dissolved the order in 1312. **Fate:** In France, many Templars were tortured, forced to confess to heresy, and executed (including the last Grand Master, **Jacques de Molay**, burned at the stake in 1314). In other countries, Templars were absorbed into other orders, retired, or simply disappeared from the historical record. **Legacy:** The Templars became the subject of more conspiracy theories, legends, and alternative histories than perhaps any other medieval institution. Claims include: they discovered the Holy Grail, possessed secret knowledge, founded Freemasonry, escaped to Scotland/America/Switzerland, and continue to exist in hidden form. --- ## Historical Context: The Crusades and the Problem of Pilgrimage The Templars were created to solve a specific, practical problem in the aftermath of the **First Crusade (1095–1099)** In **1099**, Crusader armies conquered Jerusalem, establishing the **Kingdom of Jerusalem** and several other Crusader states in the Levant (modern Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Syria). For the first time in centuries, Christian pilgrims could visit the Holy Land — the sites of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. But there was a massive problem: **the roads were lethal**. The journey from Europe to Jerusalem took months. Pilgrims traveling through the Holy Land faced: **Bandits** attacking vulnerable travelers on remote roads **Muslim forces** conducting raids from territories surrounding the Crusader states **Harsh terrain** (deserts, mountains) with minimal infrastructure **Disease, starvation, exposure** killing thousands before they reached their destinations Pilgrims were overwhelmingly **unarmed civilians** — monks, nobles, merchants, families. They were easy targets. Thousands died. The Crusader states lacked the military resources to protect them all. Enter **Hugues de Payens** and his eight companions. Around **1119**, these French knights approached **Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem**, with a proposal: create a **religious military order** dedicated to protecting Christian pilgrims on the roads of the Holy Land. Baldwin granted them headquarters in the **Al-Aqsa Mosque** on the **Temple Mount** — believed to be built on the ruins of **Solomon's Temple** (hence the name "Templars"). This location was symbolically and strategically critical — the holiest site in Jerusalem, the epicenter of Crusader power. --- ## The Templar Innovation: Warrior Monks The Templars were **revolutionary** because they combined two previously incompatible identities: **monk** and **warrior**. Traditional Christian theology held that shedding blood, even in war, was spiritually polluting. Warriors were expected to do penance, and monks were expected to be peaceful. The two identities were mutually exclusive. The Templars **shattered this distinction**. They took **monastic vows** (poverty, chastity, obedience) but also trained as professional soldiers. They prayed seven times daily, lived in communal poverty, abstained from sex and personal wealth — and also killed people for a living. This required theological justification. Enter **Bernard of Clairvaux**. ### Bernard of Clairvaux and the Templar Rule **Bernard of Clairvaux** (1090–1153) was one of medieval Christianity's most influential figures — a Cistercian monk, mystic, theologian, and political operator. He was a major force behind the **Second Crusade** and a brilliant propagandist for holy war. Bernard wrote **"In Praise of the New Knighthood"** (_De Laude Novae Militiae_, ~1129–1136), a treatise defending the Templars. His argument: **Secular knights** fight for pride, wealth, and glory — sinful motivations. When they kill, they sin. When they die, they're damned. **Templars** fight for Christ, defending pilgrims and holy sites. When they kill Muslims, they're not committing murder — they're performing **"malicide"** (killing evil), which is righteous. When they die in battle, they're **martyrs** guaranteed entry to heaven. This was **exactly** what Crusader culture needed — a theological framework making religious violence not just acceptable but spiritually superior to peaceful monasticism. Bernard also helped draft the **Latin Rule** (1129), the Templars' governing document, which laid out: **Vows:** Poverty, chastity, obedience (standard monastic vows) **Daily routine:** Seven canonical hours of prayer, communal meals, shared sleeping quarters **Dress code:** White mantles with red crosses (for knights), black or brown for sergeants **Discipline:** Strict hierarchy, no personal possessions, no contact with women, no hunting for sport The Rule created a **military monastic order** — soldiers who lived like monks, monks who fought like soldiers. --- ## Papal Endorsement and Extraordinary Privileges At the **Council of Troyes (1129)**, Pope Honorius II officially recognized the Templars. This was followed by the papal bull **"Omne Datum Optimum" (1139)** issued by **Pope Innocent II**, which granted the Templars extraordinary privileges: **Exemption from local authority** — Templars answered only to the Pope, not bishops, kings, or local lords. They could operate independently of local Church hierarchies. **Tax exemption** — Templars paid no tithes, taxes, or tolls. This made them extraordinarily profitable to do business with. **Permission to keep spoils of war** — Templars could retain plunder from battles, building their wealth. **Permission to build their own churches and cemeteries** — Templars controlled their own religious infrastructure. **Right to hear confessions and grant absolution** — Templar chaplains had powers normally reserved for bishops. These privileges made the Templars effectively **a sovereign religious-military organization** operating across Europe and the Middle East, accountable only to the Pope. This independence would eventually make them intolerable to secular rulers. --- ## Military Role: Elite Shock Troops of the Crusades The Templars became the **Crusader states' most effective military force**. Their reputation was built on: **Professional discipline** — Unlike feudal knights (who served 40 days annually and went home), Templars were **permanent, professional soldiers** living in fortified commanderies. **Fanatical courage** — The Templar Rule **forbade retreat** unless outnumbered 3:1. They fought to the death. Muslim sources describe them as terrifyingly reckless. **Heavy cavalry charges** — Templars perfected the **massed heavy cavalry charge** — armored knights on warhorses smashing into enemy lines. This was medieval warfare's ultimate weapon. **Castle garrisons** — Templars manned and defended massive fortresses across the Crusader states (**Crac des Chevaliers, Castle Pilgrim, Safed, Tortosa**). These fortresses controlled strategic routes and projected Crusader power. **Naval operations** — Templars operated their own fleet, transporting pilgrims and supplies between Europe and the Holy Land. Major battles where Templars played critical roles: **Battle of Montgisard (1177)** — Templars helped **Baldwin IV** (the "Leper King" of Jerusalem) defeat **Saladin's** vastly larger army. The battle became legendary. **Battle of Hattin (1187)** — Catastrophic defeat. Saladin destroyed the Crusader army, captured Jerusalem, and **executed 230 captured Templars** (he typically ransomed prisoners, but made an exception for Templars because they never surrendered and would immediately return to battle if released). **Siege of Acre (1189–1191)** — Templars played a major role in recapturing Acre, which became the new Crusader capital after Jerusalem's fall. **Fall of Acre (1291)** — The final Crusader stronghold fell to the Mamluks. The Templar Grand Master **Guillaume de Beaujeu** died defending the city. This marked the **end of the Crusades** and the Templars' original mission. Templars were respected and feared. **Saladin** himself said of them: _"These are the fiercest warriors Christendom has produced."_ --- ## The Banking Innovation: How Warrior Monks Became International Financiers The Templars didn't just fight. They invented **medieval Europe's first international banking system** — and this, more than their military prowess, explains their wealth and ultimate destruction. ### The Problem: Moving Money Was Dangerous Medieval Europe had no paper currency, no wire transfers, no secure way to move large sums. Pilgrims and merchants traveling to the Holy Land faced a dilemma: **Carry gold/silver** — risk being robbed and murdered **Travel without money** — starve or be stranded The Templars solved this with **letters of credit** — an early form of banking that worked like this: A pilgrim deposits money at a Templar **preceptory** (local headquarters) in Europe — say, Paris. The Templar treasurer records the deposit and issues a coded **letter of credit** (encrypted using symbols only Templars could decode). The pilgrim travels to Jerusalem carrying the letter, not gold. Upon arrival, the pilgrim presents the letter to the Templar treasury in Jerusalem, which verifies it and dispenses the equivalent amount (minus a small service fee). This system was **revolutionary**. It allowed secure transfer of wealth across thousands of miles without physically transporting valuables. The Templars operated **branches across Europe and the Holy Land**, creating a **network** that functioned like a modern multinational bank. ### Expansion into Full Banking The Templars expanded beyond letters of credit into full financial services: **Loans to kings and nobles** — Templars lent enormous sums to finance wars, castles, and royal courts. Borrowers included the **Kings of France, England, and Aragon**, and even the **Pope**. **Deposit accounts** — Nobles deposited wealth with Templars for safekeeping (Templar fortresses were the most secure vaults in Europe). **Estate management** — Templars managed nobles' estates, collecting rents and administering properties. **International trade financing** — Merchants used Templar networks to finance long-distance trade. **Treasury management for monarchs** — The **Temple in Paris** effectively functioned as the **French royal treasury** for decades, managing the king's finances. The Templars became **indispensable to European finance**. Kings owed them money. Nobles stored wealth with them. Merchants relied on their credit networks. The Pope used them as bankers. This created enormous power — and enormous resentment. --- ## The Wealth Problem: Too Rich to Survive By the late 13th century, the Templars controlled: **Thousands of estates** across Europe (farms, vineyards, mills, forests) **Major fortresses** doubling as administrative centers and treasuries **Fleets of ships** for trade and transport **Urban properties** in major cities (Paris, London, Acre, etc.) **Outstanding loans** to kings totaling staggering sums Conservative estimates suggest the Templars were one of the **wealthiest institutions in Christendom** — rivaling kingdoms. This wealth created two fatal problems: **Envy and resentment** — Secular rulers resented a religious order possessing more liquid capital than royal treasuries. **Debt** — Many kings **owed money to the Templars**. Destroying the order would cancel those debts. After the **Fall of Acre (1291)**, the Templars lost their original purpose. The Crusades were over. The Holy Land was lost. What was the point of a military order with no war to fight? Templars relocated to **Cyprus** and proposed new crusades, but European kings had lost interest. The Templars had become an anachronism — a massively wealthy, independent military order with no clear mission, answerable only to the Pope, sitting on fortunes that cash-strapped monarchs desperately wanted. Enter **King Philip IV of France** — a man who would destroy them to save himself from bankruptcy. --- ## The Destruction: Philip IV and the Arrests of 1307 **Philip IV "the Fair"** (ruled 1285–1314) was one of medieval Europe's most ruthless and financially desperate monarchs. He faced chronic deficits from wars with England and Flanders. His solutions included: **Debasing the currency** (inflating away debts by reducing silver content in coins) **Expelling the Jews** (1306) and seizing their property **Attacking the Pope** — Philip's agents physically assaulted **Pope Boniface VIII** (1303) in a dispute over taxation of clergy **Taxing the Church** relentlessly By 1307, Philip was **deeply in debt to the Templars** and facing political pressure from nobles he couldn't pay. He needed a massive influx of wealth. The Templars had it. ### The Plan: Destroy the Templars and Seize Their Assets Philip devised a plan with ruthless brilliance: **Manufacture charges of heresy** — accuse the Templars of secret rituals including spitting on the cross, denying Christ, worshiping a severed head called "Baphomet," and homosexual acts during initiation. **Coordinate mass arrests** — strike simultaneously across France so Templars couldn't warn each other or flee. **Extract confessions through torture** — justify the charges with forced admissions. **Pressure the Pope** to dissolve the order and transfer assets to the Crown. ### Friday, October 13, 1307 On **Friday, October 13, 1307**, Philip's agents arrested **every Templar in France** in coordinated dawn raids. Sealed orders had been distributed weeks earlier to royal officials across the kingdom with instructions to open them simultaneously. The arrests were total: **Grand Master Jacques de Molay**, senior commanders, knights, sergeants, chaplains, servants — everyone affiliated with the order. Estimates suggest **several thousand** Templars were imprisoned that day. This is the origin of the **"Friday the 13th" superstition** — the day the Templars fell. ### The Charges Philip's charges were designed to shock and horrify Christian Europe: **Denying Christ and spitting on the cross** during secret initiation ceremonies **Worshiping idols**, particularly a mysterious head or skull called **"Baphomet"** **Homosexual acts** as part of initiation (kissing each other on the mouth, navel, and buttocks) **Trampling on the cross** **Conducting secret rituals** at night **Absolving each other of sins** without priestly authority These charges combined **genuine medieval anxieties** (secret societies, homosexuality, heresy) with **fabricated accusations** designed to justify asset seizure. ### The Torture French Inquisitors tortured Templars to extract confessions. Methods included: **The strappado** — hanging by the wrists with arms behind the back, dislocating shoulders **Foot roasting** — slow burning of feet until flesh fell from bones **The rack** — stretching the body until joints separated **Sleep deprivation, starvation, beatings** Under torture, many Templars confessed to anything demanded. **Jacques de Molay** himself initially confessed, then recanted, then confessed again under renewed torture. **38 Templars died under torture** in Paris alone in the first months. --- ## Papal Complicity and the Order's Dissolution **Pope Clement V** (elected 1305) was effectively Philip's puppet. The French king had engineered his election and kept him under political control. Clement initially resisted dissolving the Templars (he knew the charges were fabricated), but Philip applied overwhelming pressure: **Threatened to put the previous Pope (Boniface VIII) on trial posthumously for heresy** **Threatened to invade papal territories** **Presented hundreds of tortured "confessions" as evidence** **Demanded the Pope act or face charges of protecting heretics** Other European monarchs saw an opportunity. **King Edward II of England** also owed money to Templars and eagerly joined the persecution. In **1312**, at the **Council of Vienne**, Pope Clement V issued the bull **"Vox in excelso,"** officially dissolving the Knights Templar. The order's assets were theoretically transferred to the **Knights Hospitaller** (another military order), but in practice, **Philip seized most Templar wealth in France**. ### The Execution of Jacques de Molay On **March 18, 1314**, **Jacques de Molay** (last Grand Master of the Templars) and **Geoffroi de Charney** (Preceptor of Normandy) were brought before a tribunal in Paris. They had confessed under torture but were offered a final chance to admit guilt publicly and receive life imprisonment. Instead, **they recanted**. De Molay shouted that the Templars were innocent, the confessions extracted by torture were lies, and Philip was destroying a holy order for greed. Philip ordered them **burned at the stake immediately**. That evening, they were executed on the **Île de la Cité** in Paris in front of crowds. Legend claims de Molay, as the flames rose, **cursed Philip and Clement**, summoning them to face God's judgment within a year. **Pope Clement V died one month later** (April 1314). **Philip IV died seven months later** (November 1314) from a stroke during a hunting accident. Both were dead within a year, fueling legends of the Templar curse. --- ## What Happened to the Templars After 1312? The fate of Templars varied by country: **France:** Many executed or imprisoned. Some fled. Assets seized by the Crown. **England:** Most Templars retired to monasteries with small pensions. Assets transferred to Hospitallers (though the Crown took a cut). **Spain and Portugal:** Templars were absorbed into new military orders (**Order of Montesa** in Aragon, **Order of Christ** in Portugal). The Portuguese order retained Templar properties and continued Templar traditions. **Scotland:** Legend claims Templars fled to Scotland (under **Robert the Bruce**, who was excommunicated and thus not bound by Papal orders). This is unproven but endures in Masonic mythology. **Switzerland:** Some legends claim Templars founded Switzerland (the white cross on red background echoes the Templar emblem). No historical evidence supports this. **The Americas:** Fringe theories claim Templars fled to North America before Columbus. Zero credible evidence. Most Templars simply **disappeared into obscurity** — retired, joined other orders, or lived quietly under new identities. --- ## The Legend Industry: How the Templars Became Mythical The Templars' sudden, violent destruction created a vacuum filled by legends, conspiracy theories, and alternative histories that persist today. ### The Holy Grail Medieval romances (particularly **Wolfram von Eschenbach's _Parzival_**, early 13th century) associated the Templars with guarding the **Holy Grail** (the cup from the Last Supper). This connection likely arose because Templars controlled sites in Jerusalem linked to Jesus' life. Later legends claimed Templars discovered the Grail beneath the Temple Mount and smuggled it to safety before their destruction. Variants place it in Scotland, France, or Ethiopia. **Zero historical evidence supports Grail legends.** ### Baphomet The "idol head" Templars allegedly worshipped became **Baphomet** in later occult traditions. **Éliphas Lévi** (19th-century French occultist) depicted Baphomet as a **winged, goat-headed hermaphrodite** — this image became iconic in modern occultism and Satanism. What was Baphomet originally? Likely: **A corruption of "Muhammad"** (French _Mahomet_) — Inquisitors may have accused Templars of Muslim sympathies **Fabrication** — no physical evidence of any idol has ever been found **Misunderstood relics** — Templars venerated saints' skulls; this may have been distorted in accusations ### The Freemasons The most persistent legend: **Templars founded Freemasonry** or survived by going underground as Masons. The claim emerged in 18th-century Scottish Freemasonry. **Andrew Michael Ramsay** (1686–1743) delivered a speech (the "Oration," 1737) claiming Masonry descended from Crusader knights. Later Masonic degrees (particularly **Scottish Rite** and **York Rite**) incorporate Templar symbolism and ritual. **Historical reality:** Modern Freemasonry emerged in 17th-century England, centuries after the Templars' destruction. The Templar connection is **romantic mythology**, not documented history. But it's central to Masonic identity in certain rites. ### The Templars and Secret Knowledge Theories claim Templars discovered: **The Ark of the Covenant** beneath Solomon's Temple **Ancient esoteric knowledge** from Jewish, Islamic, or Gnostic sources **Mathematical and architectural secrets** (explaining Gothic cathedral construction) **Alchemical formulas** for transmuting metals These claims rest on: **zero documentary evidence**. They arose in 19th-20th century alternative history movements seeking ancient wisdom traditions. ### Modern Templar "Revivals" Numerous organizations claim Templar descent or revival: **Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (SMOTJ)** — modern organization claiming continuity **Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani (OSMTH)** — similar claims **Various Masonic Templar bodies** **Catholic Church position:** All such organizations are "self-styled" with no legitimate connection to the historical Templars. The original order was dissolved in 1312 and has no successors. --- ## Why the Templars Matter The Templars matter because their story reveals fundamental dynamics of power, wealth, and institutional survival: **Religious organizations can become too powerful to coexist with secular authority.** The Templars' independence and wealth made them intolerable to monarchs. **Debt is a weapon.** Philip didn't just want Templar wealth — he wanted to erase his debts by destroying his creditors. **Torture produces false confessions.** The Templar trials demonstrate how judicial torture manufactures "evidence" for predetermined conclusions. **Legends fill the vacuum left by sudden destruction.** The Templars' abrupt end without clear resolution created space for centuries of speculation, conspiracy, and myth-making. **Financial power rivals military power.** The Templars fell not because they lost battles but because their banking empire threatened royal sovereignty. The historical Templars were **warrior monks who became international bankers, accumulated massive wealth, and were destroyed by a king who couldn't afford to let them survive**. Everything else — the Grail legends, Masonic connections, occult secrets — is projection, fantasy, and the human need to believe that powerful institutions destroyed unjustly must have possessed secret knowledge worth killing for. They didn't. They were just very good at finance, very bad at political survival, and very unlucky to exist when a ruthless, bankrupt king needed their wealth more than their swords. And that's why we're still talking about them 700 years later. ![[Pasted image 20240917195453.jpg]] a French [military order](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_order_(religious_society) "Military order (religious society)") of the [Catholic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic "Catholic") faith, and one of the wealthiest and most popular military orders in [Western Christianity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Christianity "Western Christianity"). They were founded c. 1119 to defend pilgrims on their way to [Jerusalem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem "Jerusalem"), with their headquarters located there on the [Temple Mount](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount "Temple Mount"), and existed for nearly two centuries during the [Middle Ages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages "Middle Ages"). Officially endorsed by [[The Roman Catholic Church]] by such decrees as the [papal bull](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_bull "Papal bull") _[Omne datum optimum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omne_datum_optimum "Omne datum optimum")_ of [Pope Innocent II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Innocent_II "Pope Innocent II"), the Templars became a favoured charity throughout [Christendom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christendom "Christendom") and grew rapidly in membership and power. The Templar knights, in their distinctive white [mantles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantle_(monastic_vesture) "Mantle (monastic vesture)") with a red [cross](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_cross "Christian cross"), were among the most skilled fighting units of the [Crusades](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades "Crusades"). They were prominent in [Christian finance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_finance "Christian finance"); non-combatant members of the order, who made up as much as 90% of their members, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBurman199045-3) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar#cite_note-quantity-4) managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar#cite_note-5) They developed innovative financial techniques that were an early form of [banking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banking "Banking"), (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMartin200547-6) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar#cite_note-FOOTNOTENicholson20014-7) building a network of nearly 1,000 [commanderies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commandry "Commandry") and [fortifications](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortification "Fortification") across [Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe "Europe") and the [Holy Land](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Land "Holy Land"). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBarber1994-8) The Templars were closely tied to the Crusades. As they became unable to secure their holdings in the Holy Land, support for the order faded. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar#cite_note-9) Rumours about the Templars' secret [initiation ceremony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiation_ceremony "Initiation ceremony") created distrust, and [King Philip IV of France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_IV_of_France "Philip IV of France"), while being deeply in debt to the order, used this distrust to take advantage of the situation. In 1307, he pressured [Pope Clement V](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_V "Pope Clement V") to have many of the order's members in France arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBarber1993-10) Under further pressure, Pope Clement V disbanded the order in 1312. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar#cite_note-11) The abrupt disappearance of a major part of the medieval European infrastructure gave rise to speculation and legends, which have currently kept the "Templar" name alive. ## Names [[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knights_Templar&action=edit&section=1 "Edit section: Names")] The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ([Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_language "Latin language"): _Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici_ and [French](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language "French language"): _Pauvres Chevaliers du Christ et du Temple de Salomon_) are also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, and mainly the Knights Templar ([French](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language "French language"): _Les Chevaliers Templiers_), or simply the Templars ([French](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language "French language"): _Les Templiers_). The Temple Mount where they had their headquarters had a mystique because it was above what was believed to be the ruins of the [Temple of Solomon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon%27s_Temple "Solomon's Temple"). [[The Holy Grail]] Louis VII of France became indebted to the Knights Templar, and in repayment of the help he had received he established some of the Ordre de Sion at the priory of St. Samson, along with establishing 26 men (2 groups of 13) at a small priory at the Mount of Sion, Orleans, France. In 1188, the Ordre de Sion let the Knights Templars apparently go their own way, which eventually was to trouble. The story of the Knights Templars is exceedingly interesting because it relates to the Satanic International Bankers of today. The Knights Templars became the first European wide International Bankers.