The Great Seal of the Knights Templar
Where to begin? The Knights Templar, or Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici) to give them their full title, were an order of warrior knights. These orders were the closest, to my knowledge, that the Western world got to the Shao Lin temple.They were not just any old monks with swords and horses; they were the shock troops of Christendom. Their fighting skills were legendary and they sprang out of the Crusades to defend pilgrims travelling to the holy sites of the Middle East. They also became incredibly rich and powerful back in Europe and are credited with starting modern banking and the cheque system.
Things were fine for them for roughly two hundred years, then King Philip IV (Le Bel) of France (who wanted their money amongst other things) had the Order in France arrested on 13th October 1307. They were tortured and the Order banned by Pope Clement V. Ever since then, rumours of black magic and heresy have abounded and haunted the memory of the Templars.
Many books tend to be a little - well, shall we say - hyperbolic when dealing with their history. However, Michael Haag's book: The Templars: History & Myth seems very level-headed and well-researched. It offers much common sense in a disputable and variable area of history. It is also very readable and enjoyable to the layman, expecting nothing in the way of prior knowledge or expertise. There is one glaring omission, though, and that is footnotes. It is always good to know how someone came to a particular conclusion, and (especially in mediaeval history, where primary sources are thin on the ground, I for one would appreciate knowing where a particular quote came from so that I can draw conclusions, too.
On the whole, though, I'd still recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment