Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar

A highly readable look at the lifespan of the famous Knights Templar who were warrior monks and the first disciplined, regulated and uniformed standing army since antiquity throughout Europe and the Holy Lands and who also were an economic force to be reckoned with and perhaps an institution guarding dark secrets. - The origins of the concept of Holy War, from Biblical times through the rise of Islam and the Christian movement which inspired untold thousands to set out to recapture Jerusalem, as warriors and as pilgrims. - How nine knights led by Hugues de Payens came from France to guard pilgrims in the Holy Land and how they gained the site of the Temple of Solomon and what they did there including a re-evaluation of the historical evidence. - How an unprecedented religious Order grew, pledged to bloodshed in defence of pilgrims and the territory conquered by the Crusaders and the role and agenda of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and other powerful backers. - The Order's contribution to the ongoing Crusades, their military tactics and organisation and the fortresses and bases they established. - The fate of the Order after the failure of the Crusades including detailed examination of the charges of occult rituals involving idol worship, spitting on the Cross and obscene kisses, through to the burning of the last Grand Master Jacques de Molay in 1314.