Knights are inseparably linked with the Middle Ages in the minds of many people. But it's not the case that there was only one type of knight. In this series of blogs we want to show a number of different types of knights. This blog focuses on the knight of the Order of the Templars. With the products we offer in our shop we have created an impression of a Templar knight.
Origins of the Order
After the First Crusade (1096-1099), much of present-day Israel, Lebanon and Syria came under the control of an alliance of Christian crusader states. The Holy Land attracted many Christian pilgrims, but soon it became clear that it was not safe for these pilgrims to travel through Muslim territories. In 1118, the French nobleman Hugo of Payens founded a small order of knights who swore to protect pilgrims during their journey to the Holy Land. This order was called the 'Order of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon', which was later shortened to the 'Order of the Templars' or 'Templar Order'.
In 1129 the order formally received the support of the Catholic Church and in 1139 the members of the order received special rights from Pope Innocent II.
Rules within the order
For the most part, members of the order had to follow the same, or similar, strict rules as monks. So the Templars had to take an oath of poverty, chastity and obedience. They were not allowed to drink or gamble and had to participate in the religious activities that came with being followers of God.
There were strict rules regarding the clothing the Templars were allowed to wear. All members of the order had to wear a garment, similar to the ordinary habit that monks wore. These garments had to fit perfectly and could not contain any ornaments. Unlike ordinary monks, the Templars were allowed to keep their beards.
The knights wore a white garment and the sergeants (members of non-noble descent) wore black. Both wore a red cross on the left shoulder of their garment and cloak to show that they were part of the Templars order. The red cross was a symbol of the suffering of Christ.
Pointed shoes and shoes with laces were strictly forbidden, as these were associated with pagans.
Growth
Although the order began with a very small number of members, it grew into the largest and best organized fighting force in the Holy Land.
This growth was not only in numbers, but also in status and influence. Because of their competence, the residence of the Templars was seen by pilgrims as the safest place in the Holy Land. This resulted in many pilgrims depositing their money and other valuable possessions with the Templars. In this way, the order became not only a fighting force, but also a bank. It was even possible for pilgrims to "deposit" money in their home country and withdraw it again with the Templars in the Holy Land.
The Loss of Jerusalem
The success of the Templars during the Second Crusade (1147-1149) ultimately led to their downfall. Arrogance began to grow within the order, causing poor military decisions. This resulted in heavy losses of manpower. Initially, the order's reputation still held, because alongside the losses they also achieved great victories.
This changed when Saladin became the new commander of the fighting-back Muslims. By the end of the 12th century, first Jerusalem and then Acre fell, after which the Templars withdrew to Cyprus.
At the beginning of the 13th century, the order was still recovering from their losses, which was possible thanks to the many donations they still received. In 1229 another Crusade took place, led by German Emperor Frederick II, which the Templars joined. This crusade was a success and ended in a peace agreement. An important point of this agreement was that the Al-Aqsa Mosque would remain in Islamic hands. This went against the grain for the Templars. The mosque had long been their headquarters, under the name the Temple of Solomon. This caused much unrest in the area, both between the Templars and Muslims, and between the Templars and other groups of crusaders.
After being forced to relocate their headquarters to other northern cities, such as the seaport of Acre, which they controlled for the next century, the Templars lost it in 1291, followed by their last mainland strongholds, Tortosa (Tartus in present-day Syria) and Atlit (in present-day Israel). Their center was then moved to Limassol on the island of Cyprus, while they also tried to maintain a garrison on the small island of Arwad, just off the coast of Tortosa. In 1300 an attempt was made to participate in coordinated military efforts with the Mongols via a new invasion force at Arwad. However, in 1302 or 1303, the Templars lost the island to the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate during the siege of Arwad. With the loss of the island, the crusaders lost their last foothold in the Holy Land.
As the military role of the order became less important, support for the organization began to decline. However, the situation was complex, because during the two hundred years of their existence, the Templars had become an integral part of daily life throughout Christian Europe. The organization's many Templar houses, scattered across Europe and the Near East, gave them a broad presence at the local level. Despite declining military importance, the Templars still controlled numerous enterprises, and many Europeans had daily contact with the Templar network, for example by working on Templar farms or vineyards, or by using the order as a bank to store personal possessions. The order was still not subject to local authorities, making it everywhere a kind of 'state within a state'; the standing army, although no longer with a clearly defined mission, could freely cross all borders. This situation led to increasing tensions with some of the European nobility, especially as the Templars showed interest in establishing their own monastic state, similar to what the German Order had done in Prussia and the Baltic, and the Knights Hospitaller on Rhodes.
Moreover, the Templars allowed corruption within their own ranks, which often allowed them to influence Europe's legal systems in favor of their own interests and to exert influence over the lands of local rulers, often at the expense of those rulers themselves.
The End of the Templars
In 1303 the headquarters of the Templars returned to Paris. However, the closed nature within the ranks of the templars meant they could quickly become victims of political agendas. Rumors about the secret initiation ceremony of the Templars created mistrust. French King Philip the Fair used this to bring an end to the Templars once and for all. King Philip the Fair had several motives for this.
Philip IV of France, nicknamed "the Fair", had various motives to condemn the Templars:
- Financial motives: Philip was heavily in debt and saw the wealth of the Templars as a way to solve his financial problems. He hoped to seize their possessions to pay off his debts.
- Political motives: Philip wanted to strengthen his power and saw the influence of the Templars as a threat to his authority. By eliminating the Templars, he could further tighten his grip on France.
- Religious motives: Philip also had political conflicts with Pope Boniface VIII, and condemning the Templars gave him the opportunity to undermine papal authority and strengthen his own position.
- Personal motives: Some historians suggest that Philip also harbored personal resentment against the Templars, possibly because of their refusal to support him financially or because of his disagreement with individual members of the order.
The members of the Templar order were arrested, tortured and forced to confess. They were then executed.
In 1312 the order was officially dissolved by the Pope.
Composition
In the heart of medieval Europe, amid the crusades, Hugo emerged as a figure of courage. Born into a noble family, Hugo grew up with knightly ideals and was instilled from an early age with a strong sense of duty and honor. His unwavering dedication to his faith drew him to the Holy Land to join the Templar order.
Below you will find the composition of Hugo's equipment as a Templar knight.
In the Middle Ages it was customary for knights to wear chainmail hauberks. Chainmail hauberks protected the wearer against blows and partly against stab wounds from sharp weapons. Nowadays it is customary to wear a gambeson under the chainmail hauberk in reenactment settings. This padded underlay softens blows and thus reduces injuries such as broken bones. In addition, gambesons on their own also offered protection, for example against arrows if you were hit indirectly. So the combination of a gambeson and chainmail hauberk protected the wearer quite well.
Gambeson
In our composition, Hugo wears both a gambeson and a chainmail hauberk. The gambeson could be worn both loose and under the chainmail hauberk. There are some medieval images that suggest the gambeson was even worn over the chainmail hauberk. Most of the gambesons we sell are suitable for wearing under armor and absorbing impacts. However, historical gambesons were often made from 20 to 30 layers of linen, making them so tough that they may have even offered protection against arrows.
Chainmail Hauberk
Hugo wears a chainmail hauberk. The chainmail hauberk is made of flat (or round rings) that are interlocked in a 1 or 4 construction. Each ring is tightly riveted with a rivet. Chainmail hauberks were widely used.
Chainmail Coif
To also protect the head and neck, Hugo wears a chainmail coif with a helm cap underneath. The equipment of the templars had a number of very recognizable parts.
Templar Helm
Early crusaders wore a typical Norman nasal helm. This offered good field of vision, but offered little protection to the face. From there, the pot helm (calotte) developed. And the pot helm developed into the great helm or pot helm. The Templars wore them all. Although the nasal helms would mainly be worn by the sergeants or the Templars during less dangerous operations in later years. In this setup, Hugo wears a great helm.
Padded Coif
Under the chainmail coif Hugo wears a padded gambeson co
