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The Knights Templar

Introduction
The Birth of a Legend
Founding of the Templars
Templar Centuries
Warriors, Monks, Diplomats & Bankers
Order & Discipline
Templar Secrets
Gnosticism
The Warriors & The Goddess
The Holy Grail
The Turin Shroud
Templar Arrests
The Trials in France
The Trials Outside France
Guilty or Innocent?
Charges Examined
The Mysteries
The Survival of the Templars
Freemasonry & Templars
Today's Templars
Temple/Balantrodoch
Further Information

Introduction

Mystery surrounds virtually every aspect of the Templar story, from their origins in the aftermath of the First Crusade, through their rise to supreme wealth and power - dominating medieval Europe for nearly two centuries - to their abrupt and dramatic suppression. Ferociously punished for alleged heresy and depravity at the beginning of the 14^th century, their story is believed to have ended there, merely an interesting historical footnote. But did they, as many now believe, survive in secret? Does the original Order of the Knights Templar actually exist today?

Following their dramatic demise, and particularly over the course of the last three centuries, the Templars have been placed at the heart of Western esoteric and arcane tradition. They are believed to have been the conduits through which great occult secrets of the past were transmitted to future generations of secret societies and adepts, or through which deeply esoteric and heretical doctrines were channelled into Europe from the Middle East or even further a field. They are said to have been the guardians of secrets that threatened to undermine the foundations of the Christian Church, and have been linked with such potent objects as the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant and the Turin Shroud.

Historians generally dismiss such claims as fantasy and mythmaking, complaining that whenever a gap in the historical record needs to be bridged the Templars are invoked. The complaint is, to an extent, justified; many of the modern claims concerning the 'secrets' of the Templars are patent nonsense, and many other theories, while plausible, rest solely on speculation.

However, the Templars fit into this role so neatly because there are unanswered questions and real mysteries about them. The Order had an obsession with secrecy that makes it difficult for historians to answer some of the most basic questions about them and to piece together a complete account of their history and activities, and which fuels speculation that the Templars had a hidden agenda.

Mystery.TV's Templar Files are part of a major investigation into one of the most important mysteries of European history. In conjunction with these files, Mystery-Channel are leading a scientific and archaeological project at the site of the Order's former headquarters in Scotland, the former site of the preceptory of Balantrodoch, today the tranquil village of Temple near Edinburgh. This is the first of a planned series of other Templar - or suspected Templar - sites in Europe and even as far afield as north America.

Mystery.TV's Templar Files concentrate on the enigma of the medieval Order, and examine the mysteries surrounding the following aspects of their spectacular rise and fall:

Origins

According to the official history, in or around 1118 (even the exact year is not certain) in the aftermath of the First Crusade that captured Jerusalem from the Moslems, nine French knights travelled to the Holy Land and took a vow to keep the pilgrimage routes safe for Christians. They were led by Hugues de Payens, a knight from Champagne who was to become the Order of the Temple's first Grand Master.

After about nine years, Hugues de Payens and his companions returned to Europe and set about building up what was to become the mightiest military Order of the Middle Ages, and the most powerful and influential institution after the Church itself. Through the influence of the legendary St Bernard of Clairvaux, head of the Cistercian monastic order, the 'new knighthood' received the blessing and endorsement of the Pope, and began to be feted by the Kings and nobles of Europe. With vast grants of land, property and money, the Templars soon flourished.

The 'official' story of the Templars' formation and rise is fascinating enough. However, there are many unanswered questions, evasions and unexplained gaps in the records that suggest that even this is not the complete story, and that something about the Order's origins and purpose has been covered up…

There is evidence that their avowed purpose was simply a cover story, and that the Hugues and his companions went to Jerusalem on a secret mission, searching for something - a sacred object, perhaps, or lost knowledge.

Implicated in the plan were two extremely highly influential figures - the Count of Champagne and the legendary St Bernard of Clairvaux, head of the Cistercian monastic order. What the founding Templars' real objective might have been - and whether they succeeded - has been the subject of enduring speculation and many theories.

The Height of Power

Acknowledging only the Pope as his superior, the Templar Grand Master was the equal of Kings, and the Order reigned supreme for nearly two centuries, during which its fortunes and history were closely entwined with those of the Crusades.

The Order shaped itself into the most feared and efficient fighting force of its day. They were literally warrior monks, who gave themselves body and soul to the Order and took the standard monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and who fought in defence of the Christian faith.

But the Templars were not just soldiers. The scope of their activities - military, economic and diplomatic - are staggering. There was hardly a sphere of medieval life in which their presence was not felt.

Soon the Templars had property throughout the length and breadth of Europe. Such was the Order's wealth - and the calls upon it to protect that of others - that it developed much of what became the modern international banking system. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the Templars in the 12^th and 13^th centuries: there was no part of Europe or the Holy Land that did not feel their presence. It was the only force feared by the Assassins (who were in many ways their counterpart in the Moslem world).

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