The Templars
A history in miniature of the legendary monk warriors



THE EARLY TIMES

By the time of the Second Crusade, the lack of troops and military resources of the new Christian kingdoms were totally inadequate to offer any degree of protection beyond city walls or fortresses. The Templar order was established with the sole purpose of affording armed protection to all Christian pilgrims.

In 1118, under the rule of King Baldwin II, a small group of knights decided to take vows of chastity, poverty and obedience to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The two leaders of these nine knights were Hugh of Payns and Godfrey of Saint-Omer. In the beginning, they decided to call their new order “The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Jesus Christ”. The King gave them barracks on the south side of the Temple of Solomon. This move prompted them to change their name, first to “The Knights of the Temple of Solomon”, followed by “The Knights of the Temple”, then just to “The Templars” or simply “The Temple”. The King conferred on them his royal favour and gave them the honourable and important mission of maintaining all roads and paths free between the cities and holy sites of the Holy Land, the Outremer.

They had no resources that would seduce new volunteers and were unable even to wear the typical white cloak adorned with the Red Cross that would later be their trademark… Hugh of Payens, one of the Black Hawk figures introduced in this new series, came from the city of Troyes in the French Champagne region. He was born around 1080 into a noble house related to the Count of Champagne and the future Saint Bernard of Clairvaux –another personality portrayed in the series. From an early age he was educated in the Christian and military ideals and learned the role of the knights that he would inherit.

It isn’t difficult to imagine those young knights, entering into a Holy War and approaching the sublime as a warrior monk, ardent, brave and idealistic, prepared to forfeit their lives to liberate the Holy Sepulchre. Hugh of Payens instinctively knew how to teach his eight companions the ideal of resigning the mundane and to seek a more transcendent, superior mission. Indeed, a religious mission based on the bearing of arms, in itself a contradiction in terms. A contradiction, however, that was resolved by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. He was a powerful Cistercian abbot who assisted the young knight to obtain the apostolic confirmation and who set out the rules for the new Order.

IN SEARCH OF THE HOLY GRAIL

Over the years, the esoteric nature of the Order has given innumerable authors much to write about. Still, it should be recognized that there are a lot of aspects about these monks that are, more or less, disconcerting. Its origins and foundation are a mystery itself. Hugh of Payens kept a mere nine knights for nine years, which hardly appears to be an adequate number of individuals to maintain the roads clear of danger in the Holy Land, its main mission. Why nine knights for nine years? Did they really find a treasure in the Temple of Solomon? Did they find and keep the Holy Grail? There is much mystery surrounding Templar history, including secret rules that could only be accessed by high dignitaries, which contradicted the Christian spirit.

The Order’s secret pacts with the Muslims did not help them; specially the one it signed with the leader of the Ismaili sect Hassan Ibn Sabbah, the ‘Old Man in the Mountain’, the chief of the assassin sect; this sect also becomes lost in the esoteric mist. But, there’s more, much more…there was a coincidence in numbers. For example, the fact that there were twenty-two Templar Grand Masters, coinciding with the twenty-two letters in the Jewish alphabet and the Kabala Tree of Life, the twenty-two High Arcane in the Tarot, and twenty-two Apocalypse Books of Saint John.

Of course, there is the quest for the Holy Grail and the legend that the Templars found not only the Holy Grail, but also other holy relics, including the Four Grail Hallows. The first Grail Hallow was the platter used at the Last Supper, the second the lance that killed Jesus on the cross, the third was the Grail itself, the cup that caught Jesus’ blood so that none of it would touch the ground, and the last was the Sword of King David, father of King Solomon, and the first in a dynasty of Jewish kings. Legend had it that it was this sword that was used to cut off the head of St. John the Baptist. The first mention of a Holy Grail was in a poem written in 1204, when the Grail was described as the cup used at the Last Supper, other later texts refer to ‘Perceval’ and ‘Parsifal’, one of King Arthur’s knights of Round Table fame. Some of the Grail stories were written by people who were supporters of the Templars, and in one called ‘Parzival’ there is mention of knights dressed in white surcoats emblazoned with the red cross of the Templars. Whatever it might be, Black Hawk’s new Templar series has not missed this captivating facet of their history with the inclusion of some pieces clearly alluding to this mysterious, mystical world shrouding the monk warriors…

TEMPLARS IN WAR

The Templar Order took part in most of the battles in Syria, Palestine and Egypt with the sole aim of defending the conquered territory. At the same time, they often entered into alliances with their Muslim opponents, a situation that was often viewed upon by their co-religionists as a form of treachery. This policy of forming alliances with Muslim powers was frowned upon across the Christian World and, eventually, it contributed in consolidating the ‘black legend’ of the Templars as an order of heretics.

During the time of the First Crusade, the Seljuk Empire (between present day Iraq and Iran) was disintegrating, having already lost control over Turkey and Syria. In this region, power was shared among the Turkish tribes, Armenians, Kurds and Arabs, all fighting each other in order to control the land, castles and cities. On the other hand, Egypt was under the thrall of the Fatimite Caliphate, who were Shia Muslims, followers of Mohammad’s son-in-law, Ali.

The Cairo-based Caliphs were attempting to consolidate their territories, rather than setting out to conquer the world, as Saladin did later, and enforcing pan-Islamic ideas. The first army faced by the Crusaders was the Seljuks of Rum in Anatolia. This made the campaign even more difficult as the Seljuk army included Turcoman warriors who were mounted archers equipped with deadly, small, curved bows that had a power never before seen. Their method of fighting was to attack the Christian armies, using the hit-and-run technique. Muslim armies were organized into regiments with a structured chain of command. Meanwhile, the Christian armies reflected a contemporary European medieval structure. Christian troops were from diverse origins and obeyed only their liege Lords. This almost total lack of cohesion made the discipline of the Templar squadrons even more valuable.

When Egypt and Syria became reunited under Atabeg Nur el Dim, a Syrian political warrior strong enough to defend Islam, his governor in Egypt was the young Kurdish Muslim Salah al Din Yusif ibn Ayyub, known as Saladin to the Christians. He is represented as one of a group of five outstanding pieces released by Black Hawk covering the third chapter in the Templar series. In a remarkably short period of time, Saladin became the most powerful, as well as a highly popular leader. Saladin was, without doubt, the most prominent figure during the Crusades, or Frankish invasion. He was an exceptional politician and military leader, a man of high moral values and qualities of judgment that made him an admired figure throughout, not only the Muslim world, but also the Christian one.

THE FINAL DAYS

In 1307 the French king Phillip IV, who was short of money and coveted the Templars’ riches, began a long process against the Brothers and their Grand Master. Under the pretext of being a heretical sect, they were systematically interrogated and tortured.

In April 1312, the weak Pope Clement V, under pressure from Phillip IV ‘The Fair’ issued the Papal bull, Vox Clementis, suppressing the Order. Two years later, on an island in the Seine, Jacques de Molay, the last of the Templar Grand Masters, together with many of his Brothers were burnt at the stake after retracting their earlier confessions and proclaiming their innocence, and also that of the Order.

Jacques de Molay, then 73 years old, fully realized his true position, rediscovered the Order’s knightly virtues and its sense of honour that was the Templars cornerstone. Even knowing what fate awaited him, he retracted his prior ‘confessions’ and paid the ultimate price… While the Templars had been gaining power and great wealth it aroused a great envy among the European powers. It has to be taken into account that, in the 13th Century, the Templars were capable of raising an army of 15,000 men, well equipped and united under a single command with a common purpose.

The medieval European powers, including the Church itself, and, to some extent ‘public opinion’, allowed the Order to grow. This was mostly due to what the Temple had achieved during the Crusades in the Holy Land. However, what could possibly justify such power once the war was over? In explaining how the demise of the order came about, a third crucial factor should be considered: the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, who, although a pious, simple and honest man, lacked the necessary strength of character to stand up to the shameful lies soon to be spread against the Order. Although, that said, it is doubtful if the forthcoming suppression could have been avoided or prevented had a stronger, more determined personality, commanded the Templars instead of Molay. However, the truth remains that he didn’t… So, with de Molay being a paramount figure in the history of the Templars, Black Hawk has released not one, but two models of him to be included in the final release of its series on the Templars: the first showing him as the Grand Master in full charge of the Templar empire and, the second, as the naked, broken man being led to be burnt at the stake.

Another most interesting character who played a pivotal role in the drama of the end of the order is the cunning, cold, ruthless French king Phillip IV, nicknamed ‘The Fair’ due to his handsome appearance, although his inflexible personality gained him other epithets, including that by his fiercest opponent Bernard Saisset, Bishop of Pamiers, who said of him, "He is neither man nor beast. He is a statue." Philip, and in turn France itself, was hugely in debt to the Knights Templar who had been acting as bankers for some two hundred years. He was suspicious of the Templars ultimate motives, the French exchequer was empty, he was unable, because of the bull, to make them submit to his Royal rule and, finally, he coveted the Templars’ wealth. As a result, he decided to put an end to it…

This most intriguing character has been included in the Black Hawk series to be displayed beside his victim amidst a striking ensemble depicting the last act in the Templar drama. Jacques de Molay’s last act while burning at the stake in Paris was to curse both Philip and Clement V from the flames, saying that he would summon them before God´s Tribunal within a year. As it turned out, both the King and the Pope did die within the following year. The throne passed rapidly through Philip´s sons, who also died relatively young, all without producing male heirs. By 1328, his line, the Capets, had died out and the throne had passed to the House of Valois…

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