I became fascinated by history when, as a child, I visited the Coliseum in Rome; my father told me, “This is where they fed the Christians to the lions.” That awakened my curiosity for people of the past, and I went on to earn an undergraduate degree and a PhD in history at the Universities of Michigan and Hamburg respectively. My interest in the crusades was ignited by the enormous disconnect between popular perceptions and historical reality, and I have published two nonfiction books on the Crusader States, as well as seven novels set in the era of the crusades. The Knights Templar were an important component of my research.
Historical accuracy is important to me. I am not interested in fantasy or alternative history, so when I read about any topic, whether in fictional or nonfictional form, I want books based on the historical record. Malcolm Barber is one of the leading scholars on the Knights Templar of the last three decades.
This book is a concise summary of his scholarship and is for me the absolute bible on the history of the Knights Templar.
The Order of the Temple, founded in 1119 to protect pilgrims around Jerusalem, developed into one of the most influential corporations in the medieval world. It has retained its hold on the modern imagination thanks to the dramatic events of the Templars' trial and abolition two hundred years later, and has been invoked in historical mysteries from Masonic conspiracy to the survival of the Turin shroud. Malcolm Barber's lucid narrative separates myth from history in this full and detailed account of the Order, from its origins, flourishing and suppression to the Templars' historic afterlife.
Regina Pernoud is one of my favorite scholars on the Middle Ages generally. Her books, Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths, and Women in the Days of the Cathedrals, are witty and well-aimed attacks against ignorance and prejudice.
In this book on the Knights Templar, she takes on with verve the many myths and misconceptions about the Templars. I particularly loved her analysis of Templar architecture, which starts with looking at the more than 9,000 Templar commanderies across Western Europe and their humble agricultural character.
Her chapter on the Templars’ banking activities is really more a dissection of the myth about Templar wealth and is completely compelling. All in all, this is a book that brings you back to reality and away from the silly conspiracy theories that still dominate so much literature about the Templars.
For centuries, historians and novelists have portrayed the Knights Templar as avaricious and power-hungry villains. Who were these medieval monastic knights, whose exploits were the stuff of legend even in their own day? Were these elite crusaders corrupted by their conquests, which amassed them such power and wealth as to become the envy of kings?
Indignant at the discrepancies between the fantasies, on which "writers on history of every kind and hue have indulged themselves without restraint", and the available evidence, RTgine Pernoud draws a different portrait of these Christian warriors. From their origins as defenders of pilgrims to the…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
What I found so exciting about this book is that it focuses on the vast majority of Templars who were not fighting men at all. Furthermore, it depicts the Templar's monastic and communal life. This is an aspect of Templar life that many novelists appear never to have heard about.
I particularly enjoyed the detailed look at recruiting and demographics, and as a novelist, Nicholson’s discussion of career paths was helpful. Yet it was the degree of integration in local communities that was perhaps most surprising to me. I wish that no one would write a novel featuring Templars without first grasping the essence of this book: that the vast majority of Templars lived out their lives like humble monks working on farms and praying far from the ‘glamour’ attached to their fighting brethren in the Holy Land.
The Knights Templar did not write about themselves, or keep diaries, so you would be forgiven for thinking there would not be much to know about their everyday lives. However, the records of the Templars' estates tell us how they lived—from the buildings they lived in and their furnishings, to the books and ornaments in their chapels, and their clothes and crockery. These early fourteenth-century records tell us about the men and women who worked for the Templars on their lands and in their houses, their tenants, and the people who owed them money. We can see what animals they…
A picture is worth a thousand words! History books are filled with text and lots of footnotes and bibliographies, but so much of what is written can be boiled down or better explained by good pictures. And that’s what Nicholson has done in this book.
To supplement her concise and factual text (she’s a leading scholar on the topic of the Military Orders), she’s collected hundreds of images that illustrate the Templars—their castles and manors, their churches, their seals. She also provides colorful depictions of them from medieval sources, both frescoes and illuminated manuscripts. This book evokes the Templars and their lifestyle in a way that other books don’t even try. I love it!
Much has been written about the Knights Templar in recent years, most of it highly speculative and with no historical foundation. They have been associated with everything from Freemasonry to the Holy Grail, the pyramids, the Shroud of Turin and space travel. A leading specialist in the history of this legendary medieval order now writes a full account of the knights of the Order of the Temple of Solomon, to give them their full title, bringing the latest findings to a general audience. There is no other accurate popular history of the Templars currently available aimed at a general audience.…
As a Veteran, I once dismissed Christianity, viewing it as outdated and irrelevant.
But as I witness the West sliding into chaos, I realize how wrong I was. It is no accident that Christianity is under assault while the West is being overwhelmed by a cultural virus that sows discord…
Just as images provide insight beyond what mere words can convey, novels add to our understanding of a period, a character, or an event by delving into the psychological depths and emotions of humans—provided they are based on fact.
Sadly, the vast majority of books depicting or featuring Templars lack even a basic understanding of the historical religious order. That’s why I love Andrew Latham’s book. Set in the Third Crusade, it is an exciting tale with Templar heroes who actually act and think like Templars.
The year is 1191. A daring counterattack against the Saracens’ last-ditch effort to relieve the besieged city of Acre has not only saved the Third Crusade from a fatal defeat; it has also brought the leader of that counterattack, English Templar Michael Fitz Alan, to the attention of King Richard the Lionheart.
In the days that follow, the king charges Fitz Alan with a life-or-death mission – to recover the long-lost Holy Lance, a religious relic widely believed to be responsible for the near-miraculous success of the First Crusade.
The ensuing quest leads Fitz Alan and a hand-picked band of…
An English Templar travelling to Cyprus is one of thousands arrested on Friday, 13 October 1307. Victims of Philip IV’s greed for the Order’s legendary riches, they are cruelly tortured. The English knight becomes the first non-French Templar to confess to the trumped-up charges. Then he disappears. Soon, other imprisoned Templars also go missing from the French King’s dungeons. Rumours begin to circulate of a band of free Templars.
Based on historical events, not fantasy, this book tells the story of the destruction of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century. In doing so, it explores the struggle between good and evil in human hearts and the power of love even in our darkest hour.
