It’s been a while since I reviewed a book I’ve read about the Middle Ages, so I thought I’d have a look at a book I’ve just finished. The Templars: History and Myth by Michael Haag was published in 2010. The Templars were dissolved at the beginning of the fourteenth century, so I didn’t really read the book with a view to learning anything that I could use in a story. Like almost everyone else, I’m fascinated by the story of the Templars and intrigued by the idea that a group of men held in such esteem across Europe for two centuries could fall so decisively and so suddenly.
The book begins with the building of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem from which the Templars took their name. It covers the early crusades and the creation of the Templars in 1119. After Jerusalem fell to the Crusaders in 1099, Christian pilgrims started travelling to worship there. There were many thefts, rapes and murders before the Templars were formed to protect the pilgrims. They were created as an order of monks who were permitted to bear arms against the enemies of the church, and they also supported the Christian states in Outremer (as the region was known) in battles with the Muslims.
After the fall of the last Christian stronghold in Outremer in 1291, there seemed to be little reason for the Templars to continue. By then, however, they had become lenders to many of the kings across Europe. Their wealth brought about their downfall when Philippe IV of France thought it should be moved across Paris from their headquarters to his. The ensuing capture, torture and execution of most of the Templars in France mark the low point of his reign.
Haag sets out the history of the Templars very clearly, although it’s a fairly superficial history. This takes up only two-thirds of the book. The rest covers the mythology that rose up after the Templars were disbanded. Many of them seem to originate in the, surprisingly credulous, nineteenth century. There’s also a bit of a travelogue taking the reader to places where the Templars had bases. The final chapters look at books and films about the Templars, including one of my favourites, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The Holy Grail and the Turin Shroud also receive mentions.
The book is easy to read and there are no footnotes to interrupt the flow of the text. Although I prefer my reference books to have footnotes, I wasn’t particularly bothered that they were missing here.
It’s a very sensible book and not as sensational as I was expecting. I’ve read things about the Templars that have more to do with the authors’ imaginations than with any researched facts. As an introduction to the Templars I think it does rather well.
One of the interesting facts in the book is that some of the French Templars who survived got married so I might write a romance about a Templar after all.
I have Dan Jones’ book on The Templars to read – might add this to the pile as well!
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I’m very tempted by Dan Jones’ book, but I’m trying not to get sucked into an obsession with the Templars.
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I was in the St Johns Ambulance for a long time, and particularly as a cadet, we had to learn about the history of the Order. Obviously the Knights Hospitilar would have been peers of the Templars. All fascinating stuff.
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There were attempts to join the two orders together, but all failed. It is fascinating.
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That’s a book which has been on my to-read list for a while; a friend bought it when it was first published and spoke well of it, too. I was just thinking the other day about how history and myth intertwine, with each eventually becoming the other.
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I think he’s quite good at not giving in to the myth. Unfortunately, although the Templars kept very good records, they were lost and have become the stuff of myth themselves.
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A pity the Templars own records were lost. Though – in other examples of myth becoming history – the records, such as they are, are often disregarded for the sake of a good story. Or maybe just a story with more emotional appeal.
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The records, or rather their location, have become a bit of a myth themselves.
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I love stories about Knights Templars, it is easy to get sucked in and obsess on them! (My book cabinet ca attest to that!).
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I’m trying to avoid that. There doesn’t seem to be a huge amount of information about them, so there must surely be a limit on what can be written.
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There’s plenty of novels involving them though, I can highly recommend a novel by Tim Willocks called The Religion.
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I had a look at the reviews on Amazon and read the first couple of pages. I’m not sure, but I’ve saved it to a list to look at again. I might download the sample.
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I liked it as it wasn’t ‘mystified’, the characters feel like real people, and the author has done an intelligent job with a great period in time.
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My family has been in Masonic orders for centuries. Masonry, too is a Templar offspring. Contrary to those who insist on believing otherwise, none of my family were involved in weird or occult practices. I was a member of the Rainbow Girls, daughters of Masons. All we concentrated ourselves with was learning God’s promise of the rainbow, promising faithfulness to the God of Abraham, & behaving like little ladies.
No magic, no incantations. Yes, we followed a ritual, and I promised never to reveal it. But I CAN promise it respects God and mankind, and no girls were ever “brainwashed” or molested (yes, some INSIST I experienced those things; mostly I was a very bored little girl)!
Likely there are many who disagree, but I know what I experienced & I know my family. We are God-fearing, honorable, and good people.
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The Masons are mentioned in the book. Any links between the Templars and the Masons are, apparently, inventions of the nineteenth century.
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All fascinating stuff, isn’t it? Sounds like a book I’d enjoy, and learn from. The Knights Hospitilar eventually took over the Templar HQ in London. Robyn Young has written an excellent fictional Templar trilogy.
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The Templars weren’t destroyed in England as they were in France. They mostly joined other orders.
There are some good novels about Templars about.
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I watched a Discover Channel documentary series on the Templars. It was pretty well done, but leaned toward the sensationalism necessary to keep an eight-year-old engaged. Thanks for introducing another source,
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My pleasure. As with many of these things, the facts are so much more interesting, and satisfying, than what the sensationalists can make up.
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