Knights are inherently associated with the Middle Ages in the minds of many people. However, it's not the case that there was only one type of knight. In this series of blogs, we want to showcase several different types of knights. This blog focuses on the knight of the Order of the Templars. With the products we offer in our store, we have created an impression of a Templar knight.
Formation of the Order
After the First Crusade (1096-1099), a significant portion of present-day Israel, Lebanon, and Syria came under the control of a coalition of Christian Crusader states. The Holy Land attracted many Christian pilgrims, but it soon became evident that it was not safe for them to travel through Muslim territories. In 1118, the French nobleman Hugh of Payns established a small knightly order dedicated to protecting pilgrims on their journey to the Holy Land. This order was initially known as the "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon," later abbreviated to the "Order of the Templars" or "Templar Order."
In 1129, the order received formal recognition from the Catholic Church, and in 1139, its members were granted special rights by Pope Innocent II.
Rules within the Order
For the most part, members of the order were required to adhere to the same or similar strict rules as monks. Templars were required to take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. They were prohibited from drinking and gambling and were obligated to participate in religious activities befitting followers of God.
There were strict regulations regarding the clothing Templars were allowed to wear. All members of the order were required to wear a garment similar to the ordinary habits worn by monks. These garments had to fit perfectly and were not allowed any embellishments. Unlike regular monks, Templars were permitted to grow their beards.
Knights wore a white robe, while sergeants (members of non-noble origin) wore black. Both wore a red cross on the left shoulder of their robes and mantles to signify their membership in the Templar order. The red cross symbolized the suffering of Christ.
Pointed shoes and shoes with laces were strictly prohibited as they were associated with heathens.
Expansion
Although the order began with a very small number of members, it grew to become the largest and best-organized fighting force in the Holy Land. This growth was not only in numbers but also in status and influence. Due to their skill, the Templars' residence was seen by pilgrims as the safest place in the Holy Land. As a result, many pilgrims entrusted their money and other valuable possessions to the Templars. Thus, the order became not only a military force but also a bank. It was even possible for pilgrims to "deposit" money in their home countries and withdraw it from 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. Pride began to grow within the order, resulting in poor military decisions and significant losses in manpower. Initially, the reputation of the order remained intact as they continued to achieve significant victories alongside their losses.
However, this changed when Saladin became the new commander of the Muslim forces fighting back. By the end of the 12th century, Jerusalem fell first, followed by Acre, prompting the Templars to retreat to Cyprus.
At the beginning of the 13th century, the order was still recovering from its losses, aided by the many donations they continued to receive. In 1229, another Crusade, led by the German Emperor Frederick II, took place, with the Templars joining forces. This Crusade was successful and ended in a peace agreement. An important point of this agreement was that the Al-Aqsa Mosque would remain in Islamic hands. This was troubling for the Templars, as the mosque had long served as their headquarters, under the name of the Temple of Solomon. This caused much unrest in the region, both between the Templars and the Muslims, and among the Templars and other groups of Crusaders.
Forced to relocate their headquarters to other northern cities, such as the seaport of Acre, which they held 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 attempted 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 through a new invasion force in 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 significant, support for the organization began to decline. However, the situation was complex because, over the two hundred years of their existence, the Templars had become an integral part of daily life throughout Christian Europe. The many Templar houses of the organization, spread across Europe and the Near East, gave them a broad presence at the local level. Despite the decreasing military importance, the Templars still managed numerous businesses, 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 belongings. The order was still not subject to local governments, making it a kind of "state within a state" everywhere; the standing army, although no longer having a clearly defined mission, could freely cross all borders. This situation led to increasing tensions with a part of the European nobility, especially because the Templars showed interest in establishing their own monastic state, similar to what the Teutonic Order had done in Prussia and the Baltic states, and the Hospitaller Knights in Rhodes.
Furthermore, the Templars facilitated corruption within their own ranks, often influencing European legal systems in favor of their own interests and exerting 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 secretive nature within the ranks of the Templars made them vulnerable to political agendas. Rumors about the secret initiation ceremony of the Templars created distrust. Here, King Philip IV of France, known as "Philip the Fair," took advantage to bring about the end of the Templars once and for all. King Philip had several motives for this.
Philip IV of France, nicknamed "the Fair," had various motives for condemning 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 assets 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 solidify his grip on France. Religious motives: Philip also had political conflicts with Pope Boniface VIII, and condemning the Templars offered him the opportunity to undermine papal authority and strengthen his own position. Personal motives: Some historians suggest that Philip also harbored personal grudges against the Templars, possibly because of their refusal to financially support him or due to his disagreements with individual members of the order.
The members of the Order of the Templars were arrested, tortured, and forced to confess. Subsequently, they were executed.
In 1312, the order was officially dissolved by the Pope.
Composition
In the heart of medieval Europe, amidst the Crusades, Hugo emerged as a figure of courage. Born into a noble family, Hugo grew up with chivalric ideals and was instilled with a strong sense of duty and honor from a young age. His unwavering dedication to his faith led him to join the Templars Order in the Holy Land. Below you will find the composition of Hugo's equipment as a Templar knight.
In the Middle Ages, it was common for knights to wear hauberks. Hauberks provided protection against slashes and partially against stabs from sharp weapons. Nowadays, it is common to wear a gambeson under the hauberk in reenactment settings. This padded underlayer cushions blows and reduces injuries such as fractures. Additionally, gambesons themselves also provided protection, for example, against arrows that could indirectly hit the wearer. The combination of a gambeson and hauberk thus provided relatively good protection for the wearer.
Gambeson
Hugo wears both a gambeson and a hauberk in our composition. The gambeson could be worn either separately or under the hauberk. There are some medieval depictions suggesting that the gambeson was even worn over the hauberk. Most of the gambesons we sell are designed to be worn under armor and absorb impacts. However, historical gambesons were often made of 20 to 30 layers of linen, making them so tough that they could potentially offer protection against arrows.
Long gambeson, cream: https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/long-gambeson-with-detachable-sleeves.html
An alternative could be this gambeson:
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/gambeson-maciejowski-bible.html
Chainmail hauberk
Hugo wears a mail hauberk. The mail hauberk is made of flat or round rings linked together in a 1-in-4 pattern. Each ring is closed with a rivet. Mail hauberks were widely used.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/hauberk-with-long-sleeves-flat-rings-round-rivets.html
Mail coif:
To also protect his head and neck, Hugo wears a mail coif with a helmet underneath. The equipment of the Templars had several distinctive features. https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/coif-with-square-neckline-flat-rings-round-rivets.html
Templar helmet:
The early Crusaders wore a typical Norman nasal helmet. This provided a wide field of vision but offered little protection to the face. From there, the conical helm (calotte) developed. And the conical helm evolved into the great helm or pot helm. The Templars wore all of these. However, nasal helmets were mainly worn by the serjeants or the Templars during less dangerous operations in later years. In this setup, Hugo wears a great helm.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/helmet-knight-templar-with-brass-cross.html
Wambuis hood:
Underneath the mail coif, Hugo wears a padded arming cap.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/arming-cap.html
Surcoat:
The surcoat likely originated during the First Crusade. Mail shirts become hot in the sun, and the surcoat provided protection against this. Additionally, surcoats were ideal for displaying one's noble lineage. The Templars wore the well-known white surcoats with the red cross, positioned on the left shoulder. Lower ranks wore the same surcoat in black.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/ulfberth-historical-templar-surcoat.html
Templar cloak:
Hugo wears his mantle over his clothing. He would have removed it during battles. The mantle provided him protection against the cold, especially during the night.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/ulfberth-historical-templar-cloak.html
Belts:
To distribute the weight of the mail coif and to carry their sword, the Templars wore a belt over their gear. This would have been a very simple belt, as displays of wealth were strictly forbidden.
Brown Leather Belt 2cm: https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/brown-leather-belt-2-cm-68681609.html
Sword:
The sword we've chosen for Hugo is a 12th-century sword, an Oakeshott type XII with a leather scabbard. This corresponds to the time of the Templars. The Oakeshott type XII was quite popular during this period. It was one of the first types of swords to taper to a pointed shape, making it suitable for both cutting and thrusting. This development likely arose in response to mail armor, which provided good protection against cuts but less so against thrusts.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/knight-sword-lubeck.html
Poulaines:
Hugo wears a type of shoes known as "poulaines" or "crakows." These shoes have a pointed toe and are fastened with a buckle. Shoes with pointed toes and laces were considered fashionable but were not permitted within the order.