The Rise And Fall Of The Knights Templar

The Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar (2003) – Gordon Napier
Spellmount | ISBN: 9781862271999
Condition: Good – Signed Copy | Sold by Crappy Old Books

The Knights Templar. Warrior monks, guardians of pilgrims, wealthy landowners, international financiers and eventually the unfortunate victims of one of medieval Europe’s most spectacular political stitch-ups. Few organisations have managed to combine religious devotion, military prowess, banking expertise and an enduring reputation for mysterious conspiracies quite so successfully. Indeed, nearly seven hundred years after their suppression, the Templars remain considerably more popular than most institutions that have actually survived.

Welcome to The Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar, Gordon Napier’s fascinating examination of the extraordinary medieval military order whose dramatic ascent and catastrophic downfall have inspired generations of historians, novelists, conspiracy theorists and people convinced that somebody has hidden the Holy Grail beneath a particularly suspicious-looking church.

The story begins in the aftermath of the First Crusade, when a small group of knights established an order dedicated to protecting Christian pilgrims travelling through the Holy Land. Their original ambitions were comparatively modest, although the combination of religious authority, military necessity and enthusiastic aristocratic patronage soon transformed them into one of medieval Christendom’s most powerful institutions.

The Templars became formidable fighting men, operating castles, defending Crusader territories and developing an international network of estates and financial arrangements. Their distinctive white mantles bearing red crosses became symbols of religious commitment and military discipline, while their growing wealth ensured that monarchs and nobles increasingly regarded them with a mixture of admiration, dependence and barely concealed envy.

Naturally, possessing enormous wealth while maintaining a reputation for holiness is a splendid arrangement, at least until somebody more powerful decides that your property would look considerably better in his own treasury.

Enter Philip IV of France.

In 1307, the French king launched a devastating campaign against the order, arresting Templars and accusing them of heresy, blasphemy and various alarming religious offences. Confessions extracted under torture helped support accusations whose reliability remains deeply questionable, while political pressure eventually contributed to the order’s suppression by Pope Clement V in 1312.

Its final Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake in 1314, bringing a particularly grim conclusion to an organisation that had once enjoyed extraordinary prestige throughout Christian Europe.

Napier examines the history behind these events, separating the documented achievements and failures of the Templars from the elaborate legends that subsequently attached themselves to their name.

For the Templars have enjoyed a remarkable second career in popular imagination. Secret treasures, hidden knowledge, mysterious descendants and ancient conspiracies have all been attributed to them, proving that the disappearance of an organisation can sometimes be the finest publicity campaign it will ever receive.

This 2003 Spellmount edition, offered in Good condition by Crappy Old Books, is also a signed copy, making it particularly appealing to collectors of medieval history, Crusades literature and works concerning the Knights Templar.

An absorbing journey through faith, warfare, wealth, political ambition and the dangerous business of becoming too powerful for one’s own good.

And a reminder that in medieval Europe, combining military strength, international banking and religious authority could make an organisation almost untouchable.

Until, of course, the king decided he owed it far too much money.

At which point, discovering heresy became remarkably convenient.

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