If you do a significant amount of research on the Knights Templar for any reason (i.e. historical reconstruction, scholarly work, fiction and non-fiction writing) it helps to have a few well-organized volumes that can quickly provide an answer to whatever questions that might come up. Although there are very good reference works that cover the Middle Ages in general and the Crusades in particular we are fortunate to have specialized encyclopedias that cover every aspect of the Knights Templar history and lore. I have four such reference books and I’m going to offer my opinion about their strengths and weaknesses. These editions are listed here in the order in which I acquired them.
Karen Ralls, Knights Templar Encyclopedia
This book is the smallest of the four. It offers a good amount of information, however there are relatively few articles dedicated to individual people, events and places. Fortunately, the book contains a very comprehensive index.
Karen Ralls is one of the few researchers with academic credentials who display a fair amount of interest in areas considered “fringe” by mainstream historians. The selection of materials in this encyclopedia reflects this aspect of Dr. Ralls’ expertise. For instance, this book treats with considerable depth such topics as sacred architecture, “Black Madonnas” and Rosslyn Chapel.
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vy-Stevan Guiho, L’Ordre des Templiers: Petite encyclopédie
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Jason Askew is a modern South African painter who frequently chooses military themes for his works. A full inventory of Jason’s art would list pictorial responses to many military conflicts in the history of the Western hemisphere. This particular piece, Jerusalem, is an allegorical painting that brings into focus the most contested and ancient holy place on Earth. The painting does not show any particular battle, instead it highlights the perennial conflict in Palestine as a whole. Warriors of different factions in the foreground express valor and determination mixed with despair. White doves against the background of a blue, yet stormy, sky invoke a familiar Christian symbol, as well as provide a sense of timelessness and divine presence.
This piece of art is currently for sale.
On March 23, 2015 History Channel made an announcement that a new scripted TV series is now in production. It will feature the final years of the Order of the Knights Templar and will be produced by A+E Studios in association with Jeremy Renner and Don Handfield’s The Combine and Midnight Radio. The details are very sketchy at the moment. It suffices to say that industry sites covering this story indicated that the series will feature “the actual events leading up to and following the persecution, downfall and burning at the stake of the Knights Templar on Friday the 13th, 1307.” Given the fact that not a single Knight Templar was actually burned a the stake on Friday the 13th, 1307 the series is probably still being perfected. It also appears that the title of the series, Knightfall, is very much a working title, particularly because there is Batman story arc with the same name.
One may also remember that some time ago another Templar-related series was announced by History. This one had to do with the fate of two brothers who came to Jerusalem in the aftermath (or during) the First Crusade. There is no word if this series is still in the works. However, today’s announcement demonstrates that the network is somewhat committed to the Templar theme. Perhaps in a couple of years we will see something on the scale of the Vikings?
The subject of this painting by Jose Moreno Carbonero (1860-1942) is rather unlikely. It depicts the arrival of Roger de Flor to Constantinople in 1303. He is accompanied with 8000 ‘Almogavares’ serving the Byzantine Emperor in Battle against the Turks. Who was Roger de Flor?
The following story can be found, along with many other fascinating tales, in “Legends of the Knights Templar”.
The life and career of Roger de Flor (1267-1305, also known as Rutger von Blume) is so incredible that it seems legendary. Much of what is known about this man comes from a book written by one of his subordinates. It appears that Roger to a German knight in the service of Frederick II and was drawn to sea faring at a young age. He became a cabin boy on a Templar ship and eventually joined the Order as a sergeant. During the siege of Acre in 1291, Roger de Flor commanded a Knights Templar ship called the Falcon. There were reports that he used that calamitous situation to enrich himself, charging civilians for their rescue from the embattled city. As a result, de Flor was expelled from the Order of the Knights Templar. He went on to command a fleet of ships for Charles of Naples, who was involved in a war with Aragon over Sicily. When Charles was no longer able to pay his mercenaries, Roger de Flor offered to his crews rich spoils in the Levant. His career continued as a mixture of privateering and outright piracy. The success of de Flor’s navy was such that his employer, the Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II, was forced to see him as an equal. De Flor married a Byzantine princess and received a duke’s title. The life of plunder, warfare and intrigues could hardly end any other way but with an assassination, which was carried out at the behest of the new Emperor, Michael IX Palaeologus.
See also: Famous Knights Templar
