Anyone familiar with the history of Christianity knows that the symbol of the cross has been used in a variety of different ways. Even prior to the time of Crusades there were stories about crosses miraculously showing up on the garments of particularly worthy individuals. There could have been nothing more suitable for crusading armies than to implement crosses as a visual distinction. Abbot Guibert in his History of Jerusalem (1.5) says that Pope Urban II instituted this sign both as an indicator of military distinction and a symbol that would help Christian knights fight with greater valor for God’s cause. The abbot clarifies that the pope ordered the figure of the cross to be cut out of any material (ex cujuslibet materia) and sown onto tunics and cloaks of the members of the expedition. [click to continue…]
Knights Templar History
Knights Templar Timeline
This is a work in progress, a brief chronology of the Knights Templar history, mostly based on Sean Martin’s timeline. Visitors who like this page might also enjoy: History of the Knights Templar at a glance.
c.1070 Birth of Hugues de Payen; Foundation of the Hospitallers
1095 (November) Pope Urban II calls for a crusade to recapture Jerusalem
1099 (July) Jerusalem taken by the First Crusade
1104 Hugh of Champagne arrives in Outremer (possibly with Hugues de Payen)
1114 Bishop of Chartres refers to a military order called the ‘Militia of Christ’
c.1119 The Order of the Knights Templar founded (traditional date)
1120 (January) Council of Nablus:The Order of the Knights Templar recognized in the East
1127 Presumed first meeting between Hugues de Payen and St Bernard de Clairvaux
1129 (January) Council of Troyes.The Latin Rule of the Temple adopted
1130 Hugues de Payen arrives in Jerusalem with new recruits.
1131 In Praise of the New Knighthood by St Bernard de Clairvaux
1135 Earliest records of Templars’ banking activities
c.1136 Death of Hugues de Payen (possibly 1131); Hospitallers become a military order
1136–37 Templars first established in the Amanus March [click to continue…]
Grand Masters of the Knights Templar (a list)
This list of the Grand Masters of the Knights Templar Order follows Malcolm Barber’s dates except in case of Richard de Bures, whose dates are taken from P.P. Read. I make no attempt to represent the fictitious list of Grand Masters who supposedly followed De Molay in a secret succession. The list is found in the Larmenius Charter which I believe to be fake.
| Hugues de Payens | 1119-1136 |
| Robert de Craon | 1136-1149 |
| Everard des Barres | 1149-1152 |
| Bernard de Tremeley | 1153-1153 |
| Andrew de Montbard | 1154-1156 |
| Bertrand de Blancfort | 1156-1159 |
| Philip de Milly (Nablus) | 1169-1171 |
| Odo de St Amand | 1171-1179 |
| Arnold de Torroja | 1181-1184 |
| Gerard de Ridefort | 1185-1189 |
| Robert de Sablé | 1191-1192/3 |
| Gilbert Erail | 1194-1200 |
| Philip de Plessis | 1201-1209 |
| William de Chartres | 1210-1218/9 |
| Peter de Montaigu | 1219-1230/2 |
| Armand de Périgord | 1232-1244/6 |
| Richard de Bures | 1244-1247 |
| William de Sonnac | 1247-1250 |
| Reginald de Vichiers | 1250-1256 |
| Thomas Bérard | 1256-1273 |
| William de Beaujeu | 1273-1291 |
| Theobald Gaudin | 1291-1292/3 |
| Jacques de Molay | 1293-1314 |
Brief History of the Order of the Knights Templar
The following must be formally categorized as a book review by James Burnes that first appeared in “Foreign Quaterly Review” in 1829. The text is quite old, but it is very much relevant. It is also a great deal more eloquent than anything you will find written about the Knights Templar these days! For the sake of convenience, I added section headers.
Geschichte des Tempelherrenordens, nach dem vorhandenen und mehreren bisher unbenutzten Quellen. Von Wilbelm Ferdinand Wilcke. (History of the Order of the Knights Templars, from accessible as well as several hitherto unexplored sources. By W. F. Wilcke.) 2 Baude, 8vo. Leipzig, 1826-27.
