After the First Crusade, which ended in 1099, Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land where resumed. Although the cities were relatively secure under Christian control, the outskirts where not, bandits and marauding highwaymen preyed upon Christian pilgrims, who were routinely slaughtered, sometimes by the hundreds, as they attempted to reach the Holy Land.
In 1119, sponsored by Saint Bernard of Clairvoux, the French knight Hugues de Payens and 8 knights approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and proposed creating an order for the protection of these pilgrims. King Baldwin and Patriarch Warmund agreed to the request and granted the order a wing of the royal palace on the Temple Mount as their headquarters, which earned them the title of The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon or in Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici, also known as the Knights Templar, and Recognized as a Catholic Monastic Military Order by Pope Innocent II in 1139 by the papal bull Omne datum optimum which exempted the order from obedience to local laws. This ruling meant that the Templars could pass freely through all borders, were not required to pay any taxes, and were exempt from all authority except that of the pope.
The Templars became a favoured order throughout Christendom they grew rapidly and became very prominent. Templar knights wore distinctive white mantles with a red cross, their emblem was of two knights riding on a single horse, emphasising the order's poverty. Saint Bernard de Clairvaux and Hugues de Payens devised a specific code of conduct for the Templar Order, known as the Latin Rule. Its 72 clauses laid down the details of the knights' way of life.
Saint Bernard put his weight behind them and wrote persuasively on their behalf in the letter 'In Praise of the New Knighthood'
" He is truly a fearless knight and secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armour of faith just as his body is protected by armour of steel. He is thus doubly armed and need fear neither demons nor men"
Templars were often heavily armoured knights on warhorses that would set out to charge at the enemy, ahead of the main army bodies. One of their most famous victories was in 1177 during the Battle of Montgisard, where 84 Templar knights and a total crusader force of 7,000 defeated Saladin's army of more than 26,000 soldiers.
The tide began to turn, and the Islamic world had become more united and dissension among Christians caused their strength to fade. By 1303, the last foot hold in the Holy Land was lost and on 1312, the Order of the Knights Templar was suppressed, almost 200 years after its foundation. The Tyrant King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt with the order after they had assisted him with funds to fight the Flemish, betrayed the Templars, he put forward false allegations and pressured Pope Clement V by threatening military action into disbanding the order.
Many Templars were killed and there assets seized, but with the protection of King Denis I The Wise of Portugal and under the patronage of Saint Benedict the Order of Christ was founded as the reconstituted Knights Templar in Tomar, King Denis, refused to pursue and persecute the former knights as had occurred in other sovereign states, negotiated successfully with Pope Clement's successor, Pope John XXII, the recognition of the new order in 1317, and for those knights who survived the mass slaughter, they inherited the Templar assets, property and legacy.
• Ceramic
• 11 oz mug dimensions: 3.85″ (9.8 cm) in height, 3.35″ (8.5 cm) in diameter
• 15 oz mug dimensions: 4.7″ (12 cm) in height, 3.35″ (8.5 cm) in diameter
• Dishwasher and microwave safe
In 1119, sponsored by Saint Bernard of Clairvoux, the French knight Hugues de Payens and 8 knights approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and proposed creating an order for the protection of these pilgrims. King Baldwin and Patriarch Warmund agreed to the request and granted the order a wing of the royal palace on the Temple Mount as their headquarters, which earned them the title of The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon or in Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici, also known as the Knights Templar, and Recognized as a Catholic Monastic Military Order by Pope Innocent II in 1139 by the papal bull Omne datum optimum which exempted the order from obedience to local laws. This ruling meant that the Templars could pass freely through all borders, were not required to pay any taxes, and were exempt from all authority except that of the pope.
The Templars became a favoured order throughout Christendom they grew rapidly and became very prominent. Templar knights wore distinctive white mantles with a red cross, their emblem was of two knights riding on a single horse, emphasising the order's poverty. Saint Bernard de Clairvaux and Hugues de Payens devised a specific code of conduct for the Templar Order, known as the Latin Rule. Its 72 clauses laid down the details of the knights' way of life.
Saint Bernard put his weight behind them and wrote persuasively on their behalf in the letter 'In Praise of the New Knighthood'
" He is truly a fearless knight and secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armour of faith just as his body is protected by armour of steel. He is thus doubly armed and need fear neither demons nor men"
Templars were often heavily armoured knights on warhorses that would set out to charge at the enemy, ahead of the main army bodies. One of their most famous victories was in 1177 during the Battle of Montgisard, where 84 Templar knights and a total crusader force of 7,000 defeated Saladin's army of more than 26,000 soldiers.
The tide began to turn, and the Islamic world had become more united and dissension among Christians caused their strength to fade. By 1303, the last foot hold in the Holy Land was lost and on 1312, the Order of the Knights Templar was suppressed, almost 200 years after its foundation. The Tyrant King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt with the order after they had assisted him with funds to fight the Flemish, betrayed the Templars, he put forward false allegations and pressured Pope Clement V by threatening military action into disbanding the order.
Many Templars were killed and there assets seized, but with the protection of King Denis I The Wise of Portugal and under the patronage of Saint Benedict the Order of Christ was founded as the reconstituted Knights Templar in Tomar, King Denis, refused to pursue and persecute the former knights as had occurred in other sovereign states, negotiated successfully with Pope Clement's successor, Pope John XXII, the recognition of the new order in 1317, and for those knights who survived the mass slaughter, they inherited the Templar assets, property and legacy.
• Ceramic
• 11 oz mug dimensions: 3.85″ (9.8 cm) in height, 3.35″ (8.5 cm) in diameter
• 15 oz mug dimensions: 4.7″ (12 cm) in height, 3.35″ (8.5 cm) in diameter
• Dishwasher and microwave safe