The Knights Templar---by Benjamin P. Crosby

The Knights Templar

Active c. 1119-1314

The Knights Templar:

A military organization pledged to protect Christian civilization.

Called: The Poor-Fellows of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon

Nickname: Order of the Temple 

Headquarters: Temple Mount, Jerusalem

Size: 15,000-2,000 members at peak (around 10% were actually knights)

Motto: ‘Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam.’

(Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give the glory.)

Patron: St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Engagements: The Crusades, including:

The Siege of Ascalon (1153)

The Battle of Montgisard (1177)

The Battle of Hatlin (1187)

The Siege of Acre (1190-1191)  

The Battle of Arsuf (1191)

The 2^nd Siege of Acre (1291)

The Reconquista

The Knights Templar began as a group of 9 French knights, devoted to protecting Christendom and promoting virtuous life. Their order grew and grew, until finally they were officially endorsed by the Catholic Church in 1128.

They became a favored charity throughout Christendom. They were also known as among the most skilled fighters of Crusades. Non-combatant members actually built a large banking infrastructure throughout the Holy Land. It was one of the earliest forms of banking. The Order of the Temple had three levels: aristocratic knights, clergy, and lay brothers (who were from the lower ranks of society and assisted the aristocratic knights, kind of like squires).

The Knights Templar also built strong fortifications all across Europe and the Holy Land. They were very closely tied to the Crusades, so when the Holy Land was lost, support for their order dwindled. King Phillip IV of France was very deeply in debt to the order; and false rumors about the Knights Templar were circulating all around, so he took advantage of the situation. He went on a campaign against them for the crimes they had supposedly committed, which were really false rumors.
In 1312, he forced Pope Clement V to disband the order.

The last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was martyred unjustly by King Phillip in 1314, along with another major leader of the Templars. On the same day, every Templar that could be found in Europe was arrested on the false charges. Portugal was the only place that still welcomed the Templars and saw them for what they really were. Because of this, many Templars fled to this country. This event was the end of the Order of the Temple; the end of the Knights Templar.

What did they do for us?

Well, we can learn a lot from their order. It promoted virtuous living and manhood. To be a Knight Templar was like being a Navy SEAL or a Marine today. It was the elite group of the time. However, it wasn’t just a really elite group of men. The purpose of the order itself was to protect Christendom and to train young boys to become men, at the same time leading a virtuous life. This is what the Knights Templars accomplished, and this is what we need today.

As a boy grows from a child to a man, it is a crucial time, and we need to use that time to cultivate in the boy virtue and godly things. This is what the Templars did, and this is what their legacy calls on us to do today. Are you ready? Will you do what the Templar did, and died for? Join them, and us, under the banner of Virtue!

Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam.