The Templar Order remains among the most famous, and most misunderstood, organizations of the Middle Ages. Founded in the wake of the First Crusade to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land, the order soon became something far more ambitious: a religious-military institution, an international landholder, a trusted financial intermediary, and a powerful presence at the crossroads of crusading, monarchy, papal authority, and Mediterranean politics. Its story opens a window onto some of the central tensions of the medieval world: faith and violence, poverty and wealth, secrecy and trust, holiness and power.
Jochen Schenk, lecturer in transcultural medieval history at the University of Glasgow, traces the rise, fall, and long afterlife of the Templar Order, from its origins in Jerusalem to its dramatic suppression in the early 14th century and its transformation into one of history’s most enduring legends. Rather than treating the Templars simply as crusaders, bankers, victims, or conspirators, Schenk examines why the order became so influential, why it became so vulnerable, and why its memory has proved so magnetic.
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