The Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar: Warriors, Bankers, and Heretics

Few organizations in medieval history are as shrouded in mystery and legend as the Knights Templar. Founded during the Crusades and rising to immense power and wealth, the Templars became one of the most influential military orders in Christendom. Yet within two centuries, they were violently suppressed, their leaders executed, and their legacy entwined with myths of treasure, secret rituals, and conspiracy.

This article explores the dramatic rise and fall of the Knights Templar—from devout defenders of the Holy Land to accused heretics burned at the stake.

Origins: Birth of a Holy Order (1119–1129)

The Knights Templar were officially founded in 1119, shortly after the First Crusade had captured Jerusalem. A French knight, Hugues de Payens, along with eight companions, proposed the creation of a religious military order to protect Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. They took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, living as monastic warriors.

Initially known as the “Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon,” they were granted quarters on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem—believed to be the site of the biblical Temple of Solomon. This location gave them the name by which they are now remembered: the Knights Templar.

In 1129, the order received formal endorsement from the Catholic Church at the Council of Troyes, largely through the support of Bernard of Clairvaux, a powerful abbot and theologian. This legitimized the Templars and opened the floodgates for donations and recruits. shutdown123