Knights Templar. The Knights Templar, or Knights Templar, where also called members of the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, and it was a religious military order of knighthood that was established at the time of the Crusades and very quick it became a model and inspiration for other military orders. It was initially founded to protect Christian pilgrims going to the Holy Land but the order assumed greater military duties during the 12th century. Specifically, after Christian armies in 1099 AD captured Jerusalem from Muslim control during the Crusades, groups of pilgrims from across Western Europe started visiting the Holy Land. Many of them, however, were robbed and killed as they crossed through Muslim-controlled territories during their journey.
As a result of these robberies and in order to protect the Christian pilgrims going to Jerusalem, a French knight by the name of Hugues de Payens created a military order around 1118 AD along with eight relatives and acquaintances, calling it the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon. This humble beginning, eventually grew and became known as the Knights Templar.
The Knights Templar were the elite fighting force of their day, highly trained, well-equipped and highly motivated; one of the tenets of their religious order was that they were forbidden from retreating in battle, unless outnumbered three to one, and even then, only by order of their commander, or if the Templar flag went down. They were also sharp tacticians, following the dream of Saint Bernard who had declared at one time that a small force, under the right conditions, could defeat a much larger army.
A key tactic of the Templars was that of the "squadron charge". A small group of knights and their heavily armed warhorses would gather into a tight unit which would then gallop at full speed at the enemy lines, and with a determination and force of will it made it clear in battles that they would rather commit suicide than fall back. This terrifying tactic of onslaught would frequently have the desired result of making a gap in the enemy lines, thereby giving the other Crusader forces an advantage.
Because of the overall structure of the order and its resources, the warriors were well-trained and very well armed. Even their horses were trained to fight in combat, fully armored. The combination of soldier and monk was also a powerful one, and they believed that martyrdom in battle was one of the most glorious ways to die. In other words, the Knights Templar were a sort of medieval SAS. Crusading knights who lived like monks and fought in some of the deadliest battles in the Middle Ages.
However, not all Knights Templar were warriors. The mission of most of the members of the order was one of support. For example, to acquire resources which could be used to fund and equip the small percentage of members who were fighting on the front lines.
There were actually three classes within the orders. The highest class was the knight. When a candidate was sworn into the order, they made the knight a monk. They wore white robes. The knights could hold no property and receive no private letters. They could not be married, or betrothed and could not have any vow in any other Order. They could not have debt more than he could pay, and no infirmities.
The second class in the order was the Templar priest class and it was similar to the modern-day military chaplain. Wearing green robes, they conducted religious services, led prayers, and were assigned record keeping and letter writing.
The third class was the mounted men-at-arms and represented the most common class, and they were called "brothers". They were usually assigned two horses each and held many positions, including guard, steward, squire or other support vocations. As the main support staff, they wore black or brown robes and were partially garbed in chain mail or plate mail. Their armor was not as complete as the knights.
The Knights Templar were legendarily tough soldiers, known for their iron discipline. However, this was enforced with a system of harsh punishments. Minor infractions were punished with floggings. More serious misdemeanors, such as fighting or disobeying orders could result in a brother being forced to eat his meals on the floor with the dogs for up to a year. In addition, the rule was no personal possessions and no fun of any kind but, instead, a lot of praying, fasting, making money and fighting infidels.
Some people claim that the modern-day Knights Templar are linked with the Freemasons and the Illuminati as well as the Bilderberg Group.
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The Fate Of The Templars - Composed by Massimo Moscatelli - 2016 - Royalty Free
Massimo Moscatelli
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