THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
______A military order was an extension of knighthood as known in Europe in the 12th Century. But while knighthood meant a military obligation to a feudal lord, service in the military orders was considered a service to God. Each Knight was considered a soldier-monk.
______The Knights Templar took their name from the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, where the Order had its headquarters. Their seal portrayed two knights riding a single horse, a symbol of brotherhood. And their mission while in the Holy Land was to protect Christian pilgrims and to aid the Crusader States in their constant skirmishes with the Muslims.
______To provide financial support for their operations in the Holy Land and to provide a recruiting base the Templars and their fellow order, the Hospitalers, had estates throughout western Europe. These were often managed by knights retired from military service in the East.
______In 1291 the Muslims reconquered the Holy Lands. The Templars were left with their estates in Europe and in 1307 King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of all Templars on the trumped-up charge of heresy. The arrest of Templars in other lands quickly followed and the property of the Templars was seized by Philip, in the case of France, or reallocated to other military orders, as in the case of Spain and Portugal.
WHAT WAR BEGAN WITH A POSTAGE STAMP?
