The Templars on Stage

Nine French knights, led by the Templar Grand Master Hugues de Payens, appeared before King Baldwin.

Those who joined the first Crusade managed to conquer Jerusalem in 1099 and effect a genuine massacre. While most of the soldiers who had joined the war were on their way back to Europe, a group of Crusaders under the leadership of some French aristocrats and soldiers decided to stay on in the region. Ostensibly, the motive for their decision was to provide the security in the Holy Lands for all the Christian pilgrims who sought to go there and also to spread the Christian religion. Although it can be argued that this was the true aim of a handful idealistic soldiers and clergymen, clearly it was just an alibi or an excuse, when considered in light of the plan of the occupation as a whole.
As mentioned before, with the first Crusades, the colonization by the West had begun. It was then that first arose the troubles between some of the Westerners and the local Muslims, the results of which have persisted even to modern times. The reasons that the Crusaders gave for their killings were not actually very reasonable at all. The pilgrimage routes to Jerusalem which had been under Muslim control, had always been open to free passage, and people from all different religions had been living together in peace and tolerance. But this fact did not stop the Crusaders from slaughtering Muslims, Jews and even local Christians alike.

A miniature showing the first Templar Grand Master, Hugues de Payens and those nine knights.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was founded in 1099, and the occupation spread to Antioch-Urfa. Twenty years later, under the leadership of Hugues de Payens, nine French knights presented themselves before King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and announced that they were volunteering, supposedly to protect the pilgrims in the travel routes between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean coast.
The King of Jerusalem accepted their offer with gratitude. And thus began the swift rise of the Knights Templar.
The word poor in the title "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ," which those nine knights gave themselves, was contradictory to those soldiers' actual designs. They were always hungering for money, and but their title was a believable disguise for deceiving others. Deception was not just limited to their name. They didn't neglect to create the image of priest-soldiers who had left behind the worldly life and hope of material gains. However, as you will see in detail in the following sections, these Knights were soon going to transform themselves into a materialistic order that was actually opposed to religious moral values-even anti-religious, in fact.

An oil painting showing the taking of Jerusalem by the Templars

King Baldwin II of Jerusalem afforded the Knights a number of privileges, and also allotted to them the district where Solomon's Temple had once stood, including the Temple Mount, currently the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Baldwin undoubtedly had his own designs: His Kingdom of Jerusalem was under a threat with the increasing influence of the Muslims in the district. Therefore, the presence of the experienced Knights and their guarding of particular sacred locations was an advantage for his kingdom. Yet the number of the Templars in the district was actually very few. Therefore King Baldwin and Hugues de Payes, the first Grand Master of the Templars, planned to increase their number. Eventually, by gaining the support of the Papacy, they gave the Templars what they wanted.

St. Bernard was respected by the entire Christian world.

In 1127, the two of the Templars, together with a letter they received from King Baldwin, asked for the advice of St. Bernard, who then exerted great influence over the Papacy and during his lifetime, was highly regarded as one of the most important persons in Christendom.
Bernard, renowned as one who could open all doors, belonged to the Cistercian Order, one of the most favored monastic orders in Christendom. In addition, members of this order held very important positions in the Catholic Church. Those French Templars who headed for Jerusalem were warmly supported by representatives of the Cistercian order in France. In his letter, King Baldwin praised the Templars extravagantly, explaining the importance of the lands' protection by the poor so-called religious soldiers but also indicating their requests: Their Order had to be recognized by the Church, especially by the Pope, and had to be provided with help and support.
The support that had been anticipated for so long was soon hastening on its way. Hugues de Payens and his Templar brothers were accepted by the new Pope Honorius with a special privileges and exemptions.

St. Bernard bestowed enormous privileges on the Templars.

In 1128, The Council of Troyes invited the Templars to a council meeting, where the Knights obtained a wide range of opportunities and a great amount of financial support. As a gift from King Henry I, they obtained a great treasury of gold and silver, as well as material support in the form of equipment like armor and horses from district rulers in England, Scotland, France and Flanders.
Before Hugues de Payens left England, he opened a district branch of Templars in the region donated to them and installed one of the Templar brothers as its leader. His mission was to rule the districts donated to the Templars, to transfer their income to Jerusalem, to recruit new members, train them in their responsibilities and send them to the various districts under Templar rule. In addition, personal incomes in the district of Province were donated to the Templars, and landowners became exempt from royal taxation by donating several landed properties to the sect. Thus, the first strands of the order's web were woven.2

A few of the temples in the Middle Ages:Morts à Sarlat, Périgord and l’Eglise.

According to Anglo-Saxon records, it was written down that the number of members Hugues de Payens recruited for the Order was greater than the number of soldiers Pope Urban II enlisted for the first Crusades.3 In any case, such great interest was shown in the Order that groups of Templars were soon widely established in England, and a new branch of the Order was similarly created in Jerusalem.
Princes and aristocrats were at the forefront of their membership, but people from all walks of life were competing to assist the Order or to become affiliated. The Templars, gathering the material means of the Papacy and the King, prolonged this campaign and succeeded in influencing people from every level of society with publicity and propaganda methods that can be appreciated only in our day. They were so influential that some people asked to be buried in the Templars' distinctive uniforms when they died.

In guaranteeing that the Templars would be accountable to none but the Pope, St. Bernard laid the groundwork for very serious danger.

In fact, the really interesting point is the trick the Templars played on the European aristocrats: They claimed that they were soon going to be in battles with the Muslims and so requested financial help. Nonetheless, the contributions they collected throughout Europe were not being used to equip their coming war, but were transferred directly to the Templars' coffers. Thus, The Knights took their first step on the path to establish their ill-gotten fortune.
The year 1127 became a turning point when the two Templars paid a visit to St. Bernard. During their visit, the Templars explained to the Pope and others in the Vatican the general rules of the Order yet most of them were not pleased. At this stage, Bernard took charge, defending the order and saying that with a modicum of reforms and adjustments, it might be more in accord with the tenets of Christianity. Right after this, he wrote The New Templars' Rule, following to the principles of his own Cistercian Order and announced that he would take responsibility for the Templars' moral training. Thus, the order removed all the handicaps that they could possibly encounter by gaining the privilege of giving accounts and explanations only to the Pope. Henceforth, no authority except the Pope could ever bring them to task or charge them with an assignment. In providing this kind of privileges, St. Bernard believed that applying them long-term would be useful in gaining power for the Papacy. But he was unaware that in fact, he was laying the groundwork for a greater danger.

A historical miniature depicting Pope Urban II