Templars
I’ve been reading about the Templars to try and understand their importance in history, it appears that they were kind of the first international bankers. Back as far as 1095 Jerusalem had become a place of pilgrimage for Europeans, after it was taken from the Muslims in the crusades, but the journey was not a safe one, especially if you were carrying money.
Around 1118, a French knight by the name of Hugues de Payens, formed a military order, later to be known as the Knights Templar, that swore to protect the pilgrims visiting the city of Jerusalem. The move was popular with rich Christians, and the Catholic Church soon started to support them. Donations started to pour in, but the Templars took an oath of poverty, so the donations soon started to mount up. Their distinctive uniform of a Red Cross on a white tabard, made them distinguishable, and their reputation as hardened warriors preceded them, so soon their numbers readily expanded into thousands, and this enabled them to protect pilgrims from all across Europe travelling to Jerusalem. With their fortune amassing, they created banks in key countries to allow the pilgrims to deposit money at the start of their journey and travel safely across Europe, withdrawing it when they arrived in Jerusalem. They became a powerful financial force.
Toward the end of the 12th century the Knights Templar were forced from Jerusalem as Muslims reclaimed the city. They began a retreat that would find them centering their order in Paris, where they then fell fowl of King Philip IV, a french king who they declined to lend money to – not a good move. Their wealth was immense, and their plans for the order were bold, they were starting to become too powerful. King Philip was not happy. Soon many of the French Templars were taken into custody, and were falsely charged with crimes such as devil worshipping, homosexuality, and financial misdealings. The men were tortured and forced to confess their sins. King Philip asked Pope Clement V to launch his own inquiry, which would find them guilty as accused.
In the following 4 years, 54 Templars were burned at the stake in Paris. In 1312, King Philip, let’s say ‘persuaded’ Pope Clement to dissolve the order of the Knights Templar. They were disbanded and their followers dispersed. The Templars were ended.