Dimensions
165 x 240 x 35mm
The dramatic history of the Knights Templar, the most powerful military order of the Crusades.
In this highly readable account of the Knights of the Temple of Solomon, Piers Paul Read sifts myth from fiction. He prefaces his story with a brief outline of the history of the Temple and of the three religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - that fought for so long to possess it. Basing his enquiry on the most recent historical research, Read describes in detail this multinational force of warrior monks that was not just unique in the history of Christian institutions but was also the first uniformed standing army in the western world. Sustaining the Templars' military role was a powerful multinational corporation that prospered from the efficient management of vast estates and the pioneering of international banking. Expropriated by the French King Philip IV in 1307, and confessing under torture to blasphemy, heresy and sodomy, the Order was finally suppressed by Pope Clement V in 1312.
Was it guilty as charged? And what relevance has the story for our own times? After a narrative that incorporates the story of the crusades and describes many of the colourful characters that took part in them and their links with the Templars, Piers Paul Read examines the posthumous reputation of the Order and points to pertinent parallels between the present and the past.
