The trial of the Knights Templar is one of the most infamous in history. Accused of heresy by the king of France, the Templars were arrested and imprisoned, had their goods seized and their monasteries ransacked. Under brutal interrogation and torture, many made shocking confessions: denial of Christ, desecration of the Cross, sex acts, and more.This narrative follows the everyday reality of the trial, from the early days of scandal and scheming in 1305, via torture, imprisonment and the dissolution of the order, to 1314, when leaders Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay were burned at the stake. Through first-hand testimony and written records of the interrogations of 231 French Templars, this book illuminates the stories of hundreds of ordinary members, some of whom testified at the trial, as well as the many others who denied the charges or retracted their confessions.This is a deeply researched and immersive account that gives a striking vision of the relentless persecution, and the oft-underestimated resistance, of the once-mighty Knights Templar.

Why do the powerful medieval Knights Templar, the famed warriors of the Crusades, still intrigue many today? A secret society long shrouded in mystery, the Templars were believed to conduct mystical rituals, to guard the Holy Grail, and to possess the priceless treasures of the Temple of Jerusalem. Did they bring their treasure to North America, as some legends say? This definitive work about the Templars and their presumed hidden knowledge addresses many such fascinating questions, with rare photos from the Rosslyn Chapel Museum (Scotland) included.

This book sets out to tell the story of a unique discovery, relics of the Knights Templar which came to light in 1960 in their fortress town of Tomar in Portugal. This chance discovery of highly important pieces dating from the time of the crusades includes ritual vessels, chalices, agate inlaid with gold, alters and stonework with encoded grail symbology. Some pieces originate in the Holy Land removed in 1291 following the fall of Acre, other items may well have been taken from Constantinople in 1204 during the 4th Crusade. This profusely illustrated book contains a wealth of full -page photographs of these relics together with the background story of their discovery and how the owner has worked in secret for almost 10 years before breaking the story, researching and conserving these wonderful items. This book has been put together as an introduction to the hoard written not as an academic tome but as a means of bringing the hoard into the public domain in an easy to digest form. As part of the project the author and his friend Carl Cookson made the hit TV show "Lost Relics of the Knights Templar" shown in USA by Discovery and in Europe by The History Channel. This group of artefacts represents the only legitimate find of Templar items and with further study should enable researchers to add hard facts to what in many cases are misconceptions about the Order. The mysterious Order of the Temple vanished more than 700 years ago, they have been the subject of rumours, grail legends and theories on what treasures the once owned. Since carts left their Paris headquarters in October 1307 none of their treasure has ever been found until Hamilton White began his journey into the world of the Templars.

The Knights Templar In Britain examines exactly who became knights, what rituals sustained them, where the power bases were, and how their tentacles spread through the political and economic worlds of Britain before their defeat at the hands of the Inquisition some two hundred years later. Founded in the early twelfth century, the mysterious Knights Templar rose to be the most powerful military order of the Middle Ages. While their campaign in the Middle East and travels are well-known, their huge influence across the British isles remains virtually uncharted. For readers interested in Medieval History.

A brother of the Order-a medieval secret society uniting noble families in a sacred bond-Sir Hugh de Payens has emerged from the First Crusade a broken man seeking to dedicate his life to God. But the Order has other plans for him: to uncover a deadly secret that could shatter the very might of the Church itself.

Secrets of the Knights Templar is the compelling chronicle of the warrior monks and their fight to defend the Catholic faith, and of their participation in the efforts to vie for control of the Holy Land with the Muslim armies of Kurdish military genius Saladin and his successors. Informally organized in 1119 to protect pilgrims on their journeys to visit the Holy Land, and officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church in 1129, the medieval Knights Templar grew into an elite fighting force that played a central role in the battles of the Crusades. They were highly trained, well equipped, and unafraid to take up the sword to defend the church at the limits of western civilization. Though Templar was initially celebrated for their military acumen and acts of bravery, the once-celebrated order was eventually dismantled in disgrace, accused of political crimes as well as crimes against the faith. With its concise, authoritative, and accessible narrative--amplified by extensive citations from contemporary sources, and accompanied by generously captioned and stunning images of the period--Secrets of the Knights Templar brings a distant era of history dramatically and vividly to life. It is the perfect gift for anyone with a love of medieval, religious, or military history. From the Hardcover edition.

'Their existence was a meteor, which illuminated the age in which they flourished', Reverend G. Oliver, TEMPLE BRUER AND ITS KNIGHTS TEMPLAR, 1841The Knights Templar was a military and religious order that dominated medieval Europe for nearly two hundred years until it was suppressed in the early 1300s. The warrior monks then disappeared from history into myth, their true nature forgotten and woven into fantasy. But the traces they left behind on the land can still be seen, and, with a combination of stunning photography, historical imagery and detailed descriptions, this book provides not only a history of the Templars but also the first comprehensive survey of all the Templar sites in Britain. The author has researched and visited every site; he explains what there is to be seen, and the history and mythology behind it - as well as directions on how to get there.

Founded in the early twelfth century, allegedly to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land, the Knights Templar became famous for their pioneer banking system, crusading zeal, and strict vows of obedience, chastity and poverty. Having grown to some 15,000 men, they came to be perceived as a threat by Philip the Fair, who in 1307 disbanded the group and tortured their leaders for confessions. The French king accused the order of heresy, sodomy and blasphemy. Recent works of fiction and popular histories have created a resurgence of interest in the mysterious Knights Templar. Numerous contradictory and fantastic claims are made about them, adding to the enigma that already surrounds the warrior monks of France. In this unique collection of lecture material and writings from Rudolf Steiner, a new perspective emerges. Based on his spiritual perceptions, Steiner speaks of the Templars' connection to the esoteric tradition of St John, their relationship with the Holy Grail, and their spiritual dedication to Christ. He describes the secret order that existed within the Templars, and the strange rituals they performed. He also throws light on the Templars' attitude to the Roman Church, and the spiritual forces that inspired their torture and confessions.

An instant New York Times bestseller, from the author of Crusaders, that finally tells the real story of the Knights Templar—“Seldom does one find serious scholarship so easy to read.” (The Times, Book of the Year) A faltering war in the middle east. A band of elite warriors determined to fight to the death to protect Christianity's holiest sites. A global financial network unaccountable to any government. A sinister plot founded on a web of lies... In 1119, a small band of knights seeking a purpose in the violent aftermath of the First Crusade set up a new religious order in Jerusalem, which was now in Christian hands. These were the first Knights Templar, elite warriors who swore vows of poverty and chastity and promised to protect Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Over the next 200 years, the Templars would become the most powerful network of the medieval world, speerheading the crusades, pionerring new forms of finance and warfare and deciding the fate of kings. Then, on October 13, 1307, hundreds of brothers were arrested, imprisoned and tortured and the order was disbanded among lurid accusations of sexual misconduct and heresy. But were they heretics or victims of a ruthlessly repressive state? Dan Jones goes back to the sources to bring their dramatic tale, so relevant to our own times, to life in a book that is at once authoritative and compulsively readable.

R.S. Belcher, the acclaimed author of The Six-Gun Tarot and The Shotgun Arcana launches a gritty new urban fantasy series about the mysterious society of truckers known only as, The Brotherhood of The Wheel. In 1119 A.D., a group of nine crusaders became known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon--a militant monastic order charged with protecting pilgrims and caravans traveling on the roads to and from the Holy Land. In time, the Knights Templar would grow in power and, ultimately, be laid low. But a small offshoot of the Templars endure and have returned to the order's original mission: to defend the roads of the world and guard those who travel on them. Theirs is a secret line of knights: truckers, bikers, taxi hacks, state troopers, bus drivers, RV gypsies--any of the folks who live and work on the asphalt arteries of America. They call themselves the Brotherhood of the Wheel. Jimmy Aussapile is one such knight. He's driving a big rig down South when a promise to a ghostly hitchhiker sets him on a quest to find out the terrible truth behind a string of children gone missing all across the country. The road leads him to Lovina Hewitt, a skeptical Louisiana State Police investigator working the same case and, eventually, to a forgotten town that's not on any map--and to the secret behind the eerie Black-Eyed Kids said to prowl the highways.