Synopses & Reviews
The Order of the Temple, founded in 1119 to protect pilgrims around Jerusalem, developed into one of the most influential corporations in the medieval world. It has retained its hold on the modern imagination, thanks to the dramatic events of the Templars' trial and abolition two hundred years later, and has been invoked in historical mysteries from masonic conspiracy to the survival of the Turin shroud. Malcolm Barber's lucid narrative separates myth from history in this full and detailed account of the Order, from its origins, flourishing and suppression to the Templars' historical afterlife.
Review
"Malcom Barber has written what should become the standard history of the Templars from their foundation in 1120 to their suppression as an order in 1312". American Historical Review
Review
"The New Knighthood is a welcome contribution to the scholarly literature on the Temple; and will long remain an essential work for anyone interested in the order." William G. Zajac, The Catholic Historical Review
Synopsis
Details the rise and fall of the medieval Order of the Temple, and its afterlife in myth and history.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 394-419) and index.
Table of Contents
1. Origins; 2. The concept; 3. The rise of the Templars in the east in the twelfth century; 4. Hattin to La Forbie; 5. The last years of the Templars in Palestine and Syria; 6. Templar life; 7. The Templar network; 8. The end of the Order; 9. From Molay's curse to Foucault's Pendulum.