The ‘Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon,’ more commonly known as the Knights Templar, or the Templars, was one of the most renowned military orders during the Middle Ages. The source of their fame came not only from their prowess on the battlefield, but also from the wealth they amassed during the Crusades. These riches eventually led to their downfall, and became the so-called ‘Treasure of the Templars’ in the popular imagination.
The Finances of the Knights Templar
The Knights Templar were not only great warriors, but formidable financiers as well. One of the two ranks of non-fighting men, for instance, was known as the farmers, who were responsible for the administration of the Order’s worldly possessions. The other rank was the chaplains, which tended to the spiritual needs of the Order.
As they had the official endorsement of the Church, the wealthy of Europe provided the Templars with a large amount of donations in the form of money, land, and fighting men. Additionally, they were exempted from all taxation, including the ecclesiastical tithes that were due to the clergy. Thus, the Knights Templar became one of the most affluent institutions during the Middle Ages.
Members of the Knights Templar in discussion. (Public Domain)
The Downfall of the Templars
It was during the early 14th century that the Knights Templar officially came to an end, with the execution of its last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay. The dissolution of the Order was related to its vast treasury.
The man responsible for the downfall of the Templars was the king of France, Philip IV, called the Fair. The French king, it has been claimed, was heavily in debt to the Templars due to his war with the English, and he was eyeing the wealth of the Templars for himself.
In 1305, Pope Clement V sent letters to de Molay and the Grand Master of the Hospitallers, requesting them to come to France to discuss the possible merger of the two Orders. de Molay arrived in early 1307, though the meeting was delayed for some time.
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Nevertheless, the Grand Master was able to discuss other matters with the Pope, one of which concerned some charges made a few years earlier by an ousted Templar, regarding impropriety in the Knights Templar initiation ceremony. Some believe that the Pope was in collusion with the French king, though others claim that the Pope was a weak character who served as a pawn of Philip.
A royal enquiry was set up to look into the matter of the Templars, and Philip saw this as an opportunity to get rid of the Knights Templar. On the 18th of March 1314, almost seven years after the Templars were first arrested throughout France, de Molay and three other top-ranking Knights were burned to death as heretics in Paris.
Execution of Templars in front of Philip the Fair. (Circa 1415-1420) (Public Domain)
Philip freed himself from his monetary debts to the Knights Templar, and seized their treasury as well. The king, however, would not enjoy his new-found wealth for long, as he died on the 29th of November 1314, less than a year after de Molay’s execution.
Some believe that the Templars managed to hide some of their wealth from the French king. This became the foundation for the legend of the Templar’s treasure, and many have since speculated on the location of their richness.
Contents of the Knights Templar Treasure
It has been claimed that the Knights Templar treasure contained more than common material wealth. It is believed that the Templars had collected a number of sacred relics during their time in the Holy Land as well. For example, one of the charges levelled against the Templars was that they were idolaters who worshipped the image of a ‘bearded man.’
An unpublished account of the initiation of a young Frenchman, Arnaut Sabbatier, into the Order, which was found by a historian doing research in the Vatican Secret Archives, has helped to shed light on this claim. It is reported that Sabbatier was “shown a long piece of linen on which was impressed the figure of a man and told to worship it, kissing the feet three times”. It has been suggested that this was one of the relics in the possession of the Templars, the Shroud of Turin.
Positive and negative images of the Shroud of Turin. (CC BY SA 3.0)
While the Shroud of Turin is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin today, the location of other purported Templar relics is harder to pin-point. These supposed relics include the Treasure of Solomon, the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, lost teachings of Jesus, and even the mummified head of Christ.
Even though some experts assert that the treasure was taken by the French king and the Templars’ property was mostly given to the Hospitallers, there are still many people who disagree and believe that at least some of the Knights Templar treasure has been hidden. The possible locations for the treasure vary, ranging from Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland to Oak Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, and even a remote Danish island in the Baltic called Bornholm. It is certain that treasure hunters looking for the wealth of the Knights Templar will be kept busy for some time to come.
Top Image: A solemn looking Knights Templar. Source: Luis Louro /Adobe Stock
By: Ḏḥwty
Updated on June 30, 2020.
References
BBC, 2015. From Jerusalem to Rosslyn?: The Templars in Scotland. [Online]
Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/myths_legends/scotland/lothian/
Haagensen, E. & Lincoln, H., 2006. The Templars' Secret Island. London: Phoenix.
Hooper, J., 2009. Turin Shroud link with Templars proved by archives, claims historian. [Online]
Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/06/turin-shroud-templars
istina.rin.ru, 2005. The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar. [Online]
Available at: http://istina.rin.ru/eng/ufo/text/180.html
Lovgren, S., 2004. "National Treasure": Freemasons, Fact, and Fiction. [Online]
Available at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/11/1119_041119_national_treasure_2.html
Moeller, C., 1912. The Knights Templars. [Online]
Available at: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14493a.htm
Selwood, D., 2014. A stain on history: the burning of Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the mysterious Knights Templar, 700 years ago today. [Online]
Available at: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/dominicselwood/100263362/a-stain-on-history-the-burning-of-jacques-de-molay-grand-master-of-the-mysterious-knights-templar-700-years-ago-today/
www.crystalinks.com, 2015. The Knights Templar. [Online]
Available at: http://www.crystalinks.com/templars1.html
Templars
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In reply to Templar decline by kitnkaat
The Swiss connection would be a new one for me, but it's possible since the Knights went wherever Phillip's men-weren't! Some to Germany, where that connection is well-documented, others to non-european places. The battle tactics sound very much like what happened at Bannockburn where the Scots had provided refuge & the Knights defended their hosts-to the chagrin of the presumptuous, & snob-english! The Swiss flag IS very similar! In fact, any ship bearing the 'Rose Croix' on its sails, was a Templar ship-incl Columbus'.( However, Switzerland was then & is now, predominatelt a Catholic canton; ( ie; the Vatican's Swiss Guard). ( 'How?' ) did he know to sail west ?! Maybe he wasn't looking so much for the 'Route to India' ( & a dry silk road ), as he was to find 'new' land, rich in spoils. ( Gold for Isabella & ferdinand's broke monarchy, & war debts!) He was a greedy sort & antagonistically snobishly religiously narrow-minded, himself. The world, in general tho', was overly class-conscious at the time, the average person would've been disinclined to advance their own thoughts 'beyond their stations in life'. The church's reasoning was that God Himself, after all, had placed the people in 'their appointed roles in life' ! No boot-strap programs back then! To be sure, I will ck this idea out, especially the banking aspects; it's a great one to venture forth upon--Thanks!
Swiss connection too
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In reply to Templars by Mike Mccloud (not verified)
I have heard the "Templars escaped to and set up Switzerland" theory too. I believe there is a book (or books) about the theory. I guess that the idea is that there were only a few yodelling bumpkins in the Swiss Alps before the Knights Templar fled there. They arrived and set up a super democratic, banking-dependent, and above all independent nation.
Templar decline
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I’ve heard that some of the Templars escaped to Switzerland. The history I’ve read said that in the early 1300’s the Swiss banded together to defend one of their passes, winning the battle with tactics previously unseen in the area. Everyone knows about the Swiss banking prowess. Is there a connection? Also, the Swiss flag is quite similar to the Templar cross, though the colors are reversed. Any thoughts?
Just read the comments on the article “Mystery of the Knights Templars” and realized my comments are similar to several posts there. Sorry. Didn’t mean to plagiarize you
Templars in refuge
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The Templars dispersed to Portugal where there great castle/cathedral at Tomar still stands in perfect order. They converted to Catholicism and became the powerful and secretive Opus Dei organistaion of today. Many Templars went to Germany and became the Teutonic Knights and then to Scotland . From there many went to Newfoundland in Canada via Greeland and Iceland where they became known as the Arcadians who from there went to French held Louisiana and are still today famous for their Creole cooking. The Swiss Flag is much the same as the Templar flag and it was there The Templars renewed their banking skills. Even the House of Rothschild has a red cross shield as its emblem and there is a strong Jewish connection in Templar beliefs and bloodlines. See The Royal Secret book to find out much more and how the Templars gave birth to America and its Masonic Founding Fathers whose occult Templar policies still rule US strategies today for NWO domination.
More Templar Dis-information
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In reply to Templars in refuge by john bentley (not verified)
John, I'd guess you believe this kind of scrambled dis-information, but that's exactly the point of that terminology which has obscured the paradigms of Truth, thru the ages, of many honorable, or beneficial organizations, to the loss of the needy & disparate. The info you give here is so diverse & from so many sources, I cannot hope to dissuade your apparent belief, unless you open your mind & look closely at what you have given forth here. ( Too many sources & too many cross-truths).The Templars were an order established by the Pope of the Catholic church. They did not 'convert' from any other faith, nor did they establish the 'Opus Dei'; a bookish attempt at 'secretiveness' given to you by 'who?', or 'What?', 'Why?', to what end, you must ask yourself. When they dispersed, they went many places, Potrugal was not mentioned in any of my research, but there's no reason to suspect otherwise, 'connections' were just as important then, as now. Same with the other countries you've mentioned.The German contingent of Knights was in place approx. the same time frame as the Templars, in it is believed they were one & the same, as an order. The 'Acadians' ( not Arcadians) were an offshoot of various Protestant groups from France & exiled to Canada & later booted to Lousiana. For this, read 'Rebecca', a required read in High School. These events happened long after the Templar's tribulations. Many nation's flags use a cross form in their design. It is wishful thinking to assume they're all Templar, but does show that a Christian, or a church affiliation by their countrymen, to the world. The Templar cross is indicative of the 'Rose Cross' wich you will observe on the compass' faces & on old maps, & so on. They're also found on the Celtic crosses in Scot & Irish graves. On that subject, if you ck on medieval graves in those countries, once in awhile, a Knight's gravestone was portrayed as the Knight carved full figure & armor, holding a sword. The rumor was that knights were buried with their sword. The problem today, is that all the known ( & found) gravestones were moved from the original & often, remote sites. What is the 'Secret Book' to which you refer? If it isn't cataloged with the Library of Congress, where all of Freemasonry's Rituals have been since 1954, I'd suspect this too, is of farciacal origin. You may know, that the L. Of C's contents are available to the public, at large. While Masons had much to do with the various aspects of the founding of Our Nation, it is because of their attention to detail that the many architects of edifices ,ong standing & their beauty, that we can know, & appreciate them to day. The History Channel, while 'good' at what they present, are not altogether truth giving in it's entirety as they have a program to produce & a 'good story' usually rules what shows; that's business. I wish you well, I only would hope you drop the dirt & dig for the gems in Truths- God Speed!