The Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar by Gordon Napier

The Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar by Gordon Napier

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
Summary

In this lively and authoritative account, historian Gordon Napier unravels the many mysteries that surround the Knights Templar and their sudden fall from grace.

The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free delivery in Australia
  • Supporting authors with AuthorSHARE
  • 100% recyclable packaging
  • Proud to be a B Corp – A Business for good
  • Buy-back with Ziffit

The Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar by Gordon Napier

The Knights Templar, a mysterious fraternity of warrior monks, pledged their swords to defend pilgrims to the Holy Land from the bandit and marauders of the roads. Patronised by the aristocracy, the Templars soon evolved into a formidable army and were the vanguard of the ongoing Crusades. For two centuries they kept up the struggle to retain Jerusalem against a Muslim enemy equally zealous and far superior in numbers. They were widely acclaimed for their boldness and tenacity, showered with gifts by Catholic nobles and granted special privileges by admiring Popes. Even after the failure of the Crusades, the Templars remained one of the dominant forces in Christendom: an international, landed elite with whom the aristocracy and the rising merchant classes banked their wealth. With their military strength, financial pre-eminence and Papal endorsement, the Grand Masters of the Knights Templar had political power to rival kings... until with shocking speed they were brought down by accusations of blasphemous crimes. With confessions tortured out of them by the Inquisition, many knights were burnt as heretics, and the Order was disbanded by the Pope. What really happened behind the closed doors of the Templars' preceptories? Was there truth in the rumours of secret rituals in the dead of the night? Did heretical depravity and Devil-worship truly exist within the illustrious brotherhood? Why is their name associated today with the Freemasons? In this lively and authoritative account, historian Gordon Napier unravels the many mysteries that surround the Knights Templar and their sudden fall from grace.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781862273665
ISBN 10 1862273669
Title The Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar
Author Gordon Napier
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher The History Press Ltd
Year published 2007-04-01
Number of pages 224
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable