The Knights Templar

by Stephen Howarth

Book Overview

Here is a complete account of one of the strangest phenomena of Medieval history: The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ, the Knights of The Temple of Solomon- more popularly known as The Knights Templar.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0880296631
• ISBN13: 9780880296632
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Marboro Books
• Length: 322 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Don't buy if you're looking for a conspiracy theory

This was an excellent history of the Templars and the Crusades. No conspiracy theories are present; Howarth just gives the known history of the Templars, and he does it in a very, very good manner. This was the most interesting history book that I have ever read, and one of the most enjoyable books I can ever remember reading. I had no idea the Crusades were so interesting before reading this book. Stories like King Richard (the Lion-Hearted) trying to steal a peasant's hawk and almost getting killed by the owner make this book a delight to read. Reynald de Chatillion and Richard were definitely the best characters in this book. Their exploits are simply amazing (and hilarious). I got this book to study the Templars and ended up getting so interested in the Crusades that I got some more books on the subject. As for the content about the Templars, I cannot imagine a better presentation of their deeds. He does not hypothesize about their having the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant; he simply gives what we know with reasonable certaintly about the development and actions of the Knights Templar, and he does not give it in a vacuum as conspiracy theorists do. Conspiracy theory books about the Templar tend to just report the Templar's deeds and take them out of context. Howarth gives the context. In fact, he gives about as much context as he does actual information about the Templars. Conspiracy theory books point to the fact that the Templars got away with nearly anything as evidence that they had some dirt on the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, they fail to mention that anyone else also got away with nearly anything back then: Crusading kings (i.e. Richard) would sack Christian cities on the way to the crusade and receive not even a scolding. This context is important for understand the Templars. They cannot be viewed in a vacuum, or else conspiracy theories start popping up. They look very strange to us nowadays, but when looked at in the company of other Medieval events and people, they look far more normal. To the best of my knowledge, Howarth is very accurate in his presentation of the Templars (I especially liked his treatment of the Templar trials when the order was dissolved by Pope Clement). He cites a large number of primary sources, and I do not think that he makes conclusions beyond the merits of the evidence. If you are interested in studying the Knights Templar, this is an excellent book to begin with. With the context that this book provides, you will be able to critically examine the claims made about the Templar by other authors. The only complaint I have is that it should have included a map of the Holy Land. Overall grade: A+

Not Coded

A balanced unbiased introduction to the history and workings of the Knights Templar, minus any of the Dan-Brown-DaVinci-Code-Holy-Grail sensationalism. This book details the struggles of the knights to fight the Muslims, other greedy Christians, and the competing holy order of Hospitalers as well as their struggle to maintain personal vows and political organization. Having just a read a book on the 3rd Crusade prior to reading this I would say there are some differences between the books re: historical accuracy of the plots, people and plans of the crusades in large, but either way this book is gives a good understanding of the 300-year existence from birth of the Knights in the desert of Arabia, their life as the heroes of crusading Europe, to their death by a greedy French King and a puppet Pope as the Templar property is seized, the knights are imprisoned or scattered and the Grand Master is burned alive at the stake in front of Notre Dame in Paris.

Knights Templar 101

Dan Brown's 'Da Vinci Code' while entertaining, has had the unfortunate effect that many of the so-called 'historical' books written today are based more on assumptions and opinions than on facts. Brown's book has inspired renewed interest in the Knights Templar, the Holy Grail, Freemasons etc etc.. And with this renewed interest comes people ready to capitalize on it.. and in order to sell books, the themes surrounding them have become more and more outrageous. Fortunately, this book was written 2 decades before Brown's book, and you can be assured that this is a fact based book, and not one of conjecture. To someone who has knowledge about the cruisades and the Knights Templar, this would probably be a very boring book. However, since this is the first book that I have read about the Knights Templar, and one of the first that I have read about the crusades, I really enjoyed it. Having said that, I must add that even though this book is really a 'Knights Templar for Dummies' we aren't treated like dummies. There is one (count it - 1) map, and that is barely legible. I had to get out other maps and atlases to help me figure out exactly where these places were. In addition, while other books (See Dungeon, Fire, and Sword by Robinson) have lists and tables helping the reader identify who is who, this book has nothing... This book was interesting enough to make me want to delve deeper into the cruisades and the KT, so much so that the next book that I read was also a book about the KT.

The Knights Templar

I have not read books on this subject before. Howarth's book is not only easy to read (reads like a novel), but has sparked an interest in me to read other books on related subjects. While maps and other aids may be helpful, I found it a good read and will probably re-read it in the future.

Good book for beginners on the subject

This was the first book I have read about the Templars, and did not know much about their history before I read this book (except the usual mythos that follows their name). I found the book interesting, easy to read, and it has sparked my interest to read more about the knights and the political and military aspects of the times. Without having other resources to compare it to, it still seemed like the author tried to give an objective interpretation of what really occurred in those times.