The Templars: The Secret History Revealed
Founded just after the First Crusade, the Knights of the Temple was a military-religious order subject only to the pope and dedicated to Christian rule of the Holy Land. It lasted beyond the fall of the Crusader states by becoming a bank for Western Europe’s superwealthy. Choosy about lending, the Templars frustrated French king Philip IV, who in 1307 had every Templar he could reach condemned by the Inquisition and arrested. He didn’t tell Pope Clement V because he was still smarting from Boniface VIII’s censuring him for taxing and trying to bring the French church under his control. Clement eventually disbanded the Templars, and Philip executed its leaders, but its property went to another military order. Clement didn’t condemn the order, however, and didn’t say why, though it was long rumored that he had interrogated the leaders. In September 2001, Frale found the record of that interrogation. She discloses its revelations immediately, which doesn’t vitiate the ensuing historical overview. Indeed, consider this little book the first-choice primer on its legend-laden subject. --Ray Olson