A Series on Exploring Templar Sites
In these ever-changing times, most of us have little bandwidth for reading about medieval history, let alone understanding its relevance to our modern lives. Yet, who doesn’t dream of a fanciful getaway to Europe for a trip of a lifetime? And when that trip finally materializes, most folks think of classic destinations with the usual tourist stops. One might assume that the character and temperament of modern European regions are very different from their former medieval selves, with little thought to their evolution over time.
Yet, folks of the Middle Ages experienced just as many changes to their ways of life as we are experiencing today. After almost nine hundred years of history, physical evidence of the Middle Ages has turned into treasure in its own right. This is partly due to the way victors in conflicts sublimated those they vanquished. In the early 1300’s, King Phillip IV of France and his surrogates within the papacy seized Templar property throughout the European continent. By the year 1314, the Templar Order was shut down and dissolved, leaving the modern traveler with many unanswered questions about their great mysteries.
(For those who want to know more about, “Who WERE the Knights TEMPLAR?”  Here is a link to an overview; )
Were they military? Yes – But there was so much more to their purpose. While many religious orders proliferated during the 12-14th centuries, the Templars were described as the military arm of the Cistercian monastic order. But their influence permeated beyond the medieval zeitgeist, transforming technologies and improving existence for all who lived in and around the abbeys. Essentially, they were reformers, building a better society for safer travel along the pilgrim routes during the crusades. But in doing so, opened possibilities for the fledgling middle class of merchants to pursue dreams of prosperity in a feudal economic system of nobility, serfdom and church.
Times were hard in 1115 c.e., when Bernard first established Clairvaux Abbey. They drained otherwise uninhabitable swamps and developed their new way of living into a successful model for harmonious existence. Then there was the issue of community safety beyond the Abbey. That’s where the Templars came into the story.
Yes, from the outside view, the crusades needed the Templar fighting forces. But even more so, Templars served as peace-keeping forces, building infrastructure of the Cistercian goal of creating a utopian society of balance and goodwill.Â
The Templars helped fund the construction of churches, way-houses, farms, manors, and sacred sites through the builders known as the “Children of Solomon.” They also managed the mundane logistics of banking, finances, administrative, shipping and legal functions surrounding everything beyond Cistercian life of prayer. This included protecting trade routes from the far northern reaches of Scotland to as far East as the steppes beyond the Black Sea.Â
In this BLOG SERIES, I hope to share a few Templar sites that I have run across in my travels ~ in addition to the Templar sites referenced in my the first two books of the Temple Chronicles, “The Häling and the Scottish Templars” & “Voyage of the Templar Guardians.“ This Templar story begins in historic Scotland and continues in England, before journeying into the Mediterranean. My third book (still in creation process) continues deeper into Europe preceding the fall of the Templars as an organization.
So come along with me for a little treasure hunting in the coming days! Our first stop will be Paris.
