Description
The facts behind the fiction of the Knights Templar
In this comprehensive and accessible introduction, Helen Nicholson, leading specialist in the history of this legendary medieval order, gives a full account of the Knights of the Order of the temple of Solomon, bringing the latest findings to a general audience. The Order was founded in the twelfth century, in Jerusalem, at the height of the Crusades as a fighting force. It soon became powerful throughout Europe; eventually so rich and influential that it challenged the might of Kings.
In a terrible wave of violence the Order was persecuted into extinction. Since then numerous theories have emerged, from tales of the Holy Grail to Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and other novels. Putting many of the myths to rest, Nicholson’s vibrant history of these storm troopers of the papacy proves even more revelatory than the legend.
