Legends of the Knights Templar

Tonight I was watching a show on National Geographic about the Knights Templar. They’ve always fascinated me, mainly because of the intrigue. Powerful knights, hidden treasures, secret codes…it’s the source of numerous legends.

The knights were formed around 1118 AD, and I learned some interesting facts.

The pope excluded them from having to pay taxes in every European country.

They invented a banking system allowing pilgrims to deposit money in one location, receive a signed transaction, and they could then “withdraw” money from a different location. Essentially, they created travelers’ checks.

They were one of the few groups allowed to charge interest for loaning money. But loaning money to King Philip the Fair brought about their downfall. The king was in so much debt, he found it easier to accuse them of heresy and seize control of the money than to repay them. Hundreds of knights were seized on Friday the 13th in 1307 before they were tortured and later killed. This may be the origin of the myth of why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky.

Although the knights were officially disbanded and dissolved, most believe that secret groups flourished underground. Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland bears many symbols of the Knights Templar, and some believe that the chapel was built by the Templars in the same design as King Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem. If it’s true, then there’s a secret third underground level. No one has been able to learn if it’s true or not, for fear of collapsing the frail chapel. Some believe the secret chamber contains fabulous treasures; others think it contains religious treasures such as the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant.

While there may be no secrets at all at Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, it does make a good story. And there is evidence of Templars in medieval Ireland. I can just picture another Indiana Jones movie now.

In romance, I believe Mary Reed McCall has a Templar trilogy and her newest is called The Templar’s Seduction. I might have to try that one.

Have you read any Templar stories, fiction or otherwise? What did you think of the Da Vinci Code if you read it?