How Were the Knights Templar Founded?

The Knights Templar were founded around 1119, in the aftermath of the First Crusade, by a French knight named Hugues de Payens and several of his relatives and friends. The standard account is by Malcolm Barber in The New Knighthood (1994), with the older William of Tyre Chronicon still important as the earliest narrative source. The Order was established near the site of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, from which it took its name. The founding of the Templars is a major event in the history of the Crusades, and it marked the beginning of the military religious orders as a major force in medieval Christendom.

For the broader context, see the main article on the Knights Templar, the Templar rule and organization article, and the trial of the Knights Templar.

The Situation in the Holy Land in 1119

The founding of the Templars took place in 1119, twenty years after the First Crusade and the capture of Jerusalem. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was still in its early years, and it was struggling to consolidate its gains. The Crusader States were surrounded by Muslim powers, and the routes between the major cities were unsafe. The pilgrims who traveled from the coast to the holy sites were vulnerable to attack, and the Latin authorities had limited resources to protect them.

The situation was particularly difficult for the smaller groups of pilgrims who traveled in the wake of the great armies of the First Crusade. The great armies of the First Crusade had been able to protect themselves, but the smaller groups that followed them were often victims of Muslim raids. The Latin authorities, especially King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, were looking for ways to protect the pilgrims, and they were receptive to the idea of a religious order dedicated to this purpose.

The founding of the Templars in 1119 was, in this sense, a response to a real need. The Latin authorities recognized the need to protect the pilgrims, and they were willing to support an order dedicated to this purpose. The Templars were not the only religious order active in the Holy Land: the Hospitallers, founded in 1099, were already running a hospital in Jerusalem. But the Templars were the first to focus specifically on the protection of pilgrims, and they were the first to combine monastic life with military service.

Hugues de Payens

The principal founder of the Templars was Hugues de Payens, a French knight from the Champagne region of France. Hugues was probably born around 1070, and he was a member of the minor nobility of the region. He had participated in the First Crusade and had returned to France after the capture of Jerusalem. He came back to the Holy Land in 1113 or 1114, and he began to organize the protection of pilgrims.

According to the chronicler William of Tyre, Hugues and several of his relatives and friends, perhaps fewer than ten knights, came to King Baldwin II of Jerusalem in 1119 with a proposal to form a religious order dedicated to protecting pilgrims. The king was supportive, and the order was established near the site of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. The site had been given to the order by the king, and it became the headquarters of the Order for the next 80 years.

The early Templars were a small group, and they were not yet a powerful military force. They took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and they lived a monastic life. They wore a simple habit, and they were not yet distinguished by the red cross that would later become their symbol. The early Templars were, in many ways, more like a monastic community than a military force.

The Council of Troyes (1129)

The early Templars were not yet a formally recognized order, and they needed the support of the Church to survive. The Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, who was already one of the most influential churchmen of his age, became an important supporter of the Order. Bernard wrote a famous letter in support of the new order, the De laude novae militiae, which became a central text of the Templar tradition.

The formal recognition of the Templars came at the Council of Troyes in 1129. The Council, which was attended by 13 bishops and a number of ecclesiastical figures, was presided over by Cardinal Matthew of Albano, the papal legate. The Council approved the rule of the Templars, which had been drawn up by Bernard of Clairvaux, and it formally recognized the Order. The Council also gave the Templars a number of important privileges, including the right to have their own churches and cemeteries, the right to receive tithes, and the right to be free from the jurisdiction of local bishops.

The Council of Troyes was a major event in the history of the Templars. It gave the Order formal recognition, and it provided the legal framework for the Order’s growth. The rule approved at Troyes became the basis for the Templar rule, and it governed the Order for the rest of its existence.

The Role of Bernard of Clairvaux

Bernard of Clairvaux, the Cistercian abbot who was to play a major role in the Second Crusade, was the most important ecclesiastical supporter of the early Templars. Bernard was a brilliant preacher and a powerful churchman, and his support was crucial to the Order’s success.

Bernard’s De laude novae militiae, written in support of the Templars, is one of the most important documents in the history of the Crusades. The letter praises the Templars for their devotion to the defense of the Holy Land, and it argues that the combination of monastic life and military service is a legitimate form of Christian vocation. The letter is also significant for what it says about the spiritual rewards of the Crusades, including the promise of martyrdom for those who died in the defense of the Holy Land.

Bernard’s role in the founding of the Templars was important for another reason. Bernard was a reformer, and he saw the Templars as an example of the kind of religious life he wanted to promote. The Templars combined the contemplative life with the active life, and they were an important example of the Cistercian ideal of religious life. Bernard’s support for the Templars was, in this sense, a key part of his broader program of religious reform.

The Growth of the Order

The Order grew rapidly in the years after the Council of Troyes. The Templars became a major military force in the Holy Land, and they played a central role in the defense of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order also grew in Europe, with new commanderies established in every part of Christendom. By the end of the 12th century, the Templars were one of the most powerful and most respected organizations in medieval Europe.

The growth of the Order was also accompanied by the accumulation of wealth and property. The Templars received gifts from kings, popes, and nobles, and they used these gifts to establish new commanderies and to support their military operations. The Templars also developed their financial system, which made them the bankers of the medieval world. The Templar financial system is examined in the Templar banking and finance article.

The growth of the Order was not without its challenges. The Templars had to balance their religious vocation with their military and financial activities, and they had to manage the complex politics of the Holy Land. The Order was also the subject of various criticisms and rumors, which would eventually contribute to their suppression in 1312. The trial of the Templars is examined in the trial of the Knights Templar article.