The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple (Canto Classics) by Malcolm Barber (PDF)

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The Order of the Temple, founded in 1119 to protect pilgrims around Jerusalem, developed into one of the most influential corporations in the medieval world. It has retained its hold on the modern imagination thanks to the dramatic events of the Templars’ trial and abolition two hundred years later, and has been invoked in historical mysteries from masonic conspiracy to the survival of the Turin shroud. Malcolm Barber’s lucid narrative separates myth from history in this full and detailed account of the Order, from its origins, flourishing and suppression to the Templars’ historic afterlife.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review ‘… the Templars evolved into one of the most powerful military forces of the Middle Ages. The story of their rise and sensational fall is the subject of this splendid book.’ The Observer Book Description Malcolm Barber’s lucid narrative separates myth from history in this full and detailed account of the Order. About the Author Malcolm Barber taught European medieval history at the University of Reading between 1966 and 2005. His special interests are the Templars, the Cathars and the crusades. He is the author or co-author of nine books. Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐TO PROTECT CHRISTIAN PILGRIMSIn 1095, Pope Urban II urged Christians to take up arms to aid their brethren in the east, who were being harassed, tortured, and killed by the Seljuk Turks. Christians won the First Crusade by capturing Jerusalem in July 1099. Then most of the crusaders returned home, leaving Christians severely outnumbered. Travelers and pilgrims needed safe passage through the new Frankish territories of Antioch, Tripoli, Jerusalem, and Edessa. The formation of the Templars arose from the need to protect such pilgrims.THE TEMPLARS (1120 AD)Certain noble men of knightly order, devoted to God, pious and God-fearing, took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. They promised to protect Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem. Their base was the south side of the Temple of of Lord (the Dome of the Rock). They maintained the roads and highways against ambushes of thieves and attackers. In return, they would receive remission for their sins.Because they fought with a clear and pure conscience, they had no fear of death. They were disciplined, ascetic, sober and hard-working. The Templars lived in the places where Christ had lived, and taught the pilgrims a deeper understanding of those places. Thus, in visiting the Holy Sepulchre, where the body of Christ achieved new life through resurrection, the pilgrim could also walk in new life. A favorite pilgrim destination was the River Jordan. Pilgrims wanted to bathe in the waters where Christ was baptized, and “which the Trinity dedicated to itself by a manifest presence. “The Father was heard, the Holy Spirit was seen, and the Son baptized” (Luke 3:22).HOW THE TEMPLARS LIVEDThe Templars wore white vestments with a red cross.They observed a state of perpetual celibacy and avoided all physical contact with women.They maintained a modest lifestyle.1) plain and undifferentiated clothing2) tonsured heads3) a pallet, blanket, and coverlet for bedding4) communal and silent meals during which there was a holy reading.5) They shunned excessive hair, immoderately long clothes, and pointed, laced-up shoes.Knights slept in shirt and breeches. Meat was allowed only 3 times per week. Vegetable dishes and cooked “pottage” were the main fare. After each meal thanks was rendered to the Lord. Leftovers were distributed to the servants and paupers. A tenth of all daily bread was given in alms, for “to the poor is the first place in the Kingdom of God.”Conversation was strictly limited to functional needs. “Scurrilous and shameful words” and laughter were prohibited. Displays of anger, malice, or grumbling were avoided.THEIR SPIRITUAL SIDEEach day began with attendance at matins, which in summer was about 4:00am, where the brothers heard or recited 13 paternosters, followed by prime at 6:00am and the hearing of mass, terce at 8:00am, and sext at 11:30am. A brief sleep was permitted between matins and prime.Sext was followed by the first meal of the day. The brothers ate in silence. Nones were at 2:30pm and vespers at 6:00pm, and then supper. The final office was compline, where the brothers drank communally, either water or diluted wine. Sleep and silence followed.ARMOR and WEAPONSThe knights’ armor included a helmet and a mailed hauberk covering the head and body down to the iron hose and solerets which protected the legs and feet. The mail was reinforced by espaliers (metal shoulder protectors). The whole outfit was worn over a padded jacket made of leather.Weapons consisted of a sword, shield, lance, a Turkish mace (fixed metal head with spikes on a long haft), dagger, a bread-knife, and a pocket-knife.Basic clothing included 2 shirts, 2 pairs of breeches, 2 pairs of hose, a small belt to tie over the shirt, a jerkin, 2 white robes (one with fur for winter use), a heavy cloak like a cape, a short-sleeved tunic worn on top of the shirt, and a leather belt.Each knight was allowed 3 horses and a squire, horse blankets and barley. All knights had to carry portable bedding, including a straw-filled mattress, blankets, sheets, a rug, and storage bags. They also needed cooking and eating utensils. Drinking flasks and cups were essential in the hot climate.THE COST OF A KNIGHTIn 1260, a Burgundian knight needed the income from 3,700 acres! Large areas of pasture and vast quantities of fodder were needed for horses and pack-animals. Horses required a daily ration of 25 pounds of hay and grain and 6 gallons of water. The Templar houses in the West were essential in supplyng horses, wheat, vegetables, barley, armaments, and cloth.HOW THEY FOUGHTThey were neither rash nor fanatical. Their patience was often rewarded when the uneasy coalitions that comprised most Muslim armies broke up.Prior to 1187, an unknown pilgrim to Jerusalem observed“The Templars are most excellent soldiers. They wear white mantels with a red cross. They go in silence. Their first attack is the most terrible. In going they are first, in returning, last. They await the orders of their Master. When they think fit to make war and the trumpet has sounded, they sing in chorus the Psalm of David, ‘Not unto us, O Lord’, kneeling on the blood and necks of the enemy, unless they have forced the troops of the enemy to retire altogether, or utterly broken them to pieces.”CAPTURE OF NASIR-AL-DIN (7 JUNE 1154)The Templars captured Nasir-al-Din, the son of the vizier of Egypt. They sold him to the Egyptians for 60,000 gold pieces. Once back in Egypt, he was torn to pieces by the mob because, during his capture, he had asked “most eagerly to be reborn in Christ, and was being instructed in the rudiments of the Christian faith.” Nasir had come to the conclusion that “his own religion had no stability or faith.” The Egyptians condemned him as an apostate, tied him to a stake, and shot him with arrows.CASTLE NETWORKThe Templars constructed a series of castles by which they defended pilgrims in the region, and to conduct raids into Muslim territory. They also held many villages, mills, and adjoining agricultural lands.Baghras was the key northern fortress with towers and 3 lines of very strong walls.The castle at Tortosa protected pilgrims visiting the cathedral of Notre-Dame, revered as the place of St. Peter’s first mass, and as the keeper of a painting of the Virgin believed to have been made by St. Luke.After visiting Jerusalem, most pilgrims wanted to bathe in the Jordan River and see Mount Quarantene, the Mount of Temptation, where the Devil offered Christ the material riches of the world.Halfway along this route the Templars held the castle of Maldoim above the Jericho Road.The Templars also had a castle near the Jordan at the place where Christ was baptized, to protect pilgrims, and to prevent a repetition of the massacre by Zengi of the 6 monks who had lived at a church there.BATTLE OF HATTIN (4 JULY 1187)Saladin assembled his forces for a great onslaught upon the Christians who had assembled at Acre in a defensive position at the well-watered site of Sephoria. They intended to sit out the invasion as they had successfully done before. Raymond of Tripoli advised the Christians to stay put, for Saladin’s forces were too great. But once again, Gerard of Ridefort foolishly urged King Guy to take the offense.The Christian army ventured forth into waterless country to recapture Tiberias. Having to make camp at nightfall, they were surrounded by the Muslim army, which prevented the Christians from reaching the Springs of Kafr Hattin. The Muslims set fire to the dry grass, making their throats even more parched. Being despondent and tired by thirst, the Christians were utterly defeated.This Muslim victory created a chain reaction. Acre fell less than a week later. Jerusalem fell in October, including the Templar headquarters. Tripoli and Antioch survived, as did the Templar and Hospitaller enclaves around Tortosa and Krak des Chevaliers. The only important city left was Tyre, saved by the chance arrival of a fleet under a German crusader, Conrad of Monferrat, who captured 11 Muslim galleys.After Saladin had defeated Jerusalem, he had the relic of the True Cross taken down from the Temple of the Lord and, beating it with clubs, had it carried on display throughout the city. Gerard of Ridefort was captured.THIRD CRUSADE (1189-1192)BATTLE OF ARSUF (7 SEPTEMBER 1191)The loss at Hattin so shocked Christian opinion that a third crusade was organized two years later. The French king, Philip II, and the Angevin king, Richard I, retook Acre on 12 July 1190. Three weeks later Philip departed for France, while Richard fought Saladin in a great battle at Arsuf in September.Richard formed up 12 squadrons into 5 battle-lines. The Templars were to hold the front rank and the Hospitallers the rear. At one point, the Hospitallers were pressed to the breaking point. Their crossbowmen in the rear had to load and fire walking backwards. Beginning to be overwhelmed by the enemy, the Hospitallers thrust their way through their own infantry and charged into the Saracen ranks with the cry of “St. George!” Saladin was defeated. However, the Christians failed to retake Jerusalem.NEGOTIATION FOR NABLUS (OCTOBER 1242)In revenge for a previous massacre of Christian pilgrims by al-Nasir, the Templars led an attack on Nablus. The Sultan of Egypt could not be trusted to keep the terms of any truce, for he had not returned Gaza, Hebron, Nablus, and Daron. Instead of fighting, the Muslim leaders negotiated with the Templars who gained all the land west of the River Jordan except Hebron, Nablus, and Baisan. Safe access to these places was now possible for everybody.DEFEAT AT La FORBIE (17 OCTOBER 1244)On 11 July 1244, the Khorezmian Turks and Egyptians sacked Jerusalem, treating the population in a far more brutal fashion than any other Muslim ruler. A large Christian army gathered at La Forbie, led by the King of Cyprus, the Prince of Antioch, and their Muslim allies, led by al-Nasir. Because the opposing forces were greater, al-Nasir deserted the Christian army. The Egyptians won an overwhelming victory. Grand Master Armand was either killed or died in captivity. Only 33 Templars, 26 Hospitallers, and 3 Teutonic Knights survived.ATTACK ON MANSURAH (8 FEBRUARY 1250)Christians in the King Louis IX crusade advanced toward Cairo and began to ford a branch of the Nile. This took time. The Templars, along with Robert of Artois, the king’s brother, and William Longespee, Earl of Salisbury, reached the other side before the rest of the army. To the surprise of the cautious Templars, the Count of Artois attacked the Turks, pursuing them into the town of Mansurah. The Templars charged after him. The Christian knights became trapped in the narrow streets when great beams were flung into the streets by the inhabitants, blocking their retreat. Their losses were huge, about 300 knights and 280 Templars. Only 2 Templars and one Hospitaller escaped the massacre.BAYBARS, SULTAN OF EGYPTIn 1265, Baybars, Sultan of Egypt, took Caesarea, Haifa, and the Hospitaller fortress of Arsuf,in 1266, he took the Templar castle at Safad,in 1268, he took Jaffa.In April 1268, Baybars employed as many as 26 seize engines to subdue another Templar castle, Beaufort.Antioch fell on 18 May.Thereafter, Grand Master Thomas Berard decided the following castles were not defensible: Baghras, La Roche de Roussel, and Port Bonnel. In 1271, Chastel-Blanc, Krak des Chevaliers and Akkar crumbled. Montfort fell in June. Reduced to coastal defenses, the Franks were finally given a respite in April 1272 when the crusade of Prince Edward of England persuaded Baybars to agree to a 10-year truce. But in 6 years Baybars had dismantled the Templar defenses in the east which they had painstakingly built up since 1187.FORTRESS AT DESTROIT, ATLIT, or “PILGRIMS’ CASTLE”HELD BY TEMPLARS FROM 1218 UNTIL 1291 AFTER THE FALL OF ACREThe castle at the foot of Mount Carmel, near Haifa, was built on land that projected into the sea, so that it was protected on 3 sides by water. Next to it was a road, a town, fisheries, salt-pans, woods, pastures, vines, and orchards. While digging the foundation, they found a source of fresh water. The land-side was protected by two strong walls. Between the outer wall and the mainland was a moat that could be flooded. It had a natural harbor. Two lines of archers would have been deployed to cover the area in front of the moat, firing through the casements (windows) on the gallery (roofed balcony) and from the top of the wall, amounting to between 120 and 140 men in all. Each of the 3 towers along the outer wall had its own portcullis (iron gate) and machicolation (a masonry projection from a tower with opening in the floor through which rocks or boiling oil could be poured).CASTLE SAFADSafad had a double line of walls shaped in an ellipse. The castle was “enclosed on every side by mountains and hills and steep precipices and crags and rocks.” It was 330 meters by 170 meters with a circumference of 850 meters, making it the largest castle in the kingdom. Cylindrical (round) towers stood along the outer wall, with rectangular towers along the inner wall. There was a large round keep in the inner court.The castle was stocked with a full range of war machines and crossbows. It kept a peacetime compliment of 1,700 men, increased to 2,220 during war. Fifty of these were Templar knights. They were reinforced by fifty turcopoles (light-mounted troops) and 300 crossbowmen. Food was drawn from the surrounding farm lands, including 12,000 mule loads of barley and grain annually, and from the castle’s own hunters and fishermen. Fish were brought in fresh daily and salted from the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan. For food processing, the castle had wind, water, and animal-powered mills.Castle Safad brought safety to the region. The famous places of Galilee with which the faithful had become familiar through the Bible could now be again accessible.These included the cistern where Joseph was sold by his brothers,Capernaum, where Jesus preached and Peter found the tribute money in the mouth of the fish,and where Matthew left the custom-house to join the apostles,and the hillside where Jesus manifested Himself to the disciples after His resurrection.Next to the Sea of Galilee itself was Bethsaida, the birthplace of Peter, Andrew, Philip, and James the Less,and Magdalon, which was said to be the birthplace of Mary Magdalene.Moreover, Nazareth, Mount Tabor, and Cana of Galilee were now safe to visit again.Three times during July 1266 Baybars attempted to take Safad without success. He decided to sow dissent between the Templars and the Syrian Christians inside the castle. He promised the Syrians if they deserted the castle they would be granted free passage. The Templars sent out a Syrian sergeant called Leon Cazelier to negotiate, since he knew Arabic. When the gates were opened, Baybars sent the women and children into slavery and had the Templars decapitated. The Syrians thought they had been betrayed by the Templars, which they were not. Baybars had lied.THE FALL OF ACRE (1291)In spite of a 10-year truce made in 1277, Kalavun resumed his attacks in 1285, capturing Latakia and the very strong Hospitaller fortress of al-Marqab. Tripoli fell in April, and Botron and Nephin soon after.On 5 April, the Muslim army advanced to the walls of Acre.On 15 April, William of Beaujeu led a night attack on the Muslim camp. Surprise seemed to give them the advantage, but the Christians became entangled in the tent ropes in the darkness and were beaten back, losing 18 dead.On 18 May, the Muslim’s broke in at the “Accursed Tower”, and street-fighting began. William of Beaujeu was resting at the time, but he rushed out, lightly armed. Badly wounded, he was carried back to the Templar complex where he later died that evening, about 60 years old. The Mamluks had captured most of the city. Only the Templar fortress remained in Christian hands, filled with refugees.On 25 May, Peter of Sevrey, Marshal of the Templars, agreed to surrender in exchange for safe-conduct of the refugees, but as they entered, some Muslim troops began to pillage and molest women and children, provoking an attack from the Templars. That night the commander, Theobald Gaudin, was sent out of the fortress with the Templars’ treasure and sailed to Sidon.The Templar building fell 3 days later and everyone inside was slaughtered.The Templars left Sidon on 14 July, Tortosa on 3 August, and Atlit on 14 August.The Templars established their new headquarters on Cyprus and a small garrison on Ruad, two miles off Tortosa. The Templars had intended to regain a foothold in Syria, but Ruad was wiped out in 1302.EXPERTS IN BANKINGPilgrims to the Holy Land deposited their valuables with the western Templars so they would be less-vulnerable to thieves. They were given cheques for the amount of their deposits. After arriving in Jerusalem, they could cash in their cheques for money.Templar houses also protected important documents such as treaties, charters, and wills.The Templars had a reputation for honesty and for punishing wrongdoers. Any brother found with unauthorized money on his person when he died was denied a Christian burial.THE END OF THE TEMPLARSThe fall of Acre in 1291 created a climate of criticism against the Templars for failing to defend the Holy Land. They had already suffered major defeats at Hattin in 1187, La Forbie in 1244, and Mansurah in 1250. How could vast sums of money be spent this way? How could they defend the Holy land after their (wise) decision to abandon the fortresses at Atlit and Tortosa in August 1291?On 13 Friday 1307, King Philip IV of France had the Templars arrested.There was no resistance because most of the Templars were either unarmed, or middle-aged or elderly. They were charged with heresy in which, during their initiation rites into the Templars, they had denied Christ, spat on a crucifix, and were obscenely kissed by their receptor on the base of the spine, the navel, and the lips. There were also charges of simony, idol worship, and homosexuality.After being imprisoned and tortured, the leaders made confessions. But one month later Pope Clement V intervened, and they revoked the confessions they had made under torture. In February 1310, 32 Templars from the Auvergne province committed themselves to the defense of the Order. This defense so alarmed Philip that an attempt was made to suppress it in May 1310 by executing a small group of Templars as relapsed heretics, using their former confessions against them. Indeed, Philip threatened military action against the Pope unless he agreed to his wishes. So in March 1312, the Pope abolished (but did not condemn) the Templars as an Order, and their property transferred to the Hospitallers. As for the Templars, some were reconciled to the Church, some were declared innocent, others considered relapsed or impenitent. Their Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake on 18 March 1314.Many believed the charges against the Templars were false, and were driven by King Philip’s greed to seize their assets as he was deeply indebt from war with England.But the central archives of the Templars, which detailed all its history, was destroyed by the Turks in 1571 on the island of Cyprus, opening the door to endless speculation about the truth regarding Templar activities.James of Vitry, Bishop of Acre between 1216 and 1228, said of the Templars,“Lions in war,mild as lambs at home;in the field fierce knights,in church like hermits or monks;unyielding and savage to the enemies of Christ,benevolent and mild to Christian.”The Templars, he said, were beloved by all because of their piety and humility.

⭐The Knights Templar “corporation” lasted some two centuries – from their beginnings about 1191 to their leaders arrest in France on Friday 13 October 1307. Many of us first came across the Templars in books such as “Ivanhoe” when we were young, but the reality of overseas military operations in “Outremer” (the Christian crusader states) during the 12th and 13 centuries was far more complex. Enormous expenditures of money and men were required, which in turn, necessitated a very large support organization throughout Europe for money, men, and supplies. Raising money, men, and horses was an ongoing effort. I was surprised at the cost to equip and maintain just one knight in Outremer, and the consequences to the Order of sometimes losing several hundred knights in a single battle. There was never enough knights.The author concisely and in detail describes the Templar history from records as are now available, both western and eastern, as the Templar archives in Cypress were destroyed by the Ottomans in 1571. The first five chapters discusses the origins of the order, the concept of a military monastic organization, the rise of the Templars from their simple roots, to the last years of the Order in Outremer. There are chapters on Templar life and rules, the support and supply network, and the end of the Order in the early 14th century. The last chapter discusses several legends that have grown up around the Templars. The very detail may, however, put off the reader looking for a casual history. The book needs a glossary to define medieval military and religious terms.All in all an excellent book, but one which may require more than one reading. It is recommended.

⭐Over the past twenty or thirty years the Templars have become the subject of some really silly religious conspiracy theories which say more about the authors who espouse them than they actually do about the Templars themselves.Don’t buy these religious conspiracy books about the Templars expecting to actually learn the history of the Order. Instead, get “The New Knighthood” and “The Trial of the Templars” by Malcolm Barber. Dr. Barber’s “The New Knighthood” is perhaps THE single best history of the Order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon available, written by one of the Order’s foremost historians (though Dr. Helen Nicholson’s books are also extremely good). Particularly useful and interesting are detailed chapters chronicling the Order’s founding, early years and explosive growth, and chapters on the suppression and dissolution of the Order as well as its transformation into modern fantasy through the spurious history and wild assertions of religious conspiracy theorists. The chapters on the Order’s founding and early growth are especially fascinating.Barber’s book is well-grounded in well-documented, scholarly fact; in those cases where the facts are unknown or open to differing interpretation, he tells you.Barber’s books (and Dr. Peter Partner’s “The Mudered Magicians: The Templars and their Myth”) should be required reading for anyone about to write a religious conspiracy book involving the Templars.

⭐As others have previously stated this book is written in a scholarly vein. This fact should not discourage anyone from proceeding with this well written, very informative source. I fall far short of being remotely classified as a scholastic reader, but that fact did nothing to prevent me from throughly enjoying this and also ordering his other book on the fall of the Templar’s. This is one of the most comprehensive books on the subject written by a person that’s made it his life’s work.

⭐Received the book in very good time, unfortunately however on arrival, the front cover was slightly damaged. There is a permanent crease on the bottom right corner, and the long edge of the front cover had bits of glue stuck to it (the kind which you can peel off) so I’m not sure what that was about?Other than that though, I am happy with the product, and obviously, Barber is always a great read and the king when it comes to Templar scholarship in the English speaking world.

⭐This could be an excellent book but I will never know, the print is absolutely tiny and I will not be using a magnefiying glass. I’ve shown this book to several other people and all agree that there is no way they could read this book without straining their eyes. Pity as I was really looking forward to reading about this interesting period of history. Now I will return this book.

⭐Great service,superb quality copy.

⭐Great for my dad

⭐Everything as expected, Excellent choice, great purchase.

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