Templars: The Rise, Fall & Survival of the Knights Templar

by Sanford Holst

Mysteries about the Knights Templar are at the heart of this exploration into the lives of extraordinary people who shaped this legendary order. Their intriguing stories shed new light on the forces that propelled Hugh de Payens and his Templars to positions of exceptional influence in the Medieval world. Templar links to Solomon’s Temple have emerged as being more important than previously thought, and even added to the incredible wealth that filled their coffers. The rise of these knights also increased the power of the Vatican, whose later attacks on the Templars came back to haunt it. Walter de Clifton and other real-life Templars left testimony that revealed how they survived the arrests and executions that decimated their brotherhood in 1307. Living as outcasts, these once-powerful knights contributed to the fall of kings in Europe and the Vatican’s loss of its dominant position. Their actions still influence our lives today.

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 16, 2013

About the author

Sanford Holst is a historian whose books bring the ancient Mediterranean to life. He wrote Amazon’s #1 book on the Phoenicians, as well as its fresh new second edition. Another of his books explores the influence of Solomon’s Temple on the sudden rise of the Knights Templar. He has presented academic papers at universities around the world, and is a member of the Royal Historical Society in London. He has explored archives and historic sites all across the Mediterranean and benefited from the work of many local experts. His informative websites are read by more than half a million people each year.

Reviews

[Caroline Mathews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember how the bane of World History Class was all those dates? This book about the Templars has too few of them, making it hard to play along - especially with so much iffy sentence construction. Otherwise, written in a simple, explanatory way that makes it fast going.