The Knights Templar: A History Strange and True

by Dorsey Armstrong, The Great Courses

Hidden treasures. Secret societies. War and plunder. You’ve heard the stories, seen the movies, pondered the conspiracy theories. You know that the Knights Templar are said to be connected with the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, the Freemasons—even Oak Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia. But who were they really?

Embark on a thrilling journey through the Middle Ages with The Knights A History Strange and True. Over 24 riveting lectures, Dr. Dorsey Armstrong, a distinguished medieval scholar at Purdue University, peels back the layers of legend to reveal the flesh-and-blood reality of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. Founded around 1119 to protect Christian travelers in the wake of the First Crusade, the Templars evolved from a humble band of knights to a military and financial powerhouse, responsible for managing the wealth of nobles and defending Crusader states.

Your course takes you from Pope Urban II’s call for the First Crusade in 1095 to the dangers that faced traveling Christians in the Levant. After the 1119 massacre of 300 pilgrims near the Jordan River, two knights—Hugues de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer—vowed to protect future travelers. Dr. Armstrong traces their cinematic arc from 1119 to the aftermath of October 13, 1307, when King Philip IV of France orchestrated a mass arrest, accusing the Templars of heresy, idolatry, and treason.

What happened at the end of their era? Did they all disappear back into Europe? Or did something of their order live on? Look beyond conspiracies around the Freemasons or The Da Vinci Code to discover the real legacy of the Knights a unique fusion of faith, finance, and warfare that shaped medieval Europe and continues to spark our imaginations today.

PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Genres: History, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published September 26, 2025

About the author

Dr. Dorsey Armstrong is Associate Professor of English and Medieval Literature at Purdue University, where she has taught since 2002. The holder of an A.B. in English and Creative Writing from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Medieval Literature from Duke University, she also taught at Centenary College of Louisiana and at California State University, Long Beach. Her research interests include medieval women writers, late-medieval print culture, and the Arthurian legend, on which she has published extensively, including the 2009 book Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur: A New Modern English Translation Based on the Winchester Manuscript and Gender and the Chivalric Community in Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur, published in 2003. In January 2009, she became editor-in-chief of the academic journal Arthuriana, which publishes the most cutting-edge research on the legend of King Arthur, from its medieval origins to its enactments in the present moment. Her current research project-Mapping Malory's Morte-is an exploration of the role played by geography in Malory's version of the story of King Arthur.

Reviews

[a ☕︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

my dad was like is this your fave lecturer again and i was like well yes! i do love prof armstrong...especially bc i listened to this one over quite some time so when she repeated certain points it aided retention. my fave bit was about the sailor who gave safe passage to many women from the falling city of acre, all of whom were offering their bodies, jewels, and marriage as payment—none of which he accepted. i even remember her exact words: but who he was, whence he came, or whither he went, no man knows to this day (lol). i’ll add more notes later bc i jotted down quite a few whenever i had a spare moment

[Yopi Makdori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saya nemu bukunya di Wondrium tahun lalu...

Yang buat saya menarik soal kisah Henry Sang Navigator alias Pangeran Henry dari Portugal, orang ini memiliki peran yang sangat sentral dalam sejarah Ordo Kristus [sebelumnya Ksatria Templar], khususnya dalam mengalihkan misi ordo tersebut dari militer tradisional ke arah penjelajahan samudra.

Pada tahun 1418, Pangeran Henry menjabat sebagai gubernur (sebutan untuk pemimpin agung atau grand master) dari Ordo Kristus. Berbeda dengan Ksatria Templar terdahulu yang bertanggung jawab langsung kepada Paus, sebagai pemimpin Ordo Kristus, Henry bertanggung jawab langsung kepada Raja Portugal.

Henry menggunakan posisi dan kekayaan ordo (yang merupakan warisan aset dari Ksatria Templar di Portugal) untuk mendanai visi penjelajahannya. Harta tersebut diberikan tujuan baru untuk mendukung ambisi maritim Portugal.

Dengan sumber daya yang dimilikinya melalui ordo, Henry mendirikan sekolah bagi para navigator maritim. Sekolah ini melahirkan tokoh-tokoh penjelajah besar dunia seperti Vasco da Gama, Magellan, dan Christopher Columbus.

Visi Pangeran Henry dalam mengelola Ordo Kristus dianggap sebagai faktor kunci yang meresmikan Zaman Penjelajahan yang kemudian mengubah dunia secara drastis.

Dengan demikian, Henry Sang Navigator mengubah Ordo Kristus dari sebuah ordo militer-monastik menjadi institusi pendukung utama bagi dominasi maritim dan ilmu navigasi Portugal. Dia juga yang membuka era kolonialisme.

[Kathy Allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars
I'd been debating whether to read Dan Jones' book on the Templars or listen to this course. Decided to give this a try and I feel it gave me a sufficient amount of info on the Templars. The accompanying PDF is lacking images, esp in the symbols lecture. Also at one point, Prof Armstrong says, e.g., "get out a pen and paper and make a family tree for this next part." Um, no, the PDF should have provided that.

Prof Armstrong includes too much modern slang for my taste in this course about the medieval era, but perhaps that's the way to get thru to college-age students.

But overall, I found this useful and plan to listen to more Great Courses.

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too many difficult names to remember. Post graduate course.