The Knights Templar: The History and Myths of the Legendary Military Order [Paperback]

Sean Martin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 20, 2004

This book is an essential exploration into the history of a legendary group of Crusaders, which are prominently featured in Dan Brown's recent best seller, The Da Vinci Code. The Knights Templar rose from humble beginnings to become the most powerful military religious order of the Middle Ages. Formed to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land, they participated in the Crusades and rapidly gained wealth, lands, and influence. Seemingly untouchable for nearly two centuries, they fell from grace spectacularly after the loss of the Holy Land. In the ensuing centuries the Templars have exerted a unique influence over European history; orthodox historians see them as nothing more than soldier-monks whose arrogance was their ultimate undoing, while others see them as occultists of the first order. With clarity and ease, Martin navigates between the orthodox and the speculative, the historical and the myth, to bring alive the story of the Templars. Like those other legends of the Middle Ages—the characters of the Arthurian tales—The Knights Templar holds captive the imagination of all those intrigued by conspiracy and how history and myth intertwine to become the stuff of legend.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (November 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560256451
• ISBN-13: 978-1560256458
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sean Martin was born in Somerset, England, and now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the author of the bestsellers The Knights Temlpar: The History & Myths of the Legendary Military Order and The Cathars: The Most Successful Heresy of the Middle Ages. He has appeared on the History Channel and National Geographic, amongst others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent primer on the Templars, Crusades, November 28, 2005

By 

Ju1ian (Portland ME) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Knights Templar: The History and Myths of the Legendary Military Order (Paperback)

This is an excellent, sober and balanced primer on what has been the subject of hysterical writing in the last few years, especially since the release of The Da Vinci Code.

Sean Martin has written a very well structured book. It's divided into four main sections: the origins, activities, and fall of the Templars, as well as an additional section on the current mythology surrounding The Order.

It lays out the whole history of The Order, from Hughes de Payen's offer to the King of Jerusalem, to Bernard of Clairvaux's lobbying to the Council of Clermont, the first crusade and then on to the eventual downfall of the Templars with Jacques de Molay's execution in 1314. I won't enumerate all the details because if you're reading this review, you are probably a Templar buff, in which case you know all this. For those looking for an introduction to this subject, this is THE book to get.

Sean Martin has an elegant, simple writing style, making the book a very easy read (which is bad news, because you finish it too quickly).

Too many history books are written in too scholarly a tone, resulting in a very tedious read-you only need to check some of the weightier volumes on the Crusades. The writing style of this book makes you feel part of the events unfolding page by page. Occasional dry humor that comes out in the writing adds to the enjoyment.

A bonus is that the storyline of the Templars in this book is weaved faultlessly with that of the Crusades, so that it also de facto becomes a primer on the latter. Not too many books on the Templars do this well-Gordon Napier's "The Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar" is one of a few that comes to mind.

Some maps, a chronology of Templar history, the list of Grand Masters (for you conspiracy theorists, this list ends with Jacques de Molay and not someone living today) and the list of formal charges against The Order rounds out what is a great little book.

This book is smaller than most works on this subject, but in my opinion, it is one of the best and if you are interested in the Templars or the Crusades, this is one book you should definitely have in your library. Buy the Pocket Essentials hardcover if you can spend the extra dough, this is one of those books that deserves such a binding.

in veritate victorias

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A handy little book, February 7, 2006

By 

J. Stoeving (Denmark) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Knights Templar: The History and Myths of the Legendary Military Order (Paperback)

I bought this book to learn more about the knights templar, which is kind of the new craze these days. And let it be said : I did learn more about the templars.
The book is very simple, and the build-up is very sensible. At certain points a deeper introduction to some of the things would have been appropriate. But I guess you can't expect that at this price and with the writers background.

Basically this book does what it is meant to do, but should be seen as an introduction to the subject. If you wan't to dig deeper, you need to read other books.
My favorite thing is the ancient maps on the inside of the cover, which shows europe(and the middle east) at the time of the templars. Great addition!

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary & Useable, June 18, 2005

By 

Readalots (South Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Knights Templar: The History and Myths of the Legendary Military Order (Paperback)

This little book offers a wealth of information on the history of the Templars. It surprised me by its compact size and plethora of information. Martin tells an interesting well-sourced (with end notes) story in four chapters (145 pages).

Martin's maps, chronology, and lists in the appendixes make this book a text for students of the Crusades and monastic knights. His research is easy to follow, and discover. This book will quickly become sourcing for others.

One hopes that Martin will continue to write history. This book is very recommendable.