They weren’t allowed to drink, gamble or swear. Members swore an oath of poverty, chastity and obedience. The order became known for its austere code of conduct (which included no pointy shoes and no kissing their mothers, rules outlined in “ The Rule of the Templars”) and signature style of dress, which featured a white habit emblazoned with a simple red cross. Their banking system allowed religious pilgrims to deposit assets in their home countries and withdraw funds in the Holy Land. The Knights Templar set up a prosperous network of banks and gained enormous financial influence. Among them, the Templars were exempt from paying taxes, permitted to build their own oratories and were held to no one’s authority except the Pope’s. In 1139, Pope Innocent II issued a Papal Bull that allowed the Knights Templar special rights. Bernard authored “In Praise of the New Knighthood,” a text that glorified the Knights Templar and bolstered their growth. But in 1129, the group received the formal endorsement of the Catholic Church and support from Bernard of Clairvaux, a prominent French abbot. Initially, the Knights Templar faced criticism from some religious leaders. With the support of Baldwin II, the ruler of Jerusalem, they set up headquarters on that city’s sacred Temple Mount, the source of their now-iconic name, and pledged to protect Christian visitors to Jerusalem. Many of them, however, were robbed and killed as they crossed through Muslim-controlled territories during their journey.Īround 1118, a French knight named Hugues de Payens created a military order along with eight relatives and acquaintances, calling it the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon-later known simply as the Knights Templar. After Christian armies captured Jerusalem from Muslim control in 1099 during the Crusades, groups of pilgrims from across Western Europe started visiting the Holy Land.
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