The Knights Templar: A Captivating Guide to a Powerful Catholic Military Order and Their Impact on the Crusades (Exploring Christianity) by History Captivating

Author:History, Captivating
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine – The Beginning of the End

“Death came among the proceeds from all sides and by all roads: we killed all that thou hast appointed to guard the city or defend its approaches.”

-Babyars in a letter to Bohemond VI of Antioch

The Crusades lasted almost two hundred years and ended as dramatically as they began. There would be calls for crusades later, particularly after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, but not much came of those efforts. Europe was involved in other matters, and the major crusading powers, England and France, were locked in a contest called the Hundred Years’ War. Their interest in anything that happened in the eastern Mediterranean significantly dropped since affairs closer to home drew the attention of the reigning dynasties.

The religious significance of the Crusades was fading. The Fourth Crusade was little more than a hostile takeover by Venice of one of its commercial rivals. Many people in Europe, particularly Italian merchants, seemed more interested in striking a separate deal with the Muslims than trying to present a united front for the sake of the Holy Land. Papal bulls and sermons tried to whip up a frenzy, but not much interest was forthcoming.

Frankly, Europe was getting tired of the whole idea. Few were interested in traveling a thousand miles from home to a sunbaked land where no one trusted anybody else. Besides, there were opportunities in eastern Europe, particularly Prussia and the Baltic region, where knights in the Crusades could gain the remission of sins while plundering the countryside.

The Templars were the predominant religious military order at one time, but they were starting to get some competition. The Knights Hospitaller were another significant order of knights, and the Spanish were creating their own bands of mounted warriors to carry the fight to the Muslims.

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Knights, started by defending pilgrims in the Holy Land but later did exceptionally well commercially in the Baltic region. The younger sons of noble families sought opportunities with the Teutonic Knights without crossing continents.

The 13th century saw the Knights Templar slowly fade as a strategic military presence in the Middle East. The Templars were not yet done, but it was a new day and a new age. Their mission in Outremer shrank as the Crusader States became increasingly smaller.

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