In order to understand better the position of Knights Templar at the beginning of the second millennium as well as their (potential) meaning today, it is important to have a clear picture of their origin and original intent. What is known?
Chroniclers write that the French knight Hugues de Payens approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem with eight knights in order to form a group of Knights. Two of them were his brothers but all were his relatives by either blood or marriage. So the founding fathers of Knights Templar were:
- Hugues de Payens
- Godfrey de Saint-Omer
- Payen de Montdidier
- Archambaud de Saint-Armand
- Andre de Montbard
- Geoffrey Bison
- Rossal
- Gondamer
- The ninth knight remains unknown, although some have speculated that it was Count Hugh of Champagne
The group proposed the creation of a monastic order for the protection of these pilgrims. Baldwin II of Jerusalem agreed to their request. He allowed them to stay in a wing of his palace at Temple Mount, which in fact was a converted mosque, the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This spot became the location for the Templar headquarters. These knights became a premier group of religious knights protecting the visitors of Jerusalem.
The Temple Mount was located on what was thought the ruins of the Temple of Solomon. Thus the Knights named their order the "Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon".
The illustration shows the interior of the Al-Aksa mosque, Jerusalem. Chromolithograph by C.C. Bachelier and A. Adam after François Edmond Pâris, 1862. souce, CC BY 4.0.
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