Jerusalem - Templar purpose and alibi in Bernard's "De laude novae militiae"

"De laude novae militiae, the famous eulogy written by Bernard of Clairvaux during the stay of Hugues de Payns in Europe in 1127 or 1128, contains several thoughts about the functions of the new Templar chivalry and the battles that the Templars are waging in the East. What details about the headquarters of the order exist and what the conception of Jerusalem prevailed in the clerical consciousness of the first half of the 12th century? (...)

Historiography of the Knights Templar - fact and fiction

 "The historiography of the Knights Templar is long, complex, and generously laced with fiction and legend. It overlaps with the historiographies of The Masonic Temple, the myths of the Grail, and the legends surrounding somewhat more concrete relics, such as the Shroud of Turin, and the splinter of the True Cross, which was captured by (and disappeared under) Saladin. How to distinguish between fact and fiction?

Natural setbacks for crusaders: plagues, droughts and earthquakes

During their campaigns, the crusaders faced not only Muslim opponents but also natural misfortunes such as plagues, droughts and earthquakes.

Administration in the early Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem

By the end of 1110, the administrative shape of the crusader states in Syria and Palestine can be discerned. How were secular and religous rule established?