Medieval Monasteries in the Netherlands

The Netherlands had hundreds of medieval monasteries, but very few houses of the Templars. Popular lists name dozens of Templar sites. Why did monastic life come late to the northern Low Countries, and how many Templar houses can we actually prove?

Sacred Power: The Relics of the Knights Templar Chapel in Acre

In the heart of the Crusader stronghold of Acre, the Knights Templar established more than just a military base. They also founded the Knights Templar Chapel where they gathered a collection of relics. How did they use this remarkable collection to shape religious experience, assert political influence, and attract pilgrims from across the Christian world?

A Possible Templar Site at Westervelde near Norg, the Netherlands

Near Norg in the province of Drenthe, the Netherlands, lie two farms called De Grote Tempel and De Kleine Tempel, with meadows named the Tempelstukken. The names suggest the Templars. But is there any evidence that the order ever owned land in Drenthe?

Bernard de Clairvaux' youth - from squire to monk

Bernard de Clairvaux (1090/1091 - 1153), Cistercian abbot and theologian, is renowned for his sermons and letters that eloquently blend Christian mysticism with the ideals of knighthood. However, the first 21 years of his life (the years of legal minority) he lived as Bernard de la Fontaine the life of a member of the Burgundian nobility, being a squire himself in direct contact with knights. What is known of these early years?

The Augustinian canons of the Holy Sepulcher - stepping stone of the Templars

The election of Pope Leo XIV, a former Augustinian canon, has drawn renewed attention to the historical role of the Augustinian tradition within the Church. There is an often overlooked foundational influence on the origin, spiritual identity and structure of the medieval military orders. More particular, in the aftermath of the First Crusade (1096-1099) the Hospitallers as well as the proto-Knights Templar maintained a special relationship with Augustinian canons of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The characteristics of the Jerusalem Augustinian canons seem to have inspired the special character of the juvenile Templar Order. 

Did the medival Templars celebrate Pentecost?

The liturgical life of the Knights Templar during the Middle Ages is illuminated by their Rule, statutes, manuscript breviaries/ordinals, and commandery inventories. What is known on theTemplars celebrating Pentecost?

A Possible Templar Location at Groessen, the Netherlands

Groessen, a village near Duiven in Gelderland, has a Tempelstraat, a farm called De Tempel and a Commendereijstraat. These names have been read as the traces of a lost Templar house. Do the sources support that idea?

Clairvaux Abbey - 910 years old

The abbey of Clairvaux (today at the commune of Ville-sous-La-Ferté, in the Aube Department, France), the third daughter of the Cistercian abbey of Cîteaux, was founded in the summer of 1115 (according to legend on 25 June 1115) by the Cistercian monk Bernard de Fontaine, the later Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153). Bernard had been sent, with twelve other monks, to the site by the abbot of Citeaux Abbey. That means that this year the Abbey celebrates its 910th birthday.

The re-organization of the Papacy in the 12th and 13th Century

The 12th and 13th centuries were transformative periods for the papacy, marked by significant administrative reforms, increased political power, and theological developments. This era witnessed the papacy consolidating its influence over both ecclesiastical and secular realms. The organization of the papacy during this time set the foundations for its role in the subsequent centuries.