The sources of the wealth of the Knight Templar

朱江

Abstract： The Knight Templar， which originated as an organization contributing to protecting of the Holy Land in 1120 in Jerusalem， had its unique historical position and influence in Medieval Europe. It is a religious military organization obedient only to the Papacy. With a large amount of wealth， Templars became an entity of economy-political power quickly. Finally， it made the Knight Templar involved deeply in the complicated beneficial network and fall into destruction. The sources of the wealth are variable.

Key words： Knight Templar； wealth； Christianity

The initial function of the Knight Templar， which came into being in Crusader States in 1099， is to protect western pilgrims headed to Jerusalem. The Crusade sized hold of the Holy Land—Jerusalem after the first East Expedition of Crusades. After that， lots of Christians traveled enormous distance to there for pilgrimage. However， the journey was full of difficulties and obstacles and gangsters and these pilgrims were always been slain by robbers. To guarantee the safety of pilgrims and attack heretics， French aristocrat Huguens de Payns who bad been involved in the first Crusade founded the Knight Templar. Under the approval of Jerusalem King Baldwin Ⅱ， they were based in the Al—Aqsa Mosque in Temple Mount， which reportedly built on the ruins of the Solomons Temple. For this reason， the Knight Templar was called “Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon”. At the very beginning， the organization had only nine members. In 1139， Pope Innocent II conferred on it Papal letter bull. The Knight Templar only bore responsibility for the Pope， rather than Kings or bishops. It even had the right to collect tithe.

From 1129 to 1291， the Knight Templar played an important role in battles of defending the Holy Land. Though only a few Templars threw themselves into the battles， they had high combat effectiveness and every man was worth ten， so they were vital to the success of these battles.

Despite the Knight Templar obtained the imagination of poets and historians， they were still regarded as the pronoun of brutal religious fanaticism while the Crusade European invasion and imperialism.

In terms of their wealth， it could be described as getting more money than God. According to the recordation of annalist Matthew Paris， at the end of 12th century， the Templars had more than 9000 estates in Europe and their annual income was roughly estimated over 600 million pound.

It made the Knight Templar an economic entity and a decisive force in European politics. With the treasure， the Knight Templar founded the inchoate banking system to manage such amount of wealth. However， the fall of the Knight Templar was also attributed to the wealth.

Based on the surveys done by seniors， I want to show my learning on sources of the wealth. The Knight Templar gathered its riches by four ways：

Firstly， the Templars have the right to collect tithe in their manor based on the Papal letter bull of the Pope. At that time， the Knight Templar owned a large estate.

Secondly， they plundered a lot in the wars of the Middle East. It is usual to pillage as more as booty in ancient wars.

Thirdly， they accepted religious endowment by Christians. Barons and businessmen could borrow money from the Templars by pledging their houses， land， gardens， etc， on the condition that the wealth belonged to the Templars when they died. Count of Anjou Fulk joined it as married brother and donated 30 pound silver each year. After many years endowment， they owned a large estate all over the Europe. Especially after the Troyes Conference， the endowment came in a throng. The donations included gold， silver， land， manor， mill， castle， church， or even slaves. In 1131， Alfonso I el Batallador enlisted the Knight Templar as one of inheritors in his testament though his will wasnt full realized. The kings of England， Henry II and Richard I the Lion-Heart had close relationship with the Knight Templar. The former had donated lots of money to the Templars， and the latter was regarded as a member of it. The motivations of these donators perhaps were atonement， spiritual peace of Matthew Paris， Chronica Majora， ed， H.R. Luard， London： Roll Series（57），1883.

family， or infected by the bravery of the Knight Templar.

Fourthly， the Templars collected a large amount of money under the name of supporting the Crusade. They didnt put all the money into the battles， and by this way， they transform it into their wealth used to investment.

Fifthly， they did business and banking to make more money. They offered loan to noblemen and the service like safekeeping on money， jewellery， testament， documents， the imperial jade seal of King John， crown， revenue， etc. of course， they took interest from loan which was not permitted at that time.

As a whilom historical existence， the Knight Templar has been covered by the curtain of history. But the legendary light and tragic color concerning it endow itself with everlasting charming.

Bibliography：

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