By the end of the 12th century, the brethren had holdings throughout Western and Central Europe and had begun to become important landlords and political figures in their respective kingdoms. Recognised by the Pope in 1129, the Order of the Temple of Solomon of Jerusalem, better known as the Knights Templar, quickly grew, gaining support across Europe and receiving lands and estates to fund their campaigns in the East. They would combine the religious vows of a monk with the military role of a knight. Hugh de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer, two knights from northern France, banded together with several other knights to help defend pilgrims visiting the region’s many pilgrimage sites. The Templars arose in the aftermath of the First Crusade (1096-99), which saw four new Crusader States established in Palestine and Syria, states that were desperately short of manpower. Postdoctoral researcher Rory MacLellan writes about this fascinating story of the imprisonment of the Templars at the Tower.
This set in motion events which saw the Tower of London becoming a prison for the Templars, an order of soldier-monks who fought in the crusades and are today the subject of countless conspiracy theories.
Why is Friday 13th thought of as an unlucky date? One possibility is the arrest of the famous Knights Templar on a different Friday 13th, over 700 years ago.
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