A letter written in 1157 to Pope Adrian IV was typical. After a passage bemoaning the capture of a number of knights, including the master, Bertrand of Blancfort, the letter went on to describe in cheerful terms a raid that the Templars had conducted on a Muslim wedding party. Two hundred and thirty “pagans” had been put to flight, the pope was proudly told. He was assured that every one of them was either taken prisoner or “slain by the sword.”
