The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors

by Dan Jones

In 1154 the Templars remained a vital component in the kingdom of Jerusalem’s military capability. Other than at Ascalon they maintained their discipline on the field, their rule insisting that commands were to be obeyed unerringly and that martyrdom was preferable to flight. Yet at the same time it also seems clear that while obedience and discipline within their own command structure was tight, the same was not necessarily true when it came to fighting with others. Templars owed allegiance to no one but God, the master and the pope. Neither kings nor patriarchs had any formal command over them, and though their able services were sought and willingly given, in the end the Templars were ultimately free from any effective oversight. They defended the idea of Christendom and the honor of Christ, but how they did so was technically a matter for their own instinct and judgment.18 For the most part, this made them an extremely agile and useful elite fighting force. At times, however, their independence made them dangerous, and they came to be suspected as much as they were admired by the secular rulers with whom they had to share the field of combat.