But fame alone was not enough. The Templars were, after all, a band of holy knights. They were fighting men: warriors whose reason for being was to protect or to kill. And in 1147 the time for killing was upon them. Half a century after the original Western charge on the Holy Land, the Roman Church was preparing to sponsor another massive and combined military assault on the East. It became known as the Second Crusade, and this time the Templars were at its heart.
