History UsefulNotes / TheKnightsTemplar

However, it should also be noted that they were never ''quite'' as rich or as powerful as was generally assumed. They frequently occupied key positions in royal courts, effectively running the French treasury (which is part of what led to their fall), but were at the mercy of kings as Philip IV proved during the Trial of the Templars, and as the kings of England proved when they frequently used the Templars as a piggy bank. Further, King Edward I employed them as 'the Hammer of the Scots', as part of his armies during his campaigns in Scotland, forcing the Masters of both the English and Scottish Temples to swear fealty to him. They also had the disadvantage, unlike their colleagues the Hospitallers and UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights, of not having a defined base to call their own, like the Teutons in Prussia and the Hospitallers in Rhodes.

However, it should also be noted that they were never ''quite'' as rich or as powerful as was generally assumed. They frequently occupied key positions in royal courts, effectively running the French treasury (which is part of what led to their fall), but were at the mercy of kings as Philip IV proved during the Trial of the Templars, and as the kings of England proved when they frequently used the Templars as a piggy bank. Further, King Edward I employed them as 'the Hammer of the Scots', as part of his armies during his campaigns in Scotland, forcing the Masters of both the English and Scottish Temples to swear fealty to him. They also had the disadvantage, unlike their colleagues the Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights, of not having a defined base to call their own, like the Teutons in Prussia and the Hospitallers in Rhodes.

* In Wolfram von Eschenbach's 13th century romance ''Literature/{{Parzival}}'', the Knights of the Holy Grail are described as "''templeizen''" or Templars.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfBembibre'': The titular character is a knight templar, and the novel is set in the early thirteenth century, when the Order was about to be disbanded after being subject to all sorts of accusations.

* One of the many secret societies in ''[[VideoGame/DrownedGod Drowned God: Conspiracy of the Ages]]'' that are protecting the titular Conspiracy. A drunk Templar guards the Holy Grail which you must obtain by besting him in a DeadlyGame.

* In the UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheory invented by the main characters of ''Literature/FoucaultsPendulum'', Templars have discovered [[spoiler:a way to harvest the tremendous energies of the telluric currents]] but were destroyed before they could actually use their discovery. The rest of the conspiracy theory is their convoluted plan to reform and TakeOverTheWorld six centuries later.

They were famous during the Crusades for their discipline, their refusal to retreat from battle, and their religious devotion. The Templars played a key role in the Third Crusade, thwarting a few victories by Saladin and fighting alongside King Richard I and King Louis VII, but were also considered to be the SpannerInTheWorks on later crusades, especially the Sixth Crusade. This was because they argued against grand reconquests in the Middle East, as the reconquered land couldn't be held in the long term. They also served with the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs during the Reconquista, though in Iberia, the various monarchs made it very clear who was in charge and preferred to use homegrown Orders such as the Orders of Santiago and Calatrava. The Templars gradually constituted a sort of kingdom unto themselves. They built castles, fortresses, and garrisoned towns. They had a proper organization with a Grand Master, elected for life and based in Jerusalem. Templar territories in various regions were organized into provinces with commanders and preceptors manning these posts, most of whom were appointed by vote. By the mid-1200s, the Templars possessed property across Western Europe, the Mediterranean and the Holy Land. For a time, the Templars "owned" the island of UsefulNotes/{{Cyprus}}, having bought it off Richard the Lionheart after he captured it, but sold it back to him when they realised that it was too much for them to hold. Their military strength, noble vows, and renunciation of titles gave them credibility to collect, store, and transport bullion and other valuables across a wide region. Storehouses holding reserve currency, their general bureaucratic efficiency, and their command of land and sea trade routes made them attractive to bankers and kings, in addition to pilgrims. From this skill with banking and finance arose the association of Templars with treasure, and led to them ultimately entering conspiracy-theory territory.

* In ''Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle'' by Patrick Rothfuss, the Amyr seem clearly set up as a fantasy counterpart to the Knights Templar, complete with conspiracy theories surrounding their dissolution.

* Creator/AAPessimal's ''Literature/GoodOmens'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5304252/11/I-shall-endure-to-the-end I Shall Endure To the End]]'' has a chapter dealing with Jacques de Molay and Baphomet. Baphomet is a colleague of Crowley's.

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' posits that the Templars themselves are part of an ancient society that has existed throughout human history (according to the Templars' old texts, Cain (yes, ''[[Literature/TheBible that Cain]]'') was the founder of their order), and that the Knights Templar themselves were just the open military incarnation of them during the Middle Ages, operating in preparation for a takeover of the Holy Land. The public destruction of the order was actually a cover to let the Templars become secret once more, where they proceeded to gain enormous power in the shadows in Europe and elsewhere. The modern Templars are a collection of extremely powerful and highly advanced corporations. [[AncientConspiracy All history is actually fabricated by the Templars]], and members of the Templars have included, but were far from limited to, such famous historical figures as [[spoiler:Pope Alexander VI, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison.]]

* In a rather chilling example, the remnants of one of Mexico's most notorious drug cartels, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Familia_Michoacana La Familia Michoacana]], reformed into...well...[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar_Cartel Los Caballeros Templarios]]. Noted for preserving La Familia's FamilyValuesVillain stance (members aren't supposed to use the drugs they traffic, and they are also supposed to "fight for social justice," etc.) and for the 2013-14 vigilante uprising against them when the government security forces proved ineffective.

-> ''Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam.''
-> ''(Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy name give the glory).''

* In Wolfram von Eschenbach's 13th century romance ''Parzival'', the Knights of the Holy Grail are described as "''templeizen''" or Templars.

* ''VideoGame/PostMortem'' saw [=MacPherson=] tracking down the "Head of Baphomet," which the Templars were accused of worshiping by UsefulNotes/ThePope (among other things).

** Similarly, the Temple square in Paris is also indirectly named for them: the Knights had a castle on the area from the mid-13th century until their dissolution, and centuries later, the castle would be known for being the place where the French royal family was imprisoned during the [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution Revolution]]. The castle was eventually demolished in 1808.

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' posits that the Templars themselves are part of an ancient society that has existed throughout human history (according to the Templars' old texts, Cain (yes, ''[[Literature/TheBible that Cain]]'') was the founder of their order), and that the Knights Templar themselves were just the open military incarnation of them during the Middle Ages, operating in preparation for a takeover of the Holy Land. The public destruction of the order was actually a cover to let the Templars become secret once more, where they proceeded to gain enormous power in the shadows in Europe and elsewhere. The modern Templars are a collection of extremely powerful and highly advanced corporations. [[AncientConspiracy All history is actually fabricated by the Templars]], and the Templars included, but were far from limited to, such famous historical figures as [[spoiler:Pope Alexander VI, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison.]]

King Philip "le Bel"[[note]]The Handsome - [[BeautyIsBad He was said to be exceptionally good-looking]][[/note]] was a monarch who was interested in reforming finances and centralizing his kingdom under one rule. Like most medieval monarchs, his kingdom teetered on bankruptcy and he was perennially strapped for cash. Initially, Philip IV was friendly with the Templars, having taken hospitality at the Temple Fortress fleeing a riot in UsefulNotes/{{Paris}}. Gradually, the Templars' considerable presence as a "state within a state", papal authority to travel across all borders without any dues or regulation to secular authority, and considerable stores of wealth caught his attention. In addition, Philip IV had claims on Templar territory in Champagne, France and was troubled by their petition to form a Kingdom in Languedoc and later in Cyprus. On top of this, Philip IV was conducting his own campaign to expand royal authority and limit papal authority. He succeeded in deposing Pope Boniface VIII and installing a Frenchman as Pope Clement V, and moving the papacy to Avignon from Rome. This coincided with the King's persecution of the Templars, which ultimately resulted in mass arrests on October 1307, Friday the 13th. Following these arrests, the Templars were accused of blasphemy (worship of a crypto-Muslim and neo-pagan MysteryCult of {{Baphomet}}) and sodomy, tortured into confessions, and finally burned at the stake. Overnight, the nearly 200-year-old organization ceased to function, with Templar initiates lapsing from the Order, joining rival orders, and generally heading for the hills. These arrests ended the role of Church military orders in finance; royal authorities once again became the centers of economy. The downfall of the Templars also became an endpoint for UsefulNotes/TheCrusades, whose enthusiasm had already ebbed. The Templars had been merely TheRemnant. The dramatic fall from grace, from Poor Brothers venerated for their devotion to Christ to blasphemers and neo-pagans associated with usury, cemented the the Templar legend.

* One of the minor characters in ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia''is the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the Knights Templar.

* In Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/{{Marvel 1602}}'', much of the early plot involves various characters chasing after the secret treasure of the Templars, which is being carried by their last survivor across Europe. It turns out to be [[spoiler:Thor's hammer]].

* Brian de Bois-Guilbert (George Sanders) in the 1952 film version of Sir Creator/WalterScott's ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}''

* The Brotherhood of the Black Diamond in ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' is a secretive sect descended from the Knights Templar.

* The Black Templars chapter of [[SpaceMarine Space Marines]] in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' borrow a lot of their imagery and general theme from the Knights Templar, and to a lesser degree so do the other Astartes Chapters (though for the most part they're more modeled on the Roman Legions). The Ultramarines, for example, protect territory on the Eastern Outskirts of the Imperium called Ultramar (sounds a bit like ''outremar'' in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, eh?)

* ''VideoGame/BrokenSwordTheShadowOfTheTemplars''.

* Creator/AAPessimal's ''Literature/GoodOmens'' fic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5304252/11/I-shall-endure-to-the-end I Shall Endure To the End]] has a chapter dealing with Jacques de Molay and Baphomet. Baphomet is a colleague of Crowley's.

* There is an AnthromorphicPersonification of the Knights Templar in ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia''.

* Crowley of ''Manga/SeraphOfTheEnd''

* The World Bank/International Money Council in the Creator/CarlBarks & Creator/DonRosa continuity of ''ComicBook/DonaldDuck'' is a modern front of the Templars. One epic arc focused on Scrooge's quest for their hidden treasure [[spoiler:which was hidden under his family castle. Scrooge himself is a Templar descendant]].

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
The Order of Cantonna, modern day successors to the original knights, are the main antagonists of ''[[FanFic/AngelOfTheBat Angel of the Bat III: Da Pacem Domine]]''. In the lead up to the story, the author stated he wanted a group of Catholics to be the main villains after ragging on Evangelical Prodestants for the last two stories. He also referred to them as, "The very worst believers (Catholicism) has ever created."

* The World Bank in the Creator/CarlBarks & Creator/DonRosa continuity of ''ComicBook/DonaldDuck'' is a front of the Templars. One epic arc focused on Scrooge's quest for their hidden treasure [[spoiler:which was hidden under his family castle. Scrooge himself is a Templar descendant]].

They were famous during the Crusades for their discipline, their refusal to retreat from battle, and their religious devotion. The Templars played a key role in the Third Crusade, thwarting a few victories by Saladin and fighting alongside King Richard I and King Louis VII, but were also considered to be the SpannerInTheWorks on later crusades, especially the Sixth Crusade. This was because they argued against grand reconquests in the Middle East, as the reconquered land couldn't be held in the long term. They also served with the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs during the Reconquista, though in Iberia, the various monarchs made it very clear who was in charge and preferred to use homegrown Orders such as the Orders of Santiago and Caltrava. The Templars gradually constituted a sort of kingdom unto themselves. They built castles, fortresses, and garrisoned towns. They had a proper organization with a Grand Master, elected for life and based in Jerusalem. Templar territories in various regions were organized into provinces with commanders and preceptors manning these posts, most of whom were appointed by vote. By the mid-1200s, the Templars possessed property across Western Europe, the Mediterranean and the Holy Land. For a time, the Templars "owned" the island of UsefulNotes/{{Cyprus}}, having bought it off Richard the Lionheart after he captured it, but sold it back to him when they realised that it was too much for them. Their military strength, noble vows, and renunciation of titles gave them credibility to collect, store, and transport bullion and other valuables across a wide region. Storehouses holding reserve currency, their general bureaucratic efficiency, and their command of land and sea trade routes made them attractive to bankers and kings, in addition to pilgrims. From this skill with banking and finance arose the association of Templars with treasure, and led to them ultimately entering conspiracy-theory territory.

King Philip "le Bel"[[note]]The Handsome - [[BeautyIsBad He was said to be exceptionally goodlooking]][[/note]] was a monarch who was interested in reforming finances and centralizing his kingdom under one rule. Like most medieval monarchs, his kingdom teetered on bankruptcy and he was perennially strapped for cash. Initially, Philip IV was friendly with the Templars, having taken hospitality at the Temple Fortress fleeing a riot in UsefulNotes/{{Paris}}. Gradually, the Templars' considerable presence as a "state within a state", papal authority to travel across all borders without any dues or regulation to secular authority, and considerable stores of wealth caught his attention. In addition, Philip IV had claims on Templar territory in Champagne, France and was troubled by their petition to form a Kingdom in Languedoc and later in Cyprus. On top of this, Philip IV was conducting his own campaign to expand royal authority and limit papal authority. He succeeded in deposing Pope Boniface VIII and installing a Frenchman as Pope Clement V, and moving the papacy to Avignon from Rome. This coincided with the King's persecution of the Templars, which ultimately resulted in mass arrests on October 1307, Friday the 13th. Following these arrests, the Templars were accused of blasphemy (worship of a crypto-Muslim and neo-pagan MysteryCult of {{Baphomet}}) and sodomy, tortured into confessions, and finally burned at the stake. Overnight, the nearly 200-year-old organization ceased to function, with Templar initiates lapsing from the Order, joining rival orders, and generally heading for the hills. These arrests ended the role of Church military orders in finance; royal authorities once again became the centers of economy. The downfall of the Templars also became an endpoint for UsefulNotes/TheCrusades, whose enthusiasm had already ebbed. The Templars had been merely TheRemnant. The dramatic fall from grace, from Poor Brothers venerated for their devotion to Christ to blasphemers and neo-pagans associated with usury, cemented the the Templar legend.

The Knights Templar were skilled, pious, and occasionally highly-educated elite fighters, cavalry, and bankers. The order was, all in all, a fairly normal (if vastly successful until its demise) religious warrior class born from the upper crust of medieval society. Ironically enough, they only embodied the KnightTemplar trope in their early days. Within a few decades of their founding they had transformed, in the eyes of their more zealous contemporaries, into a notoriously ''tolerant'' organization that cultivated diplomatic contacts with the Muslim world; worked with Arab architects (which influenced the Gothic architecture seen everywhere in Europe), merchants, and even theologians; and disapproved of slaughtering enemies if they agreed to surrender. All of these points were used against them during the trials staged by Philip IV. The persistence of rumours that the Templars were somehow corrupt despite most evidence to the contrary means the Order is, to this day, an example of [[HeroWithBadPublicity heroes with really bad publicity]].

The order ceased to exist effectively overnight, and their lingering association with a huge treasure trove later gave rise to countless AncientConspiracy theories. That many of the Order's members in France were arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake on Friday 13th (October 13, 1307, to be precise) is often erroneously cited as the origin of the belief that ThirteenIsUnlucky. Pope Clement V only officially disbanded the Order in 1312. The last Grandmaster, Jacques de Molay, was burnt at the stake in the year 1314, seven years after his arrest.

* ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'' gives the Knights Templar some historical [[UsefulNotes/TheKnightsHospitallers Hospitallier]] holdings. And they're the closest thing the film has to actual villains....

* The Books "The Metaphysics of War" and "The mystery of the Grail" by italian philosopher Julius Evola deal largely with the Knights Templar and get to similar conclusions as Dan Brown. The reason for this is, that Pierre Plantard, the originator of the "Priory of Sion" conspiracy theory actually copied aspects from Evolas books.
* In some books by french author Jean Parvulesco (who was friend with both Evola and Plantard), some real (at the time) contemporary french politicians are depicted as being involved in conspiracies involving remnants of the knights templar.

* The Turkish-based fighting game ''VideoGame/DualBlades'' has Duke, a Christian knight that is identified as a member of the Knights Templar, however he looks like an average knight rather than the more identifiable look with white robes and red crosses.

* ''Film/{{Ironclad}}'': One of the protagonists is a Templar knight named Thomas Marshall who assists in the castle defense against King John's Danish warriors.