Tales of the Knights Templar

by Katherine Kurtz

Centuries ago, during the time of the Crusades, a mysterious order of Knights was founded in order to protect pilgrims on their travels. Active between 1119 and 1314, the Knights Templar faded away,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446601381
• Release Date: June 1995
• Publisher: Warner Books
• Length: 307 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.9" x 0.8" x 4.1"

Customer Reviews

Tales of Pure Knights

This is my favorite single volume on the subject of the Knights Templar. I think it is my favorite because of the way it combines both fact and myth in an a blend that comes across exactly right. The introduction,as well as, the "interludes" between stories, are an excellent, readable history of the order, while the stories themselves cover the mythology and legend from many differing perspectives- from the founding of the order, to the present day, to the far future.You get an good overall sense of what the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon (later, the Knights of the Temple) were really all about. These were men from all over Christiandom (and perhaps beyond) who were pledged to protect pilgrims and holy places with their lives and honor. The took a vow of absolute poverty- individual knights owned nothing. Any wealth the order amassed was put to the purpose of the protection of pilgrims- and later, all of the Christiandom. A measure of their success at fulfilling their original purpose lies in the fact that, from humble pilgrims to kings, all knew that they could trust their lives, as well as, their last penny to the Templars. Even the infidels knew that Templars were honorable men, for they neither asked for, nor accepted ransom, nor would they retreat in battle (unless out-numbered by at least three-to-one, and even then only under direct orders.) It is said that even the famed Assassins feared and payed tribute to the Templars.Of all the fictional stories in this collection, I would have to say that my favorite is "Choices" by Richard J. Woods. This tale gives the best sense of the overall character of individual Templars and the order. It also links the German mystic Meister Eckhart sympathetically with their tradition.If you have a more esoteric inclination, it is also pointed out that the rule of seventy-two articles granted to the order was based at least partially upon the Essene Rule of the Master of Justice. Also, it is pointed out that the name of the idol that Templars supposedly worshiped (Baphomet) is actually a code for Sophia (Holy Wisdom.) It seems that tht Templars were "lovers of Sophia", i.e. "philosophers." Finally, it is pointed out that in certain traditions the order lives on- as astral knights with a "mandate to protect the weak, right wrongs, restore what was lost, make whole the broken." Afterall, there is a reason that Wolfram von Eschenbach portrayed the Grail Knights as Templars....

An entertaining flight of fancy.

Not a bad collection of fiction, with a decent bit of historic overview by Kurtz. While not a serious piece of historical fiction, it is an entertaining escape for those with Templar interests.