In Search of the Knights Templar: A Guide to the Sites of Britain

Beautifully illustrated with photographs and maps, this book takes the reader on an archaeological and geographical tour of Britain's Templar sites. The Knights Templar were a religious and military order that existed for two hundred years from its formation in 1118 to its eventual suppression in 1312, when its charter was revoked by the Pope at Avignon, acting under pressure from the French King Philip the Fair. Beginning in the 12th century, just after the First Crusade, the Templars amassed great wealth, and had the largest army and largest navy in Christendom. The Grand Master of the Order answered only to the Pope. Their fortresses and preceptories throughout Europe and the Levant paid no taxes. They created their own banking system, made loans, and controlled much of Europe's financial wealth. Author Simon Brighton gives a clear, visitor-friendly guide to each site in Britain.