Who were the knights templar?

Answer 1

Look in wikipidia.

Answer 2

The Knights Templar, were members of a medieval religious and military order officially named the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ. They were popularly known as the Knights of the Temple of Solomon, or Knights Templar, because their first quarters in Jerusalem adjoined a building known at the time as Solomon's Temple. The order developed from a small military band formed in Jerusalem in 1119 by two French knights, Hugh des Payens and Godfrey of Saint-Omer; its aim was to protect pilgrims visiting Palestine after the First Crusade. Military in purpose from its inception, the order differed in that respect from the other two great 12th-century religious societies, the Knights of St John of Jerusalem and the Teutonic Knights, which began as charitable institutions.

They obtained papal sanction for their order, and in 1128 at the ecclesiastical Council of Troyes they were given an austere rule closely patterned on that of the monastic order of Cistercians. They were headed by a grand master, under whom were three ranks: knights, chaplains, and sergeants. The knights were the dominant members, and they alone were allowed to wear the distinctive dress of the order, a white mantle with a large red Latin cross on the back. The headquarters of the Knights Templar remained at Jerusalem until the fall of the city to the Muslims in 1187; it was later located successively at Antioch, Acre, Caesarea, and in Cyprus.

Answer 3

They were a para-military group of knights who were pseudo-monks, they received the Popes charter to protect travelers on pilgrimage to Jerusalem during the crusades. They were reported to have found sacred treasures as they stabled their horses under the temple mount. They became very rich and powerful by two means. One was that many of its members were from the nobles who swore a vow of poverty and gave their lands and assets to the order. Second, they established what would be the blueprint for the modern banking system. In the 14th century the Pope thought they were a threat, with nudges from several kings etc... they were rounded up and most were burned at the stakes as witches. Others fled into exile, many to England, from their primary home in France. You could have just googled them on the Internet if you can post the question on here. Wikipedia would have a more in depth breakdown.

Answer 4

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon were officially recognized 1129 by the Vatican. They were a military order of monks founded in the wake of the Crusade of 1096, operational until the early 14th Century, when the order fell under suspicion of heresy and were forcibly disbanded 1312 by order of Pope Clement V. The name was revived in recent times as a Commandery, 12th Degree of the York Rite of Freemasonry, under the official title The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta.

Answer 5

here is a somewhat accurate history of them -- davinci code is fiction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_templar