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Barbara
Frale
I Templari
The Knights Templar
2004, pp. 216
Originating
among Christian knights devoted to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
following the first crusade, after just a few decades the
Templars became the most powerful religious-military order
of Christiandom. Professionals of horse-mounted war-making
and men of religion at the same time, the Templars were initially
responsible for protecting pilgrims to the Holy Land from
the attacks of Islamic raiders; after a few decades the support
of the Pope, Christian kings and ordinary people had transformed
the Templars into a great, supranational organism operating
across the Mediterranean and beyond. At the beginning of the
14th century, French King Philip the Fair, under pressure
due to economic difficulties, attacked the order, took over
its possessions and accused its members of heresy. Pope Clement
V, after a long diplomatic and legal struggle, was forced
to choose between sacrificing the order's survival and risking
a schism that would have detached the French Church from Roman
obedience. The Temple was thus disbanded by the Vienna Council
in 1312. For centuries a glorious history and a tragic, mysterious
ending have fuelled curiosity and legends concerning the Templars.
Frale's book chronicles the order's existence on the basis
of original research and includes surprising discoveries.
Barbara
Frale
earned a doctorate at the University of Venice with a dissertation
based on documents pertaining to the Templars' trial and is
an official of the Vatican's Secret Archive.
Portuguese
rights (Brazil and Portugal) sold.
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