1

Chapter 1
Pilgrimage in the Crusader States
And the origins of the Templars
In order to make any proper study of the foundation of the Order of the Knights
Templar, a detailed look at the context of their formation must be made, focusing in
particular on the circumstances surrounding pilgrims in the recently founded Crusader
States.
From its outset, one of the main aims of the First Crusade was to retake the holy sites
for Christians, and many knights who went on this journey saw it more as a
pilgrimage than a military expedition. An upshot of this was that many people in the
west saw this as an opportunity to make pilgrimages to key places of their faith now
that they were back in Christian hands. However, it soon became evident that this was
a dangerous trip to attempt.
One of the first and most obvious challenges facing them was geographical factors.
Apart from the distance and cost involved in actually reaching the East, pilgrims had
to cross difficult terrain to reach their destinations. Often it was required that a guide
accompany pilgrims if they wished to see all the holy places (1). Many parts of the
crusader east were mountainous and pilgrims often had to pass through forests or
cross rivers on their journeys. Although this would make the journey to the holy sites
a difficult one, the real danger came from attacks by Muslim raiders and bandits.
By the beginning of the third decade of the twelfth century, the crusader settlers had
successfully captured Jerusalem and a number of other major cities like Antioch and
most of the coastal ports. However, there still remained a large Muslim presence in
the surrounding territory, and the cities of Tyre and Ascalon remained in their hands.
The geography of the land regularly worked to the advantage of hostile forces. In
1100 the route between Ramla and Jerusalem was infested by robbers who hid in the
caves along the way and preyed upon pilgrims coming up from the port of Jaffa (2).

2
This example shows that even in groups, travellers were at a severe handicap. It also
illustrates how insecure the newly formed kingdoms were.
One source that sheds light on the situation of the pilgrims is an account by a Russian
abbot called Daniel, who went on pilgrimage from 1106 to 1107. Of particular interest
is the fact that Daniel wanted to see as many of the holy sites as he could, which not
only brought him in contact with greater danger, but helps give modern scholars a
view of the overall situation. He also provides an insight into how many pilgrims must
have felt when making these journeys. A particularly vivid extract deals with him
passing near the town of Bashan, on his way to Galilee, Seven rivers flow from the
town of Bashan..., this place is terrible and difficult of access for here live fierce
pagan Saracens who attack travellers at the fords on these rivers. And lions are found
here in great numbers (3). This is probably a good indication of the vulnerability of
those who undertook pilgrimage to the East.
A great deal of the dangers and problems that beset pilgrims were the result of or
exacerbated by the inability of the Crusader kingdoms to provide for them. Having
captured the Holy City and freed the land from the Muslim infidel, many of the
crusaders decided to return to Europe, which had a number of consequences. Perhaps
most crucially, it left the newly formed kingdoms with a crippling shortage of
manpower, particularly of those with combat experience. Fulcher of Chartres gives us
an eloquent about statement the initial weakness of the kingdom of Jerusalem. He
says it consisted of four towns- Jerusalem, Joppa, Ramla and Haifa- and Baldwin had
no more than three hundred knights and as many footmen to defend them all (4). This
inevitably meant that their main focus was on defence. One aspect of this was that the
Franks tended to concentrate in a few places, mainly within strongly fortified cities
and castles (5). The upshot was that this effectively limited patrols to the immediate
area and left the distance between each fortification effectively unguarded. The

3
Templars would eventually play a crucial role in this defence, which will be covered
in a later chapter. This shortage of manpower would also have meant that setting up a
working infrastructure within the kingdoms would be a difficult task, and thus
hampering any response to incursions within their borders. It also affected their ability
to provide for the pilgrims once they reached their destinations, which prompted the
formation of the Hospitallers.
It was to this background that a group of knights took monastic vows and founded a
militaristic order with the purpose of defending those pilgrims that had journeyed to
the east and were unable to defend themselves.
Any study of the Orders earliest formation poses a number of difficulties. There is a
distinct lack of contemporary records and accounts; mostly based on the fact that
authors at the time did not think them significant enough to have their establishment
recorded (6),even such noted scholars as Fulcher of Chartres. As a result, there is a
certain amount of confusion as to the exact date of their formation. The situation is
not ideal for historians, as they must rely on accounts written by later chroniclers,
such as Michael the Syrian and Walter Map. The problem with this is that they are
writing in light of the powerful, international entity that the Templars had become
since their founding (7). The result is that the exact date and nature of the Orders first
incarnation is unclear. There is also some confusion over who had the original idea of
using them to protect pilgrims, with Michael the Syrian claiming it was the king while
Walter Map cites a knight named Paganus (8).
Adding to this factual haze is the mythology that was a part of the Templars even in
the second half of the twelfth century. Much of the myths at this time had to with their
humble origins. William of Tyre says that for the first nine years there were only nine
members and that they still wore secular habits, namely the clothing that people
donated to them for the salvation of their souls (9). Most modern historians do not

4
believe that the story of the nine members is literally true, which begs the question;
how much of what medieval chroniclers recorded is myth or tradition?
Undoubtedly, the Order itself had a hand in perpetuating the image of its small and
humble origins, though whether this was intentional or simply a result of tradition is
less clear. Many writings from the Order itself follow the idea that there was initially
only a group of nine, so we can not completely rely on those documents.
Nevertheless, even working from these disjointed sources it is safe to assume that at
there was a group of knights who took monastic vows in the early part of the twelfth
century in order to protect Christian travellers.
Perhaps the point at which we begin to see their emergence as something noteworthy
is at the Council of Troyes in 1129, where they received official papal recognition.
William of Tyre seems to indicate this as a turning point in the orders history, where
they gained acceptance in the east (10). It is certainly one of the times that we begin to
see the Order having official backing for their activities. Although this was
undoubtedly a turning point in their history, it would be prudent to note that they
would have had a number of years to establish themselves before they reached this
point, so this shouldnt be relied on as a starting point in any chronological study of
the Templars. On the hand, at least one important development for historians took
place at Troyes, which was the establishment of the Latin Rule that codified the
Orders customs.
In the end, it is unlikely that modern historians will be to determine with absolute
certainty the exact date and nature of the formation of the knights Templar. Some have
made reasonable estimates based on events that were taking place in that period.
However, in terms of this study, we need only focus on the initial creation in terms of
how small the organisation (if it could be described as such) and relatively
insignificant it was, in order to put its rise to prominence into some context. Now, we

5
can start to look at some of the circumstances and events that set the Order on the path
to prominence
As has been noted before, the Council of Troyes represented the first time that the
Knights Templar had official recognition from the papacy. Even before this though,
they were beginning to receive support from those who sought to encourage their
mission. The king of Jerusalem at this time, Baldwin II, was trying to gain support
from the West to try and solve two crucial problems; the kingdoms military weakness
and his lack of a male heir. It is thus reasonable to assume that he would welcome any
initiative that might help the defence of the crusader states. He thus made petitions on
behalf of the Order, such as when he wrote to Bernard of Clairvaux, asking him to use
his influence to persuade the secular rulers of Europe to accept the Templars (11). It is
likely that they would not have survived without his support. They also initially had
the support of the patriarch for much the same reasons, though this would later
change.
One notable figure throughout this period in their history was Hugh of Payns, the first
grandmaster of the Knights of the Temple. Later chroniclers often credit him as being
the leader of the initial group of knights, though it could be argued that this is simply
based on his later elevation to grandmaster. Also, William of Tyre writes that the
Foremost and most distinguished among these men (12) were Hugh of Payns and
Godfrey of Saint-Omer, which suggests that they played an equal role. One of the
major roles he played in the early years was going on recruiting tours for members
and support, particularly in Europe. By the time of the Council of Troyes, the
Templars had developed a network of contacts that would be the foundations of a
secure base in the west (13). This perhaps contradicts the view of a completely
humble beginning.

6
At this time, it should be noted that there were those with doubts, particularly within
the Order. Initially, this came from the Templars combination of monastic discipline
with a fighting vocation. It was this duality of purpose that created uncertainty and
doubt among the Templars themselves (14). A letter written in 1128 by Hugh
Peccator mentions those who have called their profession illicit or harmful and tries
to warn them not listen to such people who have no wisdom (15). There is some
controversy over the authors identity. Some might argue that this serves as an
illustration of how different the Order was from what had come before in
Christendom.
The final foundation, as it were, was the creation of the Latin rule. Established at the
Council of Troyes, the Latin Rule arose from the customs that had been followed by
those first knights, which were explained by Hugh of Payns. The Rule was then
drafted in light of extensive discussion among the ecclesiastics and seculars present
(16). Although this meant there was considerable experience behind the Rule, it
showed little understanding of campaigning in the east. For example, clause 45, The
lion should always be attacked, indicates a degree of ignorance about the situation in
the east, where the crusaders were heavily outnumbered. The Latin seems to be more
concerned with the orders monastic life than its military practice, which was treading
new ground. This would be addressed by the French rule, which will be discussed
later. Nevertheless, this represents the Orders official sanction, and was the start of a
great deal of ecclesiastical legislation concerning the Templars.

7
(1) J. Wilkinson, (Ed.) Jerusalem Pilgrimage: 1099-1185, (London, 1988) p.121
(2) M, Barber, The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple,
(Cambridge, 1994) p. 3
(3) Wilkinson (Ed.) Jerusalem Pilgrimage p. 156
(4) Fulcher of Chartres, Historia Hierosolymitana, trans. F.R. Ryan, ed. H.S. Fink
(Tennessee, 1969) p. 28
(5) J., Prawer, The Crusader Kingdoms: European Colonialism in the Middle Ages,
(London, 1972) p. 281
(6) Barber, The New Knighthood p. 6
(7) Barber, M. & Bate, K. (ed), The Templars (Manchester, 2002) p. 1
(8) Barber, The New Knighthood p. 7
(9) Barber, & Bate, (ed), The Templars p. 26
(10) Barber, The New Knighthood p.
(11) Barber, The New Knighthood p. 12
(12) William, Archbishop of Tyre, A History of deeds done beyond the sea; trans. E.A.
Babcock, A.C. Krey (Vol. 1, New York, 1941) p. 525
(13) Barber, The New Knighthood p. 13
(14) Buslt-Thiele, M.L. The influence of St Bernard of Clairvaux on the formation of
the order of the Knights Templars, in M. Gervers (ed), The Second Crusade and the
Cistercians, (New York, 1992) p. 58
(15) Barber, & Bate, (Ed), The Templars p. 55
(16) Barber, & Bate, (Ed), The Templars (Manchester, 2002) p.31