Post by westerdale news on Jul 19, 2014 22:37:46 GMT 1
This subject crops up from time to time and people often seem to arrive at the Westerdale site by searching online for Templar references.
There's an in-depth account of their history in The Guardian here:
www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2011/jun/27/whatever-happened-to-the-knights-templar
It will probably disappear eventually but here is are couple of sections of particular relevance.
There's an in-depth account of their history in The Guardian here:
www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2011/jun/27/whatever-happened-to-the-knights-templar
It will probably disappear eventually but here is are couple of sections of particular relevance.
Yorkshire the heartland
Yorkshire, aside from London, was the heartland of Templar influence in England, supplying both men and money to the cause, based on its strong agricultural and woollen economy.
So important were the Templars' holdings in the county that a 'chief preceptor' or ' master' was appointed for Yorkshire from early times.
The Yorkshire estates of the Templars consisted of the preceptories of Copmanthorpe (with the Castle Mills of York), Faxfleet, Foulbridge, Penhill, Ribston, Temple Cowton, Temple Hirst, Temple Newsam, Westerdale, and Whitley, and the manors of Alverthorpe and Etton.
At one time in Yorkshire, the Templars were able to luxuriate in the unrivalled position of being exempt from taxes, and many of their workers and tenants also enjoyed this privilege.
Dozens of houses and pubs across Yorkshire still bear the Templar cross – a sign to many that the building was a Templar holding – though many unscrupulous landowners also displayed the sign in the hope of dodging tax.
But just as the Order was reaching the peak of its powers in Yorkshire and in Europe, it was rapidly dissolved, and many of the Templar buildings were left to ruin.
Knights Templar origins
The Knights Templar trace their origin back to shortly after the First Crusade.
Around 1119, a French nobleman from the Champagne region, Hugues de Payens, collected eight of his knight relatives to protect pilgrims on their journey to visit the Holy Land.
They approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who allowed them to set up headquarters on the southeastern side of the Temple Mount.
Since the Temple Mount was the reputed site of the biblical King Solomon's Temple, they took the name "The Poor Knights of the Temple of King Solomon", which later became abbreviated to "Knights Templar".
But in 1129, after they were officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church at the Council of Troyes, their influence grew. Their fundraising campaigns asked for donations of money, land, or noble-born sons to join the order, with the implication that donations would help both defend Jerusalem, and to ensure the charitable giver of a place in heaven.
The order's efforts were helped substantially by the patronage of Bernard of Clairvaux, the leading churchman of the time, and a nephew of one of the original nine knights.
At its outset, the order had been subject to strong criticism, especially of the concept that religious men could also carry swords.
Yorkshire, aside from London, was the heartland of Templar influence in England, supplying both men and money to the cause, based on its strong agricultural and woollen economy.
So important were the Templars' holdings in the county that a 'chief preceptor' or ' master' was appointed for Yorkshire from early times.
The Yorkshire estates of the Templars consisted of the preceptories of Copmanthorpe (with the Castle Mills of York), Faxfleet, Foulbridge, Penhill, Ribston, Temple Cowton, Temple Hirst, Temple Newsam, Westerdale, and Whitley, and the manors of Alverthorpe and Etton.
At one time in Yorkshire, the Templars were able to luxuriate in the unrivalled position of being exempt from taxes, and many of their workers and tenants also enjoyed this privilege.
Dozens of houses and pubs across Yorkshire still bear the Templar cross – a sign to many that the building was a Templar holding – though many unscrupulous landowners also displayed the sign in the hope of dodging tax.
But just as the Order was reaching the peak of its powers in Yorkshire and in Europe, it was rapidly dissolved, and many of the Templar buildings were left to ruin.
Knights Templar origins
The Knights Templar trace their origin back to shortly after the First Crusade.
Around 1119, a French nobleman from the Champagne region, Hugues de Payens, collected eight of his knight relatives to protect pilgrims on their journey to visit the Holy Land.
They approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who allowed them to set up headquarters on the southeastern side of the Temple Mount.
Since the Temple Mount was the reputed site of the biblical King Solomon's Temple, they took the name "The Poor Knights of the Temple of King Solomon", which later became abbreviated to "Knights Templar".
But in 1129, after they were officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church at the Council of Troyes, their influence grew. Their fundraising campaigns asked for donations of money, land, or noble-born sons to join the order, with the implication that donations would help both defend Jerusalem, and to ensure the charitable giver of a place in heaven.
The order's efforts were helped substantially by the patronage of Bernard of Clairvaux, the leading churchman of the time, and a nephew of one of the original nine knights.
At its outset, the order had been subject to strong criticism, especially of the concept that religious men could also carry swords.