Summary of Dan Jones's The Templars

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 When Saewulf visited Jerusalem, he was able to see and feel the power of prayer magnified by the presence of relics and holy sites. Jerusalem was not just seen, but felt as well.

#2 The most holy place of all, and the real object of every Christian pilgrimage, lay within Jerusalem. It was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which Saewulf called more celebrated than any other church. It was a double-storied complex of interlinked chapels and courtyards, many of which commemorated the central events in the Passion.

#3 The city of Jerusalem had been under Muslim control since the seventh century, when an Arab army wrested it from Byzantine Christian rule. In 1096, major parts of the Holy Land was conquered by the armies of the First Crusade, led by noblemen from France, Normandy, England, Flanders, Bavaria, Lombardy, and Sicily.

#4 The First Crusade was a series of Christian victories that brought the Seljuq empire to its knees. The Christians took the major northern cities of Edessa and Antioch, as well as smaller towns. Other coastal towns, such as Arsuf, Acre, and Caesarea, agreed to pay tributes and were left alone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822512146

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Insights on Dan Jones's The Templars

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

When Saewulf visited Jerusalem, he was able to see and feel the power of prayer magnified by the presence of relics and holy sites. Jerusalem was not just seen, but felt as well.

#2

The most holy place of all, and the real object of every Christian pilgrimage, lay within Jerusalem. It was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which Saewulf called more celebrated than any other church. It was a double-storied complex of interlinked chapels and courtyards, many of which commemorated the central events in the Passion.

#3

The city of Jerusalem had been under Muslim control since the seventh century, when an Arab army wrested it from Byzantine Christian rule. In 1096, major parts of the Holy Land was conquered by the armies of the First Crusade, led by noblemen from France, Normandy, England, Flanders, Bavaria, Lombardy, and Sicily.

#4

The First Crusade was a series of Christian victories that brought the Seljuq empire to its knees. The Christians took the major northern cities of Edessa and Antioch, as well as smaller towns. Other coastal towns, such as Arsuf, Acre, and Caesarea, agreed to pay tributes and were left alone.

#5

Saewulf visited many places around Jerusalem, and he was amazed by the city’s beauty and majesty. However, he also saw the trail around Jerusalem, which was full of corpses of Christians who had been attacked by Muslim brigands.

#6

Saewulf was a pilgrim in 1103, traveling to various holy places in Jerusalem. He was constantly aware that his pious travels were made through treacherous lands, and he returned to Jaffa and sought out a berth on a merchant ship heading west.

#7

The Holy Land was a war zone in the first decades of the crusader states, and pilgrims traveled there from all over the Christian world. The Muslims who lived in and around the new crusader states were hostile, and called for a united effort to fight back against the invaders.

#8

The Templars were formed to protect the Christians who traveled to visit the holy sites in the east. The Christians who risked everything they had to visit the east needed protection.

#9

The Knights of the Temple were not a popular organization when they were founded in Jerusalem in 1119. They were a foreign invasion force trying to establish their authority over a mixed population of Sunni and Shi’a Muslims, Jews, Greek and Syrian Orthodox Christians, Samaritans, and poor settlers from all over Europe.

#10

In 1119, two events took place that were extremely detrimental to the Franks. The first was the Field of Blood, a battle in which the Christians of Antioch were massacred by an Artuqid ruler named Il-ghazi. The second was the Holy Fire miracle at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was used to light the individual candles and lamps of faithful men and women.

#11

The Battle of Antioch was a huge loss for the Franks, but it was saved by the clergy, who acted like soldiers and defended the city with God’s strength.

#12

The notion that churchmen might go into battle armed not only with prayer but with deadly weapons was not new. It stemmed from the tension between Christian pacifism and the martial mentality embedded in the language of Christian rhetoric and scripture.

#13

The Council of Nablus in 1120 established the first set of written laws for the crusader states, and it was there that the idea was planted that churchmen could fight alongside knights.

#14

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was the most obvious place