Tag: Teutonic Knights

Book Review: “The Templars: The Rise and Fall of God’s Holy Warriors” by Dan Jones

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

The TemplarsThe Crusades were a series of wars between Christian and Muslim warriors for the right to control the Holy Lands of the Middle East. Many men on both sides earned legacies that would surpass their earthly bodies during bloody battles. It created many bands of knights that would last for generations, such as the Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights. The Templars were the most famous of these knight groups, who may have lasted only for less than two hundred years, but whose legacy would turn into myth. Dan Jones has taken on the arduous task of discerning fact from fiction about the Templars in his book, “The Templars: The Rise and Fall of God’s Holy Warriors.”

I have heard of the Templars from other books that I have read about the Plantagenets and the Crusades, plus the myths of Templar gold and Friday the 13th, but that was the extent of my knowledge about the knightly order. I am a fan of Dan Jones and his books, so I have wanted to read this book for a while now.

Jones’ tome about the Templar knights is broken down into four sections; the origins of the order, how they earned their reputation as soldiers, how they transitioned to the world of banking, and finally the abrupt fall due to greed and rumors of sexual misconduct. The Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, also known as the Templars, was created by Hugh of Payns in 1119 as an order of warriors who lived in poverty, were strictly celibate, and swore oaths to protect innocent Christian pilgrims. Slowly, this rag-tag group of warriors was recognized by the Pope and began to fight battles during the Crusades.

The Templars were known for their willingness to fight until the last man in brutal battles to defend the pilgrims and regain the holy lands for Christianity. There were men like Richard the Lionheart of England and James of Maille, who gained tremendous reputations for their association with the Templars; then there were men like Frederick II Hohenstaufen, the Holy Roman Emperor, who chose to fight with the Templars and ended up fighting against the knights after disputes. The Templars’ greatest threats during the Crusades were the Mamluk sultan Baybars and the Kurdish sultan of Egypt and Syria Saladin, however, the greatest threat to the order was closer to home.

King Philip IV of France, a man who ruthlessly persecuted the Jews in France and fought against Pope Boniface III, turned his greedy eyes on the Templars. He created false charges against the order over sexual misconduct between the knights and forced members of the order, including James of Molay, the last Templar master, to admit to the charges through torture. The death of James of Molay and his fellow Templar warriors marked the end of the order, but the legacy lived on through the present day.

Jones has done it again and delivered a meticulously researched behemoth of a book that is accessible for novices and experts alike. He truly cared about telling the compelling tale of the Templars, full of bravery amid bloody battles and treachery amongst men that they thought supported their cause. A brilliantly engaging book, “The Templars: The Rise and Fall of God’s Holy Warriors” by Dan Jones is the perfect book for anyone interested in this order of knights and their impact on history.

Biography: King Henry IV (aka Henry Bolingbroke)

On By hmalagisiIn BiographiesLeave a comment

(Born April 3, 1367- Died March 20, 1413). Son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of mw03072Lancaster. Married to Mary de Bohun and Joan of Navarre. He had 7 children with Mary, including the future Henry V. He was the 1st king from the house of Lancaster.

Henry was the son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster and was born at Bolingbroke Castle on April 3, 1367. Early in his life, he became one of the Lords Appellant who were opposed to the rule of Richard II. He stepped down from this role in 1389 and in 1390, went on his first adventure, journeying with the Teutonic Knights to Lithuania. Two years later, he went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. During this time, he visited numerous courts in Europe and was held in high regards. He was a handsome young man, but it was early in life where Henry’s ill health that plagued him during his reign started to appear.

Henry was a good person to help the king, however the only one who failed to realize this was Richard II. He banished Henry in 1398 for ten years, but when John of Gaunt died the following year and Henry became the next Duke of Lancaster, Richard II took all of his lands and banished him forever. This was the last straw for Henry. While Richard was occupied with unrest in Ireland, Henry took his chance and invaded England, forcing Richard to abdicate. The next one in line to the throne was Edmund Mortimer, earl of March, but he was only eight years old, so Parliament agreed that Henry would be a better choice to be king. His reign as Henry IV began on September 30, 1399.

However, not everyone was happy with Henry as king. Henry IV’s first rebellion that he had to deal with was by the earls of Kent, Salisbury and Huntingdon, just a month after he became king. Henry took care of this rebellion quickly and violently. It is also believed that this was around the same time that Henry ordered the death of Richard II. A few months after the first rebellion, Henry IV had to deal with a second rebellion in Wales, where Owain Glyn Dwr was declared Prince of Wales in September 1400. This revolt was quickly put down, but Owain evaded capture for several years, leading to guerrilla style warfare.

Owain’s supporters grew not only amongst Welsh barons, but English ones as well, including the Mortimers who were upset that Henry was king and not Edmund, who was Owain’s son in law after he married Owain’s daughter. Another supporter was Henry “Hotspur” Percy, the son of the earl of Northumberland who believed that he did not get the recognition that he deserved after he fought against the Scots. These forces came together and fought against Henry at the battle of Shrewsbury on July 21, 1403, where Henry defeated Hotspur easily and killed him. Henry was not going to let the rebel army get away and by 1408, they were all but eliminated.

Two years before this, in 1406, Henry IV took James I of Scotland hostage and his young heir was sent to France. James was in the English court for 17 years as a hostage and for that time, the relationships between England, Scotland and France were good. Things were looking up for Henry IV, except for his health. Starting in 1406, his health was in decline and there was a serious concern for his life. He tried to govern, but he became more reliant on his Parliament. In 1409, Henry’s son Prince Henry was made chancellor over Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury. Arundel returned in 1411 when Henry and his council were debating if he should step down in favor of Prince Henry, which Henry refused to do. Henry died in 1413 from some sort of wasting disease at the age of 45. His son Prince Henry would succeed him as Henry V.