Templars

With a Foreword by bestselling author Umberto Eco, The Templars chronicles the rise and fall of the organization against a sweeping backdrop of war, religious fervor, and the struggle for dominance, Barbara Frale gives us an explosive, exhaustively researched history of the medieval world's most powerful military order, the Templars. At its height, the Order of the Knights Templar rivaled the kingdoms of Europe in military might, economic power, and political influence. For 700 years, the tragic demise of this society of warrior-monks amid accusations of heresy has been plagued by controversy, in part because the transcript of their trial by the Inquisition--which held the key to the truth--had vanished. The table of contents includes: Jerusalem, the Holy Sepulchre, and the Temple An Order of Holy Warriors The Templar Code of Honor In Service to the Holy Land Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Papacy, Philip the Fair, and Jacques de Molay On Trial Historian Barbara Frale happened to be studying a document at the Vatican Secret Archives when she suddenly realized that it was none other than the long-lost transcript! It revealed that Pope Clement V had absolved the order of all charges of heresy. Let her finally lift the centuries-old cloak of mystery surrounding the world's most intriguing secret society.