A History of

The Knights Templar

Independent Work Study

By
Jill McCormick

Chapter One
Formation of the Order

Nearly a thousand years after the death of a man named

Jesus the people of Europe were still making religious
pilgrimages to the land of his birth.

The religion that Jesus

helped to start was now the focal point of much of the European
society. However, the everyday life of the average person was
mostly dictated by those with the wealth and power, and
religion was mainly a means of society control.
The European society was in a constant state of turmoil
promoted by those in power trying to gain more power.

Europe

was living in a feudal society where the rich got richer and
the poor lived a life of meager existence.

Religion posed the

only social outlet for people living in these times.

At this same time in the Middle East, the people of the
Arab nations were finally being united, if not in a formal
government then by a belief system of their own.

This system

of belief would lead them to form great armies with the intent
to defend the Holy Land and bring all who did not accept their
system of belief into conformity.
The common denominator in this equation was the fact that
both systems of belief felt that they had exclusive right to
the Holy Land, and Jerusalem in particular.

Both the Christian

and Muslim peoples were willing to lay down life and property
to achieve this goal.

Although the church was an important element in the

peoples life, the church felt they needed more control over
the society as a whole.

To gain this control the church needed

to be free of secular interference.

To free themselves from

the European feudal system and the practice of investiture the

church needed to unite the Eastern Orthodox and Western Roman
church under one rule, thereby giving Rome a religious monopoly
over all of Christendom. The ultimate goal of the church was to
put the Holy Land back into the hands of Christians and have
the power base squarely set in Rome.

These circumstances would

set off a chain of events that would ultimately lead to a holy

war that started in 1052 and calumniated with the beginning of
the first crusade in 1096.
Under Pope Urban II, the Christians would realize their
revenge for the many years of atrocities put upon them by
their Moslem counterparts.

To Urban, it was the Churchs place

to exact the revenge and who better than the Church should lead
the many nations to rescue the Holy Land.

The reward for this

act would be the acknowledgment of Romes supremacy and power

over the Eastern Empire, and a boost to the wealth of the
church.
Urbans decision would have a major impact on Christianity
and would ultimately lead to the formation of an order of
warrior-monks that would forever hold a place in history.

With

the success of the first crusade and the recapture of the city
of Jerusalem in 1099 many new circumstances would arise.

With

the capture of Antioch, Galilee, Edessa, and Jerusalem

Christians were free to construct a new empire built on
Christianity. However, this new empire was precarious at best.
Those Christians living in these newfound cities, were
surrounded by Moslems awaiting the chance to retake the region.
This fact however did not discourage the continuation of
pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

With the constant harassing of

pilgrims it was clear that some solution must be found.

Jerusalem was basically cut off from the other countries of the
area and isolated from European assistance.

For the crusades

to realize the goals of a Christian Holy Land and bring wealth

and prosperity back to the church many changes would need to
exist.

A population of European descent would need to inhabit

the newly captured cities and a thriving economy would need to

be established.

This however could not exist until protection

could be assured.
It was at this time that a band of nine men formed to
insure the protection of pilgrims and the Holy Land.

All of

the original nine had participated in the first crusade and

spent much of their lives in this land.

As with various others

the East had become their home, and for their home and religion
to prosper the region must be made safe. Jerusalem had long

been a haven for pilgrims.

After the first crusade, the city

was in Christian hands and one could only expect even more
pilgrims to visit the land. But for the city to survive it
needed permanent inhabitants. With no seaport, Jerusalem was
dependent on goods and people coming into the city.

Without a

safe overland highway from Jaffa to Jerusalem the city could

never expect to grow and prosper.

So with this in mind,

Baldwin II must have been ecstatic at the prospect of a band of

knights to provide protection. With the assurance of protection
Baldwin could encourage immigration and promote trade, both
factors that would surely give the city a chance to survive.
But, how would these knights fit into the churchs plan, and
would the church welcome their attempts to secure the area for
all of Christendom?
The idea of warrior-monks seems to go against the church
doctrine. The fusion of these two diametrically opposed ideals
sees to be the basis for much of the mystery surrounding the
order of the Knights Templars.

With the formation of an order

of warrior-monks there was a unification of two of medieval

societys most important virtues, war and worship. Through the
Templars, Baldwin would have a standing arming ready to defend
the newly conquered region.

By way of the Templars the

boundaries of Christendom could be extended and strengthened.

However, for all of this to happen the knights would need to be

sanctioned by the pope.
To receive this sanction they would need the approval and
help of a powerful member of the church, named Bernard of
Clairvaux.

In Bernard they would have an ally who would prove

to be both immensely supportive and influential within the

church. Bernards place in Templar history can not be disputed.
Without his help, it is safe to say the order would not have
been able to gain papal approval. Nine years after their
formation, the order was still a struggling band of knights.
To get the order papal backing would strengthen their cause.
Bernard, the Abbot of Clairvaux in the Cistercian Order, would
be just the man to represent the order.
Although, Bernard never aspired to go farther than Abbot
of his order, he wielded a good deal of power.

Bernards power

and influence extended into the secular world also.

Despite

the fact that Bernard was only an Abbot in the small order,
kings and popes looked to him as a mentor.

Many bishops and

popes had begun their careers as monks under Bernard and looked
to him for guidance and advice in various situations.

Unlike

many other members of the church, Bernard lived a life of pious

morality.

His actions allowed him to be judgmental of others,

a fact that everyone took willingly due to Bernards

compassion, intelligence, and eloquent manner with which he

delivered his advice. His struggles with his own fledgling

order and his knightly background lead him to see the promise
of this newly found order of the Templars.

Bernard had

foresight enough to know the newly obtained lands in the East

would require a new form of protection.
would be needed.

More than a mere army

Men devoted to the cause, with their own

stake in the outcome would be more beneficial to the situation.

He took little time in giving his full backing to the Templars.
Bernard was instrumental in combining the virtues of monk and
knight.

This concept was new and unproven, but Bernard was

just the man to promote it.

His own order at Clairvaux was

somewhat of an enigma among monasteries of that age. Bernard

built his order on the Benedictine Rule, which would later also
be followed by the Templars.

The conditions with which his

monastery was built and the rules, under which the Abby lived,
all combined to make Bernard the man that he was.

These facts

surely made Bernard more intune with the situation of the

Templars in the Holy Land.

In 1128 the Council of Troyes was

called to discuss the issue of the Templar knights.

Although

the Pope himself did not attend, the council took place in the
presence of the papal legate.

However, it was Bernard who was

in control of the proceedings. Once again this proves the depth

of his influence in these situations.

In the end approval was

achieved, and even more important the order was given some

guidance in the form of the first Rule for the Order of the
Knights Templar. The rule would become the backbone of the
order dictating all aspects of their life.
It is safe to say the rule was inspired by Bernard and
closely modeled after the Cistercian order.

A fact to prove

this point would be the taking up of wearing the white mantle,

which had been worn by the Cisterians first.

However,

Bernards connection to the members of the Templars goes much

deeper than his backing and establishment of the rule of the
order.
Bernards guidance to the fledgling order at once appears
benevolent and patriarchal.

Without Bernards ceaseless

promotion and constant guidance throughout his lifetime it is

safe to say that the order would not have gotten off the ground
and grown to the magnitude that it did.

However, his

connection to the Templars goes much deeper. Among the first

nine Templars are men of distinction in European society.
Bernard, also coming from this society had strong ties to
members of their original band. The first nine knights are
generally believed to have been, Hughes de Payens, Geoffrey of
St. Omer, Payen de Montdidier, Archambaud de St.-Agnan, Andre
de Montbard, Geoffrey Bisol, Rossal, and Gondemare.

There is

some discussion over the last two names, at times they are
omitted, and they sometimes appear in different forms.

It is

safe to say that any organization of men of this character

would not simply include the knights alone.
size would have been closer to thirty men.

The actual group

Along with the

knights would have been cooks, stable men, sergeants and

various other men who were to perform the endless daily tasks
of keeping the knights ready.

The fact of the number of

underlings employed to carry out the daily duties further

enforces the importance of these men.
Hugh de Payens, a knight of lower nobility, was a vassal
of Hugh de Champagne and was also related by marriage to the
St.Clairs of Roslin.
own right.

However, de Payens was important in his

He commanded great respect from all he encountered

and was known for his leadership and military qualities. De

Payens only entered into the crusades and the order of the
Templars after the death of his wife.

Once in the Holy Land he

made it his mission to protect the land he had come to love.

Andre de Montbard was also a vassal of Hugh de Champagne.
Montbard was also the uncle to Bernard of Clairvaux, a fact
that would prove important when they went in search of papal
sanction.

The remaining knights were members of noble

families, but little detail is known of their background.

Geoffrey de St. Omer, a son of Hugh de St. Omer, was a Flemish
knight.

Payen de Montdidier, was a relative of the ruling

family of Flanders.

Achambaud de St-Amand was also a relative

of the ruling house of Flanders.

The last two members, Rosal

and Gondemar have obscure ties to the Templars. It is believed

that they were to have been Cisterian monks.

These two men

were simply transferring their allegiance from one branch to

the other. It was believed that the Templars and Cisterians
were so closely linked that this could easily be done.
The ties of the two orders in patronage, shared
objectives, and relationship of their members made the two seem
like they were two arms of the same body.

On one hand you had

the monastic branch and on the other the military branch.

Bernard seemed to be the glue that bound the two halves
together.

His connection to events and the people involved in

those events lend to his ability to seize a situation a guide

it to an end that was beneficial to both factions.

The ties

between the two organizations impart a shared objective that

can be seen on many levels. On one level you have the ties
between the individuals who cooperated to produce two powerful
organizations with many powerful beings.

The relationship of

Hugh de Champagne to both orders had a great impact.

The

family and aristocratic links among many of the members seems

to be more than a mere coincidence.

De Champagne was

instrumental in securing land and holdings for both the

Cisterians and the Templars. Later, de Champagne even joined

the Templar order, which made a curious situation with the

feudal lord now answering to his vassal, Hugh de Payens.
The link between de Payens, Bernard, de Champagne, and Montbard
overwhelmingly point to some kind of planned venture.
On yet another level, you find the connection between the
Cisterian order and the Templars in the form of the Templars
adoption of Benedictian Rule.

Bernard was instrumental in

starting several other military orders, supplying them with

both their constitution, and laws. The Templars, however are
probably the best known due to their wide impact in European
society.

The bond that formed between Bernard and Hughes De

Payens again evidenced the closeness of the Cisterian order and

the Templars.

In fact, Hugh de Payen was nominated for the

Grande Master position by none other than Bernard of Clairvaux.

The use of Cisterian monks as dual members of both orders shows
again Bernards influence. The adoption of a monastic code and
the taking of vows went strongly against the knightly code of
the time.

Why then would these men of distinction and wealth

give up all to form this order? It is safe to say that the

Templars would not have grown and prospered to the point they
did without the careful guidance of Bernard of Clairvaux and
the connection of the powerful men who made up its backbone.

10

Chapter Two
The Crusades

In 1096, after many years of terrorism, and assault on

Christian pilgrims at the hands of the Muslims, Pope Urban II
called for the first crusade to the Holy Land. This crusade was
created as a means to oust the Muslims from the Holy Land and
in particular the city of Jerusalem.

The city had been in

Muslim hands since the fall of the Roman Empire, which had
controlled the city since 70 A.D.

However, the crusades would

have a much deeper meaning than a religious holy war.

The

participants in this battle would be some of Europes greatest

nobility and a band of warrior-monks who would emerge to make a
lasting mark on history.
At this time Pope Urban II was at his peak of power, and
the situation in Europe needed a release to bring about change.
The church wanted to reunite the Eastern and Western churches
into one power base.

Also, the feudal situation in Europe had

many nobles and knights looking to escape their landless

existence, and gain new kingdoms in the East.

Many of these

nobles did not intend to return to Europe following the

crusades. Their hope was to find a kingdom in the East and
continue the feudal society in that far off land.

In 1095, at

the Council of Clermont, Urbans call to the people to take up

the cross in the name of the church inspired many nobles and
commoners alike.

Urbans call inspired an all-out push for a

campaign to regain the Holy Land.

The immediate swell of

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conviction for the cause reached all that attended the speech.
The decision was made to begin, but not until the following
fall, after the harvest was over.

However, the swell of

emotion was so strong that many people felt they could not wait
to begin. The poor and landless had no reason to wait, for what
to them, would seem to be an endless amount of time.
So, when a man called Peter the Hermit begin to travel to
the East preaching for the immediate beginning to the crusade
he received a huge following.

Those people who heard his

preaching saw this as their opportunity for change.

Many of

these people had no hope for more than the meager existence
they already had.

Like the nobles and knights of Europe these

people were looking to find something more in the Holy Land.

This crusade would be their chance to start again in a place
that would surely change their fortune.

However, Peter was not

the leader that these people had expected.

Their exuberance

and impatience was equaled only by their faith in their leader.

The crusade was begun, with Peter the Hermit at its head.
This first crusade was called the Peoples Crusade. But for all
the faith and excitement one aspect was forgotten, planning.
This huge mass of pilgrims began with high hopes, but soon it
became apparent that the journey was going to be more difficult
than originally thought.

12

The shear number of participants, along with the lack of a

capable central leader allowed the band of pilgrims to get out
of hand.

Without enough food to feed the horde of people, they

began to take what they needed from the local countryside, and
when they found nothing, they killed the residents and sacked
the towns.

It was clear that this simple pilgrimage was

getting out of hand.

By the time they reached the Hellspont in

Byzantine, the crusaders were out of control.

The ruler of

Constantinople, in an effort to take control of the situation,

ordered Peter to not cross the Hellspont before the whole group
had arrived.

This effort to contain and calm the crusaders had

a reverse effect.

While in Constantinople, the group sacked

and burned buildings, and stole from churches.

They created

such a problem that they were ordered to cross the Hellspont to

avoid further damage to the city.
Once past Constantinople, the people did not cease their
activities.

They continued to sack and burn anything in their

way, sometimes even killing fellow Christians.

It was clear

that Peter could not control this company of people.

The

closer they got to the Holy Land the worse their acts of
vengeance became.

The crusade began to loose steam and the

group began to break apart.

It was at a place called Civetot

that the final end came to their crusade.

After the crusaders

capture of the castle, it was besieged by Turks.

With the

13

water supply located outside the castle walls it was only a

matter of time before the crusaders would surrender to the
Turks.

It took a mere six months for the peoples crusade to

run its course.

Many, of those that started out had not been

able to realize their dream of a new beginning.

Thousands were

dead and the remaining pilgrims were left without a home or the
means to continue the pilgrimage.

By this time, the second

wave of knights and lords began their portion of the crusade.

This second group would prove to have its own problems
with organization and leadership as well.
comprised the bulk of the expedition.

Four separate armies

All groups upon making

their individual departures were to rendezvous at

Constantinople, as ordered by Urban.

These armies were lead by

the nobility of the Frankish Empire, men of distinctive

character and great power.

In stark contrast to the

participants of the first wave, these men seemed more focused

on the mission.

They too were leaving Europe with the hope of

finding a better chance of success in the East.

If they could

gain the land for a kingdom, they would never need to return to
Europe again.

For them the mission was more than the recapture

of the Holy Land, they hoped to extend European society into

the East. The first army was lead by Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke
of Lower Lorriane. The second army was lead by Bohemond,
Normand prince of Tranto in Italy.

The third army had two

14

leaders, Adhemar, Bishop of Le Puy, and Raymond, Count of

Toulouse and St. Gilles.

Robert of Normandy and Robert of

Flanders headed the fourth army.

The armies traveled separately and arrived in
Constantinople at intervals that allowed Alexis, the emperor,
enough time to prepare for the next group.

Alexis however did

not extend his hospitalities without a consequence.

Each noble

was to swear an oath of allegiance to Alexis before they could

pass through the Hellspont.

This consequence would allow

Alexis to regain control over the lost portions of the

Byzantine Empire.

By swearing their allegiance, the nobles

would become vassals of the emperor upon forming their

kingdoms.

All the nobles did not meet this condition with the

same enthusiasm.

The nobles knew the oath was a mere

formality, and if pressed it would not hold up, but giving

Alexis that hold over them was not popular with all involved.
However, they all did make the pledge before traveling on.
During this time, the first crusade was in full swing.

There

was no stopping the armies driven to recapture the Holy Land,

and the nobles bound to stake their claim in a New Kingdom.
This New Kingdom would be based on the same social order as the
one that they had left in Europe.

A feudal system would be set

up that would allow control over the new land to be put in only
a few hands.

This situation would cause problems for the

15

leaders in this land charged with the task of securing this

vast region.
These expansive noble armies traveled separate from one
another.

Each leader was taking his own route to the

destination, each with his own agenda to fulfill.

The armies

pressed on to their destination, with the remaining pilgrims

from Peters band joining them, along with Peter himself.

Once

past Byzantine, the armies met resistance in the form of bands

of Turks.

However, the Turks found this army a more difficult

foe than the pilgrims of Peters band.

The Turks over

confidence soon changed to respect after the armys victories

at Nicea and Dorylaeum.

Now in sight, for the crusaders was

the bigger prize of Antioch.

While all the armies had participated in the victory at
Dorylaeum, it was still apparent that each leader was still
concerned with obtaining his own kingdom. To some this would be
their only chance to gain a land of their own to rule. But to
capture Antioch all armies would need to work as one. Not only
would the threat of Saracen attacks be a formidable foe, but
the weather, terrain, and the impregnable castle all worked
against the crusaders.

Their journey had begun over a year

before and for many the toll of the crusade was beginning to
eat away at their faith.

16

The siege of Antioch was an almost impossible mission.

The army already on the verge of starvation was constantly
harassed by the inhabitants of the well-fortified castle.

As

the siege dragged on, the reserve of many began to crumble most
notably that of Stephen of Blois, who left for a time only to
return later. Many members of the army began to desert at the
threat of an oncoming Turkish reinforcement army.
Evidentially, an arrangement was made with a tower guard.

By

bribing the guard the Franks were able to gain secret passage
into the castle.

Once inside, an all out slaughter was

executed on the Turks.

This victory would swell the crusaders

confidence and resolve and sustain their faith in their

ultimate goal.

The armies stayed at Antioch a full five

months, resting and recuperating for their push on to

Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was the prize they all wanted to obtain.

On the

one hand, the recapture of the Holy Land for the Christians
would reestablish the church as a power in the East and
securing the region would also give an outlet for knights and
nobles of Europe. Being able to establish a power base in the
East could answer many of the problems in Europe brought on by
the feudal system.

These reasons gave an added emphasis to the

importance of recapturing the city.

17

After their victory at Antioch and a period of

recuperation, the army was again on the move to Jerusalem.

The

journey from Antioch to Jerusalem would take the army almost a

year.

By the time the army reached the walls of Jerusalem they

were not to be stopped.

an unstoppable force.

Their goal was in sight and they were

The siege of the city took considerably

less time than Antioch. On July 15, 1099, the walls to the city
were breached. The scenes that followed were the result of
conditions under which they survived during their three-year
march to Jerusalem, and the release of emotion at finally
reaching their goal.

Everything they had lived and fought for

during this time feed their frenzy of destruction. They

destroyed the Muslims and everything Islamic about the city. To
them the city now and forever would belong to the European,
Christian culture.
The capture of Jerusalem was of major importance in more
than one way.

Not only did the church regain the Holy Land,

but leaders of the army also gained new lands to place under
their rule.

Baldwin was the new Prince of Edessa.

Bohemond

became Prince of Antioch. Tranced was named Prince of Galilee,

and Godfrey de Boullon was voted to be advocate of the Holy
Sepulchure. With this newly won land came the responsibility of
protecting it and its inhabitants.

This task would prove to be

one that would be difficult to carry out. The irony of the

18

success of the first crusade is that its architect, Pope Urban

II never learned of the fall of Jerusalem.

Urban died a mere

two weeks after Jerusalems fall, before news of the recapture

of the Holy Land could reach him.
These men who had participated in the crusade now saw
their duty in a different light.

After Jerusalems recapture,

many of the participants went back to Europe; their job was

completed.

The ones that stayed were put under great pressure

to make the area safe for those pilgrims that wished to enter
the Holy Land and to protect the new kingdoms set up by the
nobles. Rising from the army of knights and nobles that
participated in the crusade was a group of nine knights. These
nine knights took to heart their call to protect the Holy Land.
So, when they offered their services to King Baldwin he
immediately accepted. Baldwin knew that to sustain his newfound
empire he would need the assistance of some outside force.

The

constant threat of attack from the Muslims was just one of the
many problems he was facing.

For the city of Jerusalem to

survive it would need more than just visiting Pilgrims.

The

city needed long term inhabitants to sustain its existence.

Baldwin welcomed the idea of the knights to defend the region.
The city of Jerusalem was just a mere shell of the once
great city it had been.

It was essentially cut off from the

other newly conquered cities.

No stable government, form of

19

taxation, or defense system was in existence. The city was

basically isolated and left to defend itself. One major problem
area was the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem.

Protection was

primarily needed in this area to protect the trade route into

the city.

By protecting this route the city would have a

better chance to survive.

The area was seeing a great number

of immigrants, however these people were pilgrims who were only

interested in fulfilling an obligation to the church as a way
to free their souls. Not only were these pilgrims adding to the
population of the city, but they were also adding to the
numbers that would need protection.

The knights that had taken

up the call were ready to assume this assignment.

Already

battle hardened and unwilling to return to Europe, the knights

seemed to be a perfect solution for defense.

These men had

participated in the first crusade and knew the area and its
inhabitants well.

They also had become accustomed the unique

Saracen style of battle.

For them to offer their services to

Baldwin would mean that now the region would have some kind of
organized defense; a standing army that was a new and untried
concept.

All of these men knew well what they were giving up

to pledge their service for the church. Their taking of the

triple vow that was common to monastic orders was equally
unheard of.

The concept of poverty, chastity, and obedience

was diametrically opposed to every aspect of the medieval

20

knights life. The loss of all property and income would be

cause for the knights to ask for some meager reparations for
their service.
Upon their gift of service to Baldwin, Hugh de Payen the
authorized leader of the band, approached Baldwin for royal
patronage. Baldwin, happy at the prospect of adding the
services of these knights to his city, gladly granted their
request for help.

He assigned them a portion of the al-Aqsa

Mosque on the Temple Mount as a base of operations.

The

knights would also require some form of revenue with which to

purchase the many supplies needed by a knight.

Baldwin also

allowed the knights to keep any booty they recovered from their
Muslim captives.

It was also at this time that their ties to

Europe would begin to pay benefits for the order of the

knights.

Within a few years the knights would compile

substantial holdings in the form of land, subsidies, and

castles.

These gifts came from the nobility of Europe, which

further tied the Templars to important individuals that had a

great effect on European society. The fact of their growing
wealth would effect many elements of their future including
their participation in subsequent crusades.

However, all was

not as smooth as conventional history portrays.

The Templars

were in dire need of manpower to fulfill their duty.

Another

problem that arose stemmed from the initial reasons many came

21

to the region in the first place.

Many crusades came with

various motives for their participation in mind.

Some came

with the obvious religious convictions that the church

manifested, while others came for land or loot to improve their
station in life. While still others came with one goal in mind,
but had their motives changed by the situation brought about in
this strange land.

Either way, all these situations played a

role in the Templars actions, and how they would be perceived

by others.
For several years the Templars went about their task of
protection of the Holy Land.

All the while the Templars were

expanding into an international organization with many

branches.

Through the guidance of Hughes de Payens, the order

grew and prospered.

Temples were opened in France, London,

Spain and Scotland.

Each of these branches further solidified

their ties to the feudal society of Europe, and also added to

the Templars growing stockpile of holdings.
case early on in the Holy Land.
power for the Templars.

This was not the

Here money was the base of

Since receiving the gift of free

license of protection for the Holy Land, the Templars had

amassed a sizeable cache of bounty from the Muslim highwaymen.
With the death of Hughes de Payens, in 1136, and the
assignment of Robert de Craon as Master, the order began to
shape itself into the international organization that made it

22

world famous.

Under de Craon, the Templars made lasting gains

that would increase their power and influence.

Craon, who came

from a powerful family, possessed the administrative and

diplomatic skills that would help the Templars to gain powers
that would change the character of the order, and greatly
influence their participation in impending crusades. When they
were granted the papal bull Omne Datum Optimum in 1138, the
Templars were freed of all ecclesiastical authority, save that
of the Pope.

It also made the Master and Chapter fully

responsible for the actions of the order.

These issues would

play an important part in the future of the Templars.

The Templars role in the successive crusades would not
seem as pure in intention as that of the first crusade.

With

each crusade, change in the Master of the Order, and growing

power of the Templars, the motivation of their involvement was
affected.
During the second crusade, the Templars role was more one
of diplomat than that of a knight.

The crusade seemed doomed

from the start due to the large amount that participated and
their multi-national origins.

The Templars provided three

hundred men, who now under new distinction, could be singled

out by the red cross they wore and their left breast and
shoulder. This was also the first expedition of the knights
under the banner of the Knights of the Temple. The importance

23

of this initial outing was immeasurable. However, the knights

were accompanied not by their Grande Master, but rather by Lord
Everard de Barres, the Master of the Temple in France.

The

Templars presence would be appreciated by the French king Louis

VII. Not only were the Templars instrumental in ensuring the
safety of the ill-fated crusade, but also their diplomacy and
money lending allowed the crusade to continue when it would
have otherwise stalled.

King Louis was no match for the more

refined emperor of Byzantine.

Without Everard de Barress

guidance and advice the group would not have made it as far as
they did. In fact, Louis sent Barres ahead to negotiate the
crusaders passage through Constantinople.

Along with this

aspect, their knowledge of the enemy and fighting skills were

called upon to insure the safe passage of the group.

The

knights leadership and battle skills were needed to add

stability to the crusader ranks.

The discipline and

coordination of the Templars saved the group from the pillaging

and harassment of the Saracens. But, more than this, when the
crusade stalled due to lack of funding it was Everard de Barres
who again came to the rescue.

Barres used the resources of the

international organization that the Templars had built to raise

the needed funds for the crusade to continue.

Louis happily

agreed to repay the order the amount of the loan, and later
added a castle to the Templar stockpile.

Although the crusade

24

was an overall failure, the Templars had established themselves

in a position of importance to the crusading cause.
With the coming of the third crusade the Templars were
dramatically less visible, and hardly as influential.

Many

events had occurred in the years following the second crusade.

With each passing incident the motives and actions of the
Templars were put into question.

The capture of the Templar

Grande Master, Gerard de Ridefort, by the Egyptian, Saladin had

taken it toll on the order.

With the decreased membership,

mostly due to huge losses incurred during battles, their power

and influence was in a back slide. With the fall of Jerusalem
in 1187, the state of the Christian world was again in turmoil.
Would the Templars again be the backbone of the offensive
against the Muslims?

Saladin would subsequently release

Ridefort. However, he along with King Guy of Jerusalem, would

lead the Templars on a disastrous attempt to conquer Acre.

The

army was badly beaten by Saladins troops, and again Ridefort

was captured.
to live.

However, this time Saladin would not allow him

This incident added to the list of questionable

decisions made by the Templars and their Grande Master adding

to the growing sentiment of mistrust felt by many people.
King Richards exploits during the third crusade would
allow the Templars to regain some ground, in the form of
respect, holdings and capital. First, Richard sold his newly

25

acquired island of Cyprus to the order at quite a bargain.

The

special relationship that existed between Richard and the

Templars Grande Master, Robert de Sable, afforded the order
special treatment during Richards two years in the Holy Land.
Not only was he distantly related to Richard, but also he
possessed the same diplomatic skills of the earlier Templar
Master, Robert de Craon.

Sables diplomacy and knowledge of

Eastern customs and war tactics would prove highly beneficial

to Richard.

The Templars too would benefit from the change in

leadership.

The constant criticism under Ridefort stopped with

the insertion of Sable as Grande Master.

Although Richard

never set foot in Jerusalem just his mere presence there, with
the Templars at his side, was enough to force Saladin into an
arrangement of peace that would benefit both Muslim and
Christian alike.

It is safe to say that the Templar Grande

Master was instrumental in arranging the treaty.

The agreement

would allow the Christians to keep all land and cities that
they had taken during battles; they could practice their
religion and could make pilgrimages into Jerusalem to the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

These concessions benefited

Christians and in particular the Templars who had suffered

losses under the years of Muslim rule, and had shouldered much
of the blame for the loss of Jerusalem in 1187.

With the end

26

of the third crusade the Templars were again rising as a viable

force.
The next fifty years saw a series of crusades.

It also

was an era of revival of Templar power in the East and growing

influence on an international level.

With the beginning of the

thirteenth century, several events would start the Templars

climb of power that would continue through much of the century.
Early in the thirteenth century Pope Innocent began a battle to
reform the church. Innocent wanted to use the Templars as the
churchs militia to reform the church.

In the process the

Templars were granted many privileges by the church. The pope

wanted the church as the head of feudal system that would rule
the entire system with the Templars as the military power.
This reform would also mean the eradication of any other
branches of religion.

The Templars would assume the

responsibility of this task and in the process collect rewards

for their efforts.
political structure.

In the East, the goal was to rebuild the

With the death of Saladin, the Muslim had

lost their unity. The region was left in somewhat of a power

vacuum that needed to be filled.

The ensuing series of

crusades left the region in enough turmoil to allow the

Templars to step in an unimpossingly assume control. By a
series of alliances and diplomatic maneuvers the Templars would
gain control of the region on an economic, and strategic level.

27

Through the acquisition and fortification of castles they would

set themselves up as both protectors and overlords of the
region.

With their many bases of operation located throughout

the region they would begin to build a web of commerce and

holdings that would effect all of the East and continue into
the European society.

28

Chapter Three
The Templars and
the European Economy

The Crusades did much more than simply win back the Holy
Land and give Christians the opportunity to make pilgrimages to
the Holy Land to fulfill their obligations to the church.

whole new economy and way of life was established through this
event.

The Knights Templar were a major part of the initiation

of a new economic outlook for European society.

The changing face of European economy in Medieval times
was due mostly to the rise of wealth being brought in by the
Crusades.

The Knights Templars were an important aspect in the

making of the unique economical system.

The Templars had been in the region since the crusades.
This fact alone would give them an advantage, but their
connection to the church and nobility gave them an added
benefit.

With secular and ecclesiastical ties the Templars

would be able to establish a powerful base to build and expand

into an international organization.
The Templars used skill and wisdom to expand their
fledging order from merely a band of knights charged with the
task of protection of the Holy Land to an order that would
change the face of the European economy.
When the original nine knights formed the order in 1119,
they began with a strong bond to the church and European
nobility.

In Bernard, Abbot of the Cistercian Order at

Clairvaux, the Templars found an ally who through his

29

connections with the church would be able to help the Templars

gain Church sanctioning.

With a church sanction they would be

able to form an organization that would become so powerful that

it would rival the church in wealth and influence.
Without its powerful and well-placed roots the Templars
would have been like many of the ecclesiastical orders of
medieval society and merely existed to feed the churchs
wealth.

The Templars also existed to feed the churchs wealth,

but in the process built a whole new European economy.

The

base of this organization starts with the first nine members

and their connections and actions.

Two of the original knights

were vassals to the Count of Champagne, one was also the uncle
to Bernard of Clairvaux, and several others of the remaining
seven were nobility of their own right.

To say that these men

had connections is somewhat of an understatement.

It is what

they did with these connections that lead the name Kinghts
Templar to be synonymous with power and wealth.
Upon arriving in the Holy Land in the First Crusade in
1099, these nine men agree to band together under the premise
of forming an order for the protection of the Holy Land and the
pilgrims that would be visiting the land.

From the years of

1099 to 1119, little is know of the whereabouts of the

individual knights.

It is not until the group came to King

30

Baldwin II of Jerusalem with the proposition of protection that

their recorded history really begins.
The crusades brought about its own industry and economy.
Any entity that could position itself with the right
connections and capitalize on the events that were to transpire
would be in a position to influence many aspects of the future.
The Templars were in a position to do just that.

The Templars

were in the right position to emphasize their important

connections and make use of the time they had already spent in
the region.
The organization was already established in the area,
having been there for nearly twenty years before they offered
their services to King Baldwin.

After Baldwin overwhelmingly

excepted their offer he immediately went in search of church

sanctioning for the group of knights.

By doing this, Baldwin

would ensure the group the backing they would need to grow and
prosper.

Once they were established as the Order of the

Knights Templar, the group gained many substantial holdings in

the form of donations from aristocracy that would help finance
the rapidly growing order.

The granting of the rule at the

Council of Troyes in 1128 would also lead to a high degree of

legal autonomy for the order that would keep many of its
activities out of reach of the church, and nobility alike.
Their only check was the Pope himself. This form of freedom

31

allowed the Templars leeway to build an international

organization that would cross into many areas never before
explored.
Since they had been in the region for many years the
knights were well established and knew the area and its customs
well.

This fact would prove to be beneficial to the Templars

as they began their dealings in the new Christian region. Their

adoption of some Muslim traits would be instrumental in their
rise in power through the territory.

After the capture of the

Holy Land by the Christians, the region was in turmoil in many

ways.

With the attempt to rebuild the region under Christian

leadership, the Templars were an asset to the cause.

Their

years in the area gave them valuable resources and along with
the many donations acquired after their formations the Templars
were in a position to be the leaders of the rebuilding effort.
In the 12 th century the economy was becoming one of
monetary assets.

With the opening of the Holy Land, the

population became more mobile.

This fact gave rise to an

economy that was based on the pilgrim trade.

Because of their

years of building their holdings, the Templars were instantly

ready when this situation came about.
Money became the main element when the pilgrim trade began
to prosper in the Holy Land. By virtue of their heavy
connections to European nobility, the Templars had a base

32

within which to build and grow upon.

corner on the market, so to say.

The Templars really had a

Because they had been in the

area so long with connections to both the church and the King
of Jerusalem, they had an edge in this situation.

Not only did

they have the compilation of the many donations, which had been
piled upon them from the nobility, but they also had the
license to use these resources to their benefit.

With the

resources they had in the East they could build up in the West.
With the properties they owned in the West, they could supply
the East.

It was an ingenious situation that took the skill

and connections of these men to build.

The unique position of the Knights Templar in the creation
of an economic society of the time came about due to their
foresight, planning and connections.

The sanctioning of the

order by the church gave the Templars a big boost that would
not only afford them power, but would also create opportunities
for them to push the limits of known law of the time.

The

sanctioning would not have happened without key people on the

Templars side.

Bernard of Clairvaux, King Baldwin of

Jerusalem, Hugh of Champagne, and the first nine knights

themselves made up a base of people who would give the Templars
their initial foundation that would prove to set them on the
road to a growing empire.

33

The sanctioning by the church and most importantly the

Omne Datum Optimum, gave the Knight Templar more power and
freedom than had been seen be any order before. With this
freedom the Templars could capitalize on the situation
beginning to unfold with the opening of the Holy Land.

Church

law strictly forbade usury, the process of lending money for

profit.

For many years the Jews where the only ones who had

been using this operation to lend money.

Consequently, they

had been able to build vast stores of money through this

process.

The Templars saw this operation and found a way

around church laws with their newfound autonomy from the

restrictions of church law. Once this process was in place
their use of usury would help them to insert themselves into
the important pilgrim trade.

More than this though, the

Knights Templar would become the moneylenders and moneyhandlers

to both the church and nobility.
The pilgrim trade business would prove to become a major
motivation of the changing economy of the 12th century.

The

Templars would be the prime innovators in this new business.

Not only did they have a growing stockpile of ready cash, but
they also had resources in many cities along the way, and also
a newly created fleet.

The invention of a Templar fleet was a

bonus to the order, not only for military purposes but also in
a commercial capacity.

The fleet would have a two-fold benefit

34

to the Templars.

Once again their skill, wisdom, and

connections would prove beneficial.

The Templars foresight

into commercial ventures would lay the groundwork for the

connection of their Eastern and Western holdings.

In the West

the Templars holdings were comprised of many land holdings that

had been donated through the years by the aristocracy of
Europe.

Without these key holdings the formation of this

multi-national conglomerate would have been extremely hard to

form.

The fleet would now allow the connection of the two

sides of the order in a way that would immensely benefit them.

Once the connection of the two parts was complete the
stage was set for the Templars to exact a program of economic
practices that the world had never seen.

The Templars fleet

would be used to carry supplies from their agricultural lands

in the West to support their men stationed in the East.

Along

with this, the fleet could be used to carry pilgrims to the

Holy Land.

While there, the pilgrims would be under the

protection of the Templars thereby aiding themselves, but also

fulfilling their initial obligation as protectors of the Holy
Land.

This situation was made possible by virtue of the years

of work and connections to the Holy Land.

With their vast

holdings the Templars began a system of moneylending that would

further the pilgrim trade.

35

This system was due in large part to their adoption of

some Arab economic systems, such as a cash economy.

The cash

economy would allow the Templars the opportunity to work as

moneylenders. The pilgrim trade would see the implementation of
the practice of moneylending by the Templars. Within this
system the Templars could meet the financial needs created by
the many pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land.

A trip to the

Holy Land would surely cost the pilgrim large sums of money.
With the instability of the region a pilgrim would be foolish
to attempt to carry large sums of money only to see them taken
by a band of raiding Muslims.
come from the Knights Templar.

The answer to this problem would

The Templars possessed large

sums of cash and held temples in many countries along the route
to the Holy Land.

A pilgrim would visit a Templar commanderie

in their home region, deposit a sufficient amount of funds to

cover their expenses on the journey and be given a receipt in
the form of a crit.

The crit would be the precursor to our

modern day credit card.

Throughout their journey, the traveler

would produce the crit to the local Templar representative who

would promptly paid the dues, re-code the crit, and return it
to the owner.

Upon their return home, the pilgrim would visit

the Templar treasurer who would calculate their expenses, and

return any balance, or present a bill for the overspent amount.
The institution of this practice surely aided in the rebuilding

36

of the economy of the Holy Land, and likewise aided the

European economy.
The Templars banking practices were not solely limited to
the pilgrimage trade. Their participation in the growing
international economy added to their prestige.

The wealth of

the Templars was such that their financial services were sought
out by both the church and the state. The Templars were used as
debt collectors for Kings, Popes and Secular Lords.
acted as the main bankers for the Holy See.

They also

In the 13th century

the Templars acted as the cashiers office where the financial

resources for the crusades and the Holy Land were centralized
and administered.

They worked as Papal agents so information

and subsidies could pass from the Holy Land to Rome.

The Paris

and London Temples became important repositories to the Kings

of France and England.

Their many innovations, institutions,

and services are almost too many to count but their importance
is immeasurable.
The economic system employed by the Templars made the
region stable, which was a key element to allowing the economy
to change.

The financial security initiated by the Templars

moneylending, and other banking practices allowed for a rise in

a new merchant class.

The Knights Templar may not have been

the first to use many of these operations, but they were the
first to build it into an international organization.

37

Chapter Four
Decline and Demise

The success, wealth, and power of the Knights Templar

stimulated jealousy and resentment that would ultimately lead
to the downfall of the Order.

The end of the crusades, in many

peoples eyes, had made the Order of the Knights Templar

obsolete.

The world, and especially Europe, was a much

different place.

However, ultimately this fact was due largely

to the work of the Templars.

The changes in the world led many

people to believe that a need for the Order of the Knights

Templar no longer existed.
The change in the economy had had devastating effects on
the aristocracy of Europe.

The addition of a merchant class

that had appeared as a result of the stability following the

crusades was a blow to the nobles power.

The rise of the new

class also pushed the balance of power from the large country
fiefdoms to the towns and cities. The effects of these changes
would send many Nobles into heavy debt.
Additionally, the events of the world had sent the church
into a period of introspection and suspicion.

The Knights

Templar once the agents of the church had now themselves come
under suspicion.

The changing times led people to question the

motives and actions of this once untouchable order.

The orders seemingly untouchable status and ability to
build a viable industry that no one could rival had set the
Templars up for much resentment and accusation from the rest of

38

the world. Though initially the order had received overwhelming

papal approval, years later the church would do an about-face
and openly criticize the Templars.
All through the crusades the Templars had been accused of
avarice behavior.

Their behavior and reports of extreme wealth

go vehemently against their own orders rule of poverty.

The

privileges of the Omne Datum Optimum initially gave the order

the Papal backing to pursue their interest.

Later, this same

Papal bull would be the cause of some of the largest complaints

from the church against the order. The church was not above
using the Templars services when they saw the need; however,
they were also not above publicly rebuking the order when they
saw the need. The farther distant the order moved from
Bernards influence the more the church officials balked.

With

Pope Eugenious III, an ex-monk from Clairvaux the era of

Bernards influence in the church ended and so did the era of
the powerful Knights Templar.

Several other factors also

played into their gradual and eventual downfall.

At the

inception of the order the knights, it had been comprised of

the cream of the crop.

All these men were of aristocratic

families and educated men.

As the years passed and the order

grew, the need for more knights surpassed the ability to fill
the needed offices with highly trained and educated men.
Subsequently, concessions where made that would ultimately

39

weaken the inner fabric of the order. These concessions and

several military disasters caused a constant change in
leadership and policy to try to rectify the situation.

The

leadership changes allowed men to be put into control who were

unprepared and ill advised.
no organization can survive.

Without a strong leadership base

Above all else, probably the

single most devastating effect on the Templars was the decline

of the crusading spirit and the importance of the Latin
Kingdom.

Without a viable cause for their existence their

decline seemed inevitable.

However, other orders were willing

to adapt to the changing circumstances, something apparently

the Templars could not or would not do.
With these many circumstances playing out it is easy to
see how King Phillip IV of France was able to exploit the
situation and drive the order to extinction. Phillip who had
been king since his coronation at age seventeen was now thirtyfive in the year 1303.

His reign had been one of war and debt.

War was a means to capital, but if unsuccessful it meant great

debt and hardship for a country. A fact that Phillip knew well
from his many unsuccessful ventures as King of France.

Phillip

also had the problem of the strong-willed Pope Boniface VIII.

The two were constantly at odds.

Phillip believed himself to

be a priest-king and nothing should stand in his way, lest of

40

all the Pope.

For Phillip to rebuild his kingdom and pull it

out of debt extreme measures would need to be taken.

Phillip devised a plan in which he could gain control of
church and Templar wealth.

To Phillip it seemed only natural

for him to be the beneficiary of all this wealth. After all he

was the priest-king, and the most Christian King in the known
world.

To him would go the job of creating Gods kingdom on

earth.

With the help of a Spaniard name Ramon Lull, a plan was

devised that would help Phillip achieve his goal of ruler of

Heaven on Earth.

This plan would ensure Phillip would get

everything that he wanted, access to virtually unlimited

amounts of money, direct rule of lands in every part of Europe,
and the well-being of all Christendom.
would seal the deal for Phillip.

Two additional points

The first point being all

ecclesiastical incomes should be fixed, and any surplus should

go directly to Phillip to help maintain the reconquered Holy
Land.

The second point was that Phillip should have four votes

in all papal elections.

The first step for Phillip in achieving his goal would be
the unification of the Order of the Hospitallers and the
Knights Templar.

By accomplishing this act, Phillip would then

be able to install himself as head of the new order.

His next

issue was with the naming of a successor to Pope Benedict.

Phillip knew that the choice of successor would be highly

41

important to him.

The ruler of the church was the only person

to whom the Templars must answer.

If Phillip could not be

named the head of the order he could control Rome and pulled
the strings needed to force the order into submission from
there.
In 1306, Phillip received a first-hand view of the immense
wealth of the Templars, while taking refuge in the Paris Temple
during a riot.

Phillip was impressed with the scope and range

of the Templar complex.

Shortly after the events in Paris,

twelve new brothers were accepted into the Order of the Knights
Templar, each knight would represent one of the twelve
preceptories scattered across France.

All of these men were

agents of King Phillip.

The stage was set for Phillips plan to take effect.

Not

only had Phillip placed his puppet pope in Rome, but he had
also infiltrated the ranks of the Templars.

Phillip, through

Pope Clement, summoned the Master of the Templars and the

Hospitals to Europe.

The summons was issued under the guise of

needing their expert consultation regarding a Crusade headed by

the Kings of Armenia and Cyprus. The Master of the Hospital
expressed his regrets and declined the offer.

Jacques de

Molay, Master of the Knights Templar agreed to attend.

It was

with his acceptance that the fate of the Templars would be

sealed.

42

Jacques de Molay arrived in Europe in early 1307.

He

arrived as instructed, incognito and with a small group of

attendants.

Molay arrived in Paris and after a brief meeting

with King Phillip he moved on to Poitiers to meet with Pope

Clement on the issue of the new crusade.

While in Poitiers,

Clement informed Molay of the charges being leveled by King

Phillip, and his call for a formal inquiry. Molay vehemently
denied the accusations made by Phillip. Clement although
employed as agent of Phillip stood behind the Templars.

Molay

stayed in Europe for many more months defending the position of

the Templars.

On Friday, October 13, 1307, Phillip played his

last hand. Molay, and every other Templar in France was

arrested by the kings men.
Phillips plan had been fulfill.

Now, with the Templars

in front of the Inquisition, he could destroy their

credibility.

The charges that were leveled where beyond

anyones belief.

Given the nature of the Inquisition, it was

virtually impossible for a person accused of heresy to defend

themselves.
heresy.

However, the Templars were not charged with mere

The Templars faced eight charges that ranged from

denying Christ, sacrilegious acts, and the practice of

idolatry.

The vagueness and scope of the charges would

ultimately allow them to go forward without much resistance

from the Templar Master.

Due to the secret nature of the

43

practices of their order, Molay could not defend the charges

that dealt with aspects that were not for public ears.
Jacques de Molay, Master of the Order and Huges de
Pairaud, Geoffroi de Gonneville, and Groffroi de Charney, all
important heads of the Temples of France, were brought before
the Inquisition.

The men endured seven years of torture, and

verbal allegations.

While this was going on in Paris,

throughout Europe Templars were being rounded up and arrested.

Whether they confessed to the accusations or not they were all
punished.

With the diversion of the trails going on Phillip

decided it was time to deal with the Templars property and

wealth.

In his mind it was still possible to unify the two

orders and put one of his sons at its head.

This time though

Pope Clement beat Phillip to the punch and issued a bull in

which he ordered all Templar property to be transferred to the
Hospital. As for Phillip, he would be repaid for his expenses
for the trial and the administration of their property from the
time of their arrest in 1307.

However, without the Templars

administration of these properties for these many years, they

had eroded and lost much of their value.
Throughout Europe, the Templars were not treated as
severely as they were in France.

The many years since their

initial arrest had softened the attitudes of many against the

Templars. The seven years of imprisonment had also taken its

44

toll on the imprisoned Templars.

from Molay and his companions.

Confessions had been obtained

In March of 1314, the group was

brought in front of a special commission of cardinals in Paris.

This seemed a mere formality, since they had already received
the needed confessions.

Their punishment would be perpetual

imprisonment, a standard punishment for heresy.

However, the

men surprised the cardinals and recanted their previous

confessions.

At this point, the cardinals had no choice.

longer could they be merely imprisoned.

heresy was clear.

No

Their relapse into

They would now be handed over to the secular

arm, this being King Phillip.

The punishment from Phillip

would be swift, burning at the stake.

The deed was played out

on a small island in the River Seine on March 18, 1314.

Jacques de Molay would be the last Grand Master of the Order of
the Knights Templar.
The end of the Order of the Knights Templar is generally
credited to King Phillip, however many other factors played a
major part in their demise.

Their avarice behavior throughout

the Crusades, poor administration in the later years, and the

loss of papal support were all contributing factors.

Phillip

was the instrument of destruction, but would the Templar

organization have crumbled on its own if left to its own
devices?

Although, King Phillip is historically credited with

45

their downfall a case could be made that the Templars caused

their own decline, which ultimately lead to their demise.

46

Chapter Five
The Templar Mystery Continues

The history of Oak Island is varied and sordid.

Numerous

stories survive about the mysterious treasure allegedly buried

on the island.

Many of these stories have little merit, while

others are quite plausible.

Little is known of Oak Islands

early history before 1795 and the discovery of the money pit.
Oak Island, for the most part, was an uninhabited island.
The local Micmac Indians did use the island as a refuse for
resources, but European habitation did not begin until the mid
1700s.

The first European inhabitants were most likely

Protestant immigrants from the North Eastern seaboard of North

America.

These immigrants likely where moderately educated.

The schools of the time in the area were highly Puritan and
Calvinistic based.

The main focus of education was religious

and moral training to produce virtuous members of society.

Other travelers to the Island were notorious pirates and
privateers.

These men were likely of various religions and

educational experience.

A final group to visit the island were

select members of the Knights Templar.

Henry Sinclair is probably the most notable of the Templar
organization to visit Oak Island in the late 1300s.
Obviously, members of the Templar organization were members of
the Catholic Church.
upper nobility.

Likewise these men were member of the

Their affiliation with the church and the

Templar organization gave them access to various degrees of

1

education depending upon their interest.

Many of these men,

Sinclair included, could surely have been very well educated in

the medieval system due to their class.

The lower members of

the organization, who were not of the upper social class, would
most likely have received a more moderate education.
In the fourteen hundreds much of Europe was governed by
feudalism.

Europe was a very regional and fragmented area.

no centralized governments existed.

Almost

Europe was a jigsaw puzzle of

ethnic groups. The later middle Ages can be understood as the period
in which Europe as a continental culture was defined.

During these

timeframes, the arts of pirating and privateering were growing.

The European feudal lords would learn to use these resources to
build their wealth and prestige.

Knowing that Oak Island was a haven

for both pirates and privateers, this tiny island would become
important to those nobles who would use these means and occupations
to further their cause.

Similarly, the monarchies could also employ

these same people to rob and harass enemies, countrymen or not, in an

effort to build upon their wealth and maintain a steady cash flow.
The governments of this timeframe played a part in Oak Island
by giving pirates and privateers a means to continue their occupation
by allowing them a point of return.

The importance of these men with

naval skills would become apparent as countries began to build armies

and navies. The island also supplied valuable materials to build the
ships that would cross the Atlantic and build many a European
countrys navy.

These Navies would become important later as the

countries began to clash in power struggles and build more stable

governments.

Both the physical and social environment of Oak Island

leans toward isolation and mystery.

The island was virtually a

way station for local Indian tribes, fishermen, and Pirates.

Because of its relatively small size, the island saw few
permanent inhabitants until the late 1700s when a small group
of Europeans from Nova Scotia came to settle there.
The island, three quarters of a mile wide and 1000 feet
long, was given its name due to the many large red oak trees
that cover the island.

The island is also covered with four

stony drumlins described as elongated hills consisting of

multiple till layers. The core of the island is gypsum limestone mixture which accounts for the many sinkholes and
depression in the island.

The relatively large water depths

off the southeast coast of the island made it attractive to

English fishermen.
All these facts, along with the island's isolation explain
the fascination of the island to the groups who frequented the
location.

The abundance of timber made it productive for

English shipbuilders in need of resources for ships.

The

availability of fishing made the island a major resource for

English fishermen and the Micmac people.

The isolation of the

island made it an inviting harbor for pirates and privateers.

3

Similarly, the geological deposition of the island made finding

a hiding place rather handy.

Likewise the construction of the

flooding chamber associated with the money pit was likely a

relatively easy task given the looseness of the soil
composition.
All in all, the major environmental components of Oak
Island make it an inviting prospect for many ventures.

It

seems hard to imagine that with all these resources this island
has been practically uninhabited through this time.

However,

this is what gave the island its initial charm and appeal to
its early inhabitants.
The story of Oak Island is filled with many versions of
who could have possibly deposited the mysterious treasure on
the island.

The money pit itself is an enigma.

shrouded in a mysterious and vague history.

The island is

All these facts

encourage the many legends that surround the chronicles of Oak

Island.
The most popular of the many narratives on Oak Island deal
with either pirates, privateers or members of the Knights
Templar constructing the money pit.
alternative theories do exist.

However, several

A list of the most promoted

explanations for the construction of the money pit would

include a varied list of whos who of medieval history.

Everyone from the Vikings to Francis Drake to Henry Sinclair

had been included in the shroud of the islands history.
Arguably the most plausible of these reports would have to
center around several of the aforementioned participants,
namely Viking expeditions, Henry Sinclair, or pirate and
privateer activities. The Vikings unquestionably were among the
first outsiders to explore the island.

Although these people

had the means to cross the Atlantic, they most likely did not
possess the resources to construct the money pit.

Among the

pirate and privateers mentioned in conjunction with the mystery

are Francis Drake and Captain William Kidd.

Both of these men

had the resources and means to construct the money pit.

Additionally, they each frequented that region.
Unquestionably, the most noteworthy person regarding the
history of Oak Island is Henry Sinclair.
first European to visit the island.

Sinclair was the

Sinclair also had ties to

the Order of the Knights Templar, who are said to have also
visited the island.

In fact, the Templars are one of the more

justifiable organizations credited with the construction of the

island's notorious money pit.

Henry Sinclair is also an

excellent candidate for the realization of this legend.

Sinclair is said to have been in the region in 1398, before the
voyages of Christopher Columbus.

Of the suspects discussed,

the most likely and most probable would have to be Henry

5

Sinclair.

Sinclair being the one with the most cause, factual

evidence, and resources to fulfill the task.

The legend is

corroborated by the local Micmac Indian tribes, who inhabited

the region. Again, this man had both the means and the motive
needed to be a part of the history of this island. It should no
longer be concluded that early Europeans were landlocked until
the Columbus voyages.

These people possessed the opportunity

and ability to conduct a voyage across the Atlantic.

As much as anyone would like to believe some of the more
obscure theories of the money pit, the evidence just does not
seem to support the claims.

By looking solely at documented

historical data we can begin to narrow our search to the more

legitimate of these theories.

By doing this we can start to

either corroborate or dispute many of these theories and begin

to focus on the solely legitimate stories that deserve our
attention.
The Vikings are most likely the first to explore the area
of Nova Scotia.

It is now widely accepted that the Viking were

sailing the Atlantic and had reached the North American

continent well before 1000 A.D.

The English explorer, John

Cabot is the first post Columbus documented explorer of the

region in 1497, and the French followed soon after in 1524.

few scattered colonies dotted the main island of Nova Scotia

from time to time, but none survived for long.
6

The Native American Micmac tribe was also frequent

visitors to the region.

Although they lived in North Eastern

North America this tribe regularly visited Nova Scotia and the
Oak Island region. They came as the Europeans did to attain the
many resources found on the island.

Hunting and lumber were

the main products in demand by both Europeans and Native

Americans, which the island possessed in abundance. Despite
these many advantages of Oak Island it was not until much later
that permanent settlements were arranged on the island.
In the mid to late 1700s mainlanders from Nova Scotia
began to explore tiny Oak Island.

It was during one of these

exploration expeditions that a teenager named Daniel McGinnis

made a remarkable discovery.

As the story goes, McGinnis

stumbled across a large Oak tree on which a branch had been cut
off.

Underneath the tree was a large, suspicious depression in

the ground.

McGinnis came back the next day with two friends

to further explore the suspicious depression. The local boys

had obviously grown up with the stories of pirates and
privateers who were reported to have buried treasure on the
island.

To them it was an obvious leap to the conclusion that

what they had found was the remnants of a long buried treasure.
The boys began an excavation that would consume them and
numerous others for many years.

By the start of the nineteenth

century, the enigma of a treasure long buried had been

established and the hunt was on to find and claim it.
The commerce of pre 18th century Oak Island was closely
tied to fishing, raw materials, Pirating, and privateering.
The issues of commerce and transportation as well are closely
related in regards to Oak Island.

The Island did not

experience year round habitation until the mid 1700s.

However, it was visited frequently by the local Micmac Indian
tribe to obtain raw materials and hunt and fish on the island.
Similarly, Europeans used the island as a fishing sanctuary, a
store for lumber to build ships and a haven for pirates and
privateers.
Oak Island was renowned for pirates, because it was
relatively undeveloped and contained many inlets and bays
perfect for hiding treasure. Many of these men made a nice
living by raiding and robbing ships.

These pirates tended to

travel in small fast vessels that could out run larger vessels
and warships.

Examples of these ships are sloops, schooners,

and topsail schooners.

gone quickly.

These pirate ships could attack and be

By the time anyone missed the ship it was

generally thought it had been lost at sea.

Because of the many wars of the time, pirates were often
forgiven by the law and allowed to become privateers.

Many of

these privateers worked for governments to plunder the enemys

8

ships in the time of war.

Privateers were legally allowed to

attack enemy ships under the Letter of Marque, which set the
principles of engagement and the allotting of prizes taken.
Privateers were especially active before many countries
possessed permanent navies.
Oak Island, though small in size, played a major role in
commerce and transportation.

Without the raw materials from

the island many ships would not have been built.

ships the fishing trade would have suffered.

Without these

The skills of the

pirates and privateers directly affected the commerce.

The

interruption of trade affected many countrys economies.

This

small island was to have a major impact on world affairs.

Many different parties have been given credit for the
reported treasure, which has never been found or substantiated
that it even exists. Among these theories are some that are
very plausible and others that seem to stretch the limits of
the imagination.

We can begin the discussion about who

constructed the money pit with the Vikings. They obviously had
the means to make the journey and also the motive.
had long been known as the marauders of the sea.

This group

They would

certainly have treasure to conceal in some well hidden area and

the ability to make the journey to Oak Island.

However, the

Vikings who did travel to the New World were not the same ones
who were involved in European plunder.

Rather these Vikings

9

were mere farmers who did not have the means to construct a
money pit, nor the treasure to put in it.
Some have argued that the Native Americans were
responsible for the money pit.

This argument also has little

merit for the simple reason that it goes against the whole
concept of their society.
reciprocity.

Most Native American tribes deal in

In their cultures it is better to give wealth

than to receive and possess it.

Knowing this, it seems

impossible that native tribes would have constructed the money

pit.

Our next theory deals with the Spanish and the Incas.

Here we have two different scenarios dealing with these groups.

The first theory deals with the Incas.

After their initial

contact with Pizzaro, the Inca were left unattended by the

Spanish conquistadors.

During this time the Inca became

engaged in a bitter civil war, which destroyed their

magnificent city.

In the middle of this disastrous event the

city was plundered.

The treasures of the city were said to

have been carried overland to Panama and put on Incan ships to

be carried away to safety.

In the course of their voyage the

ships were wrecked and came ashore around Nova Scotia.

Here

the treasure was safely hidden in a secure hiding place.

next theory is that of the Spanish Conquistadors.

The

After their

conquest of the Inca cities, which purportedly possessed

massive amounts of gold and silver, some of the Spanish ships,
10

loaded with the booty of the Inca, were lost or diverted on the
return voyage to Europe.

As the story goes, the ships were

blown well off course to the North, or were intentionally

directed that way.

Whether it was intentional or accidental,

once on the island the treasure was supposedly buried for safe
keeping.

Interestingly, some of the occupants of the Spanish

ships were miners returning home from their duties in South

American mines.

These men could have had the capabilities to

construct a stronghold for the treasure in the lines of the

money pit.

Additionally, several sunken Spanish ships have

been found in the Northern Atlantic.

This would seem to give

some credence to this theory.

The belief in the theory of the sunken Spanish galleons,
leads us to the next theory about the money pit which involves
Sir Frances Drake.

The Theory in this case is that Drake

constructed the money pit to hide his spoils from his

privateering enterprises.

Drake is notorious for his attacks

on Spanish ships in the North Atlantic.

He reportedly amassed

a huge fortune in the practice of privateering for the British

Crown.

However, he would have had no reason to hide his wealth

since he was working for the Crown, That he was never hung as
a pirate is testimony to his relationship with the Crown
(Sora, pg 27).

Therefore he also does not seem to be a good

candidate for being the creator of the money pit.

11

The last prospect noteworthy enough for discussion is

Captain William Kidd.

Kidd was a pirate of world renown.

Kidd

became famous for his pirating exploits up and down the Eastern
seaboard, and into the Caribbean.

After realizing he was being

pursued for a murder, Kidd apparently buried most all of his

treasure in various locations along Eastern North America.
Some of his buried treasure was confiscated by agents of the
Crown, but no other traces were ever found in the other known
locations.

How the legend that Kidd buried treasure on Oak

Island is still a mystery.

As the story has been told down

through the years, Oak Island was never one of the places
mentioned as being a location where Kidd buried any of the
treasure.

Still, the story continues to this day without any

validity other than word of mouth.

As has been previously

discussed, many theories exist surrounding Oak Island.

Many of

these theories, as we have seen, are based more on fiction and

fabrication than facts and evidence.

Of all the theories to

date, one stands above the others as the most documented and
credible answer to the structure known as the Oak Island Money
Pit.

This is the story of Henry Sinclair and his voyage to the

North American Continent.

Henry Sinclair was born in 1345.

He was born into one of

the most powerful and prestigious families of Scotland.

It is

also through this lineage that Henry Sinclair is directly

12

descended to one of the original founders of the Knight

Templar.

This lineage was carried on by several other members

of his family.

By the Time Henry was twenty-four years old he,

himself, was a man of great power and considerable wealth.

At

this time he was the Lord of Rosslyn, Earl of Orkney, Lord of

Shetland.

He was also a vassal of both Scotland and Norway.

His position and responsibilities required that Sinclair have

freedom of travel.
To this end he, started his own fleet to allow him the
freedom to travel between his lands in Norway, Scotland, and
The Orkneys and other parts of Europe.

It was in this method

that Sinclair met two brothers who would be instrumental in his

future voyage to the North American Continent.

Sinclair had

met Antonio and Nicolo Zeno while in Venice, Italy.

Both were

skilled mariners and cartographers and would be invaluable to

Sinclair in this capacity. Along with the Zeno brothers,
Sinclair was also accompanied by Antonio Gunn, and many of his
Templar friends.

Knowing Sinclairs lineage and connection to

the Knights Templar it seems apparent that he would be

searching for new, virgin soil to re-establish the order.
Since the demise of the formal Order of the Knights
Templar in 1314 by King Phillip of France, the Templars had
gone underground.

It is believed that the Templars were still

in existence in various locations from Scotland to Portugal.

13

By traveling to the remote North American continent, Henry

Sinclair was searching for a place where freedom and
spirituality could coexist and the Templars could reign once
more.

Additionally, the Templars were known to have amassed

considerable wealth before the order was destroyed.

happened to this wealth had been debated.

What had

Many believed it

still existed, in a remote location awaiting the new rise of

the order.

It is believed that this is exactly what Henry

Sinclair was proposing with his voyage to North America.

Not

only could he find an accommodating land where the Templars

would be free from harassment, but secret treasure hidden since
their demise could be safely secured in this far off land.
Many facts point to the certainty that Henry Sinclair did
reach Oak Island and the North American continent.

Surely, it

can be said with certainty that Sinclair possess the means and
the motive to make the voyage.

His large, capable fleet and

his adept companions are two such sources of assurance.

Sinclair also possessed the wealth to fund the voyage.

His

motives likewise seem clear; a home for his beloved Templars

free from suppression.

Knowing all the facts it seems apparent

that of all the theories this one is the most credible.

Who

else but a member, and direct descendent of the Knights Templar

could have devised the intricate mystery that has confounded
treasure hunters to this day.
14

The story of the discovery of the money pit begins in the

mid to late 1700s.

Mainlanders from Nova Scotia began to

explore tiny Oak Island.

It was during one of these

exploration expeditions that a teenager named Daniel McGinnis

made a remarkable discovery.

As the story goes, McGinnis

stumbled across a large Oak tree on which a branch had been cut
off.

Underneath the tree was a large, suspicious depression in

the ground.

McGinnis came back the next day with two friends

to further explore the suspicious depression. The local boys

had obviously grown up with the stories of pirates and
privateers who were reported to have buried treasure on the
island.

To them it was an obvious leap to the conclusion that

what they had found was the remnants of a long buried treasure.
The boys began an excavation that would consume them and
numerous others for many years.

The excavation undertaken by

these boys began as an attempt to find a lucrative treasure

buried beneath the lone oak tree.

Little did they know when

they began what a complex and maddening process they would

encounter through their excavations.

As the excavation began

they encountered flagstone buried two feet below the ground's

surface.

At ten feet down they hit a layer of oak log covering

the pit.

This log covering would be found again at 20 feet and

30 feet.

At this point the excavation was halted for nearly

eight years while the boys, now men, acquired the resources to
15

continue the excavation.

At this point they again began the

excavation and continued on to a depth of ninety feet, finding

a layer of oak logs at ten foot intervals along the way.
Additionally, at forty feet a layer of charcoal was found, at
fifty feet a layer of putty, and at sixty feet a layer of
coconut fiber.

Reportedly at ninety feet a stone inscribed

with mysterious writing was found.

However, after its

discovery the stone was reportedly lost, never to be seen

again.

After ripping through the oak platform at ninety feet,

the excavation continued.

However, here the excavators

encountered the most maddening aspect of the pit. The pit began
to fill with water and by the next day the water level had
reached thirty-three feet. No means available to the crew could
overcome the water.

At this point the excavation was

abandoned, but the lure of the money pit would not be forgotten
for long.

By the start of the nineteenth century, the enigma

of a treasure long buried in this ingenious fashion had been

established and the hunt was on to find and claim it.
The small, secluded landmass of Oak Island seems insignificant
at first glance. However, if we take time to discover and study
its past, we will find that this island and the people
surrounding it have touched many areas of history.

The impact

of this island on popular history is significant in many ways.

16

We are all taught in grade school that Christopher

Columbus discovered North America in 1492.
not entirely true.

However, this is

Henry Sinclair was on the North American

continent in 1398, nearly one hundred years before Columbus.

Sinclair found the land of America by way of Nova Scotia and
Oak Island. This version of history is not readily taught in
our history books, because Sinclairs voyage was not backed by
a monarch bent on regaining the Holy Land with the supposed
wealth they would find in the New World.

Also, unlike

Sinclair, Columbus benefited from the invention of the printing

press, which spread the word of his discovery around the world.
Nevertheless, Sinclair did make the voyage to North America,
and he did do it before Columbus.
Although we do not have conclusive documentary proof of
Henry Sinclairs voyage, we can point to many areas to find
evidence of this claim.

First, we can cite ancient Micmac oral

legends that speak of a white man they named Glooscap.

We can

also point to the many words in the Micmac language that bear
great similarity to Norse words, which would have been spoken
by Sinclair and his crewmembers.

Add to that the admissions by

the Micmac that Glooscap brought them the technology of the

fishing net.

Surely it can be said the Sinclair had an impact

upon the Micmac people.

17

Secondly, we can point to the Newport Tower and the

Westford Knight as symbols of European exploration in North
America.

The Westford Knight carving in Massachusetts depicts

a medieval knight complete with sword and shield.

Many experts

agree that the carving bears the Clan Gunn crest and the sword
is unquestionably of 14th century design.
with the story of Sinclair's voyage.

This would fit in

Sir James Gunn was

reported to be a member of Sinclair's expedition.

As for the

Newport tower, after many years of intense research the

consensus is that the towers origins lay in the 1300s.

These

findings are based on the towers medieval appearance, which

include the eight round arches and columns.

Also the

construction mirrors that of other early round structures found

in Europe.

This is not absolute, positive proof of either the

Newport Tower or the Westford Knights origins, but it does

seem to point to the fact that someone, maybe Henry Sinclair,
was in North America prior to Christopher Columbus.
Probably the most convincing and significant evidence of
the Sinclair voyage can be found in the Zeno Map, and Zeno
Narrative.

Both of these articles give definitive proof that

the voyage took place.

We can find this proof in the accuracy

of the Zeno Map, which was produced by Antonio Zeno after his
return to Europe.
its accuracy.

This map was well known, and credited for

The map was used by mariners and cartographers

18

for the next 300 years.

Likewise, the narrative cites many

references to actual physical locations.

These places are

described in such detail that they could not have been

fabricated. Furthermore, many of these locations have been
accurately identified in recent years solely by the
descriptions in the narrative.

It has even been recently

reported that Columbus was carrying a copy of the Zeno Map on

his voyage to America in 1492.

Clearly, if this were true he

would not have been the first European to set foot on the North
American continent.
A second impact of Oak Island would be the nearly two
hundred years of excavation and treasure hunting that have
surrounded the mysterious money pit.

Since the discovery of

the depression under an Oak tree on the island, thousands of

people have been caught up in the mystery.

These individuals

have subsequently turned this once uninhabited, secluded island

into a metropolis of men, machines, and excavation holes.
The story of Oak Island lies in the resources of the
island; the supposed buried treasure, and men who have visited
the island.

For some reason, this island has been a magnet for

many notable men down through history.

Likewise, it has also

been an irresistible force to treasure hunters for the past two

hundred years.

Although no events of historical significance

have been credited to the island, nor has one dime of the
19

supposed treasure been pulled from the money pit, the island is
still the source of great interest.

Over a hundred books have

been written on the island and its history.

Millions have been

spent on excavation projects on the island. Millions have been

generated through tourism.

Perhaps, maybe these are the

greatest impacts of the entire island.

The lure of the money pit has attracted many treasure
hunters down through the years.

Since the initial efforts of

Daniel McGinnis and his crew, no less than eight companies have
been formed to bring the treasure from the money pit.

Each

company has met with the same problem; the flood channel.

The

designers of this pit had created a drainage system spread over

a 145 foot length of beach, which resembled the fingers of a
hand.

Each finger was a channel dug into the clay under the

beach and lined by rocks.

The channels were filled with beach

rocks, and covered with several inches of eel grass and then
covered by several more inches of coconut fiber.

The effect of

this filtering system was that the channel remained clear of

silt and sand while the water was still allowed to flow along
them.

The fingers met at a point inland where they fed sea

water into a sloping channel which eventually joined the money

pit.

Subsequently, each time the excavators dug down, the

water rushed in.

Additionally, no amount of pumping would

overcome the endless amount of sea water rushing in.

20

Obviously, since the initial excavation by McGinnis many

wonderful technological advancements have been made.

However,

none of these marvels of our modern world are able to stymie

the creators of this miraculous oddity.

The shear hopelessness

of the excavation task, in itself would seem like enough to

discourage even the heartiest of treasure hunters.

21

Bibliograghy

Addison, Charles, G. The History of the Knights Templar.

Adventures Unlimited, 1997.
Burman, Edward. The Templars Knights of God.
Books, 1986.
Howarth, Stephen. The Knights Templar.
Noble books, 1993.

Kempton:

Rochester: Destiny

United States: Barnes and

Knight, Christopher, and Lomas, Robert. The Second Messiah:

Templars, the Turin Shroud and the Great Secret of
Freemasonry. United States, 2000.
Murphy-Wallace, Tim, and Hopkins, Marilyn. Rosslyn: Guardian of
the Secrets of the Holy Grail. Shaftsbury: Element Books
Limited,1999.
Read, Piers Paul.

The Templars.

Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2001

Robinson, John J. Dungeon, Fire and Sword: The Knights Templar in

the Crusades. New York: M. Evans and Company, Inc., 1991.

About the Author

Jill lives in Wellton, a small southwestern Arizona town, with

her husband and seven children. She is a recent graduate of
Northern Arizona University, with a degree in Anthropology. Her
interests are history, archaeology, and ancient studies. When
not researching and writing she can be found hiking the
backcountry of remote southwestern Arizona recording ancient
petroglyphs and trail systems of the local Indian tribes.