Knights Templars.
About seven or eight hundred years ago, it was the custom of Christians, in various parts of the world, to go to the city of Jerusalem, to say prayers and perform penances, thinking that they benefited their souls thereby. Jerusalem belonged to the Turks then, as it does now; and it frequently happened that these Christians were ill-treated by the inhabitants, who despised and hated them.
This ill-treatment roused the people of Europe to vengeance, and vast armies went to take Jerusalem from the Turks, whom they called infidels. There were several of these wonderful expeditions, called Crusades, during the tenth, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, in which several millions of people lost their lives. Jerusalem was taken from the Turks, but they got it back again after a short time.
It was about the period of the crusades that Knight-Errantry took its rise. The knights-errant, or wandering knights, rode on fine horses, with spears and swords; and when they met each other they went to battle, often for the fun of it. They pretended to go about to relieve the distressed and to punish injustice: and there was need enough of this—for, in that age of the world, there was a great deal of cruelty and oppression. Sometimes these knights really performed very noble and brave actions. The stories of their adventures, preserved in ancient books, are very interesting.
The order of Knights Templars was formed at Jerusalem, by seven gentlemen, about the year 1120. They professed to devote themselves to the service of God, and actually set about punishing robbers and thieves who troubled the Christians who went on pilgrimages to Jerusalem. They increased in numbers, and had apartments assigned them near Solomon’s Temple, whence they were called Templars. After a time, the Templars were numerous in Europe, where they grew very rich and powerful. At last they were accused of high crimes; and, in the fourteenth century, the order was suppressed.