by Tracey Stoltz

Created on: March 17, 2007   Last Updated: February 14, 2009

Friday the 13th and the Knights Templar.

Is Friday the 13th considered unlucky? Jacques de Molay, last (known) Grand Master of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, known more commonly as the Knights Templar, certainly thought so.

The Order of the Knights Templar was founded in 1118 to protect Christians on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, captured from the Muslims in 1099. The Order was sanctioned by King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and he quartered the nine original knights, lead by Hugh de Payens, in the old stables at the Temple of Solomon. For the next seven years the Order kept a very low profile, rarely venturing from the Temple, let alone protecting pilgrims on the road to the Holy Land. Some say the Knights Templar were searching for the Holy Grail, some say it was the Arc of the Covenant that they sought, but regardless of the reason the Knights were certainly not fulfilling their duties.

In 1126 Count Hugh de Champagne donated his estates to Bernard of Clairvaux (later to become Saint Bernard) to finance the building of Clairvaux Abbey then left to join the Templars in Jerusalem. Bernard felt obligated to support his benefactor and petitioned Pope Hornorius II to officially sanction the Knights Templar.

In 1139 Pope Innocent II issued the 'Omne Datum Optimum' Bull, declaring the Knights Templar to be under direct and sole control of the Pope. As such the Knights had free reign over Christendom without having to pay homage or ask permission from local ecclesiastical of secular rulers (unprecedented power for a single Order). They were authorized to have their own priests to hear confessions and issue penance, highly unusual at the time, giving rise to the first murmurs of a 'secret society'.

In 1147 the Knights Templar were authorized to wear a red cross upon their white mantles, both a symbol of chivalry and honor and a sight to be feared by their enemies.

The Knights Templar established the first international banking service. Pilgrims not wanting to travel with large amounts of money would deposit their fortunes at any Temple (for a small fee, of course), be given a receipt and a code word they would need to claim their money at the end of their journey. The Knights Templar were the primary bankers for the Holy See and several of the European Royal Houses. Financial services offered included collecting taxes, controlling debt and administrating pension funds. They owned their own fleet of merchant ships and became successful traders of pepper and

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