Templars, or Knights of the Temple, a religious order instituted at Jerusalem in the beginning of the 12th century, for the defence of the holy sepulchre and the protection of Christian pilgrims. They were first called The poor of the Holy City, and afterwards assumed the appellation of Templars, because their house was near the temple. The order was founded by Baldwin II. then king of Jerusalem, with the concurrence of the pope; and the principal articles of their rule were: That they should hear the holy office throughout every day; or that, when their military duties should prevent this, they should supply it by a certain number of pater nostras: that they should abstain from flesh four days in the week, and on Fridays from eggs and milk-meats: that each knight might have three horses, and one esquire: and that they should neither hunt nor fowl. After the ruin of the kingdom of Jerusalem about 1186, they spread themselves through Germany and other countries of Europe, to which they were invited by the liberality of the Christians. In the year 1228, this order acquired stability, by being confirmed in the council of Troyes, and subjected to a rule of discipline drawn up by St Bernard. In every nation they had a particular governor, called master of the Temple, or of the militia of the Temple. Their grand-master had his residence at Paris.

The order of Templars flourished for some time, and acquired, by the valour of its knights, immense riches and an eminent degree of military renown: but as their prosperity increased, their vices were multiplied, and their arrogance, luxury, and cruelty rose at last to such a monstrous height, that their privileges were revoked, and their order suppressed with the most terrible circumstances of infamy and severity. Their accusers were two of their own body, and their chief prosecutor Philip the Fair of France, who addressed his complaints to Clement V. The pope, though at first unwilling to proceed against them, was under a necessity of complying with the king's desire; so that, in the year 1307, upon an appointed day, and for some time afterwards, all the knights, who were dispersed throughout Europe, were seized and imprisoned, and many of them, after trials for capital crimes, were convicted and put to death. In 1312 the whole order was suppressed by the council of Vienne. A part of the rich revenues they possessed was bestowed upon other orders, especially on the knights of St John, now of Malta, and the rest confiscated to the respective treasuries of the sovereign princes in whose dominions their possessions lay.—The knights Templars, in order to justify the severity with which they were treated, were charged with apostasy to the Saracens, and holding correspondence with them, with insulting the majesty of God, turning into derision the gospel of Christ, and trampling upon the obligation of all laws human and divine. Candidates, it is said, upon admission to this order, were commanded to spit, in token of contempt, upon an image of Christ, and after admission to worship either a cat or a wooden head crowned with gold. It is farther affirmed, that, among them, the odious and unnatural act of sodomy was a matter of obligation; and they are charged with other crimes too horrible to be mentioned, or even imagined. However, though there be reason to believe, that in this order, as well as others of the same period, there were shocking examples of impiety and profligacy; yet that the whole order was thus enormously corrupt, there is no reason to believe. The pope indeed, though he acted with severity, acted with justice. He sent two cardinals to Paris, who, publishing his bull against the order, condemned those Templars who had made the voluntary confession to be burnt by a slow fire. The criminals recanted their former confessions, but acknowledged themselves worthy of death, because they had unjustly accused the order of crimes of which they were innocent. Several authors of those times wrote in defence of the order; and Boccace alleges, that its extirpation was owing to the avarice of the king of France, who coveted the rich possessions the Templars then enjoyed in France.

The king of Arragon was much pressed to treat the Templars in his kingdom as they had been treated in France; but his constant answer was, "We must be first convinced of their guilt, and it will be then time enough to talk of their punishment." The people, however, were in general so provoked against them, that they were compelled to shut themselves up in the fortresses belonging to their order, to prevent their being torn in pieces; which precaution was represented to the king of Arragon as an act of rebellion. He marched, therefore, with a corps of troops against one of these fortresses. The knight who commanded surrendered immediately, and told the king the truth, assuring him that they desired nothing but a fair trial; with which declaration the king was extremely moved, took the whole order into his protection, and forbade any to abuse or insult them under the heaviest penalties. At the same time he declared he was ready to receive any informations against them that were supported by proofs; but if the informers failed therein, he would punish them as they deserved.

These facts plead strongly for the innocence of the Templars, or at least they prove that their guilt must have been exaggerated; and if we add, that many of the accusations advanced against them flatly contradict each other, and that many members of this unfortunate order solemnly avowed their innocence while languishing under the severest tortures, and even with their dying breath—it would seem probable, that King Philip set on foot this bloody tragedy, with a view to gratify his avarice, and glut his resentment against the Templars, and especially against their grand-master, who had highly offended him. The principal cause of his invincible hatred against them was, that in his quarrel with Boniface VIII. the knights espoused the cause of the pope, and furnished him with money to carry on the war. They originally wore a white habit, with red crosses sewed upon their cloaks as a mark of distinction.