Knights Templar Banner

Description of the Product

The Knights Templar was founded on Christmas day in 1119 by nine knights. Their aim was to protect Christian pilgrims arriving from Europe to the kingdom of Jerusalem, which had been captured by Christian forces ten years previously. Although the Templars started relatively modestly, soon their wealth, power and military might were surpassed by none, due to papal favoritism: at the council of Troyes in 1129, the Templar Order was confirmed by Pope to be above all secular laws and only answerable to the Pope himself. All through the 12th century they grew as an economic might, partaking in trading and banking, as well as receiving large donations. The warrior-monks of the Knights Templar were, alongside the Knights Hospitaller, the best equipped and trained soldiers in the Middle East, and were often crucial for the Christian armies in ensuring their victories.

King Baldwin II, the King of Jerusalem, installed the Order in a part of the Palace of Jerusalem believed to be Solomon’s Temple, from which they took the name of Knights of the Temple or Templars. The order’s battle honors in the defense of the Holy Land are now legendary, while the accounts of their missing accumulated wealth are still a mystery.

The Knights received the white vestment as a symbol of purity of their life, to which the red cross was added during the reign of Pope Eugenius III.  The various color combinations used by knights in their banners as well as in capes and tabards, were a decisive means of distinguishing brothers-in-arms from enemies in the fray.

This banner is made with sturdy black and white cotton, and the distinctive red cross pattée is embroidered to the front. The banner has four fabric loops for either hanging it on your heralds trumpet, or simply on a curtain rod or a pole for adding a touch of medieval charm to your home decor.

• Made of sturdy cotton
• The loops are about 9 cm long and 5 cm wide
• Width c. 70 cm
• Height c. 115 cm