Templar Tabard for Children/Youth

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 was 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 Troys in 1128, 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 Pope Eugenius added the red cross in 1146. Not only symbolic, the white garments were necessary in keeping the knights cool under the scorching sun of the Middle East, where a dark metal armor soon would heat to unbearable temperatures.

The surcoat or tabard was worn by knights over their plate or chain mail armour. It was primarily designed to protect its wearer from direct sunlight on the battlefield, and the various colour combinations were a decisive means of distinguishing brothers-in-arms from enemies in the fray.

Calf-length sleeveless child's tabard is made from sturdy cotton fabric. It is straight cut and has side slits from the waist down. It also features a somewhat shorter slit on the centre front and back.

Undershirt or belt seen in pictures are not included.

• Available in sizes 110 cm, 128 cm, 146 cm and 164 cm
• Material: 100 % cotton
• Manufacturer Battle Merchant