Daily Medieval

After the death of Templar Grand Master  Bertrand de Blanchefort , King Amalric I of Jerusalem saw a chance to help himself out. Bertrand ha...

Formed about 1120 by Hugues de Payens and eight others—including André de Montbard, the uncle of St. Bernard of Clairvaux —the Poor Fellow-S...

After Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a long statement endorsing the new order at the request of his uncle André de Montbard , the Knights Temp...

When André de Montbard's new order of monks/knights intended to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land was suffering due to lack of donation...

James I of Aragon  (2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was used by his father as a political tool. He was the only child of Peter II of Aragon ...

Although Baldwin IV of Jerusalem was confirmed to have leprosy, he was still the only viable candidate to succeed his father, Amalric, as K...

When the First Crusade captured Jerusalem, they took over the Dome of the Rock, a temple built on the site where tradition said God created...

Antony Bek (c.1245 - 1311) was from a family of knights. He and his brother Thomas attended Oxford University at Merton College in the late ...

The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (sometimes called the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem) was a Western European creation established after the Fi...

Like many well-known theologians/priests in the Middle Ages, Bernard of Clairvaux was born to a wealthy family. This was in Burgundy in 1090...

While explaining oblates I mentioned that there was a group called "Third Orders." "Third Order" signifies a lay member...

Although the Beguines were great role models for how to live a Christian life, all was not rosy. By the end of the 13th century, most regio...

After the Knights Templar were dissolved in 1312, Pope Clement V wanted all their property turned over to the Knights Hospitallers. King Edw...

Why were two of the compounds for legal training in London named "Inner Temple" and "Middle Temple"? First, let's ex...

In 1307, Philip IV of France arrested several Templar Knights, accusing them of horrible sins. Some of the worst sins took place during a ...

In 1244, allies of the Egyptian Mamluks, retreating westward from the advancing Mongols, stopped at Jerusalem long enough to recapture it f...

Everyone knows about the Templars, or Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. Their avowed goal was to protect travele...

Cannabis sativa from the 6th-century De Materia Medica of Dioscorides I was contemplating a post about Easter, which takes place this Su...

(This one may meander a little; just hang on.) A few days after William Tell shot the apple from his son's head in 1307, another si...

When Philip IV of France convinced Pope Clement V that his campaign against the corruption of the Templars needed to be extended to all Te...