In the first decade of the twelfth century a group of nine knights, selected from members of the French nobility, undertook a voyage to Jerusalem with the intention of offering their services to the first European-born King of Jerusalem.
It was their office to protect the Temple and to offer to guard the route to and from Jaffa to Jerusalem.
This was to ensure the safety of the pilgrims that were making their way to the holy places after the occupation by Europeans.
Their leader was Hugues de Payens and they came under the instigation of Bernard de Clairvaux, one of the forward-looking churchmen of his time.
The claim that the Order that they founded influenced the establishment of the Masonic Order will be examined.
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2000 - THE LEGEND OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR - Arthur Hartley.
