The Trial of the Templars

This is the historically true account of the execution of the Templars and the political circumstances surrounding it. If you have read books about the Salem Witch Trials then you will like this one too, but be warned Barber is a historian and so you will get the full blow by blow account of what went on.Basically in the year 1307 King Philip 4th arrested the Knights of the Templars and a pseudo-trial followed in order to smash the Templars. Much like the Salem Witch Trials many where falsely executed while others survived the ordeal to tell the tale. Basically this book is all about the destruction of the Templars.Again if you like books about "Witch Trials" then this is a must for the bookshelf and certainly Barber gives us the best historical rendition of any "Witch Trial" to date although the Templars where not treated as Witches but as anti-christian (when is fact they where a "White Order").Good historical depth to this one and highly recommended.

Barber's 'The Trial of the Templars' is the best and perhaps only serious academic study of the political machinations of French King Philip IV, "the Fair," which resulted in the trial and suppression of one of the most noble and powerful of the Medieval crusading orders.The wealth of source material in the book makes it indispensible. One would hope that Barber's work would go a long way towards debunking the myths of the Templars as neo-New Age adepts possessing secret occult wisdom, since, as Barber demonstrates, many of the Templars at the time of the suppression were uneducated, illiterate old men from preceptories in Europe, most of whom who had never even set foot in the Holy Land and were thus incapable of the occult practices ascribed to them. Of 115 Templar depositions resulting from the hearings in Paris, sixty-nine brethren stated that they were forty years old or older. The average age of these 115 men was 41.6 years. Most of the accused Templars were serving brothers and seargeants (41); seventeen were priests and only fifteen were actually knights. The average length of service of deposed Templars was 14.2 years. Hardly the stuff of which powerful occult magicians are made.Definitely add this one to your library.

I own many books on the Templars, but very few deal primarily on their downfall on the Friday 13th, and the gruelling, protracted trials afterwards. The Templars have always fascinated me, an order founded on a vow of poverty that rose to become one of the richest and most powerful organisations of their time, a religious order, yet it was politics and money that sealed their fate and brought about their destruction.Very well written, it is rich in detail, but in a witty narrative that keeps the reader enthralled and forgetting they are reading history, which is usually dry and stale. High Recommended. Anyone interested in the Templars needs to add this one to their collection.

Barber's "Trial of the Templars" is to my knowledge by far the best (and almost the only) serious piece of historical research in English this century into the Order's trial. Although the wealth of detail can at times be overwhelming, close attention rewards the reader with an objective answer to the ridiculous hysteria which has grown up around the Order's demise. Barber's close attention to contemporary documents gives his conclusions a firm factual basis - something the conspiracy nuts who are so attracted to this subject would be well advised to take note of. As a companion to his "The New Knighthood", "Trial..." gives what is likely to remain (Barring the discovery of the Templar archive) the best summary in English of the available evidence. Final verdict? Essential to anyone actually interested in the truth about the Templar affair ie: as an example of the growth of the power of the nation state and the history of propaganda.

Malcolm Barber examines the trial and supression of the Poor Knights of Christ of the Temple of Solomon, also known as the Knights Templars, as the trial unfolded in France and other countries. The account of the positional jockeying between the French King Philip IV and Pope Clement V is fascinating. Professor Barber is detailed and scholarly, but he has an absorbing story to tell and he is a wonderful story-teller. Essential