The Knights Templar: Crusade, Myth and Hollywood

Formed in the twelfth century, the Knights Templar guarded pilgrims on the road in the Holy Land, but soon amassed enormous wealth and became a major military force in the Crusades. By the fourteenth century, the order was abolished. Accused of heresy, its members were arrested and tortured, their Grand Master executed.

For centuries the Templars’ legacy lived on in the guise of myth and legend, and today they are the subject of media depictions ranging from villainous knights and noble guardians of the Holy Grail, to secretive occultists and shadowy conspirators.

Discover their history and the truth behind the myths and their legacy in Hollywood. Did the Templars really guard the Holy Grail? Are they ancestors of the Freemasons? And why do they continue to captivate us over 900 years later?