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Today’s episode is the second in a three part series on the Crusading military order of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, more commonly known as the Templars. My cohost for this series is Dr. Steve Tibble, one of the foremost military historians of the crusades, whose most recent book is Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood (Yale University Press, 2025).

In our previous episode Steve and I talked about the origin, mission, and activities of the Templars. Today we discuss the most notorious event in the history of the Templars: the arrest and trial of the Templars of France by order of King Philip IV 'the Fair' in 1307 on charges of heresy, idolatry, blasphemy, and sodomy, and the subsequent suppression of the Order by Pope Clement V. Among the topics we cover are: the Templars' role in the futile defense of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the thirteenth century; the mission challenge raised by the final conquest of Outremer by the Mamlukes; why King Philip IV targeted the Templars, why so many French Templars, including the Grand Master, confessed to the lurid charges; and why Pope Clement V, despite doubting the accusations, dissolved the Order.

In a forthcoming third episode, Steve and I will talk about the Templar afterlife: how after its suppression it lived on in popular imagination as a staple of conspiracy theories.

Listen on Podurama https://podurama.com

Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com

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Today’s episode is the first of a two-part series on the notorious Christian military order, The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, more commonly known as the Knights Templar. This first episode deals with the historical Templars; the second, with the Templar legend My cohost for both is a veteran of this podcast, Dr. Steve Tibble whose newest book is Assassins and Templars, A Battle in Myth and Blood (Yale University Press, 2025).

In this episode, Steve and I talk about the evolution of Christian ideas about warfare that allowed for crusading and for military orders such as the Templars; the Templar origin story; the growth, organization, and development of the order; and the Templars' core mission and activities, in war and peace.

The second episode begins with the trial of the Templars in 1307 by King Philip IV 'the Fair' of France, and the subsequent suppression of the order by the papacy. We then discuss the Templars' "afterlife," their transformation into a mythic secret society beloved by paranoid conspiracy theorists. And, as is the wont of this podcast, we look at how the historical and mythic Templars are represented in novels, movies, and even video games.

I hope you will join us!

This episode includes quoted passages from St. Bernard of Clairvaux's recruitment letter for the Second Crusade and his treatise on the Templars, The New Knighthood. Both are included in The Crusades: A Reader, ed. S,J. Allen and Emilie Amt, second edition (University of Toronto Press, 2014)

It also has a short snippet from the thirteenth-century chant "Dies Irae," performed by Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU9qrdrswO8)

Listen on Podurama https://podurama.com

Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com

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Until now, "'Tis But A Scratch: Fact & Fiction About the Middle Ages" has dealt with medieval Europe and the Middle East. In this episode, we branch out to a more global perspective by comparing medieval European knights with the samurai of "feudal Japan." And, yes, we will once again be talking about the medievalist's F-word.

I am fortunate to have as my cohost my good friend Stephen Morillo. Stephen is professor emeritus of History at Wabash College, where he taught medieval, world, and military history. His first book, Warfare Under the Anglo-Norman Kings, 1066-1135, was published in 1994. His most recent book is War and Conflict in the Middle Ages: A Global Perspective. This pretty much sums up Stephen’s scholarly odyssey from Anglo-Norman military historian to pre-modern world historian. His focus on comparative global military history makes him the ideal person to discuss knights and samurai. I hope you will join us.

Listen on Podurama https://podurama.com

Intro and exit music are by Alexander Nakarada

If you have questions, feel free to contact me at richard.abels54@gmail.com