have become associated with legends concerning secrets and mysteries handed down to the select from ancient times. Their financial acumen, their military prowess and their work on behalf of Christianity during the Crusades still circulate throughout modern culture. They were formed in the early 12th century to protect pilgrims to Jerusalem from the Muslims. This large organization of devout Christians during the medieval era served the nations of Europe mightily in the Crusades. Unfortunately, over time they became too rich and powerful and in the mid-14th century, support for the order faded. This book describes the immoral scheme of the French King Philip IV and the Pope Clement V to arrest and try for heresy a lot of the Knights Templars (like James of Molay, the Last Grand Master). But the persecution of the Templars in the fourteenth century does not close the history of the Order; for, though the Knights were spoliated, the Order was not annihilated. James Burnes examines their beginning, their end and their legacy. Edition LARGE PRINT with illustrations and complete footnotes. Excerpt: " "