Trial of the Templars

Malcolm Barber's classic The Trial of the Templars recounts the dramatic demise of this elite military force in the fourteenth century. Having fought against Islam in the crusades in the East for nearly two centuries, in October 1307 the members of this respected Order were arrested on the order of Philip IV, King of France and charged with serious heresies, including homosexuality and the denial of Christ. Finding resonances between the fourteenth-century trial and contemporary events, Barber's classic account endeavours to tackle the unresolved controversies surrounding the consequences of the trial and includes discussions in the context of new work on the crusades, heresy, the papacy and the French monarchy.

Review: '... this detailed narrative of the last days of the Order of the Temple has deservedly established itself as the standard account in a major European language.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History