knights templar
"In This Sign Thou Shall Conquer"
Our newest design, The Knight Templar, shows a white knight with the Latin slogan "In Hoc Signo Vinces" which means, "In this sign; thou shall conquer." Centuries ago, many Christians were routinely slaughtered as they made pilgrimages to various sites in the Holy Land, including Jerusalem. As a result, the Knights Templar were founded in 111 AD to protect the pilgrims. King Baldwin granted the Templar Mound (The Temple Mount) believed to be the ruins of the Temple of Solomon. |
Templars were often the advance shock troops in key battles of the Crusades, as the heavily armored knights on their warhorses would set out to charge at the enemy, ahead of the main army bodies, in an attempt to break opposition lines. One of their most famous victories was in 1177 during the Battle of Montgisard, where some 500 Templar knights helped several thousand infantry to defeat Saladin's army of more than 26,000 soldiers.
The Knights Templar have become associated with legends concerning secrets and mysteries handed down to the select from ancient times. Rumors circulated even during the time of the Templars themselves. Masonic writers added their own speculations in the 18th century, and further fictional embellishments have been added in popular novels such as Ivanhoe, Foucault's Pendulum, and The Da Vinci Code, modern movies such as National Treasure, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
The Knights Templar have become associated with legends concerning secrets and mysteries handed down to the select from ancient times. Rumors circulated even during the time of the Templars themselves. Masonic writers added their own speculations in the 18th century, and further fictional embellishments have been added in popular novels such as Ivanhoe, Foucault's Pendulum, and The Da Vinci Code, modern movies such as National Treasure, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.