BOL6012
Team Miniatures
The Templars were religious men who followed a religious lifestyle based on prayer, and who also vowed to defend Christians and Christian territory against non-Christians. They formed a religious order, an organisation acknowledged by the Catholic or 'Latin' Church as having special rights and duties in society. Members wore a distinctive uniform, or 'habit', and lived a communal lifestyle in the properties belonging to the order. They followed a Rule, approved by the pope, which set out their daily routine and lifestyle. The Templars' contemporaries saw them as skilled and fearless warriors who played a leading role in the defence of Christendom against its enemies.
The Templars not only defended pilgrims in the region conquered by the crusaders, which the Western Europeans called Outremer ('The land overseas'), but also helped to defend the borders of the new crusader states against hostile neighbours. In the West, some rulers saw that the Templars could play a useful role in defending their territories too against non-Christians.
The Order of the Temple was the first of the military religious orders set up to defend Christendom. The Templars also helped to inform Christians in Western Europe about events in the East and encouraged them to send aid and to support their fellow-religionists. Although they ultimately failed to save Outremer, through their military skill and dedication they prolonged its existence.
These Templar Knights can also be used to completemnt the Battle of Legnica Knights previously released.