Templars, Steve Tibble
Templars, Steve Tibble
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

Templars
The Knights Who Made Britain

Author: Steve Tibble

Narrator: Michael Page

Unabridged: 10 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/14/2023


Synopsis

A gripping account of the Knights Templar, challenging received wisdom to show how these devout medieval knights played a profound role in making modern Britain

The Knights Templar have an enduring reputation—but not one they would recognize. Originally established in the twelfth century to protect pilgrims, the Order is remembered today for heresy, fanaticism, and even satanism.

In this bold new interpretation, Steve Tibble sets out to correct the record. The Templars, famous for their battles on Christendom's eastern front, were in fact dedicated peace-mongers at home. They influenced royal strategy and policy, created financial structures, and brokered international peace treaties—primarily to ensure that men, money, and material could be transferred more readily to the east.

Charting the rise of the Order under Henry I through to its violent suppression following the fall of Acre, Tibble argues that these medieval knights were essential to the emergence of an early English state. Revealing the true legacy of the British Templars, he shows how a small group helped shape medieval Britain while simultaneously fighting in the name of the Christian Middle East.

About Steve Tibble

Steve Tibble is honorary research associate at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is the author of Monarchy and Lordships in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, The Crusader Armies, and The Crusader Strategy.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Connor on December 23, 2023

I really enjoyed this book. I've read about the Templars before, but this one had a lot to offer. It focuses mainly on the history of the Templars in Britain; an island very far away from their front lines in the holy lands. They needed places like Britain in order to generate the funds and recruits......more

Goodreads review by Isaac on November 25, 2024

Started slow and felt like it was going in circles a bit, but it once it started following the templars more linearly, it picked up pretty quick. A fun short read on a topic I knew very little about but would certainly look into more. The way that it deconstructs the conspiracist myths on the order......more

Goodreads review by Taylor on March 13, 2025

This is a brilliant history of the Knights Templar in the British Isles. Of particular note is the way Steve Tibble makes great use of previous work on the Templars and reproduces it here in a coherent whole. The book is strong on showing how linked the Templars were with the English crown from the......more

Goodreads review by Matt on January 07, 2025

Found it to be insightful and interesting. Does a great job of tackling the myth that they were a war frenzied cult but really administrative innovators who were at one point the most trusted people in British kings inner circles.......more

Goodreads review by Sean on April 21, 2024

It's a great historical review.......more