Chapter II

Hugh de Payens returns to Palestine--His death--Robert de
Craon made Master--Success of the Infidels--The second
Crusade--The Templars assume the Red Cross--Their
gallant actions and high discipline--Lands, manors, and
churches granted them in England--Bernard de Tremelay
made Master--He is slain by the Infidels--Bertrand de
Blanquefort made Master--He is taken prisoner, and
sent in chains to Aleppo--The Pope writes letters in
praise of the Templars--Their religious and military
enthusiasm--Their war banner called _Beauseant_--The
rise of the rival religio-military order of the
Hospital of St. John--The contests between Saladin and
the Templars--The vast privileges of the Templars--The
publication of the bull, _omne datum optimum_--The Pope
declares himself the immediate Bishop of the entire
Order--The Master of the Temple is taken prisoner,
and dies in a dungeon--Saladin’s great success--The
Christians purchase a truce--The Master of the Temple
and the Patriarch Heraclius proceed to England for
succour--The consecration of the TEMPLE CHURCH AT
LONDON 24

CHAPTER III.

The Temple at London--The vast possessions of the Templars
in England--The territorial divisions of the order--The
different preceptories in this country--The privileges
conferred on the Templars by the kings of England--The
Masters of the Temple at London--Their power and
importance 44

CHAPTER IV.

The Patriarch Heraclius quarrels with the king of
England--He returns to Palestine without succour--The
disappointment and gloomy forebodings of the
Templars--They prepare to resist Saladin--Their defeat
and slaughter--The valiant deeds of the Marshal
of the Temple--The fatal battle of Tiberias--The
captivity of the Grand Master and the true
cross--The captive Templars are offered the Koran or
death--They choose the latter, and are beheaded--The
fall of Jerusalem--The Moslems take possession of
the Temple--They purify it with rose-water, say
prayers, and hear a sermon--The Templars retire to
Antioch--Their letters to the king of England and the
Master of the Temple at London--Their exploits at the
siege of Acre 68

CHAPTER V.

Richard Cœur de Lion joins the Templars before Acre--The
city surrenders, and the Templars establish the chief
house of their order within it--Cœur de Lion takes up
his abode with them--He sells to them the island of
Cyprus--The Templars form the van of his army--Their
foraging expeditions and exploits--Cœur de Lion quits
the Holy Land in the disguise of a Knight Templar--The
Templars build the Pilgrim’s Castle in Palestine--The
exploits of the Templars in Egypt--The letters of the
Grand Master to the Master of the Temple at London--The
Templars reconquer Jerusalem--The state of the order in
England--King John resides in the Temple at London--The
barons come to him at that place, and demand MAGNA
CHARTA--Consecration of the nave or oblong portion of
the Temple Church at London 129