Anders Behring Breivik’s rambling 1,500 page manifesto is replete with reference to the Knights Templar, a medieval Christian military order.
By Raf Sanchez
The Templar were founded around 1119 and swore to protect Christian pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land.
From its two founders, Hugues de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer, the order grew rapidly and soon came to be seen as among the most skilled of the European forces struggling to reclaim Jerusalem from the Arabs.
The Templar were instantly recognisable from the blood red crosses that adorned their white tunics, a symbol Breivik adopted and put on the front page of his “2083: A European Declaration of Independence”.
The cross also appears on several of the apparently home-made uniforms he was pictured in on his Facebook page.
The knights took part in several major victories against Saladin, the leader of the Muslim forces, but by the mid-13th century the Crusades were beginning to turn decisively against the Europeans.
By 1303, the Templar had been forced out of the Holy Land and most returned to western Europe.
Many congregated in France, where there presence was seen as a growing threat to King Philip the Fair, both because of their arms and the deep debts the king owed the order after his expensive wars with England.
In 1307, the king struck and dozens of Templar were rounded up, tortured and executed.
He was aided by Pope Clement who issued a papal bull instructing all of Christendom’s monarchs to move against the order and by 1312 it was officially disbanded.
Rumours of surviving Templar have abounded, often accompanied by claims that the knights were holding a secret that could destory the Catholic church if it were ever revealed.
Today, the Templar are a potent symbol for far-right extremists of a pure and holy group of warriors who were betrayed by the corrupt order they fought to defend.
www.telegraph.co.uk, 25 Jul 2011