ZDF - The Secret Story of the Knights Templar (2021)

Templar knights in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, brave in the face of death rather than fleeing from the enemy, fighting for Christ and the Pope in the Holy Land during the Crusades. This documentary series aims at reconstructing, for the first time, in a complete fashion the evolution of the knights belonging to the Order of Solomon's Temple, whose original goal was to protect pilgrims during their travels to Jerusalem after the victory of the Crusaders at the First Crusade. The Knights Templar grew in power and wealth becoming the earliest banking institution of the Middle Age. They were so rich that they financed the King of France and benefitted from a direct and exclusive link with the Pope.
Through three episodes of 45 minutes each, you will discover the developments that led the Templars to extreme power and subsequently to becoming the target of an unprecedented campaign of hatred aiming to place them beyond the boundaries of humanity itself through inexpressible accusations of diabolism and monstrosity. Within two centuries, they were tortured, killed, burnt at the stake and completely extinct. The secrets and mysteries of their rise and fall will be attentively reconstructed by an accurate recourse to historical records which will also lead you through a time voyage in the period following the destruction of the Order. Discover legacies and mysterious traditions which claimed their posthumous survival.
Since the Middle Ages, the existence of the Templars has been shrouded in myths and legends. Thanks to the greatest experts in the history of the Order of the Temple, this documentary series reveals the origin of these knights of a new kind, both religious and combatants. From the arid lands of the Orient to the greatest royal courts of France and England, the Templars transformed a simple brotherhood of soldiers into a religious order ready to reign over the Middle Ages.
This three-part documentary charts the rise and fall of The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem - better known as the Knights Templar: an order of monks who also worked as soldiers and from 1120 quickly gained power, wealth and influence with the blessing of the Catholic Church.
Discover the secrets of the most mysterious and powerful knightly order of the Middle Ages, from the rise of their heavenly power through to their fall within the flames of diabolism. From the rituals and traditions within the medieval knighthood, through the exterminatory campaign against them, to their supposed secret survival and their official legacies bridging the Holy Land and the European continent.
In our series, the mysterious story of the Knights Templar will be unveiled for the first time. We will distinguish between the abundant mythology that has been created about them and the newly acquired historical facts.

Directed by Guilain Depardieu ; KM Plus Media Co-Production with T2MP France and Picasso Film in association with RMC Films and ZDF Enterprises with the participation of RMC Decouverte and Histoire TV

Part 1: Birth of a Brotherhood
The Knights Templar were established as a special religious-military order by Hugues de Payens within the tradition of medieval knighthood, benefitting from a direct link with the king and the pope and distinguishing themselves by other knightly orders such as the Hospitallers or the Order of Malta. The rise and fall of the Order follow specific lines of developments and entail several secrets and mysteries, such as the financial donations to the Order, the survival of a supposedly very rich treasure, the rituals through which one could become a member, and eventually the fall of the Order under the attack of King Philip the Fair. In 1120 the Knights Templar (exactly: The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem) was founded - an association of monks who were also soldiers. It was the idea of the nobleman Hugues de Payns with nine French knights to rally men to serve and fight for the protection of Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land. Within a short time the new order had the blessing of the Pope Innocent II and became rich and powerful. Historians are investigating the places where the only written evidence of this period is kept, in order to lift the veil on these knights crowned with many legends. The Order of the Knights Templar was not an ordinary order. It had the distinction of being a religious and a military order, a real revolution at the time. Benefiting from a direct link with the Pope, the order followed a rule of religious conduct, as was customary at the time. But it stood out from other Christian orders by its military vocation of protecting pilgrims and sacred sites the Holy Land. For the first time in history, clerics are allowed to kill in the name of God.

Part 2: A Business Empire
The Knights Templar were born in the Middle Ages and vanished after 2 centuries in existence. Of these men remains the legends that made them famous: Their white overcoats bearing the iconic red cross, the riches they amassed, their discipline and ferocity in battle. In this episode, we explore the truth behind the treasures of the Templars and reveal how they became masters in the art of generating wealth. Mid-12th century: The fame of the Knights Templar continues to grow - as does the wealth of the order, which has become an amazing economic organization. They are masters of efficiency and bankers to kings: over the years, the Templars establish an innovative financial organization with secure custodians and transport routes. The goal: to finance wars in the Holy Land and to facilitate pilgrimages. The Knights Templar become the target of specific accusations arranged by the French court. The charges employed against the Templars constitute one of the earlies examples of a massive use of both traditional and novel stereotypes for the destruction of a specific social group: homosexuality, blasphemy, diabolism, heresy, secret rituals and idols to be worshipped, to mention a few. If Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake as a heretic, other Templars managed to survive, especially – but not only – in Portugal.

Part 3: The Fall of the Order
At the end of the 13th century, as Christian holdings in the holy land have disappeared, the Templars continue to push for a new crusade. But the king of France, Philip the Fair conspires to bring down the Order of the Temple, seeking absolute power for himself. Under the pressure of king, Pope Clemens V dissolved the order in 1312. Philip IV staged a sinister conspiracy resulting hundreds of Templars tortured and killed. In this episode, we reveal one of the most Machiavellian plots in History and discover the truth behind the end of the Knights Templar. The Knights Templar left a legacy, both visible in a consistent number of castles, villages, and abbeys throughout Europe, and invisible through the diffusion of long-lasting traditions claiming the survival of individuals belonging to the Order, with their array of secrets and riches. Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland is only one of the many mysterious places to which a strong continuity with the world of the Templars is attached. At the end of the 13th century, when the Holy Land was definitively lost, the role of the Templars raised more and more questions. The Order of the Temple is quickly the target of accusations from the King of France who denounces homosexuality, blasphemy, demonization, heresy, secret rituals or idolatry. Above all, the knights have become too rich and too powerful and their order must be destroyed. This episode returns to the true story of the assassination of the Templars whose last members ended up burned in front of the people of Paris.