San Antonio College Library

The great religious orders of Christianity--the Benedictines, the Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Jesuits--are well known for their monasteries, their learning, and their missions around the world. But in the Middle Ages and beyond, there was another kind of religious order whose profession it was to bear arms in defense of Christendom. This illustrated work tells the extraordinary story of the military orders of the Church. From their humble beginnings...

Lost Worlds (Television Program) probes behind the legend for the world of the Knights Templar. It takes you on visits to ancient sites of their activities, re-creates their mysterious rites of initiation, and tells of their Mediterranean island demise.

Jerusalem 1119. A small band of knights seeking a purpose in the violent aftermath of the First Crusade decides to set up a new order. These are the first Knights Templar: a group of elite warriors prepared to give their lives to protect Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Over the next two hundred years, the Templars would become the most powerful religious order of the middle ages - until they were rounded up an accused of heinous crimes. But who...