Having recently studied the Crusades, I wanted to learn more about its most famous participants: the Knights Templar. I had tried Barber's The New Knighthood, but found it too academic for my tastes; A Brief History of the Knights Templar, by Helen Nicholson, seemed more suitable to my needs. It more or less fit the bill.
Nicholson's work covers several aspects of the Templars- not just their role in the Holy Land. She looks at their roles in two other fronts- Iberia (Spain/Portugal) and Eastern Europe- where they also fought for God against other religions. She considers relevant religious and economic aspects of the order, covers their infamous trial well, and concludes with a short discussion of the myths concerning the order that have arisen over the centuries. Her work does give the reader a good overview.
I felt the book, initially, didn't flow very well. She started with topics more familiar to me- about the Templars in the Middle East during the Crusades- but I found her style choppy and difficult to follow. Her examples seemed random, and her points were (at times) hard to pull out of the narrative. The last few chapters seemed better, though whether that was due to better quality or my growing ease with her style, I cannot be sure. Still, the last portion raises my overall rating for the work, and I may have subconsciously (and unfairly) deducted points for her shattering my Hollywood-inspired romantic notions about the order- true to form, Hollywood has strayed far from history. There may be better introductions to the Templars, but this one is decent enough to warrant consideration for those interested in the topic.
Rating: B-
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