The New Knighthood (Barber)

Some friends think that, because I read voraciously, I'm an academic.  It's a notion I don't mind nurturing, though in truth, I'm pretty much an idiot.  I enjoy a variety of subjects, so I'm never bored, but I don't like getting down in the weeds on any topic other than the Bible.  Therefore, I'm not an academic- I just enjoy learning a little bit about a good number of things, and have found reading to be a more valuable, enjoyable, and profitable past time than other pursuits commonly enjoyed by my peers.

Now, on to the subject at hand.  Having just completed a great book on the Crusades, I wanted to learn a bit more about one element featured therein- the Knights Templar.  Some quick research indicated that Malcolm Barber's The New Knighthood was the classic work on the subject.  I had started The New Knighthood before knowing anything about the Crusades, and found myself lost.  So, 10% of the way through it, I put it down to pick up Asbridge's The Crusades.  That went well, and so armed with a new-found knowledge on the time period, I dove (again) in to Barber's book.  Or, rather, I tried to.  Even with my increased understanding, Barber's work is just too academic for me.  It's extremely well-researched and referenced, which is desirable for the doctoral student, but not very readable.  He draws heavily from many sources, and discusses a range of them when discussing a given point, to the extent that it can take him several pages to illustrate basic concepts.  For example, when trying to determine when exactly the Knights Templar were founded, he took up several pages debating between 1119 and 1120, citing examples making the case for each in turn.  "_____ says this, which indicates 1119, but ____ says 1120, and he's closer to the time period, and further _____ says that the order had been around for 9 years in 1129, but he used the French calendar, and blah blah blah . . .<continue for several pages>"  I would have been happy with "The Knights Templar were founded in 1119 or 1120."

In the end, I just couldn't slog through this.  It's not bad- just not meant for the layman.  I've selected another work, by Helen Nicholson, which appears more in line with what I seek.  It would be unfair for me to rate this at all, having read only 10%; I'll just leave you with this: read The New Knighthood if your life's ambition is to become a true expert on the Knights Templar.