KNIGHTS TEMPLAR: What Weapons and Armor did they use?

The Knights Templar are probably the most famous knightly order, made even more famous by their sudden destruction and associated legends around their wealth and the possibilities of hidden treasures. In recent times, the Knights Templar have been associated with all sorts of myths, legends and conspiracy theories!

[Blade_]

One popular theory I've heard for the surcoats' origins in the crusades was as a way of stopping your maille from heating up as much in the sun. Having re-enacted wearing a maille shirt in the Aussie sun, I can confirm the surcoat did make a difference.

[commissarchad]

Yes, the knee defenses were critical for adventurers; no one wanted to be the "then I took an arrow to the knee" guy.

[krzysztofzpucka]

"A Templar Knight is truly a fearless knight, and secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armour of faith, just as his body is protected by the armour of steel. He is thus doubly armed, and need fear neither demons nor men."

[VickyAmaru]

Something fun about the Knights Templar is that they still exist today. The ones who survived the purge escaped to Portugal and changed their name to the Order of Christ in 1319. They were secularized in 1789, briefly disbanded in 1910 and revived in 1917. Their Grand Master is the president of Portugal.

[anthonyhodgson]

I enjoyed this 'timeline progression' format of discussion. I'd enjoy more content like this of other time periods, or other countries. Thank you.

[adamrudling]

So you are saying they had cutting edge swords .... got you

[wylde_hunter]

Great video again Matt. I think you would love The Palace Armoury in Malta. This is a Knights Hospitaller museum/ arms & armour collection stored in a palace. Maltese military history is fascinating as it has been strategically important for centuries and has had a great variety of different military bodies connected with it.

[stacksmalacks]

History Hit is a sponsor made in heaven for Matt. HH make great content, more traditional TV style historical videos but they are really good. Wonder if Matt will ever colab with them

[neilcampbell]

That was excellent Matt. Could you do a similar dive into the arms and armour of the Islamic equivalent of knights of this period? I can honestly say that I would love to know more about this subject. 👍

[samcarver]

Just a thought I had while listening on what the purpose of the surcoat was. Maybe it was to help keep the knights cooler. I imagine a loose white sheet basically covering all their armor would to reflect the intense sun they would have been in. Wearing metal armor in hot intense sun would probably cook a man. Their armor directly in sunlight would probably be untouchable hot. Like any metal sitting in the sun on a hot day.

[defaultytuser]

I love these thorough "piece by piece" analysis of X warriors on X century. I think these are my favorite kind of videos of yours, Matt!

[normtrooper]

Current mood: knight fighting another knight while their horses hug in the background

[boards]

Great video. The knightly orders were always fascinating
Would love to see a video on the knights hospitaller during their stay on Rhodes. What changes were made to accommodate ship born combat?

[martiuscastle]

Super appreciated, especially from a fanboy of great helms such as myself. I'm sorry for the full plate fans, but boy, templars look so badass!

[harrykouwen]

I really like your historical views, thanks for that! A surcoat also hides where the gaps or weak spots in your armour are, so can't be targeted directly as such, also keeps blood, bodyfluids and other dirt from your mail and armour, nothing as bad as trying washing bloodclots out of mail and other intricate armour parts.

Buff leather was a very thick and tough type of leather, not boiled but treated so that it is tough against cuts, arrows etc. The buffcoat is a 16th century heritage of that. Leather is underestimated in archeology and history simply because so little remains of it if at all.

[arc]

Great vid. A video on the various knightly orders would kickass. More of the history of the orders than just the arms and armour. This video has me thinking how far away did the various order draw their members from their order's place of origin. Yes I should serve prison time for that last sentence.

Maybe a collaboration with Meteron, Shad, Lindybeige and Skall...Tod?

Anyways just a thought. 😀

[walkercolt]

I’d like to see a video about the weapons of the Nizari Ismaili assassins. We’re their daggers curved or straight? Etc. Thank you for another great video.

[GTX]

Wow. It's amazing how the Great Helm is so closely associated with the Crusades and the Templars yet it wasn't developed / used until the Third Crusade. Replica helmets are usually called "Crusader Helmet".

[Kierkergaarder]

Cérveilière, you brought it up at the end, literally means "brain-plate". Thank you as always Matt.

[hrodvitnir]

Interesting as always! Hope you're working on another history video like Flodden, I really enjoy those.