Regine Pernoud's The Templars: Knights Of Christ

Modern day stories of the Templar knights whether written by novelists or historians are often laden in myth. French Historian Regine Pernoud strives to debunk these myths and to give a more accurate account of the Templar knights in her book The Templars: Knights of Christ. Pernoud argues that historically many preconceived notions of the Templars could not possibly be accurate and are based on fantasy rather than on actual evidence. Pernoud begins by writing about the origins of the Templars; they were devoted knights sworn to protect the lives of those pilgrimaging to the Holy Lands. Pernoud also writes about different aspects of the Templars legacy with an emphasis on how the knights became legendary. In the later part of her book,

Pernoud claims that one of, “the most absurd legends have been created about the [fortress of Gisors in Normandy] without the least foundation in history”. Pernoud writes that, “Gisors had been given into the keeping of the Templars only for a few short months in a course of disputes…and if…it did serve as a prison for several Templars, it can in no way be portrayed as a “Templar Fortress”. Legend is that the fortress of Gisors was a Templar Fortress, what Pernuod is arguing that even if it was a prison for Templars, it cannot be called a “Templar Fortress”. However, she leaves out why such an accusation is absurd, because she lacks evidence to support her claim, she leaves the reader wondering why the fortress of Gisors is not a “Temple Fortress”. Pernoud also argues that there is too much generalization on the architecture of Templar churches. Legend has it that the Templars designed and built round churches, and it was a trademark or theirs. Pernoud claims that some of their churches were round, but very few, and that most were not. Pernoud also argues that there an inconsistences in the tales of the Templar knights and their epics. She writes that even though the order originated to protect pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, the earliest record of the Templars concerning “deeds of arms” took place in Portugal and not in the Holy Land. For this argument she uses Charter of Bishop Elbert to support her