the knights templar

**Randarkmaan** · 09-30-2006, 17:27

Funny that you mentioned that, actually their shield contained no cross... Well not traditionally, many propably had crosses on their shields anyway (however keep in mind that even though someone has a red cross on their shield it does not mean they are Templars).
their shield was half black and half white. The red cross was actually only just a small red cross worn on the left side of their chest, the special thing about it being that all the cross's arms were of equal lenght, different from the 'standard' cross. Originally this was not present on their uniform, it was awarded by some pope and it represented martyrdom.

**myz** · 10-26-2006, 03:44

How will you be able to recruit templars? is it only if you are currently participating in crusade and have built a templar chapter house or equivalent? If so, once the crusade is over, does your unit of templars disappear or do you get to keep it? Can you recruit templars if you are not currently in a crusade?

**Watchman** · 10-26-2006, 07:31

The military Orders on the whole were pretty disciplined and professional bunches by the standards of the time, and that made them considerably better fighters than most normal knights. The fact that they were also prone to be religious zealots didn't hurt.

Anyway, they naturally fought in the best armour of the time they could get. I'll bet the habit of wearing robes or surcoats over the armour was there from the start - there's good practical reasons to cover metal worn from the merciless Mediterranean sun after all, and all "Franks" in the Outremer wasted no time copying the local practice of doing so.

Although I thought the Templars' colours were red on white...? You'd think that was used on most shield blazons too... And respectively the Johannites/Hospitallers has white on black and the Teutonics black on white, IIRC - the numerous smaller Orders I know rather less about.

**Randarkmaan** · 10-26-2006, 11:04

The Templars' banner was black and white(sometimes with a black cross on the white area), their shields were black and white, and their uniforms (robes) were white (with a small red cross).

**Orda Khan** · 10-26-2006, 11:06

Originally Posted by Randarkmaan

The Templars' banner was black and white(sometimes with a black cross on the white area), their shields were black and white, and their uniforms (robes) were white (with a small red cross).

Correct

......Orda

**Aracnid** · 10-26-2006, 11:25

I think the best way is a chapter house/guild hall thing that can onl be built in the Holy Lands, Malta and Cyprus. Also the Papal army should have a lot of Templars etc in it.