After the First Crusade recaptured Jerusalem in 1099, many Christians made pilgrimages to various Holy Places in the Holy Land. However, though the city of Jerusalem was under relatively secure control, the rest of Outremer was not. Bandits and marauding highwaymen preyed upon pilgrims who were routinely slaughtered, sometimes by the hundreds, as they attempted to make the journey from the coastline at Jaffa into the interior of the Holy Land.
In 1119, the French knight Hugues de Payens approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem and proposed creating a monastic order for the protection of these pilgrims. King Baldwin and Patriarch Warmund agreed to the request, probably at the Council of Nablus in January 1120, and the king granted the Templars a headquarters in a wing of the royal palace on the Temple Mount in the captured Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Temple Mount had a mystique because it was above what was believed to be the ruins of the Temple of Solomon. The Crusaders therefore referred to the Al Aqsa Mosque as Solomon's Temple, and it was from this location that the new Order took the name of Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, or "Templar" knights.
The knights wore a white surcoat with a red cross and a white mantle also with a red cross; the sergeants wore a black tunic with a red cross on the front and a black or brown mantle. The red cross that the Templars wore on their robes was a symbol of martyrdom, and to die in combat was considered a great honour that assured a place in heaven.
Besides the ACI Toys 1/6th scale Crusader Knight Templars – Version A Knight Templar Brother previewed earlier HERE, ACI will also be releasing the ACI Toys 1/6th scale Crusader Knight Templars – Version B Templar Knight Sub-field Marshal 12-inch figure. Scroll down to see the rest of the pictures. Click on them for bigger and better views.
June 13, 2008 – 1/6 scale Knight Hospitaller medieval action figure by Ignite reviewed HERE
May 25, 2010 – Elite Brigade 1:6 scale Medieval Knight 12-inch figure by Cotswold Collectibles posted HERE
June 17, 2010 – Knight and Day. Check out Playmobil's Black Knight figure, released in 1997 - pictures HERE
October 12, 2014 – Preview of ACI Toys ACI-23 1/6th scale Medieval Knight Hospitaller Crusader 12-inch action figure HERE