The Templar Knight
Mysteries of the Knights Templar
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SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Was cannibalism practised during the Crusades?
A special investigation by the Templar Knight blog into medieval allegations that human meat was eaten by soldiers during the Crusades
Read MoreLisbon conquered in the Crusades!
This is an astonishing story from the Middle Ages of how a vast crusader army on the way to the Holy Land was convinced to divert to Portugal and help a small Christian kingdom take a city called Al-Usbuna from…
Read MoreSpain and Portugal – battle between Islam and Christianity
Hard to believe that modern Spain and Portugal were once part of a global caliphate (from 711 CE) – ruled by Muslim emirs. It then became a battleground between Islam and Christianity for eight hundred years. Finally, by 1492, the…
Read MoreMedieval Journey in the town of Santa Maria da Feira
The ‘Viagem Medieval’ is three weeks of Middle Ages mayhem when an entire town in northern Portugal goes back seven hundreds in time. There is everything you would expect and a whole lot more. I visited last Friday – fresh,…
Read MoreMedieval Porto in northern Portugal
Porto is my mother’s birthplace so hugely significant to me – a place where I developed a love for medieval history. Looming above the eighteenth century city centre is a mass of granite topped by the medieval cathedral. In front…
Read MoreMartin Moniz – Portuguese crusader hero – an interview with him…
Martim Moniz was a Portuguese crusader who fought with the first king of Portugal – Dom Afonso Henriques – when he conquered what was then the Islamic city of Al-Usbuna which would subsequently become the Christian capital of Portugal…Lisbon. Many…
Read MoreSantiago de Compostela – burial place of Saint James the Apostle
Saint James the Apostle is claimed to be buried in the Spanish town of Santiago de Compostela. A huge basilica has been built over the site of his remains. And behind the high altar, pilgrims climb a narrow staircase to…
Read MoreThe turning point for Moorish rule in Spain
While the crusades suffered setbacks in the east with the loss of Jerusalem and the advances made by Saladin – all was not well for Muslim rulers in the west. It’s often forgotten that the crusades were not just waged…
Read MoreHow did buildings swap from being churches to mosques and back again?
Toledo in Spain shows how Christians and Muslims lived together and even allowed churches to become mosques and vice versa
Read MoreTomar – Templar jewel in Portugal
Tomar is a Templar jewel in Portugal with an incredible church and castle
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