Resource 3 Rome on ...

Rome On...

1- "The Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon" also refered to as the Knights Templar, did not originate in the Mediterranean. They were an order established about 1119, when Hugues de Payen, and 8 fellow knights, offered their services to Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem.
2- Some 200+ years later, the Order was "outlawed" and most of the Knights, and their servants were tortured and put to death, on orders of the French King Philip IV, and the then Pope Clement V.
3- Having started out as only 9 Knights, the Order finished with rather large holdings in most European Countries, including the British Isles.
4- Most if not all of the Orders' records, and any treasure they may have had, disappeared.
5- Much of what has come down to us is legend, or at best conjecture.
In Scotland many, if not all, of the "Templars" were protected by the Bruce from direct trial by the Church.