Product Description

"One of the most magnificent books that is so readible that putting it down is almost impossible. Simply the best history book of the year." DSOcala Star-Banner

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #716345 in Books
• Published on: 1992-01-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 494 pages

From Library Journal
Founded in 1119 shortly after the first crusade to defend those areas of the Holy Land conquered from the Muslims, the Poor Knights of the Temple, or Knights Templars, were a manifestation of the new zealous piety of the 12th century. Their name derives from the site, supposedly near Solomon's temple, given them by Baldwin, king of Jerusalem; the Templars' lifestyle, combining the anti-Muslim and quasi-monastic ideals of the day, brought them respect and enormous wealth in the 12th century. By the late 13th century, however, Europeans' loss of the Holy Land undermined the Templars' prestige at the moment when King Philip IV of France coveted their wealth, and he had them suppressed. Based entirely on secondary sources, many of them dated, rife with inaccurate and misleading information, this is not a sound treatment of either the crusades or the Templars. The general reader for whom the book is intended will learn more from Karen Armstrong's Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today's World ( LJ 2/15/91). Not recommended.
- Bennett D. Hill, Georgetown Univ., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
The author of Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry (1989)--which provocatively argued that the Freemasons are a descendant order of the medieval Knights Templar--now concentrates, in a highly detailed but far less captivating addendum, on the Knights' role in the Crusades. Robinson's fascination with the military monastic order organized by a band of knights in the aftermath of the First Crusade and originally dedicated to the protection of pilgrims in the Holy Land continues. Here, he sets out to recount the Knights' role as trained warriors and, eventually, as international bankers during the nearly 200 years from Pope Urban II's call for the First Crusade in 1095 through the last Crusaders' abandonment of the Holy Land in 1291. Unfortunately, in this version the fascination of the Templar tradition (including the order's secret initiation rites, its rules of chastity and individual poverty, its provision against bathing, and its recruitment from the ranks of murderers, exiles, and excommunicated Catholics) is submerged beneath deadly masses of historic detail concerning the ever-changing political alliances, royal successions, and battle plans that comprised the Christian invasions of the Holy Land. Isolated incidents featuring such swashbucklers as Richard the Lion-Hearted, Frederick Barbarossa, and the Syrian Assassins sparkle occasionally against the otherwise monotonous accounts of skirmishes against the Muslims, disputes among Christian noblemen, and struggles for the crown of Jerusalem- -but the Knights themselves are often lost in the background of these events, and only regain their undeniable mystique when Pope Clement V disbands the order at the behest of France's avaricious King Philip IV, and the Knights are reduced to a fugitive, underground existence whose traditions may continue in some form to this day. Lacking the power and focus of Robinson's earlier work, this serves as little more than reference material for die-hard Crusade fans. (Maps.) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About the Author
John J Robinson

Customer Reviews

A unique approach to history
Although I have always been an avid reader of both fictional and non-fictional works, there has always been an easily discernable difference in the writing approach. This difference is especially evident in historical works. Fictional works are usually more apt to place the reader into a "you are there" state of mind. Reading a non-fictional historical account is most often "drier" reading, and the reader is constantly reminded of the chasm of time that stands between he and the time-frame of the subject.(sometimes, inadvertantly, by such things as footnotes). John J. Robinson's book on the crusades is no such work. Mr. Robinson made the decision to not include any footnotes. This lets one enjoy the work witout having his eys torn from one portion of a page and diverted to another. (Any further scholarly interest can be served by the endnotes and appendix.) Read the book as a novel, because it is a good read. Knights, champions, treachery, good and evil. All aspects of the period are covered. One of the best books I've ever read.

Good book, but there are better ones out there
John Robinson does a very good job in complining information about the Templar and presenting it in an interesting and readable fashion. I thoroughly enjoyed reading more about the Templar (and Robinson does include many details not found in the other Templar books I have read, contrary to those reviewers who claim it is all old material).

What I liked best about this book was its emphasis on context. Robinson does not just give an account of the Templar's doings; he provides an account of all the things which are happening around the Templars as well, which is essential for understanding the Templar.

I also liked Robinson's clear writing style. Some history book get you bogged down with dates and names, but Robinson does an excellent job of tying them together and helping you remember them so that events further into the book will make much more sense.

There are also two complaints I have about this book:

1. There are a number of small, careless mistakes which really should not have been there (i.e. slightly misquoting people, slightly incorrect dates, etc.) and which are rather annoying. As far as I can tell, none of his information is majorly wrong; he just does things like writing that events happened several weeks after another event when it was actually many months, so I guess it's not really a big deal.

2. He seemed rather biased against the Catholic Church. I myself am not Catholic, but even I do not think some of the things that they did were quite as bad as Robinson makes them out to be. For example, his comments to the effect that the charges of homosexuality against the Knights were very probably true because they had vows of chastity are simply underestimating the effect of religion upon people's lives and are just plain stupid. If the Templars couldn't take being chaste anymore, it is not very likely that they would choose to become homosexuals violating the ordinances of the Church rather than simply violating the laws of the Templar.

In conclusion, this was a very good book, but I think that there are better books on the subject out there. I would recommend Stephen Howarth's The Knights Templar. His book is slightly shorter (and thus has a little less detail), but it is also more accurate and is much more fun to read.

Overall grade: B+

Spell-binding and comprehensive
Dungeon, Fire & Sword is one of the best Christmas gifts I have ever received. Reading it was pure joy. I became interested in the Knights Templar after one of my visits to the South of France and to the castle fortress of Carcasonne. John J. Robinson paints a spell-binding, comprehensive picture of the middle ages and its impact on today. Mr. Robinson takes us through the origin, the exploits and the ultimate demise of the Knights Templar - OR did the Knights Templar simply disperse and go underground? This is but one of the mysteries addressed in the book.
Mr. Robinson ties in the "holy" alliance in the formation of the crusades with the medieval catholic church hierarchy and the politics and royalty of Europe. He draws in famous figures and their role during this time period including St. Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas and Marco Polo. As if this were insufficient, Mr. Robinson provides a parallel history of the Middle East, Asia Minor and even Asia with Genghis Kahn. The result is a neatly wrapped history of the known world during the reign of the Knights Templar.
There are many side stories including the meaning of words. I found myself writing notes in the page margins. For example the word "slaves" was an outgrowth of the word "slavs" who upon defeat were cast into bondage. There are a number of church and state issues which I somehow missed while attending parochial school as a youth. Priests were married until a papal decree in the year 1000. King John of Magna Carta fame imposed a "sin" tax on priests who still maintained mistresses during the 1200s. The underlying strategy and politics occasionally delayed papal elections for years.
This book is very even-handed in its approach to the events (and the corresponding personalities) which took place while the Knights Templar were in vogue. Mr. Robinson does not favor, detract from or otherwise reveal a bias that I could detect toward any one group, religion or political entity. Dungeon, Fire & Sword is simply a well written and interesting history of a lesser known time period. The battles for Europe, Byzantium, the Middle East and the merchant trade alliances are intertwined with the economies of war over the Holy Land. It is a book worth reading a second time and indispensable for any family library.
Lane J. Biviano
Rutherford, NJ