Protecting Pilgrims was the Cover for Templars

In reality, protecting pilgrims en route to Jerusalem and back to point of entry into Outremer (Crusader states) was NEVER an objective of Knights Templar. It was but a cover for their true Mission (raison d’;tre, actually): keeping and protecting the Ark of the Covenant – and, by extension, the whole Outremer.

First, no official Templar document even mentions (let alone states) the objective of protecting the pilgrims. Not even their Latin Rule – which would have stated it in a very first clause, had this been the objective of Templars.

Second, Hugues de Payens allegedly proposed to King of Jerusalem to create the military-religious order to protect pilgrims in 1119 – TWENTY YEARS after crusaders took Jerusalem and established the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Pilgrims immediately started to flock to Jerusalem in droves… and you are telling me that the King could not have solved the problem of their security en route to Jerusalem for TWENTY YEARS??? And still could not solve it in 1119 without the help of NINE knights??? This is nonsense, cut and dry, plain and simple.

Nonsense because no state can not survive in a hostile environment (and the environment of Outremer was hostile par excellence) without firm control of supply routes (i.e., roads). Which were exactly the same roads that pilgrims took to get to Jerusalem from points of entry. Consequently, in reality roads were sufficiently secure – so there was non need to set up a whole military-religious order to protect pilgrims.

But even if they were not… do you seriously believe that NINE knights can control all roads to Jerusalem and protect pilgrims from hundreds (if not thousands) of Muslim raiders and marauders of all kinds?? Or that the order will grow so fast that it will be able to do so in a matter of months (it didn’t)??

But even is it will… it makes no sense to set it up in Jerusalem – the final point of pilgrims’ destination. Teams of knights-gendarmes (medieval Highway Patrol of sorts) should have been placed in points of entry – because pilgrims leave them with far more cash than they have en route back.

Highway Patrol is a purely secular function so it makes no sense to outsource it to a religious order. Setting up a military-religious order to protect a holy religious object – Ark of the Covenant – does.

And even if did – it made far more sense to outsource it to already existing Knights Hospitallers – who already cared for pilgrims and had their own security teams (knights and foot soldiers who took part in First Crusade).