Templars Were Mortal Enemies of Cathars

This particular myth is so messy that getting to the bottom of it is (almost) an exercise in futility. Like most of the myths and legends, this myth is rooted in irrefutable historical facts… unfortunately, it does not help much.

The facts are as follows. The timelines of Cathars and Templars overlapped for about a century (1150s – 1240s); both were religious organizations based in France; both were accused of heresy (Cathars correctly; Templars not so much); both were ruthlessly destroyed by the Church and French kings; leaders of both were burned alive… and both were highly mysterious organizations (their histories raise far more questions than provide answers).

Oh, and both were perceived (both incorrectly) as secret occult societies linked to the legend of Holy Grail (Holy Chalice). Actually, it was this perception that linked these two in… well, not exactly healthy minds of various occultists, esotericists and wild and weird conspiracy theorists.

These folks (particularly in France – no surprise here) began to connect the Templars and Grail to the Cathars in the early 20th century. However, the tight connection of all three was made in the 1930s by a German.

Beginning in 1933, German medievalist, Ariosophist and writer of… well, fiction pretending to be non- Otto Rahn published a series of books tying the Grail, Templars, and Cathars to modern German nationalist mythology (!!).

It was a pure nonsense, of course, but it was the kind of nonsense that was very much liked by the Nazis (especially the SS). So much liked that no other than SS-Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler sponsored Rahn’s search for the Holy Grail. Endeavor predictably failed – and Rahn committed suicide (or was murdered).

In his books, Rahn presented Templars as mystics, occultists, the enemies of the Church and friends of Cathars… none of that was true. Although the Templars did not take part in the crusade against Cathars (they were too busy fighting Muslims in the Holy Land and in Spain), they would have either killed any Cathar – or turn him or her to Holy Inquisition to be burned at the stake.

For Templars were firmly on the side of the Church – and so for them Cathars were even worse enemies than the Saracens (because the former betrayed Christ, in their not-humble-at-all opinion).