Women in the Knights Templar

Abstract

Although the factors determined the social position of women in Medieval Europe varied, religious value judgments were a main factor. The Church had an important role in determining the social position of women. The image of women formed by the church was especially effective on the orders of the period. This impact was also observed on the religious-military orders that emerged between the XIIXIV^th centuries, including the Knights Templar. The Knights Templar, an order/ organization affiliated to the Catholic Church, has adopted a unique stance on woman by evaluating roughly the values of the civilization to which it belongs in line with its own structuring understanding. This stance is clearly revealed in the texts of the order’s rule.

In the study, the issue of women in the Medieval Europe and especially during the Crusades will be dealt in general terms and the reflection of this on the Knights Templar will be evaluated. The practices of other Orders of the period on women will be briefly discussed and some similarities and differences with Templar will be identified. Based on the rules, the relations of the brothers with women and the legal implications of these relations will be evaluated through various examples, and the consistency between the theoretical and practical applications on this subject will be revealed. At the end of the study, the position of women in the hierarchical structure of the Templars and their image at the order will be discussed. The study will be carried out in the light of the documents of the Knights Templar period and the sources as well as studies dealing with this period.