Silver Medal Knightly Orders - The Knights Templar - Antique Finish

Product description
Through silver medals of the Czech Mint, Michal Vitanovský recalls the fate of famous knightly orders. This academic sculptor is the most authoritative - he himself is a holder of the Cross of Merit of the Holy Sepulchre and the Order of Merit of Malta. He dedicated the first issue to the Knights Templar.

In 1119, twenty years after the army of the First Crusade conquered Jerusalem, the Knights Templar were founded by a group of French nobles. It was named after its oldest seat, which was the Templum Salamonis - the Temple of Solomon. The founders set two basic tasks for the new knighthood - to defend Christian pilgrims, while living in poverty, purity and obedience. A strict regime and hard training made the Knights Templar elite soldiers who became indispensable to the survival of Christian states in the Middle East, but although their troops were among the best in battles with the Saracens, Christian forces were on the defensive. The victorious Muslim campaign was crowned with the defeat of the Templars at Akkon in 1291... The Knights moved to Europe and their dreams of returning to the Holy Land faded. The Christian world no longer had the strength, resources or motivation to undertake another such venture. The Knights Templar settled in Cyprus, but gradually established bases in most European countries. Their priorities and lifestyles changed. They focused on the banking services they had originally provided to pilgrims to the Holy Sepulchre. They successfully amassed wealth and influence. At the same time, they were independent, reporting only to the Pope. The growing power of the Templars aroused envy and fear and eventually brought about their downfall. To get rid of dangerous rivals and seize their property, the French king Philip IV. The Magnificent hatched a deadly plot…

The reverse side of the commemorative medal is dominated by Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar who was the victim of a mock trial. He was accused of heresy alongside his brothers and burned at the stake. "The accompanying motif of the reverse is the facade of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The burning took place on an island in the Seine River within sight of the cathedral, whose towers were already standing at the time," explains academic sculptor Michal Vitanovský. On the obverse side of the medal, the emblem of the Order - a red cross in a white area made of coloured enamel - catches the eye. "It is supplemented with a figurative motif of a knight of the Order, whose equipment and armour correspond to the time when the Order was founded. An additional motif is the famous Templar seal with two horsemen on one horse, which symbolises poverty," adds the author of the medal.

The issue includes a special supplement which introduces the Templar Order and the individual details of the medal's relief via the words of Michal Vitanovský.