The Templars have become one of the most studied groups in history and there is a wealth of information, though some of it is truly wrapped up in mysticism. There can be little doubt that they kept a certain level of secrecy concerning the goings-on within their order, but not to the extent of the crazed tales that led to their downfall. All in all, the Templars existed for less than two hundred years, their rule and form constantly evolving, their centre of power shifting, their very focus changing from protecting pilgrims from Turkish raiders in the Holy Land to becoming a monastic and temporal force to rival even kings and popes. Much focus is given to their activity in France, which was to some extent their heartland, and to Outremer, where they were formed, where many of their most famous events took place, and where for some time they were housed. Surprisingly little attention seems to have been paid to their activity in Iberia.
The peninsula was, at this time, split between several rival Christian nations (Aragon/Barcelona, Castile, Leon, Navarre, Portugal) and the Moorish realm of the Almohads, one of the more violent, expansionist groups of Berber-related peoples from North Africa. Where there had previously been individual Muslim taifas across Iberia, there was now one caliphate under the Almohads, and we are reaching an era of the Reconquista that becomes bloody and terrible, from the Christian losses at Alarcos in 1195 to the Christian victory at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. Against this backdrop of brutality and vying royals, the Templars were still on the rise, and their position in the Reconquista is fascinating, since they repeatedly took part in the push of one king or another, but never launched a campaign themselves. That was not their remit. And so they flourished, particularly in north-eastern Spain. Indeed, one of the earlier kings, Alphonso the Battler, left in his will the entire Kingdom of Aragon to the Templars and two other military orders, though the will was contested and never fully enacted.
I have gone as far as I could in trying to show the daily life of a Templar, which was HARD. These were not rich, fat or lazy men and women. They earned every ounce of their fierce reputation. Any mistakes in the text are my own. Some might, however, not be mistakes, but rather choices made for the advancement of the tale. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, and Arnau will return for another adventure, you can be sure.
Thank you for reading.
Simon Turney, December 2017
The Empire has fallen. The Empire must rise…
A historical fantasy of valour, honour, and determination against all odds in S.J.A. Turney’s epic Tales of Empire series.
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First published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Canelo
Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
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Copyright © S.J.A. Turney, 2018
The moral right of S.J.A. Turney to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781911420620
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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