Templar Weapons
Does anyone know if the Templar Order designed and made their own weapons? Sort of a "issue" item.
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Templars) were a millitary order of the Church during the High Middle Ages. They carried the arms and armor of their contemporaries and did not have a uniform style of weaponry or armor. Illuminations show us that the millitary orders (Templars, Hospitallers, Teutonic Knights) were identified by the ornamentation on their surcoats, cloaks, and other regalia.

History has left us no swords which can be definitively tied to the Templars or any of the other orders of the period and we have no reason to believe such weapons were created specifically for them.

Swords and armor of the period were produced en masse via industries devoted to that purpose. These extensive "workshops" produced arms and armor for the wider regions in Europe, whether that be men-at-arms, mercenaries, or secular or millitary knights.
That being so, why do we have"Templar Swords"?
My cynical two cents of thought is that it is a "buzz word" that helps sell items.
Many swords look like crosses.
That being said, if a Templar (or other orders) owned any personal weapon, one could say that it is indeed a "Templar Sword", insomuch as that it was owned/customised by said person.
D. Phillip Caron wrote:
That being so, why do we have"Templar Swords"?


I think the question depends on the usage of "Templar". Templar Knights who fought in the Crusades used what they carried before giving up all other worldly possessions to the Church and marching/sailing east. Generally a cruciform wide-blade sword.
Templars today are a fraternity-based things and so you'll find fraternal Templar "swords". More ornimental and symbolic than the swords used in the Crusades.
Then you have those merchants, described above, that label them to get search engines to display them. Ebay is good for that too.

Hope I've helped.

Murphy :cool:
Reading the above I now sit in confusion. Everything said being so, Albion has a "The Templar"in their Next Generation line. At another topic her they are spoken about with the highest regard. This seems in conflict to me.
D. Phillip Caron wrote:
Reading the above I now sit in confusion. Everything said being so, Albion has a "The Templar"in their Next Generation line. At another topic her they are spoken about with the highest regard. This seems in conflict to me.


Albion NG swords are named to give testament to some aspect of the mystique of the sword and it's usage in period.

By calling their sword "Templar", "Reeve", "Regent", "Hospitaller", or even "jKnight" they aren't saying that this sword is a copy of a sword owned by this or that personage. They name the sword as an "homage" to the spirit of said entity and as a statement of the styling of that particiular piece.

Other swords are named after places where battles took place like "Crecy", not so much because that sword can be identifyed as a "particular" example used in that battle but can be said to be a "type" of sword that would have seen service at that even.

At least that's my take on how they name their swords.
D. Phillip Caron wrote:
Reading the above I now sit in confusion. Everything said being so, Albion has a "The Templar"in their Next Generation line. At another topic her they are spoken about with the highest regard. This seems in conflict to me.


Well, as mentioned, Albion swords names are obviously mostly for decoration/recognizing, so that they could be easily referred to somehow.

As you can see here:

http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/ne...rolean.htm

Many newer models are being named by the winners of contest for best name for the sword.

Name "Mercenary" doesn't mean that the sword like that was used only by mercenaries, obviously, so you just took it all way to literally, basically.
I thank you folks. This has been another lesson in "Sword 101" for me. I now know what I wanted to find out plus some I didn't know to ask.
D. Phillip Caron wrote:
Reading the above I now sit in confusion. Everything said being so, Albion has a "The Templar"in their Next Generation line. At another topic her they are spoken about with the highest regard. This seems in conflict to me.


Ha! The ONE Albion made sword I own is The Templar. Sweet blade, lemme tell ya. And I believe it was named as such because it is the typical style cruciform sword used in that era.

This is where "Oakeshott Typology" comes in. http://www.algonet.se/~enda/oakeshott_eng.htm

The Albion Templar is, if I am correct, a Type Xa blade with a Type H pommel and, I think, a style 5 crossguard. Typical for the Era.

Hope I've helped.
Murph :cool:
T.F. McCraken wrote:
D. Phillip Caron wrote:
Reading the above I now sit in confusion. Everything said being so, Albion has a "The Templar"in their Next Generation line. At another topic her they are spoken about with the highest regard. This seems in conflict to me.


Ha! The ONE Albion made sword I own is The Templar. Sweet blade, lemme tell ya. And I believe it was named as such because it is the typical style cruciform sword used in that era.

This is where "Oakeshott Typology" comes in. http://www.algonet.se/~enda/oakeshott_eng.htm

The Albion Templar is, if I am correct, a Type Xa blade with a Type H pommel and, I think, a style 5 crossguard. Typical for the Era.

Hope I've helped.
Murph :cool:


I also own the Templar and it's a hefty one! It definitely lends itself to cavalry usage and would be pretty fearsome in this regard!

Speaking of names of NG swords, I actually named the Hospitaller. :D
Jeremy, did it come with any $100.00 bolts?
D. Phillip Caron wrote:
Jeremy, did it come with any $100.00 bolts?


It came with a $100.00 discount that I used to buy a bolt.

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