15. The Knights Templar Had Nine Founding Members
When Hugues de Payens first created the organization, it was more of a small fraternity than a mighty fighting force. In fact, other than himself, there were only eight members. Each of the members was related by either blood or marriage, a fact that lends itself to the secrecy surrounding the group’s origins. These nine knights were actually all knights before joining the order. They traveled to Jerusalem, supposedly to protect it. However, a band this small was probably far too tiny to provide any meaningful protection to the city. The original intention may have been different than what was explicitly expressed.
The patron of the organization was Bernard of Clairvaux, an abbot who later was beatified as a saint. Bernard was a monk, a reformer of the Benedictine form of monasticism and one of the founders of the Cistercians. Perhaps Bernard’s influence on the organization is why they were viewed as monks, though they did not partake of the traditional monastic lifestyle. Whatever the case may be, this small fighting force arrived in Jerusalem and disappeared from the records for nearly a decade. What they did during this time is a source of massive speculation and has also led to numerous conspiracy theories.