12. Rumors Circulated That They Found Holy Relics
Western Europe during the Middle Ages was mainly Roman Catholic, but not the form of Roman Catholicism that you might recognize today. Following religious and political earthquakes like the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church underwent profound transformations. The Church of the Crusaders was the one that sold indulgences so that people’s sins could be forgiven if they gave enough money to the church, and that told people that they would go to heaven if they died fighting in the Crusades. Of particular importance to the Roman Catholics of Europe at the time were relics, holy objects connected to biblical stories, and these relics were believed to possess spiritual power.
Rumors claimed that the Knights Templar had found some of the most essential, sought-after relics in all of Christendom. These included the spear of destiny, which was used to pierce Jesus in the side after He died; wood from the cross; the Ark of the Covenant; and, perhaps most importantly, the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail was, well, the Holy Grail of relics. It was believed to be the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper, and the Crusade period was when stories about the Grail began to flourish.