The Fall of the Templars in the Crown of Aragon

This title was first published in 2001: The trial of the Templars and the dissolution of the Order of the Temple are popular subjects for historians, but the focus of most work has been on France. In this book Alan Forey adds greatly to our understanding of the drama, not just by examining events in Spain, but also by looking at aspects which are often ignored, such as the treatment of the Templars while in custody, and their situation after the trial. Since the Aragonese Templars possessed numerous castles - a legacy of the Spanish Reconquest - they were also able to offer stouter resistance to attempts to arrest them than their colleagues elsewhere. A series of sieges was needed, lasting up to a year and a half, and the study of these provides a useful contribution to our knowledge of medieval siege warfare. Consideration is also given to the fate of Templar property, both during proceedings and later, when their lands in Valencia were used to endow the new military order of Montesa. The work is based throughout upon the examination of unused testimonies and manuscript sources, especially from the Crown Archive in Barcelona, and its sound scholarship will help dispel some of the myths which still surround the fall of the Templars.