Templers and Templars: What a difference an 'A' makes!
Michael Bartram's 'Portrait of a Lost Boy' begins on the Jaffa-Jerusalem train. During this journey, Stefan Lehmann, one of the novel's main protagonists, learns of the community of German Templers who had made their home in the deserts of Jerusalem. Who are the Hoffmannites? What are Templers?
A quick google search reveals the confusion surrounding the Templers. Several articles point to 'The Knights Templar', whilst a few websites use the two terms of 'Templers' and 'Templars' interchangeably.
Who are the Templers and what is their story?
The Templers were members of the 'Temple Society', a group of German Christians founded by Christoph Hoffmann near Ludwigsburg in 1861. Their aim was to promote spiritual cooperation and advance the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. This would speed the second coming of Christ, when all Jews had converted to Christianity. Hoffmann's belief was that the creation of a peaceful and egalitarian 'kingdom of heaven on earth' in Jerusalem would be a centre from which the work of conversion could begin.
The first Templers arrived in Jerusalem in 1867, but Bartram's novel opens in 1898 and introduces the reader to the small Germany Colony which had already been established on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Despite the challenges of the sweltering heat and an arid landscape, the German Templers had succeeded in creating âexemplary colonies and pretty houses surrounded by flower gardens - a piece of their homeland in the heart of Palestineâ.
The German Templer Community
The visit of Kaiser Wilhem II to Jerusalem in 1898 was of huge significance to the Templers, who lined the streets in their finest attire to welcome their king.
A contemporary painting of the Kaiser entering the Jaffa gate.
For all superficial similarity in their names, the Knights Templar have little in common with the Templers.
The Knights Templar were among the most wealthy and powerful of the Western military orders, whose abrupt disappearance has left them shrouded in speculation and legend to this day.
The temple referred to in the 'Knights Templar' is the Temple of Solomon, the ruins of which were believed to lie beneath the site of the Templar headquarters on Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The Templars' existence was tied closely to the Crusades, during which the Templar Knights became skilled warriors, with their white mantles and infamous red cross that have become the emblem of their order. Following the First Crusade which recaptured Jerusalem in 1099, many Christian pilgrims who journeyed to the Holy Land were in danger from highway men and thieves who would prey upon the travellers. The order was established in 1120 for the protection of these unfortunate pilgrims.
The organisation - officially endorsed by the Catholic Church around 1129 - was in existence for nearly 200 years during the Middle Ages.
The Knights Templar came to an end with the loss of the Holy Land in 1244.
The Templers were scattered by the rise to power of the Nazi Regime in the 20th Century.
Templars and Templers: two distinct communities, two unique histories, linked by religion and the Holy City of Jerusalem which has been the setting of some of mankind's most dramatic stories.
The Templers feature in Michael Bartramâs debut novel âPortrait of a Lost Boyâ as the story sweeps across continents and two world wars in search of Johannes who mysteriously disappearedÂ