(01-04-2022, 09:33 AM)FaceInTheCrowd Wrote: Ok, so that would suggest that some of the grimm knights were royal and some were, or claimed to be Templars. For the latter, they could have been lying about being Templars, could have been Templars going rogue and taking side work from the royals or could have been Templars acting on secret orders from the Church that didn't want it known that Rome was onboard for the mission (recall that the Fourth Crusade was supposed to be about taking Jerusalem from the Muslims, not attacking Christian ruled Constantinople).
I know I suggested it, but actually the Grimm knights masquerading as Templars makes no sense. For one thing the Templars wore clothing that immediately identified them as Templar knights. I can't recall the other two outfits but one was the famous white tunic with the red cross on it. So, in order to perpetrate their secret orders, they would have had to remove that clothing. In which case, who then would know they were Templars? They'd be dressed similarly to the other crusaders.
There's also the question of why seven Templars would be hanging back with the Fourth Crusade when those who were fighting already should have been in Jerusalem, Edessa, or Antioch. From what I understand, this was a sudden change in orders, I assume so the element of surprise would be on the Doge's side. Would the knights have know such a change was going to be made, and then be in favor of burning, looting, and massacring?
Kelly had a page that talked about the knights, but it didn't mention they were Templars. Nebojsa had information that one of them might have been his ancestor and was working for the Templars.
Your post made me think of another possibility. We really don't know who wrote down this rendition in Nebojsa's book. Suppose the knights were actually innocent and someone penciled in that they were Templars to make them more powerful? After all, it doesn't really say much for them that they worked for the royals. Making them Templars ties them to the Pope.
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