The Knights Templar

In 12th-century Bohemia, every royal funeral sparked a civil war. Dr. Eleanor Janega discovers how Přemysl Otakar I survived backstabbing brothers, imperial betrayals, and a dodgy divorce to seize power. Find out how this 'spare' prince outmanoeuvred the Emperor to forge a powerf ...  Show more

From where did J.R.R. Tolkien get his ideas for the world of Middle Earth?For millions of readers, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are more than just fantasy fiction. Their rich mix of sacred mythology and archetypal saga stories draw deeply into history and legend and profo ...  Show more

An order of crusading monks draped in white robes marked with a red cross: the Knights Templar perhaps don’t sound that daunting when you first hear of them. But these monks were one of the most powerful organisations in the world during the crusades. From land ownership to ba ...

Few organisations in history have names as loaded with legend as the Knights Templar. Western culture is infused with the mythology of these pious warrior monks, who wielded magic and went on quests for legendary treasures. In reality, it was an elite fighting force that becam ...

Who joined the Knights Templar? When not waging war, what did they get up to on a day-to-day basis? And how did they become associated with the Holy Grail? In this “Everything you wanted to know” episode, Emily Briffett speaks with Helen Nicholson to uncover the answers to your t ...  Show more

With a network of fortifications spanning Europe, the backing of the Pope and a fierce reputation, how did the reign of the Knights Templar end in arrest, torture, disbandment and, in some cases, execution? Mike Carr is with Matt Lewis to share the rumours that led to the Knig ...