The Knights Templar have a complicated reputation, due to their involvement in protecting the Holy Land and their alleged treason. Alongside the Knights Hospitaller and the Teutonic Knights, the Knights Templar were forged at the time of the Crusades. They were initially formed for strictly military use. They were founded when Hugh de Payens formed himself and eight other knights in 1818 to protect pilgrims, but the order grew very quickly. Its rules were founded by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and were recognized by the Council of Troyes (1128) and confirmed by Pope Honorius III. The Templar brotherhood was the first military order, but others were sure to follow soon after. The Order of Jerusalem and the Order of St. John were founded as a hospice for pilgrims in the 11th century, but by 1130 the hospital was hiring mercenaries to protect pilgrims from bandits. As a result, during the rise to power, the Knights began to receive money and gifts, and the group soon became the most powerful in all of Europe. By offering monastic privileges as well as chivalric adventures, they attracted many nobles eager to join them. The order was headed by a general council and a grand master, their headquarters was in Jerusalem. As crusaders, their role was both important in the fight against the Muslims and in their internal struggle against the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. Although the Knights of the White Cross, also known as the Hospitallers, were initially larger and wealthier, the Templars, who wore the Red Cross, were much better warriors. In later battles, the rivalry of the three orders weakened the Crusaders' chances of success. When Jerusalem finally fell to the Muslims... middle of paper ...... emperor. Thus, passers-by supported the emperor's regulations in the Holy Land, as the abbey chroniclers of St Albans, condemned the Hospitallers and the Tepmlars. Yet figures such as Philip of Cyprus and the all-powerful Ivelin family heaped praise. The columnists were generally critical, they wanted to draw a moralistic point of view from current events to illuminate the decades to come. In many other systems of literature, farce, or epic romance, the Tepmlars appeared as heroic knights of Jesus Christ, opposing the Muslim threat, or even as good monks, helpers, and/or lovers. It is very interesting that even though they did so much good, they were very heavily criticized for their abomination in many pranks and/or fables, even though the military orders were not even criticized, so obviously they did not have not been criticized. considered womanizers.