The Heretic's Gold — Robert Walker

Nine knights with empty purses but boundless faith unwittingly founded medieval Europe's most formidable financial institution: the Knights Templar. The Heretic's Gold charts their meteoric rise, fueled by revolutionary banking innovations like letters of credit and battlefield prowess in the Holy Land. From their humble plea before King Baldwin II to the theological justifications crafted by Bernard of Clairvaux, their journey is one of accidental financial genius born from practical necessity.But as their wealth, influence, and extraordinary papal privileges grow, so does the lethal envy of indebted monarchs. Faced with national bankruptcy, King Philip IV of France, advised by the ruthless Guillaume de Nogaret, orchestrates their systematic destruction. A chilling campaign of propaganda, meticulously planned dawn raids, brutal torture to extract false confessions, and the infamous Council of Vienne pave the way for the fiery martyrdom of Grand Master Jacques de Molay.This sweeping saga unveils the institutional mathematics of power, where faith collides with finance, loyalty becomes a liability, and betrayal births an enduring legend that fascinates and mystifies centuries later.