AFTER 700 years the once-noble Knights Templar are enjoying a revival, thanks to the ubiquitous novel-turned-movie, The Da Vinci Code.

Rare documents have now been uncovered that shed light on how the Order of the Temple, the fabled keepers of the Holy Grail and the “secret” that the descendants of Christ lived, acquired their enormous wealth.

The “deeds of gift”, dating from the 13th century, chronicle the generous parcels of land bestowed on the first military order by rich English landowners for the “salvation of their souls and those of their families”.

An archive in the form of nearly 30 deeds has surfaced in a private collection and is expected to fetch up to £60,000 at auction next month.

Felix Pryor, the manuscripts consultant to Bonhams, the auctioneers, said yesterday that he had never come across anything relating to the Knights Templar before.

He said: “They are are terribly, terribly rare. The order was suppressed in 1308 so you’re not exactly tripping over things relating to them. These documents uncover some of their secrets. They took vows of chastity, poverty and obedience but ended up extraordinarily rich.

“It shows how people thought. If you couldn’t go on the Crusades yourself, you would do a bit of corporate gifting — handing things over to those who did. It was a fantastically successful operation.”

The deeds, on which are written Milites Templi Salomonis or Knights of the Temple of Solomon of Jerusalem, give details of the transactions giving the brotherhood its financial power. It was founded in Jerusalem in about 1118 but fell out of favour with Philip the Fair of France as it refused to give up its wealth, leading to its suppression spreading to England.

Mr Pryor said: “Philip the Fair of France made all sorts of wild allegations against them — ranging from spitting on the cross to idolatry and sodomy. It was a standard sort of accusation; he had accused previous Popes of the same. But their eventual suppression in about 1309 foreshadowed the dissolution of the monasteries 200 years later.”

The “deeds of gift” — which came from one of the headquarters of the Knights, Temple Newsam, near Leeds — relate to vast tracts of land, mainly in the Huddersfield area. Some of them relate to their rivals, the Knights Hospitallers of Newland, near Huddersfield.

Local dignitaries with names such as Richard de Rihil, Lady Alina and Jordan of Floketun handed over hundreds of acres to the Knights Templar and Hospitallers, giving them rights to “extras” including rents and benefits such as the right to take wood for building, fencing and burning and to “pannage” (pasturing) for pigs.

While the British province of the Knights Templar had its administrative and banking centre in London, much of its land holdings were concentrated in Yorkshire.

Documents reveal that property returns from the county accounted for more than a quarter of their wealth.

The preceptory of Temple Newsam was one of the richest in England, its value at the time of the seizure being returned as £174 3s 3d.

When the order was dissolved, its property was transferred to the rival Hospitallers. The transfer presumably led the two runs of West Riding deeds being in the same collection, being offered for sale at Bonhams on June 27.

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