Shadows of the Cross

<p>Two of the most powerful institutions of the Middle Ages were born on the roads to Jerusalem: the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller. Bound by vows of poverty chastity and obedience they became warrior-monks who fought for Christendom and carved a permanent place in the history of Europe and the Crusades.</p><p></p><p>Yet their shared mission concealed a rivalry that spanned centuries. The Hospitallers rooted in healing and charity expanded into sovereign rulers of Rhodes and Malta. The Templars forged in the crucible of holy war grew into masters of fortresses and finance-until jealousy and suspicion brought them to a spectacular downfall. Their competition for castles recruits and papal favor shaped the Crusades drove innovation in medicine and banking and left legacies that endured long after the battlefield was silent.</p><p></p><p>Shadows of the Cross tells the complete story of this rivalry tracing how two orders born of faith and necessity defined the age of the Crusades and how their contrasting fates still echo in legend and history.</p>