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Thus in a wonderous and unique manner they appear gentler than lambs, yet fiercer than lions. I do not know if it would be more appropriate to refer to them as monks or as soldiers, unless perhaps it would be better to recognize them as being both. Indeed they lack neither monastic meekness nor military might. What can we say of this, except that this has been done by the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes. These are the picked troops of God, whom he has recruited from the ends of the earth; the valiant men of Israel chosen to guard well and faithfully that tomb which is the bed of the true Solomon, each man sword in hand, and superbly trained to war. <ref>''The Cistercian Fathers Series: Number Nineteen, The Works of Bernard of Clairvaux: Volume Seven, Treatises III'', transl. by Conrad Greenia, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, Mich., (1977)</ref></div>  

Thus in a wonderous and unique manner they appear gentler than lambs, yet fiercer than lions. I do not know if it would be more appropriate to refer to them as monks or as soldiers, unless perhaps it would be better to recognize them as being both. Indeed they lack neither monastic meekness nor military might. What can we say of this, except that this has been done by the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes. These are the picked troops of God, whom he has recruited from the ends of the earth; the valiant men of Israel chosen to guard well and faithfully that tomb which is the bed of the true Solomon, each man sword in hand, and superbly trained to war. <ref>''The Cistercian Fathers Series: Number Nineteen, The Works of Bernard of Clairvaux: Volume Seven, Treatises III'', transl. by Conrad Greenia, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, Mich., (1977)</ref></div>  

This letter swept throughout Christendom with the result that many noblemen joined the ranks of the Order, and those who were unable to join gifted the Templars with land and other valuable sources of income. While the Templars themselves were sworn to poverty, there was no such restriction on the Order as an organization. freed from taxation and tithes and showered with gifts, the Order became incredibly wealthy, with establishments, called ''preceptories'', across Europe as well as the Holy Land.

This letter swept throughout Christendom with the result that many noblemen joined the ranks of the Order, and those who were unable to join gifted the Templars with land and other valuable sources of income. While the Templars themselves were sworn to poverty, there was no such restriction on the Order as an organization. freed from taxation and tithes and showered with gifts, the Order became incredibly wealthy, with establishments, called ''preceptories'', across Europe as well as the Holy Land. With their wealth the Order were able to acquire more land, on which they established farms and vineyards, further increasing their wealth.

Material wealth in the twelfth century was based on land and feudal dues. The Knights Templar soon owned estates of varying size throughout Europe, from [[Denmark]], [[Scotland]] and the [[Orkney Islands]] in the north, to [[France]], [[Italy]] and [[Spain]] in the south. Their commercial interests included the operation of farms, vineyards, stone quarries and mines. As a result of their role in protecting pilgrims on the one hand and maintaining communications with their operative bases in the Holy Land on the other, the Templars operated a well-organised fleet which exceeded that of any country at the time. For military purposes, the included highly maneuverable war galleys fitted with rams alongside a large number of ships designed for the purpose of carrying pilgrims, troops, horses and commercial cargoes. Their main seat of naval power in the Mediterranean was on the Island of Majorca, while their principal port on the Atlantic coast was the fortified harbour of [[La Rochelle]] from where they conducted trade with [[Greenland]], the British Isles, the North American mainland and Mexico. Within fifty years of their foundation, the Knights Templar had become a commercial force equal in power to many nations and within a hundred years they had developed into the medieval equivalent of a multi-national corporation, with interests in every form of commercial activity. Their wealth now outstripped that of any kingdom in Europe.