Knights Templar in Brittany

In 1127, the Order of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ started fund-raising efforts throughout Western Europe so as to fund their crusading ambitions in the Holy Land.

[1] By 1129, these efforts enabled the Order to receive significant donations and political backing and secured the Church's official approval at the Council of Troyes.

[2] By 1139, Pope Innocent II had also granted the Order special privileges such as: The subsequent Duke, Conan IV further donated property.

They cleared expanses of land in northern Brittany for crops and animal husbandry, cultivated vineyards, producing wine[3] and operating ovens and mills.

[10] The Order had become known as the red monks; a title not connected with the colour of their tunic but more with the devil, traditions depicting them as ungodly, arrogant or debauched such as: