Page "William of Tyre" Paragraph 35

William was famously biased against the Knights Templar, whom he believed to be arrogant and disrespectful of both secular and ecclesiastical hierarchies, as they were not required to pay tithes and were legally accountable only to the Pope.

Although he was writing decades later, he is the earliest author to describe the actual foundation of the Templar order.

He was generally favourable towards them when discussing their early days, but resented the power and influence they held in his own time.

William accused them of hindering the Siege of Ascalon in 1153 ; of poorly defending a cave-fortress in 1165, for which twelve Templars were hanged by King Amalric ; of sabotaging the invasion of Egypt in 1168 ; and of murdering Assassin ambassadors in 1173.