What made the Knights Templar special?
Is it that they were better trained than the average foot soldier? Is it that they had better equipment? A proper war horse? Was it simply in their highborn pedigree? Something in their blood that just made them superior to those around them?
Nope…
Sure, their equipment and training gave them an edge in battle. That’s not what makes a knight special though. A common spearman could potentially distinguish himself in battle, despite being less trained and under equipped, and earn knighthood for himself. Not likely to happen, but it could.
So then what was it? What set the Templars apart and made them one of the most respected military orders in history?
The answer is so simple that you might miss it entirely:
The Templars had a code.
Yup, that’s pretty much it.
Oh, sure, they were decent fighters, and they were also respected for their prowess on the battlefield; but following this code is what set their order apart from the rabble. And as a result of keeping the code, the Templars elevated themselves to legend.
The bad news is that the order eventually fell despite their code.
The good news is, we writers have a chance to learn from these knights and replicate their success (earning glory, respect, a sense of pride, and potentially, a livable income doing what we love) without repeating their failure.
All we have to do is to follow a code of our own.