DogfishDave

DogfishDave t1_it8me4r wrote

>it made them so rich that the French King Philp IV and the Pope Clement conspired to steal it all.

Well... the Knights Templar were effectively French, despite later retrocon that makes them an "English" bastion, and they made a great deal of wealth from ursury so the money was always in a legal limbo. Eventually, as you say, the cash was taken by the Crown and the Knights fell from favour.

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DogfishDave t1_it6u1el wrote

>Well, we know there were links between Scotland and the Islamic world in the twelfth century.

This is true, and we know it even further back than that. Right-through trade links existed between Romano-Britain for wealthy traders, while different routes were available to the mixed peoples of the post-Romano vacuum, and beyond.

By the 12th century some trade and communication links were so robust you could make a cash deposit in Edinburgh and withdraw it in local currency as you got off the boat in the Holy Land. True story!

EDIT: Downvotes but no challenge as to which part of this you consider incorrect? Peculiar.

Second edit... faith in common sense restored... and now I'm off down a hole in the rain, wish me luck πŸ˜‚

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