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Mar 18, 1314: When Bankers Stopped Wearing Suits of Armor
Description
One of Europe’s earliest financial networks collapsed in public.
On March 18, 1314, Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was executed in Paris. While the order is often remembered as a military brotherhood, it had also built one of medieval Europe’s most trusted financial systems.
The Templars accepted deposits, safeguarded valuables, and helped move money safely across long distances. Pilgrims and nobles could leave assets in one city and access them elsewhere, relying on the order’s reputation and network of fortified houses spread across Europe and the Mediterranean.
But their wealth and influence eventually collided with royal power. When the French crown moved against the order, the destruction of the Templars abruptly dismantled one of the most sophisticated financial trust networks of the medieval world.
The capital didn’t disappear. It moved. And the ideas behind cross-border banking would eventually reappear in new institutions across Europe.
From bsnsHistory, the daily podcast about the moments when business quietly reshaped the world.
Written and hosted by Ron Trucks. Research and editing by Rodney Russ. Sound design by Angela Cahoy. Music by Cody Martin and Soundstripe.
For more daily business stories, visit www.bsnsDAILYpodcasts.com