I’m sure you’ve heard of the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller. There's another religious order of crusader knights you may not have heard of—the Knights Defender.
I can almost hear you ask, “Who?”
Back in the early 1100’s, King Henry I, fourth son of William the Conqueror cared more about doing the right thing than the laws his father had passed. Maybe he was the first bureaucrat since he started a civil service of itinerant justices to keep order throughout Normandy and England.
The poor guys were sitting ducks.
They needed someone strong and incorruptible at their back. A monk from Fountain’s Abbey in Yorkshire wrote to his family and suggested forming the Knights Defender. They told King Henry, and he agreed instantly.
The Knights Defenders stood for truth, justice and the…Oh, sorry, that’s Superman, but the Knights Defender came close. They didn’t swear, didn’t drink strong ale, and they definitely didn’t have sex.
Kinda boring, I know.
The order actually took off with the Barons, and many of their younger sons joined. Surprisingly, most of them kept to the rules. So what did these uptight paragons wear?
Most knights, like the Norman one shown below wore armor if they could afford it.
Most knights, like the Norman one shown below wore armor if they could afford it.
The religious orders, like the Templars and Hospitallers, topped it with a surplus festooned with their order’s cross. Templars chose red on a white background. The Hospitaller went with Black and white, and the Knights Defender chose blue and gray for their cross.
The Knights Defender kept their hair tonsured and the rules stated they must have beards.
LIAR, LIAR, YOUR BUM’S ON FIRE.
Alright, I confess, I made the Knights Defenders up from scratch. I needed a hero for my new book, KNIGHTS VAMPIRE, and I didn’t want to offend any remaining Templars or Hospitallers.
The bit about Henry and his justices is true, but then I sort of ran with it. Fountains Abbey is UNESCO Heritage site not far from my home. The pictured Knight is a reenactor from the 2014 Festival of History. He's a maths teacher, but I that sword scares the bejesus out of his class. That’s one of the great things about world building. Every genuine fact makes it more real.
My hero, Blaxton de Ferrers, is a former Knights Defender who died in King Richard the Lionheart’s crusade—murdered by his cousin’s hand.
He rose that night, no longer a Knight Defender. Now he’s a KNIGHT VAMPIRE, and he’s just found his twenty-first century mate.
He rose that night, no longer a Knight Defender. Now he’s a KNIGHT VAMPIRE, and he’s just found his twenty-first century mate.
Book Blurb
Betrayed by the Knight Defenders and murdered by his cousin, crusader
knight Blaxton de Ferrers rose as a vampire. For nine centuries, he’s
preyed on the people he once swore to protect. Gradually, as his
emotions leach out of him, he forgets how to feel. Then he meets Harriet.
temper Her job is to seek out the ancient secrets of the castle that was
Blaxton’s childhood home. Instead, she finds the love of her life.
match made in heaven. Except… he’s a vampire and to fully claim her,
he’ll have to kill her.
Knights Vampire is released on Tuesday 20th January on LooseID's website.
Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Kryssie-Fortune/e/B00J5AQOBU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1421505502&sr=8-1
#knight #templar #book #vampire #romance #urban #fantasy
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