> regular Crusaders weren't roaming thieves either Absolutely not. From what I've read they were extraordinarily disciplined. My point was that "knights" more

> regular Crusaders weren't roaming thieves either Absolutely not. From what I've read they were extraordinarily disciplined. My point was that "knights" more generally until then, are mischaracterised as "good and noble" but were really freelancers [1]. The Templars obtained a better defined security role. [1] just occurred to me there may be some etymology there. EDIT: Aha! https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/freelance-origin-meaning https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/freelance-orig...