The knight who raises his sword here was something stranger than a soldier — a monk who killed. The Knights Templar, founded in 1119, lived under a monastic Rule that bound them by vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, yet trained them as the shock cavalry of the crusader states. That Rule reached onto the battlefield: a Templar could not retreat while his order's black-and-white banner still flew, could not charge or break off pursuit without command, and was forbidden to ask for quarter or offer ransom. Where a secular knight might yield for profit, a Templar was expected to fight to the death rather than break his vow — and it was precisely this discipline, not reckless courage, that made a wedge of Templars one of the most feared formations in the medieval world.

This King & Country figure captures that conviction in a single gesture — sword lifted, mouth open in a shout of triumph, the white surcoat and red cross of the Temple worn correctly. Muster him alongside the Templar Commander to lead the line, set him against the survivors of the Templar & Lazarene pairing, or fold him into a Third Crusade diorama beside Richard the Lionheart after the field at Arsuf. A raised sword and an open mouth make him the natural high point of any charge — the moment the tide turns and the cry of victory goes up.

Model: MK193 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 1 piece set