The Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon,
"The Knights Templar" A Short History.
After the First Crusade captured Jerusalem in 1099, many Christian pilgrims travelled to visit what they referred to as the Holy Places. However, though the city of Jerusalem was under relatively secure control, the rest of the Outremer was not. Bandits abounded, and pilgrims were routinely slaughtered, sometimes by the hundreds, as they attempted to make the journey from the coastline at Jaffa into the Holy Land.
Around 1119, two veterans of the First Crusade, the French knight Hugues de Payens,(who was originally a vassal of Count Hugh of Champagne, whom he accompanied on the First Crusade) and his relative Godfrey de Saint-Omer, proposed the creation of a monastic order for the protection of the pilgrims. The first Grand Master of the Order was Hugues de Payens - for a list of Grand Masters see link [Footnote 1] |
The other knights were Payen de Montdidier, Archambaud de St. Agnan, Andre de Montbard, Geoffrey Bison, and two men recorded only by the names of Rossal and Gondamer. The ninth knight remains unknown, although some have speculated that it was Count Hugh of Champagne himself. |
King Baldwin II ceeding the location of the Temple of Solomon to Hugues de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer.
|
Map of Jerusalem, showing the location of the Templar Headquarters on the Temple Mount
|
King Baldwin II of Jerusalem agreed to their request, and gave them space for a headquarters on the Temple Mount, in the captured Al Aqsa Mosque. The Temple Mount had a mystique, because it was above what was believed to be the ruins of the Temple of Solomon. The Crusaders therefore referred to the Al Aqsa Mosque as Solomon's Temple, and it was from this location that the Order took the name of Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, or "Templar" knights. The Order, with about nine knights, had few financial resources and relied on donations to survive. Their emblem was of two knights riding on a single horse, emphasizing the Order's poverty.
|
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
(1090-1153) |
The Templar's impoverished status did not last long. They had a powerful advocate in Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading Church figure and a nephew of one of the founding knights. He spoke and wrote persuasively on their behalf, and in 1129 at the Council of Troyes, the Order was officially endorsed by the Church. With this formal blessing, the Templars became a favoured charity throughout Christendom, receiving money, land, businesses, and noble-born sons from families who were eager to help with the fight in the Holy Land. Another major benefit came in 1139, when Pope Innocent II's papal bull Omne Datum Optimum exempted the Order from obedience to local laws. This ruling meant that the Templars could pass freely through all borders, were not required to pay any taxes, and were exempt from all authority except that of the Pope.
|
With its clear mission and ample resources, the Order grew rapidly. Templars were often the advance force in key battles of the Crusades, as the heavily armored knights on their warhorses would set out to charge at the enemy, in an attempt to break opposition lines. One of their most famous victories was in 1177 during the Battle of Montgisard, where some 500 Templar knights helped to defeat Saladin's army of more than 26,000 soldiers.
|
The Battle of Montgisard - 1177
|
Although the primary mission of the Order was military, relatively few members were combatants. The others acted in support positions to assist the knights and to manage the financial infrastructure. The Templar Order, though its members were sworn to individual poverty, was given control of wealth beyond direct donations. A nobleman who was interested in participating in the Crusades might place all his assets under Templar management while he was away. Accumulating wealth in this manner throughout Christendom and the Outremer, the Order in 1150 began generating letters of credit for pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land: pilgrims deposited their valuables with a local Templar preceptory before embarking, received an encrypted document indicating the value of their deposit, then used that document upon arrival in the Holy Land to retrieve their funds. This innovative arrangement was an early form of banking, and may have been the first formal system to support the use of cheques; it improved the safety of pilgrims by making them less attractive targets for thieves, and also contributed to the Templar coffers.
Based on this mix of donations and business dealing, the Templars established financial networks across the whole of Christendom. They acquired large tracts of land, both in Europe and the Middle East; they bought and managed farms and vineyards; they built churches and castles; they were involved in manufacturing, import and export; they had their own fleet of ships; and at one point they even owned the entire island of Cyprus. The Order of the Knights Templar arguably qualifies as the world's first multinational corporation.
Based on this mix of donations and business dealing, the Templars established financial networks across the whole of Christendom. They acquired large tracts of land, both in Europe and the Middle East; they bought and managed farms and vineyards; they built churches and castles; they were involved in manufacturing, import and export; they had their own fleet of ships; and at one point they even owned the entire island of Cyprus. The Order of the Knights Templar arguably qualifies as the world's first multinational corporation.
Battle of the Horns of Hattin 1187 - the turning point in the Crusades.
|
In the mid-1100s, the tide began to turn in the Crusades. The Muslim world had become more united under effective leaders such as Saladin, and dissension arose among Christian factions in and concerning the Holy Land. The Knights Templar were occasionally at odds with two other Christian orders, the Knights Hospitaller and the Teutonic Knights, and decades of internecine feuds weakened Christian positions, politically and militarily. After the Templars were involved in several unsuccessful campaigns, including the pivotal Battle of the Horns of Hattin, Jerusalem was captured by Saladin's forces in 1187. The Crusaders retook the city in 1229, although without Templar aid, but held it only briefly. In 1244, the Khwarezmi Turks recaptured Jerusalem, and the city did not return to Western control until 1917 when the British captured it from the Ottoman Turks.
|
The Templars were forced to relocate their headquarters to other cities in the north, such as the seaport of Acre, which they held for the next century. But they lost that, too, in 1291, followed by their last mainland strongholds, Tortosa (in what is now Syria), and Atlit. Their headquarters moved to Limassol, Cyprus, and they also attempted to maintain a garrison on tiny Arwad Island, just off the coast from Tortosa. In 1300, there was some attempt to engage in coordinated military efforts with the Mongols via a new invasion force at Arwad. In 1302 or 1303, however, the Templars lost the island to the Egyptian Mamluks in the Siege of Arwad. With the island gone, the Crusaders lost their last foothold in the Holy Land.
|
"Saladin"
Saluh ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (1137-04.03.1193) |
Even after this final failure of the Crusades, the Templars survived throughout Europe as powerful landed elite. They retained their focus on the Holy Land, and their last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, drew up plans for a new Crusade to regain that territory, having explored the possibility of alliances with the Mongols and Armenians.
Castle Tomar, Portugal, built in 1160 as a stronghold
for the Knights Templar. |
With the Order's military mission now less important, support for the organization began to dwindle. The situation was complex though, as over the two hundred years of their existence, the Templars had become a part of daily life throughout Christendom. The organization's Templar Houses, hundreds of which were dotted throughout Europe and the Near East, gave them a widespread presence at the local level. The Templars still managed many businesses, and many Europeans had daily contact with the Templar network, for instance working at a Templar farm or vineyard, or using the Order as a bank in which to store personal valuables. The Order continued to not be subject to local government, making it everywhere a "state within a state."
|
It also had a standing army that could pass freely through all borders, but that no longer had a well-defined mission. This situation heightened tensions with some European nobility, especially as the Templars were indicating an interest in founding their own monastic state, just as the Teutonic Knights had done in Prussia, and the Knights Hospitaller were doing with Rhodes.
Pope Clement V, (1264-20.04.1314)
|
In 1305, the new Pope Clement V, based in France, sent letters to both the Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay and the Hospitaller Grand Master Fulk de Villaret to discuss the possibility of merging the two Orders. Neither was amenable to the idea but Pope Clement persisted, and in 1306 he invited both Grand Masters to France to discuss the matter. De Molay arrived first in early 1307, but de Villaret was delayed for several months. While waiting, De Molay and Clement discussed charges that had been made two years prior by an ousted Templar.
|
It was generally agreed that the charges were false, but Clement sent King Philip IV of France a written request for assistance in the investigation. King Philip was already deeply in debt to the Templars from his war with the English and decided to seize upon the rumors for his own purposes. He began pressuring the Church to take action against the Order, as a way of freeing himself from his debts. "Philip the Fair", accused the Templars of blasphemous crimes. Philip and his ministers, notably William of Nogaret, had all the Templars in France arrested on Friday 13th of October 1307. They initiated a persecution and unleashed against the Templars the horrors of the Inquisition.
|
King Philip IV (the Fair) of France
(1268-1314) |
The King bullied the Pope, Clement V into cooperation. After more bullying from Philip, Pope Clement then issued the bull Pastoralis Praeeminentiae on November 22, 1307, which instructed all Christian monarchs in Europe to arrest all Templars and seize their assets.
Soon broken-spirited Templars were brought before ecclesiastical courts, to make dreadful confessions. Their testimony ranging from denying Christ and spitting on the cross, to worshiping a monstrous idol (sometimes named as Baphomet), to the giving or receiving of obscene kisses and to sodomy, to carnal rites with demons in female form, and to visions of the devil in the form of a cat.
Soon broken-spirited Templars were brought before ecclesiastical courts, to make dreadful confessions. Their testimony ranging from denying Christ and spitting on the cross, to worshiping a monstrous idol (sometimes named as Baphomet), to the giving or receiving of obscene kisses and to sodomy, to carnal rites with demons in female form, and to visions of the devil in the form of a cat.
Ordination of Jacques de Molay in 1265 at the Beaune Commandery.
Pope Clement called for papal hearings to determine the Templars' guilt or innocence, and once freed of the Inquisitors' torture, many Templars recanted their confessions. Some had sufficient legal experience to defend themselves in the trials, but in 1310 Philip blocked this attempt, using the previously forced confessions to have dozens of Templars burned at the stake in Paris.
With Philip threatening military action unless the Pope complied with his wishes, Pope Clement finally agreed to disband the Order, citing the public scandal that had been generated by the confessions. At the Council of Vienne in 1312, he issued a series of papal bulls, including Vox in excelso, which officially dissolved the Order, and Ad providam, which turned over most Templar assets to the Hospitallers.
With Philip threatening military action unless the Pope complied with his wishes, Pope Clement finally agreed to disband the Order, citing the public scandal that had been generated by the confessions. At the Council of Vienne in 1312, he issued a series of papal bulls, including Vox in excelso, which officially dissolved the Order, and Ad providam, which turned over most Templar assets to the Hospitallers.
The Burning of Grand Master Jacques de Molay,
and Geofrey de Charney, 18th March, 1314. |
Two years later, Jacques de Molay, was brought out to affirm the Order's guilt before the people and dignitaries of Paris. He unexpectedly used the opportunity to utterly repudiate the confession that had been forced from him in previous years. He declared the Order to be wholly innocent. He was supported by his colleague Geofrey de Charney, Preceptor of Normandy. The King was furious and at once ordered both to burnt at the stake. They met their deaths with resigned courage. To the king they were relapsed heretics,and they were sentenced to burn alive at the stake in Paris on 18th March, 1314. De Molay reportedly remained defiant to the end, asking to be tied in such a way that he could face the Notre Dame Cathedral, and hold his hands together in prayer.
|
With the last of the Order's leaders gone, the remaining Templars around Europe were arrested and tried under the Papal investigation (with virtually none convicted), absorbed into other military orders such as the Knights Hospitaller, or pensioned and allowed to live out their days peacefully. Some may have fled to other territories outside Papal control, such as excommunicated Scotland or to Switzerland. Templar organizations in Portugal simply changed their name, from Knights Templar to Knights of Christ.
The Parchment of Chinon
|
In 2001, a document known as the "Chinon Parchment" was found in the Vatican Secret Archives, apparently after having been filed in the wrong place in 1628. It is a record of the trial of the Templars, and shows that Clement absolved the Templars of all heresies in 1308, before formally disbanding the Order in 1312. In October 2007, the Scrinium publishing house, which publishes documents for the Vatican, published secret documents about the trial of the Knights Templar, including the Chinon Parchment. |
It is currently the Roman Catholic Church's position that the medieval persecution of the Knights Templar was unjust; that there was nothing inherently wrong with the Order or its Rule; and that Pope Clement was pressured into his actions by the magnitude of the public scandal and the dominating influence of King Philip IV.
[Footnote 1]
Grand Masters from 1119 to 1314
1. Hughes de Payens (1119-1136)
2. Robert de Craon (1136-1146)
3. Everard des Barres (1146-1149)
4. Bernard de Tromelai (1149-1153)
5. Andre de Montbard (1153-1156)
6. Bertrand de Blanchefort (1156-1169)
7. Philip de Milly (1169-1171)
8. Odo de St Amand (1171-1179)
9. Arnold de Toroga (1179-1184)
10. Gerard de Ridefort (1185-1189)
11. Robert de Sable (1191-1193)
12. Gilbert Erail (1193-1200)
13. Philip de Plessiez (1201-1208)
14. William de Chartres (1209-1219)
15. Pedro de Montaigu (1219-1230)
16. Armond de Perigord (???-1244)
17. Richard de Bures (1245-1247)
18. William de Sonnac (1247-1250)
19. Reynald de Vichiers (1250-1256)
20. Thomas Berard (1256-1273)
21. William de Beaujeu (1273-1291)
22. Tibauld de Gaudin (1291-1293)
23. Jacques de Molay (1293-1314)
Grand Masters from 1119 to 1314
1. Hughes de Payens (1119-1136)
2. Robert de Craon (1136-1146)
3. Everard des Barres (1146-1149)
4. Bernard de Tromelai (1149-1153)
5. Andre de Montbard (1153-1156)
6. Bertrand de Blanchefort (1156-1169)
7. Philip de Milly (1169-1171)
8. Odo de St Amand (1171-1179)
9. Arnold de Toroga (1179-1184)
10. Gerard de Ridefort (1185-1189)
11. Robert de Sable (1191-1193)
12. Gilbert Erail (1193-1200)
13. Philip de Plessiez (1201-1208)
14. William de Chartres (1209-1219)
15. Pedro de Montaigu (1219-1230)
16. Armond de Perigord (???-1244)
17. Richard de Bures (1245-1247)
18. William de Sonnac (1247-1250)
19. Reynald de Vichiers (1250-1256)
20. Thomas Berard (1256-1273)
21. William de Beaujeu (1273-1291)
22. Tibauld de Gaudin (1291-1293)
23. Jacques de Molay (1293-1314)