THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
The victorious First Crusade (1096-1099) opened the Holy Land to Christian pilgrims. Groups of pilgrims from across Western Europe soon began visiting the Holy Land. However, in spite of the crusaders’ triumph and the capture of Jerusalem, there was no real security for these religious journeymen. Between local brigands and crusaders, with less than Christian ambitions, pilgrims were often robbed or ended their travels much closer to God than they intended.
Around 1118, a French knight named Hugues de Payens (who belonged to the household of the Count of Champagne) recognized the dangers faced by the pilgrims and founded a military order devoted to protecting these pilgrims, calling it the Poor Knights of the Temple of King Solomon (later the Knights Templar).
The original Order was formed in a province in the northeast area of France known as Champagne, and consisted of Hugues de Payens [its Founder] and eight knights, two of whom were brothers and all of whom were his relatives by either blood or marriage: Godfrey de Saint-Omer, Payne de Monteverdi, 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.
They approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who allowed them to set up headquarters on the Temple Mount. Together they chose to guard the most dangerous access way to Jerusalem: the Athlit Pass. The pass later became known as 'Chateau Pelerin'.
Little was heard of the Order for their first nine years. But in 1129 the knights received the formal endorsement of the Catholic Church, and new recruits and lavish donations began pouring in from across Europe. Known for their austere code of conduct and signature style of dress (white habits emblazoned with a red cross), the Templars established new chapters throughout Western Europe. They developed a reputation as fierce warriors during the Crusades and set up a network of banks, gaining enormous financial sway. At the height of their influence, they boasted a sizable fleet of ships, owned the island of Cyprus and served as a primary lender to European monarchs and nobles.
The Knights Templar were the elite fighting force of their day, highly trained, well-equipped and highly motivated; one of the tenets of their religious order was that they were forbidden from retreating in battle, unless outnumbered three to one, and even then only by order of their commander, or if the Templar flag went down. The combination of soldier and monk was also a powerful one, as to the Templar knights, martyrdom in battle was one of the most glorious ways to die.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux and the Knights Templar
In its early beginning the Order had been subject to strong criticism, especially of the concept that religious men could also carry swords. But the Order's efforts were helped substantially by the patronage of Bernard of Clairvaux, the leading churchman of the time, and a nephew of one of the original nine knights. In response to these critics, the influential Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a multi-page treatise entitled De Laude Novae Militae ("In Praise of the New Knighthood"), in which he championed their mission and defended the idea of a military religious order by appealing to the long-held Christian theory of just war, which legitimated “taking up the sword” to defend the innocent and the Church from violent attack. By so doing, Bernard legitimized the Templars, who became the first "warrior monks" of the Western world.
Bernard of Clairvaux believed that the union in the Templar of the man of prayer and the man of war was exactly what the Holy Land needed. He requested from the pope a formal rule and papal approval for the order. In January 1128, at the Council of Troyes, Bernard presided over the writing of the 72 articles that made up the order’s Rule of Life. Modeled on the Rule of Saint Benedict, the Templar Rule covered all aspects of Templar life, guiding the monk whose job was also to train for combat and, when the need arose, shed the blood of the Saracen in defense of the cross.
KING PHILIP IV, POPE CLEMENT V, AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
King Philip IV
Pope Clement V
Over more than a century and a half, the Templars grew their power and their aura. King Philip IV was envious of the Templar’s wealth and power. At first he tried to use the Knights for his own aims. Philip even harbored delusions of becoming Grand Master of the Order while staying King of France. It is open to debate which position would wield the most power. After all the Templars were Bankers to European nobility. They counted Henry III of England, Louis IX and Philip August amongst their clientele. Philip IV was also in their debt. He not only owed them money but, as they protected him during the Paris riots, it can be argued that Philip even owed them his life.
So King Phillip IV of France set his sights on the fabled riches of the Knights Templar. His aim was to destroy the Templar Order and confiscate all their treasuries and properties in France. King Phillip's audacious plan was to arrest every Templar in France, charge them with heresy, and exact immediate confessions from them by torture before Pope Clement V or anyone else could protest on their behalf. By making the charges religious in nature, Phillip would be seen not as an avaricious thief, but as a noble servant of God.
Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, had been called to Poitiers, France, for the purpose of discussing with Pope Clement V a new crusade to retake the Holy Land. In June 1307, de Molay rode into Paris at the head of a column of his knights, with a dozen horses laden with gold and silver, to begin the financing of the new Crusade. For the next several months, Phillip treated the aging Grand Master with interest and diplomacy, and de Molay believed he and the Order were at a new turning point. Little did he know what King Philip had in store for him and his band of noble knights.
FRIDAY THE 13TH
At dawn on Friday, October 13, 1307, scores of French Templars were simultaneously arrested by agents of King Philip, The arrested Templars, whose average age was 41, were put into isolation and immediately subjected to the gruesome tactics of medieval "interrogation" on the very first day of their arrest. The technique of the strapaddo was common. It involved binding the victim's wrists behind his back, passing the rope over a high beam, pulling him off of the ground, and suddenly dropping him, snapping his arms and dislocating his shoulders. Stretching the victim on the rack was another favored method. Perhaps the most horrible was coating the victim's feet in lard or oil, and then slowly roasting them over a flame. Subjected to these agonies, the overwhelming majority of the knights confessed to every charge that was put to them. Under such severe forms of torture there were five initial charges lodged against the Templars:
The first was the renouncement and spitting on the cross during initiation into the Order. The second was the stripping of the man to be initiated and the thrice kissing of that man by the preceptor on the navel, posteriors and the mouth. The third was telling the neophyte (novice) that unnatural lust was lawful and indulged in commonly. The fourth was that the cord worn by the neophyte day and night was consecrated by wrapping it around an idol in the form of a human head with a great beard, and that this idol was adored in all chapters. The fifth was that the priests of the order did not consecrate the host in celebrating Mass. After extracting such false confessions from the tortured knights they were immediately put to death.T
King Philip IV wanted to hand Pope Clement V a stack of confessions so damning that the pope would lose his stomach for siding with the Order. The Pope reacted just as Phillip had planned. His outrage over the arrests turned to dread and resignation as the "evidence" was presented to him. Phillip leaned on Clement to issue papal arrest warrants all across Europe, which were largely ignored or skirted by other monarchs. Very few show trials went on outside of France, and there were no cases (outside of the tortured knights in France) of Templars who admitted to the charges of heresy.
Following the arrests an inquisition trial was held. For the next seven years, while their brothers were imprisoned and tortured, free Templars searched for ways to justify themselves to the Pope. In theory, he was the only person to whom they answered.
Unfortunately for the Templars the Pope was also at the mercy of Philip IV. So on March 22 1312 Pope Clement V issued ‘Vox in Excelso’ as his Papal Bull to suppress the Knights Templar.
THE CURSE OF Jacques de Molay
As a result of the conspiracy between Philip IV and Clement V on March 11th 1314 Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay were sentenced to burn at the stake. The site was on the 'Ile de la Cité' in Paris, within view of the Royal Palace.
As the flames took hold, Jacques de Molay, 22nd and final Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Templar spoke his last words...'Clement, iniquitous judge and cruel torturer, I assign you to appear in forty days, in front of God's court! And you too, King Philip!'
Pope Clement V died on April 20th and Philip IV on November 29th.
Following the demise of Philip IV, the kings of France were called 'the damned kings'. The curse of Jacques de Molay hanging over the lineage until the death of Louis XVI (22nd successor of Philip the Fair). Whether historical irony or apt symbolism, Louis XVI was imprisoned in Paris in the dungeon once used by Templars at their chieftain house.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REST OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR?
When the Knights Templar were being arrested, tortured and killed in France, they had a fleet of about 18 ships docked in modern day France. The mystery is that they disappeared and no one supposedly had a clue where they went to with their great treasure. Some believe they fled to America. There is proof that some Knights Templar were in America. In fact, there is a rock in Westford, Massachusetts with a picture of a knight. He is dressed in Knight Templar mantle.
Others believe that the Knights Templar escaped to Scotland and hid their treasures in the famous Rosslyn Chapel.
Another compelling argument connects the lost treasure of the Knights Templar to the mysterious money pit on Oak Island, Nova Scotia. This has baffled treasure hunters for two centuries.
THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR TODAY
One thing is for sure – the Knights Templar did indeed survive, and they are going strong today! We are a modern Christian Order of Knighthood dedicated to:
- Seeking God in our lives and promoting love and respect for our community.
- Increasing understanding between religions, helping pilgrims visit holy places, and maintaining a Christian presence in the Holy Land.
- Supporting the poor, sick, and unjustly accused; standing against oppression, and protecting freedom of speech.
- Encouraging the noble ideas of Chivalry; maintaining the monuments, archives, and history of the Knights Templar.
Our guiding lights are the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, through which members aspire to serve faithfully as Knights of God's Temple. The motto of the Order, "Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed Nomini Tuo da gloriam" is the Latin version of Psalm 115, verse 1 -- "Not unto us, Oh Lord, not unto us, but to Thy Name be given glory."
Check out the following link:
Sovereign Magistral Order of the Temple of Solomon
