The knights’ templar dominated the middle ages with them famed as warrior monks as they were a blend of the character of a monk and a soldier. According to Ralls (2002), they were the largest and influential organization in the medieval western world. There is often a debate concerning the role of the knights as to whether they were a band of warriors or brothers of a religious order. Additionally, there are concerns on whether they were monks first then soldiers. The order of the knighthood went through courses of changes and challenges with the arresting of members and trials taking place between 1307 and 1311. The paper provides an overview of the history of the knights’ templar in medieval Europe.
Origins of the Knight Templar
The origin of the knighthood traces back to the discovery of the Holy Sepulcher by Empress Helena, about 290 AD. With the discovery, there was establishment of the church of the Holy Sepulcher, (Addison, 2012). The city of Jerusalem soon became under the control of the Arabians with the privileges of the Christian people being under the Caliph Omar. Overtime, Christians underwent prosecution and unfair treatment. In 1099, Jerusalem underwent liberation from the infidels by the first crusade. The liberation carries a liberating spiritual effect on Western Christendom encouraging the flow of pilgrims into Jerusalem. Unfortunately, upon their arrival, the pilgrims became prey to robbers and did not return to tell of their adventures. To decrease the dangers and distress caused by the pious enthusiasts, nine noble knights formed a holy brotherhood in arms. They made an agreement to support one another in protecting the pilgrims by safeguarding the passes in the mountains to the Holy City. At this time, the knights coined the name, ‘Poor fellow soldiers of Jesus Christ’ (Addison, 2011). To that end, they revoked their association to the world and its pleasures, embracing the vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty, a lifestyle similar to the monks’ lifestyle.
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Without a church, they continued to provide their services and following the reputation they amassed, the king of Jerusalem Baldwin the second, provided them with a place to stay on the sacred in closure of Mount Moriah. Overtime, their name changed to the ‘Knighthood of the temple of Solomon’. As time went by, the name and reputation of the knights spread throughout Europe with pilgrims aspiring to be members of the Holy fraternity.
An essential character in the knighthood is Hugh de Payens, the first grand master of the Templar. He was from Payens, a village in Champagne and was a vassal of the count (Lord, 2002). Part of his responsibilities as the grand master involved managing the estates granted to the fraternity and transmission of revenues to Jerusalem. As a master, he had power of admitting members into the order and was to provide transport for the newly admitted brethren to the Far East so they could fulfill their obligation to the profession. As Addison (2012), explains, with the knights’ templar membership increasing in England, there was appointment of sub priors and a change in structure through the establishment of a grand prior. In the year 1128, Hugh came from Jerusalem to the King in Normandy. The king received him well with a multitude of gifs such as treasures of gold and silver. The gifts helped in the financing of the Templar with the revenues sent to Jerusalem. Thereafter he left England, where he encouraged pilgrims to visit Jerusalem and helped initiates into fellowship, understanding the rules and norms of the order.
The growth of the knighthood draws support from the increasing number of crusades they were part of. For instance, during the second crusade, there was a growing need for militarized monastic orders. Similar to the Templar knights were the Hospitalles who equally took on a military function to protect Christians and their property, (Barber, 2012).
Templar Life
The knights lived under certain rules and regulations set out in the Order’s ideals and norms, (Nicholson, 2017). One of the earliest written ideals was by the Council of Troyes in 1129 after approval of the religious order under the pope’s representative. Hugh de Pays as a master of the order, ensured that members complied with the stipulated rules. The tone of the templar rules borrows from that of St. Augustine with the regulation of community life. In this setup, members did not live in enclosed houses, but they had contact with the outside world. The allocation of property was on common grounds, members prayed together; they would have plain clothing and avoided close contact with members of the opposite sex.
As part of their religious practices, the templar had to go through severe devotional exercises, self-mortification, fasting and prayer. They needed to be constant attendees at matins and actively participate in church activities. As explained by Nicholson (2017), the templar’s day revolved around the Canonical hours consisting of seven daily services.
Concerning property, the nature of the living structure called for acquisition of property financed by the proceeds they received from monarchies. Administration of the property was through provinces, each covering a geographical area that coincided with secular administrative and linguistic areas, (Nicholson, 2017). In Europe, some of the provinces listed included Hungary, France, England, Poitiers, Portugal, and Apulia. Within each of the provinces, there was organization of property into manors. With such an arrangement in place, it revealed the dynamism of Templar rule as the nature of housing continued to change over the years. In Western Europe, the role of the Templar was to administer their properties to the Order’s profit while raising resources and personnel to carry out military activities. Hugh de Pays as a grand master embraced this role, and gained support from monarchies that provided him with treasured that would help the Order finance its activities.
The role of the Templar continued to change from warriors to administrators. As the lords of the local community, Templars had a responsibility to ensure the administration of justice through the establishment of courts, (Nicholson, 2017). They also contributed to the appointments of priests to the parish owing to the close association they had with the Pope and the protection they received from him.
With the increase of individuals into the order, it began to depart from its original purity and simplicity. Knights residing in London embarked on a search abroad for a more extensive place for accommodation, (Addison, 2012). They purchased ground and erected a large convent, calling it the New Temple to differentiate it from the establishment at Holborn. The new Temple served as new area of residence for various military monks and novices. With the establishment of such a structure, it appears to deviate from the basic rules of the Order, which is simplicity and acceptance to a life of poverty. It is from the establishment of the new Temple that the order began to revamp the structure of its housing.
The fall of the Order
The fall of the Order started progressively when in 1291, Acre fell to the Saracens with Christian armies withdrawing from the Holy land. With the loss of Palestine, the military order was culpable for the loss with the elements of pride and corruption being responsible for the loss. As Lord (2013), explains, the Templars were in a vulnerable position as their defense of the holy land was no longer available They experienced a wave of challenges such as decline in recruiting members, an increasing number of the elderly who could not engage in war.
With the King of France dissatisfied with the manner of the Templars, they faced various charges. 104 articles as explained by Lord (2013) against the French Templars, 74 against the British Templars based on French charges. Over the course of time, historians have identified the charges of idolatry, sodomy, acquisition of property, secrecy of proceedings and charity. They were profound claims that the knights received initiates in secret. In the initiation, they were to denounce Christ and in response would spit or urinate n the cross. As Lord (2013), explains, the denial of Christ encouraged speculation of the Templars trying to establish a new religion on Gnosticism. The trial of the Templars did not just end in France with the scope of the charges gaining popularity in other provinces such as London where there were accusations of homosexuality among members of the order.
By fair or foul means, the Templars were guilty. Initially they were under the protection of the pope but Pope Clement V withdrew his protection and disbanded the order in 1312. From a biblical rhetoric perspective, the Templars were guilty of idolatry, the deadly crime of the sodomites, heresy. As Lord (2013), explains, the Templars were in a grey area, whilst they were to be either black or white. The credibility as to whether the charges were true or false centers on the use of force to retrieve information and the words of naysayers. Archaeologically, there is no evidence to prove that the atrocities were taking place
Conclusion
The order was an establishment that set out with honorable intentions, to protect pilgrims on the search for spiritual nourishment in Jerusalem. Following the commendable work, they involve themselves in; they worked humbly as servants of Jesus Christ. With the warrior like mentality and governing religious norms, they helped the church grow through establishment in various regions from the east to the west. Central to the existence of any order, members had to abide by certain rule and regulations. Their firs dedication was to God, then to the protection of God’s people. With the growing popularity of fellowship, various challenges came into play with the Order receiving accusations for involvement in idolatry, homosexuality, acts that contravene the will of God. Following the change in the Vatican leadership with Pope Clement V, he disbanded the order owing to the charges against them. The knights set the stage in history as they reveal the influence of religion on politics and economic development. From a political standpoint, monarchs interacted with the knights and battled with them. The following periods in history after the disbandment revolve around waking secret movements that would spearhead historical changes in politics and economics.
References
Addison, Charles. (2012). The History of Knight Templars: Sky Horse Publishing.
Barber, Malcolm. (2012). The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Lord, Everlyn. (2013). Knights Templar in Britain. New York: Routledge.
Nicholson, Helen. (2017). The Everyday Life of Templars: The Knights Templar at Home. Print.
