The Real History Behind the Templars

by Sharan Newman

  There were also several Templar commanderies near Payns. One of them, at least, was founded by Hugh. Donations continued to the Templars of Payns until the early fourteenth century, just before the arrest of the Templars.12 Many of the “donations” are clearly sales under another name, as when in 1213, a knight named Henri of Saint-Mesmin gave two fields near the preceptory to the Templars of Payns. In return, the Templars gave Henri fourteen livres. In another case, Odo of Troyes “gave” the Templars some mills. Odo was about to leave on Crusade and so the Templars gave him forty livres with the promise of twenty more when (or if ) Odo returned.

  However, after founding the commandery, it appears that Hugh donated nothing more to it. He returned to Jerusalem, probably around 1130, and died in 1136. May 24 is the traditional date.

  The records we have from the early twelfth century give no more information on Hugh de Payns. Of course, much has been lost over the years. Some of the Templar records in Europe were destroyed after the dissolution of the order at the Council of Vienne. This doesn’t seem to have been because the information was secret or heretical, simply that it was no longer needed and the parchment could be scraped and reused.

  The main Templar archives, which might have had more information on Hugh, were not in Europe, however, but in Jerusalem. They were moved to Acre and then Cyprus, where they were in 1312. War and conquest ensured that anything left was scattered or destroyed.

  Perhaps there was once a biography of sorts of Hugh de Payns. It seems to me that someone would have wanted to tell the world more about him. What we can deduce from his actions is that he must have been a strong-willed man, very devout and with the ability to convince others to see and follow his vision. He does not seem to have been particularly well educated. Nothing in his life or background would indicate that he was involved in anything of a mystical nature, nor that he founded the Templars to protect some newly discovered treasure or secret, as modern myths state.

  Hugh de Payns was most likely a deeply devout layman who wanted to serve God by protecting His pilgrims and His land. Hugh used his wealth, such as it was, and his family and social connections to make this possible. Nothing more.

  1 William of Tyre, ed. R. B. V. Huygens, CCCM 63 12.7.6 (Brepols, Turnholt 1986) “Inter quos primus et precipui fuerunt viri venerabiles Hugo de Paganis et Gaufridus de Sancto Aldemaro.”

  2 Thierry Leroy, Hughes de Payns, Chevalier Champenois, Fondateur de L’Ordre des Templiers (Troyes: La Maison du Boulanger, 2001) p. 194. Cartulaire de Molesme, n. 230 p. 214.

  3 Leroy, p. 194. Charters listed are for abbeys all in the area of Troyes.

  4Henri-François Delaborde, Chartres de Terre-Sainte Provenant de l’Abbaye de N.-D. de Josaphat. B.E.F.A.R. 29. (Paris: Ernst Thorin, 1880) no. 101.

  5 Leroy, p. 194. Cartulaire de Saint Sépulcre no. 105, “magister militium Templi.”

  6Chartres de Terre-Sainte Provenant de l’Abbaye de N.-D. de Josaphat, ed. H-Francois Delaborde, (Paris, 1880) p. 38. Charter no. 12.

  7 Michael Bur, La formation du comté de Champagne (Université de Lille III, 1977) p. 275.

  8Leroy, p. 98. Despite several popular modern books of fiction and some that say they are nonfiction, there is no truth to the tale that Hugh’s wife was named Catherine St. Clair.

  9Thibaud was elected abbot in 1139. “Thibaud de Pahens, filius Hugonis primi magistri temple Jerosolymitani.” Quoted in Leroy, p. 95.

  10Leroy, pp. 95-114. Neither of the children is listed as son or daughter of Hugh. They might be from another branch of the family who took over Payns after Thibaud entered the monastery.

  1111 Karen Nicholas, “Countesses as Rulers in Flanders,” in Aristocratic Women in Medieval France, ed. Theodore Evergates (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999) p. 123.

  1212 Leroy, p. 120.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem

  Baldwin of Le Bourq accomplished the dream of many of the knights of the First Crusade. He went from being a shirttail relative of Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother, Baldwin I, the heroes of the crusade, to becoming king in his own right, marrying a princess and ruling a realm that had been conquered for the glory of God.

  He also was the man who first gave the Temple of Solomon to Hugh de Payns and his knights, thus starting both the reality and the legend of the Templars.

  Baldwin was the son of Hugh, count of Rethel, and a cousin of the Lotharingian brothers Eustace, Godfrey, and Baldwin. He went with them on the First Crusade and remained. When Eustace returned home to become count of Boulogne, Godfrey, “the Protector of the Holy Sepulcher,” died and Baldwin became the first king of Jerusalem; their cousin was given the county of Edessa to rule.

  When the crusaders arrived, Edessa had only been under Moslem control a short time, and three-quarters of its population was Christian. 1 Most of them were Armenian Monophysites, who were considered heretics by the Greek Orthodox Byzantines2 Thoros, the Orthodox previous ruler of the county, had been deposed by his people shortly after the arrival of the crusaders.3 The Armenians were willing to be ruled by the Western crusaders as long as they could practice their form of Christianity.

  Unlike many of the early settlers, Baldwin seems to have adapted to the customs of his new land. He accepted the Armenian patriarch with “all the honors due to his high ecclesiastical dignity, gave him villages, loaded him down with gifts and showed him great friendship.”4 The different Christian sects of the county were allowed to continue their forms of worship, not forced to conform to the Roman rites.

  In his desire to assimilate with his new subjects, Baldwin also took an Armenian bride. Her name was Morfia and she was the daughter of Khoril, prince of Melitene. Although it was a politically sound move and she came with an excellent dowry, there also seems to have been genuine affection between Baldwin and Morfia. The rest of the marriages among the noble families of the Latin kingdoms make the steamiest soap operas look tame, but in their years together Baldwin and Morfia provoked no scandal and no talk of divorce. When only daughters were born to them, Baldwin saw no reason why the eldest one shouldn’t inherit Edessa.

  When in 1118, Baldwin I, king of Jerusalem, died without an heir, he left no provision for the succession to the throne.5 The patriarch of Jerusalem, Arnulf, called the lords together to decide what to do. Some felt that the king’s last remaining brother, Eustace, should be summoned from Boulogne to take up the kingship. Others felt that it was unsafe to wait for Eustace. The time it would take to send a messenger to Europe and back would leave the kingdom open to anarchy and attack6

  Jocelyn of Courtenay, another early crusader, put in a vote for Baldwin of Le Bourq. Baldwin was of the same family as the late king, he had done a good job ruling Edessa, and, even if his children were all girls, he had proved he could produce children. There was still hope for a boy.7

  Just by chance (or perhaps not), Baldwin of Le Bourq was visiting Jerusalem at the time. He accepted the nomination and was crowned without delay.

  It turned out that Eustace wasn’t thrilled with the idea of taking over the governance of Jerusalem. He had started out for the Holy Land when he heard of his brother’s death, but had only reached Italy when he learned of Baldwin’s coronation. He was apparently quite content to go back to his home in Boulogne.8

  Eustace may have realized that the Kingdom of Jerusalem was a prize that would need constant defending. Or he may have remembered what the summer sun in the Near East does to fair northern skin. So Baldwin became the second king of Jerusalem without a serious struggle. He gave Edessa to his supporter Jocelyn of Courtenay9

  The new king faced a mountain of problems, both military and economic. The capital city of Jerusalem had been cleared of all non-Christians by the first crusaders and there hadn’t been much interest among the Franks to repopulate it. The city was a place for pilgrims to visit, see the sights, buy some souvenirs, and go home. Baldwin gave concessions to anyone “Latin” who would set up shops and homes. He
also gave Syrians, Greeks, and Armenians—everyone except Saracens and Jews—the right of free trade, especially in foodstuffs.10 It worked to some extent, but Jerusalem was important more for its historical and religious connections rather than as a major center of trade. It was the port cities that maintained the crusaders’ hold on the land and most of the Westerners lived along the coast.

  Outside of the cities, there was little control over the area. The pilgrims, who brought cash in, were being waylaid on the road by robbers. It was impossible to patrol the whole area between Jerusalem and the port cities. Also, many of the pilgrims couldn’t seem to understand that they couldn’t just trot off to spend a day in Bethlehem or go for a dip in the Jordan without guards. Baldwin had neither the men nor the resources to protect them. And yet, without the pilgrims, Jerusalem could not survive.

  It’s not certain whether it was Baldwin or Hugh de Payns who first suggested that a group of knights take on the job of pilgrim herding. 11 In either case, Baldwin was undoubtedly thrilled to turn the problem over to the new Order of knights. The Hospitallers had long been established within Jerusalem to provide shelter and care to the pilgrims, many of whom came with the intention of dying in the Holy Land. But in 1119, when the Templars were founded, the hospital had no military duties. So there was a definite niche for the knights to fill.

  King Baldwin gave them the use of a section of the royal palace, thought to be on the site of the Temple of Solomon, and left them to settle in as best they could.

  The next few years for Baldwin were spent outside of Jerusalem. He had to mop up after Roger of Antioch decided to ride out and fight the Ortoqid Turk Ilghazi without waiting for reinforcements. The place where Roger realized that he’d made his last mistake was ever after known as the “Field of Blood.”12

  Baldwin took over the governance of Antioch until Roger’s heir, Bohemond, could reach adulthood and arrive from his home in Apulia. He also kept an eye on Edessa and when, in 1123, Count Jocelyn was captured by Ilghazi’s nephew Balak, Baldwin rushed north to maintain order in the city. Unfortunately, Baldwin fell into the same trap as Jocelyn had and became Balak’s prisoner in April 1123.

  The barons of Jerusalem chose a regent, Eustace de Garnier, lord of Sidon and Caesarea. He held things together quite well until Baldwin was released in 1124, after paying a heavy ransom and giving Balak his five-year-old daughter, Yveta, as a hostage.

  During his captivity the city of Tyre was captured from the Turks by the Franks and the Venetians. The unimportance of the Templars at this time is clear from the fact that the treaty was signed by the patriarch of Jerusalem, the archbishop of Caesarea, three other bishops, the abbot of Santa Maria of Josaphat, and the priors of the Holy Sepulcher, the Temple of the Lord, and Mout Sion. The master of the Temple isn’t even among the witnesses.13

  As soon as he was free, Baldwin needed to reassert his authority. He immediately gathered his troops to fight the Turks in northern Syria. He then attempted to take Damascus, but, like all the crusaders after him, failed.14

  In between battles, Baldwin was busy marrying off his daughter, Alice, to the count of Antioch, Bohemond II, now old enough to take charge. His third daughter, Hodierna, was then married to the count of Tripoli. For his eldest daughter, Melisande, Baldwin sent a delegation back to Europe to ask for the hand of the widowed count of Anjou, Fulk. Although there isn’t much mention of the Templars in Jerusalem up to this point, Hugh de Payns and Godfrey of St. Omer, the two first knights of the order, were in the party.15

  This mission back to Europe was the turning point for the Templars. Hugh and Godfrey returned with men, money, and papal approval. This last allowed them to collect donations and set up branch houses to manage property. The houses, called preceptories or commanderies, provided horses, fodder and food as well as cash for the constant needs of the front line Templar knights.

  The trip was also good public relations for Baldwin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Hugh and Godfrey reminded people of the purpose of the crusades. The Templar knights were not looking for individual wealth or land or political power. The order itself wound up having all three but no one could have foreseen that in 1125, when the men set out. What people in Europe saw were men of good birth who had abandoned their lands and families in order to defend the places where Christ had lived and died for all people. The example of the Templars was a shaming reminder to those who had stayed behind.

  When Baldwin II died in August 1131, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was firmly established. His daughter and son-in-law had given him a grandson, the future Baldwin III, who would carry on his line. Construction on the new Church of the Holy Sepulcher had begun. He must have felt that he had given his people a good base to continue expanding the territory.

  He may not have considered the Templars one of his major accomplishments but they would outlast the Latin city of Jerusalem by more than a hundred years and their legend would survive long after the mighty castles of the crusaders had become only crumbling piles of stone.

  1René Grousset, Histoire des Croisades et du Royanme Franc de Jérusalem (Paris, 1934) p. 388.

  2Monophysites: This is a Christian sect that stresses the divine nature of Jesus over the human one. The Armenian Monophysites began in the fifth century and still exist.

  3Hans Eberhard Mayer, The Crusades (Oxford University Press, 1988) p. 49.

  4Grousset, p. 259 (quoting Matthew of Edessa).

  5He had been married twice, once to an Armenian princess whom he had refused to accept because she had been captured for a short time by Moslems and he said she had been raped by them. The second time was to Adelaide of Sicily, whom he repudiated. Mayer says that “to all appearances, the king was homosexual” (p. 71) but he doesn’t say what those appearances were. Baldwin was buried next to his brother, Godfrey.

  6 William of Tyre, Chronique ed. R. B. C. Huygens, CCCM 63 (Turnholt, 1986) 12, 3 p. 549.

  7Ibid., p. 549 (I added the part about his daughters). William listed the other reasons.

  8Ibid., p. 550.

  9Grousset, p. 537.

  10William of Tyre, p. 565. “Dedit etiam Surianis, Grecis, Armenis et harum cuiuslibet nationum hominibus, Sarracenis etiam nichilominus, liberam potestaem sine exactione aliqua inferendi in sanctam civitatem triticum, ordeum et quodlibet genus qequminus.”

  11Please see chapter 1, The Beginning of the Order.

  12Mayer, p. 73.

  13William of Tyre, 12, 28, p. 581.

  14Mayer, pp. 79-80.

  15Please see chapter 2, Hugh de Payns.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Hugh, Count of Champagne One of the earliest members of the Templars was also one of the

  few members of the high nobility to join. Hugh of Champagne remains one of the more mysterious of the first Templars.

  As with so much of the politics in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the story of Hugh, first count of Champagne, is that of family. When he was born, the county of Champagne didn’t exist. For most of his life he called himself the count of Troyes, which was the main holding of his ancestors.

  Hugh was the youngest son of Thibaud I, who was count of Blois, Meaux, and Troyes, and of Adele of Bar-sur-Aube. Thibaud had gained some of his property by taking over lands belonging to a nephew.1 Therefore, he had something to give to Hugh, his last-born son. Hugh’s older brother, Stephen-Henry, got the best property, that of Blois and Meaux. Hugh inherited Troyes and other bits from his mother and the property of his middle brother, Odo, who died young.2

  Hugh did not go on the First Crusade in 1096, although Stephen-Henry did. He may not have been interested or he may have been too busy subduing all his far-flung properties. One of these properties was the town of Payns not far from Troyes. A son of the lord of the town, Hugh de Payns, became one of Hugh’s supporters and a member of his court.3

  Hugh scored a coup in 1094 by his marriage to Constance, daughter of Philip I, king of France. She brought with her the dowry of Attigny, just north of Hugh’s lands. />
  As the twelfth century dawned, Hugh seemed to be an up-and-coming young nobleman, with an expanding amount of land and royal connections.

  In 1102, Stephen-Henry died in battle in Palestine. He left several young sons and a formidable wife, Adele, the daughter of King Henry I of England. This was Stephen’s second trip to the Holy Land. It was said that Adele wasn’t pleased with her husband’s military exploits on the first trip. He had deserted the crusader army before reaching Antioch. Adele insisted he return and fight more bravely before showing his face at home again.4 Stephen-Henry’s death in battle apparently satisfied her.

  At about the same time, 1103, Hugh had a very strange encounter. One day while he was traveling in the valley of Suippe, a man named Alexander, a pilgrim from the Holy Land, came to see him. A charter from the convent of Avenay tells what happened next. “Hugh . . . used to ransom captives and aid the destitute. Among these was a certain Alexander, an impoverished man from overseas whom the count took into his own household. The most noble count and his family treated this man so well that he even ate and often slept in the count’s personal quarters.”5

  Hugh’s confidence in Alexander was misplaced for, one night, “judging the time and place appropriate, [he] tried to slit the throat of the sleeping count.”6

  The records don’t give a reason for the attack, nor do they say anything more about the pilgrim. This is one of the frustrations of historical records.

  Hugh only survived the attack because his men took him directly to the nearby convent of Avenay, where he spent several months recovering. In return he gave a large donation to the nuns, whose care and prayers he felt had saved his life when doctors couldn’t.

  It may have been the combination of his brother’s death and his own near miss that convinced Hugh to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He left in 1104 and returned around 1107.7It’s not clear whether he and his retinue aided in the ongoing fight to keep the land won by the first crusaders or simply visited the pilgrim sites.