Secrets of the Knights Templar

by S. J. Hodge

  At the end of 1119, the nine men of the group were officially given permission to form the confraternity that would be called ‘The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Jesus Christ’. They were also given quarters in the building that King Baldwin II had used as a palace, the Al-Aqsa mosque. As the Christians believed it to be on the site of the original Temple of Solomon, their name became extended to: ‘The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Jesus Christ and the Temple of Solomon’. After being lengthened, their title was frequently abbreviated to the far simpler Templar Knights or Knights Templar.

  There are writers other than William of Tyre who relate a slightly different story. A scribe from the abbey of St Bertin, known only as Simon, recorded in about 1135–7 that the first Templars were Crusaders who remained in the Holy Land after 1099. Evidence for this is not forthcoming and, given that so many pilgrims lost their lives in the early years after the First Crusade, this is either not the case or those original Templars were not particularly conscientious. An English monk, Orderic Vitalis (1075–c.1142), based at the monastery of St Evroul in Normandy, who wrote a contemporary chronicle of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and England, wrote in the 1120s of the Templars, declaring that they were ‘admirable knights’ who devoted their lives to the physical and spiritual service of God and who ‘face martyrdom daily’. Although he does not describe their formation, his writing affirms that they were in operation by the 1120s. Whatever the actual timing, or whose idea it originally was, the start of the Order remains shrouded in mystery because there is no definitive contemporary account of its beginnings.

  It is not apparent why the start of the Brotherhood is so obscure, nor why (according to William of Tyre) only nine men were originally recruited, nor even why that number remained the same or nearly the same for several years, despite the desperate need for far more men to undertake such an important and onerous task as defending the Holy Land. If nothing else, the relative safety of larger numbers of knights on the treacherous roads outside Jerusalem would have been crucial. Some later accounts state that the Templar numbers remained restricted because their existence was so austere, while others assert that it was because the few men had been specifically selected for a secret purpose. Others insist that there were more than nine men within a short time, but the nine original men were briefed to undertake a slightly different role. Some historians have gone so far as to say that the nine is purely symbolic, that there were far more early members, but that nine was used as it is a circular number: it can be divided by three to make three, and no matter how many times it is multiplied together, the resulting number will always be divisible by three. It might even have been simply a round number made up by William of Tyre for tidiness in his account of the early days of the Order.

  Bernard of Clairvaux

  Born on the outskirts of Dijon in Burgundy to a family of lower nobility, Bernard de Fontaines-les-Dijon (1090–1153) became a Cistercian monk after the death of his beloved mother. At that time, the Cistercian Order was a small, new religious community that had been established in Citeaux Abbey near Dijon in 1098, expressly to restore the ascetic Rule of St Benedict, which many felt had become rather lax. A thoughtful and intelligent young man, Bernard was so impressed with the Cistercians that he convinced four of his brothers, an uncle and 26 other young men to join the Order with him. (In the 11th and 12th centuries, entering the Church was a common career for at least one son or daughter of a good family, but it is a measure of Bernard’s powers of persuasion that he convinced so many to join with him, including a married brother.)

  A 1455 French illustration of Jerusalem, from the manuscript Avis Directif pour faire le Passage d’Outremer (Information for Making the Journey to Outremer), written in 1332 by Brocart l’Allemand.

  In 1115, after just three years of being a Cistercian monk, Bernard was asked to found a new abbey in a remote valley known as the Val d’Absinthe, not far from Troyes. The tract of land had been given to the Cistercians by Hugh de Champagne. Bernard took 12 other monks with him and named the new monastery Clair Vallée, or ‘Valley of Light’. The name evolved into ‘Clairvaux’. From his first days of being an abbot, Bernard imposed stringent discipline on himself and his order. His health began to suffer and his monks objected so, reluctantly, he softened his approach – but only slightly. Even with such a severe regime, Clairvaux flourished and expanded rapidly. Word spread about Bernard’s persuasive and eloquent homilies and writings, and as the Cistercian Order grew, so did his broader influence and responsibilities. He became the most authoritative and respected monk of his time. A man of many contradictions, he clearly displayed some extraordinary qualities as he was canonized little more than 20 years after his death. Devout, pious and articulate, he was also charismatic, physically attractive and volatile. While he spoke about the love of God, he also urged Christians to fight and kill Muslims. He wrote of the importance of humility and modesty, and he was asked to advise the popes of his time, so he wielded great power. Pope Eugenius III (r. 1145–53) once complained to him in a letter: ‘They say that it is you who are Pope and not I.’ Bernard claimed to prefer a life of solitude, yet he was almost constantly surrounded by many who asked for his advice or his permission, and his gentle spirituality seemed at odds with his involvement in the often intense politics of the Church. Through his influence, the Cistercian Order became so popular that over his life he founded 163 new monasteries across Europe. Each was built on his command as a plain, geometric structure, devoid of towers, painting, sculpture or other adornments. Several of these were paid for by Hugh de Champagne and in 1125, just before Hugh left to join the Templars in the Holy Land, Bernard wrote to him, saying how sorry he was that the Count was going to travel so far away to devote himself to God and that, even though it was undoubtedly the will of the Lord, he would still miss his friend who had been so generous to the Cistercians.

  Bernard had close relationships with other reforming orders of his day, such as the Carthusians, but he had particularly close links with the Knights Templar. A friend of the Count of Champagne, he was allegedly distant cousins with Hugh de Payns and the nephew of another of the original Templars, André de Montbard. Two others in that first group of nine, known only as Rossal and Gondemar, had been Cistercians under him. For them to transfer their allegiances from the Cistercians to the Templars, Bernard had to give his authorization. Apart from the Count of Champagne, all the original Templars came from the same background as Bernard, that is, of the lower nobility, and they all grew up in the Champagne region of France.

  A devoutly religious man such as Bernard and many of his contemporaries would not have been as shocked at the idea of fighting monks as might be imagined. Since the fifth century when Augustine of Hippo had described the four conditions that could lead to a ‘just war’ by Christians, and even more recently since the First Crusade, the idea of religious men fighting to protect other Christians had become popular. In recent decades in Europe, several groups of lower nobles had banded together and provided themselves with their own (expensive) military equipment, including chain-mail, armour, helmet, shield, sword, lance and a horse (also with armour). These groups of self-appointed knights came together with the aim of protecting churches and monasteries against criminals in their own countries. Several of these groups joined the First Crusade together. Most of these confraternities did not have official recognition, although they usually sought the blessing of a priest before they set off. This could have been Hugh de Champagne’s arrangement when he travelled to the Holy Land with his group of knights in 1114.

  Bernard and the banishment of art

  St Bernard of Clairvaux and the Cistercian monks taking possession of the Abbey of Clairvaux, this illustration was created by Paul Lacroix (1806–84) for a book, Military and Religious Life in the Middle Ages, published c.1880.

  At the time that Bernard joined the Cistercians, monks at Cîteaux Abbey had developed the most advanced style of manuscript illumination in France. Bernard believed that superf
luous ornamentation distracted from religious life and insisted that cistercian architecture was plain and utilitarian, and imagery limited. He was vehemently opposed to any superfluous adornment and his angry letters condemning figurative art and decoration resulted in painting and embellishment being banned altogether in 1154, the year of his death. This is an excerpt from one of his furious writings on the subject:

  … what profit is there in those ridiculous monsters, in that marvellous and deformed comeliness, that comely deformity? To what purpose are those unclean apes, those fierce lions, those monstrous centaurs, those half men, those striped tigers, those fighting knights, those hunters winding their horns? … In short, so many and so marvellous are the varieties of divers shapes on every hand, that we are more tempted to read in the marble than in our books, and to spend the whole day in wondering at these things rather than in meditating the law of God. For God’s sake, if men are not ashamed of these follies, why at least do they not shrink from the expense?

  Under Bernard’s instruction, cistercian architecture was extremely simple, logical and balanced, with no excess ornamentation.

  The Council of Nablus

  An order of monks with a distinct purpose beyond simple devotion to God had already been set up in Jerusalem before the Order of the Knights Templar was formed. The Knights Hospitaller, or the Order of the Knights of Saint John the Hospitaller, had been officially established by the Pope in 1113 as a religious order specifically to help sick pilgrims in a new infirmary near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Hospitallers were later called to help protect pilgrims in a more soldierly way, but the Knights Templar was the first specifically military order to be founded by the Catholic Church. In 1120, the Templars received official Church recognition at the Council of Nablus – although this was Church recognition only in Outremer and not in all of Christendom.

  The Council of Nablus was an oddity by Western standards. It was a religious council but it included as many lay people as ecclesiastical. This was probably because it was in the Holy Land where the population remained small. The Council was held in Jerusalem to establish the first written laws for the kingdom after the Crusade. Convened by Patriarch Warmund and King Baldwin II, it established 25 rules to deal with both religious and secular affairs. Sixty years later, William of Tyre wrote about it, including why it convened and its official recognition of the Templars, but he did not record any of the canons, as there was a deliberate effort to make Christian-ruled Outremer appear faultless. Nevertheless, the Council of Nablus gives us a date for the Templars’ acceptance as respected representatives of the Church in the Holy Land, with this – not particularly specific – canon: ‘If a cleric takes up arms in the cause of defence, he is not held to be guilty.’

  King Baldwin II of Jerusalem

  After taking part in the First Crusade under the leadership of his cousin, Godfrey de Bouillon, Baldwin of Le Bourg remained in the Holy Land. In 1118, he shot to power as King of Jerusalem, mainly just because he was there. The son of Hugh I, Count of Rethel and his wife Melisende, Baldwin had two younger brothers, Gervaise and Manasses, and two sisters, Matilda and Hodierna. In 1101, before he became king, Baldwin married Princess Morphia, the daughter of the Armenian prince Gabriel of Melitene. By all accounts, Baldwin was brave and amenable, and he made great efforts to assimilate with the people he now lived among; unlike his more arrogant predecessors. He was also more forward-thinking than many of his contemporaries. When he and Morphia had only daughters and no sons, he saw no reason why his eldest daughter should not inherit his lands and named her his successor. He also inherited numerous problems. After the massacre in Jerusalem at the end of the First Crusade, the city was underpopulated. Pilgrims were visiting, but few Christians chose to live there permanently. Baldwin set about encouraging any Christians, Syrians, Greeks or Armenians to settle and trade there. He also intended to address the issue of the attacks on pilgrims beyond the city walls. At the time of his accession, pilgrims were the only people bringing money into Jerusalem, so it was important that they still came to the Holy City. One year after he became King of Jerusalem, however, the ruler of Antioch was killed in battle. As the Count of Antioch’s heir was only 11 years old, Baldwin assumed responsibility until the boy was old enough. So whether it was his idea, the idea of Hugh de Champagne, or as William of Tyre states, the idea of Hugh de Payns, Baldwin was delighted to pass on one of his heavy responsibilities to the new order of religious knights.

  This illuminated manuscript written by William of Tyre recalls Baldwin II of Jerusalem’s death in 1131. The second count of Edessa and the third king of Jerusalem, Baldwin was highly respected by all, and described by William as ‘a devout and God-fearing man, notable for his loyalty and for his great experience in military matters’. Here, the citizens of Edessa pay their respects at Baldwin II’s funeral.

  Two sacred sites

  On Christmas Day 1119, Hugh de Payns, Godfrey de St Omer, André de Montbard, Payen de Montdidier, Archambaud de St Agnan, Geoffrey Bisol, the two former Cistercians recorded simply as Rossal and Gondemar, and one other, who many believe was Hugh, the Count of Champagne, knelt before King Baldwin II and the Patriarch Warmund and made their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This church had been rebuilt at great expense in 1048 by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX and his Patriarch Nicephorus, despite Jerusalem being in the hands of the Muslims at the time. The rebuilding was only allowed after some intense negotiations between the Byzantines and the Arabs. In order for it to go ahead, among other things, the Byzantines had agreed to opening a mosque in Constantinople and to the release of 5,000 Muslim prisoners.

  The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was of particular religious importance to Christians. Constructed over two sites, it is revered by all Christians as being on Golgotha, the Hill of Calvary, where, according to the New Testament, Jesus was crucified and where he was subsequently buried and rose again. The church had originally been built by the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine in about 326. The location was extremely important for pilgrims and it was one of Pope Urban II’s greatest concerns when he called for the First Crusade, as the Seljuk Turks were destroying all churches in lands they overran. It was one of the jewels of Jerusalem that the Christians wanted to preserve. Every Crusader prayed at the Holy Sepulchre before returning to Europe, and significantly, the first Templars swore their monastic vows there. It is possible too that, after the first Crusade, the earliest Templars remained based in the Holy Sepulchre as guardians of the building. Godfrey de Bouillon, when accepting the position of first ruler, had taken the name ‘Defender of the Holy Sepulchre’ rather than ‘King of Jerusalem’. William of Tyre wrote about further renovations that were made to the Holy Sepulchre in the mid-12th century, soon after the Templars’ formal acceptance at the Council of Nablus.

  THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON

  An icon of King Solomon, part of a 1497 painting from Dormition Church, St Cyril’s Monastery of Belozersk, Russia. Solomon was revered for maintaining peace between the newly reunited kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

  Some of the most enduring legends surrounding the Knights Templar revolve around the location of their first headquarters, believed by many at the time to be the Temple of Solomon. From the time they moved into the Al-Aqsa mosque, stories began emerging about their activities inside the building.

  After making their vows, the nine knights returned to the quarters they had been given in the mosque that had been renamed the Templum Salomonis under Christian occupation. This was as sacred to Christians as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, because it was assumed that it stood on the site of Solomon’s original Temple. It was of course the Al-Aqsa mosque, which had been built soon after 674, possibly on the site of a Byzantine church. It was also adjacent to the Dome of the Rock, which was most probably built on the actual site of Solomon’s Temple. The entire area is known as ‘Temple Mount’, a huge platform on a hill, and the lodgings giv
en to the Templars were large enough to contain them and to stable their horses in a vast underground space. Once they were installed, Baldwin II, his nobles, and Warmund and his priests gave the Templars a small income so that they could buy basic food, clothing and feed for their horses. For the first few years of their existence, they were completely reliant on the benevolence of others.

  One of the most enduring legends surrounding the Knights Templar revolves around the location of these first headquarters: the Temple of Solomon. From the time they moved into the Al-Aqsa mosque, stories began emerging about their activities inside the building. It is reported that the Templars were taciturn, which fuelled speculation about their clandestine activities, but they were probably no different to other religious orders, and they were undoubtedly busy setting up their organization and aiming for papal approval. As monks, they would almost certainly have been advised to refrain from mingling with the outside world, so this was nothing unusual. The fact that the site of the Temple of Solomon is so important in Jewish, Christian and Muslim beliefs added to people’s fascination about what they might be doing there. They clearly considered their base to be of great significance, which is why they incorporated Solomon’s name into their own, as unlike their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, Solomon was rich, had many wives and was an unconventional ruler.

  As one of the most contested religious locations in the world, Temple Mount has a remarkably busy and varied history. In Jewish and Christian belief, it was where God gathered earth to create Adam; where Cain, Abel and Noah offered sacrifices to God; where Jacob slept when he dreamt of angels; where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac and where King David set up an altar to God. In Christian teaching, it was the place from which Jesus chased off money-changers, while Muslims believe it was from there that the Prophet Muhammad ascended on his Night Journey to heaven.