Secrets of the Knights Templar

by S. J. Hodge

  From the fourth century CE and made of white limestone, this carving is believed to depict the Ark of the Covenant, from the Synagogue of Capernaum, Galilee, Israel.

  Contemporary biblical archaeologist and architect Dr Leen Ritmeyer (1945– ) spent 22 years in Jerusalem studying the site of Temple Mount. Through his examinations and available historical resources of the site, he reconstructed the original Temple of Solomon and the Second Temple, plus later additions and expansions. But the Supreme Muslim Council was unwilling to allow further archaeological excavations, so Ritmeyer’s proposals about any secrets the site may hold cannot be substantiated. His research, however, confirmed the traditional view that the ancient Jewish Temple once stood in the same place as the Dome of the Rock. Using further historical data supplemented by modern photographs, Dr Ritmeyer also believes that he has identified the exact location of the Ark inside the Temple and its size. Based on his measurement of the Biblical cubit, he suggests that the Ark was exactly 132 × 78.7 centimetres (52 × 31 inches). While scholars and archaeologists do not all agree, all acknowledge that Ritmeyer’s suggestions are plausible, and most agree that the Ark was never placed in the Second Temple. It may have been destroyed or taken away and hidden before the Temple was sacked, or it could remain hidden under the ground beneath Temple Mount even now, or somewhere else close by. There is the possibility that it was found by others long after the Jews had possessed it but, if so, what they did with it and where it is now remains a mystery. Ritmeyer believes that it is possibly still buried deep within Temple Mount, in the secret chamber that was built either by King Solomon or by King Josiah. The Mishneh Torah, 14 books of Jewish religious law, compiled between 1170 and 1180, was written by one of the most important rabbis in history, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, or Maimonides (1135–1204). It states that the prophet Jeremiah gave instructions to King Josiah that it was imperative for him to remove the Ark of the Covenant from the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Solomon. As Josiah reigned over Jerusalem from 641 to 609 BCE, this was over 20 years before the Babylonians overran the city. The chamber forming the Holy of Holies is purported to be carved out of bedrock with a similarly carved tunnel to reach it. This is not the tunnel found by the team of engineers in 1867, so, with this in mind, in 2009 further investigation was undertaken by several of Israel’s leading rabbis. For 18 months, they excavated, but said that they needed a further 18 months of digging to get close to what they were seeking. Unfortunately, owing to religious and political pressure from the Arab world, the Israeli government discontinued their activities and they did not find what they were looking for.

  These are not the only theories about the whereabouts of the Ark, however. One belief focuses on western Africa and follows an Ethiopian legend that claims that the Queen of Sheba had a child by King Solomon. The boy was called Menelik, which means ‘the son of the wiseman’. When he was 20 years old, Menelik travelled to Jerusalem to study at his father’s court. But Solomon’s priests were jealous of him and insisted he leave. While Solomon accepted this, he also ordered that all first-born sons of other elders in his court should accompany Menelik. As they left Israel, Azarius, the eldest son of the High Priest, stole the Ark of the Covenant. Once they reached Ethiopia, Menelik founded the ‘Second Jerusalem’ and today, the ancient church of St Mary of Zion is said to house the Ark, which is traditionally brought out every January for a celebration known as Timkat. Other theories maintain that in accordance with the information on the Copper Scroll, along with other temple treasures, the Ark is hidden in a cave near the Dead Sea, believed to be on either the River Jordan’s East or West Banks. In recent decades, numerous caves in this region have been excavated, including some which contained the Dead Sea Scrolls, but although many other artefacts were also recovered, no evidence of the Ark was found.

  The church of Germigny-des-Prés, Loiret, France, built in 806. The central apse features this shimmering mosaic of two cherubim above the Ark of the Covenant.

  Apart from there being no physical or archaeological evidence that the Templars found the Ark of the Covenant, as devout Christians, they would have known of the biblical stories that recounted how dangerous the Ark was. The Bible tells that any unauthorized touching of the Ark of the Covenant resulted in death, as a story in the Second Book of Samuel verifies:

  When they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God.

  2 SAMUEL 6:6–7

  In the Book of Joshua, the story is told about priests carrying the Ark to the River Jordan, whereupon the river separated, opening a pathway for the Israelites following the priests to pass through:

  When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front. Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing towards the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

  JOSHUA 3:14–17

  Later in the Book of Joshua, the Ark of the Covenant is carried by seven priests in a seven-day procession around the walls of Jericho, while they sound the trumpets of seven rams’ horns. On the seventh day, the massive city walls collapse. The Ark also killed two sons of Moses, just because they looked at it. It was considered by Jews to be so dangerous to look upon that it was always carefully wrapped up in a veil, animal skins and a blue cloth.

  A 19th-century painting by Benjamin West, of the Biblical story of Joshua crossing the River Jordan with the Israelites and the Ark of the Covenant. ‘…The Israelite officers went through the camp, giving these instructions to the people: “When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them.”’

  A 20th-century writer (see Chapter 7, The French Revolution) claims that the original nine members of the Templar Order discovered the Ark of the Covenant early in their formation while digging under Temple Mount – and the evidence of this can be seen on a pillar in Chartres Cathedral in France. Known as the Portal of the Initiates, the pillar features a carving of the Ark of the Covenant being loaded on to a wheeled cart, to be transported somewhere. Several historians have suggested that the Templars had connections with Chartres and the later, 20th-century speculation builds on that, claiming that the carving depicts the Templars moving the Ark of the Covenant. The theory is that they found the Ark in Jerusalem, but anticipating the Templar arrests in the early 14th century, they moved their secret, sacred possession to France. There is more on this theory in Chapter 7, but most historians maintain that the carving simply portrays the Ark being transported, either by Moses when it was first made to house the Ten Commandments, or by King David or King Solomon, before it was placed securely in the Temple.

  Similar, affiliated legends about the Templars and their excavations have been put forward by various writers but – without real evidence – they remain unverifiable. These include the idea that while digging, the Templars found some biblical documentation, which has been variously described as scriptural scrolls, details of sacred geometry or information regarding long-forgotten wisdom that was understood by the ancient Jewish and Egyptian elders. It would appear by their tunnels that the Templars had a preconceived plan or had been told where to dig, but in the mid-20th century, an international team investigated the Dead Sea Scrolls, and searched every site liste
d in the Copper Scrolls. The team did not discover anything relating to the Temple of Solomon or any biblical artefacts, but they found further evidence of Templar presence in the 12th century. This has given rise to further speculation that the Templars were looking for certain things and that they knew where to look. However, at thistime, nothing further can be ascertained as there still remains a lack of any actual proof that they found anything.

  The Dome of the Rock

  The Dome of the Rock has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE, and while living there, the Templars studied many of the materials, proportions and building methods that were used in its construction. Much of this was used in Templar churches across Europe. The Dome of the Rock was built around ‘the Foundation Stone’, or the most sacred site in Jewish tradition, as it is believed to be the location of the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple. The Muslim builders of the shrine of the Dome of the Rock echoed the measurements and design of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The diameter of the dome is 20.2 metres (66¼ feet) and its height is 20.5 metres (67¼ feet), while the diameter of the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is 20.9 metres (68½ feet) and its height is 21.5 metres (70½ feet).

  A section of the bronze doors of the baptistery in Florence, made by Lorenzo Ghiberti between 1425 and 1452. Dubbed ‘The Gates of Paradise,’ this part of the door depicts the story of The Fall of Jericho. Joshua is on a chariot, preceded by Israelites carrying the Ark of the Covenant.

  Travel to the West

  In 1127, Hugh de Payns, accompanied by a few knights who have been named as Godfrey de St Omer, Payen de Montdidier, Robert de Craon and André de Montbard, travelled to the West from Jerusalem. Sent by King Baldwin, they were on a mission to recruit new members to the Templar Order and to elicit donations. This was two years after Bernard of Clairvaux had written to Hugh de Champagne when he left France to join the Templars, and nine years after Bernard had allowed his monks Rossal and Gondemar to leave the Cistercian Order and join the Knights Templar in the Holy Land. In 1126, before Hugh de Payns left Jerusalem, King Baldwin had written to Bernard of Clairvaux, explaining that the Templars were seeking papal approval and some financial support for their mission in the East. Bernard, who was probably in communication with Baldwin and Hugh de Champagne, had anticipated the king. In a letter to the Pope in 1125, Bernard had complained that the proposal by a fellow Cistercian abbot, to lead a mission of Cistercians to the East, would be a waste of time and money. What was needed, he wrote, is a ‘mission of fighting knights, not singing and wailing monks’.

  As soon as Hugh de Payns arrived in France in the autumn of 1127, donations of silver and armour and grants of land were given to him for the Templar Order. Theobald, Hugh de Champagne’s heir, started the donations by giving them land at Barbonne-Fayel, 50 kilometres (31 miles) north-west of Troyes. Other wealthy landowners and church leaders were soon forthcoming with further donations, recording in charters their reasons for donating. For instance, a knight, Baldwin Brochet d’Hénin-Liétard, who is believed to have fought alongside some of the Templars in the First Crusade, gave all his property at Planque in Flanders to the Order, because ‘the knights of the Temple of Jerusalem abound in the heights of charity and the grace of laudable renown’. In the summer of 1128, Hugh de Payns was welcomed with great honour in England by King Henry I, who gave them gold and silver. At the end of his reign, he also gave them land in Holborn, London, where the first Templar church was built. Also in England, Matilda of Boulogne gave the Templars a valuable manor in Essex, which became Temple Cressing. Matilda was married to Stephen of Blois, a grandson of William I of England who, among other things, deserted the Crusader army before Antioch, giving rise to the belief by Emperor Alexius that the rest of the Crusaders had perished. Stephen ruled England from 1135 to 1154. Hugh de Payns was given several more tracts of land around England, especially in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, before he moved on to Scotland and received further donations there. King David of Scotland gave the Templars the lands of Ballantrodoch that became their Scottish headquarters. It is believed that Hugh de Payns also travelled to Rome where he requested an audience with Pope Honorius II (r. 1124–30) who, as could be expected, was particularly sensitive to the situation in the Holy Land and keen for pilgrims to travel there safely. Back in France, Hugh de Payns solicited even more donations as he and his fellow Templars travelled to Troyes to meet Bernard of Clairvaux. Apart from André de Montbard, who was Bernard’s [younger] uncle, none of the Templars had yet met the clever and charismatic Bernard of Clairvaux.

  In this 1840 painting by François-Marius Granet, the Knights Templar are being officially recognized at the 1129 Council of Troyes.

  The Council of Troyes

  On 13 January 1129, a Church Council convened in the town of Troyes, the capital city of the Champagne region. Troyes was close to Hugh de Payns’ birthplace and the Council was originally organized to declare ‘the Peace and Truce of God’. This was a contemporary movement of the Catholic Church to attempt to limit the violent in-fighting within feudal societies. It was an organized effort to control civilians through spiritual sanctions rather than by force. The Council was also assembled to settle disputes regarding the Bishops of Paris and to deal with other Church matters of the time, but it was seen by those with interests in the Knights Templar as a way of being heard. Although the Pope convened it, he did not attend, but several of the most eminent churchmen did. These included the papal legate, Matthew, Cardinal-bishop of Albano; ten bishops and two archbishops, Renaud of Rheims and Henry of Sens; and several Cistercians, including Bernard of Clairvaux.

  The Champagne region

  The birthplace of the First Crusade, the Cistercian Order and the Templars, during the medieval period, Champagne in the northeast of France, was an important trading area. From the tenth century it was ruled by the self-made Counts of Champagne who created a powerful principality. Popes and kings respected and responded to the rulers of the region and several of these rulers became even more powerful than the French monarchs. The cities of Troyes, Rheims and Épernay became particularly important commercial centres. The area achieved its greatest strength under Hugh de Champagne’s successor, Theobald IV the Great (who was Count of Champagne from 1125 to 1152).

  Portrait of Theobald I, who was Count of Champagne as Theobald IV and also King of Navarre, nicknamed posthumously ‘the Troubadour’ (Chansonnier). He was also famous during his life as a brave Crusader, and the first Frenchman to rule Navarre.

  Once the essential Council business had been dealt with, Hugh de Payns and Bernard of Clairvaux used the forum as a vehicle to gain acceptance for the Templars as an official order, to be recognized by the entire Latin Church and not just those living in or visiting the Holy Land. Hugh was first to address the Council. He spoke about how he started the Order and its mission. Not everyone was favourably inclined towards the notion of holy men taking up arms, as many did not understand the logistics of it and felt the contradiction of faith and fighting to be too great. Hugh’s impassioned tale helped to persuade many of those present that it would be the most reasonable and reliable method of defence in the Holy Land. Who else could look after pilgrims but men of the cloth and who else could defend them, but noble knights? As well as the church officials present, the Council included Theobald, Count of Champagne, William, Count of Nevers, and another nobleman, André de Baudemant, who were there specifically to give the clergy a trustworthy understanding of active, combative life. Then Bernard of Clairvaux spoke, championing the Templars’ unique situation and their circumstances. Speaking passionately and articulately, he explained why it was imperative that the Church gave the Order its full support. Without them, Jerusalem might as well be in the hands of the infidel, he declared, as no one could visit the holy places. Look how many innocent Christians had been murdered on their way to pray at the holiest of shrines; was it not time, now that Jerusalem was back in the hands of the Christians, that this barbarity a
nd bloodshed was stopped? Eventually, the Council agreed and gave the Templars its full backing.

  Until that time, the Templars had worn simple tunics as ordinary knights, and one of the first things Hugh requested was an official habit with a Rule to follow to make them comparable to other monks and mark them as an official confraternity. After much discussion, the Council granted them permission to wear white habits like the Cistercians (white signified purity) and they were given a monastic Rule to follow in line with several other religious orders. The Rule was decided upon mainly by Bernard of Clairvaux, who took into consideration their fighting activities and other specific physical needs as soldiers. So it was with immediate effect that at the Council of Troyes in 1129, the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Jesus Christ and the Temple of Solomon were officially endorsed.