Secrets of the Knights Templar

by S. J. Hodge

  Friend or foe?

  As soon as the Templars were established in Jerusalem, they began their policing duties along pilgrims’ routes. Naturally this did not mean that they immediately began fighting with any non-pilgrims they met beyond the walls of Jerusalem, but they set up a rota for patrolling the vulnerable areas around the city. They also worked on other methods of peacekeeping. As each perceived the other as evil, it was initially inconceivable to any Christians or Muslims that friendships should occur between them, and considering the Templars’ task was to overcome any marauding infidels, it would have seemed incongruous to most that they could ever communicate civilly with each other. But the Templars pursued a cautious policy, aiming for peaceful control of the menace beyond Jerusalem’s walls. Accepting that most of the attackers were intractable and violent, the Templars approached some of the Arab leaders with a view to establishing treaties. The plan was to persuade Muslim rulers to restrain their own miscreants. This would make the Templars’ job far simpler. By even speaking civilly to the Arabs, the Templars were breaking new grounds in diplomacy. For some considerable time, this proved a fairly successful solution to the problems.

  The first treaty made between the Christians and the Muslims was with the leader of the Assassins, a fanatical Shi’ite sect that formed in approximately 1091 in fierce opposition to the Sunni Seljuk authority. The name Assassin possibly derived from the word Asasiyun, which essentially means the foundation of the faith. Also known as the Hashshashin, Assassins were generally young men with great physical strength and endurance. Necessarily intelligent and well-educated, they worked by gaining knowledge about their enemies’ culture, native language and personalities. Trained to disguise themselves, to steal into enemy territory and to murder stealthily rather than openly in battle, they were shrewd, furtive and cunning. This is the origin of the word assassin. Although they were the Christians’ adversaries, in sharing their common hatred of the Seljuks, the Assassins were not as averse to dealing with the Templars as many other Muslim forces were. However, it was not the Templars themselves but the King of Jerusalem who first approached the Assassins with the offer of a treaty. After this, the Templars made several more military alliances with surrounding Muslim rulers, learned the language and about the culture of Islam, and so strengthened their guard in the Holy Land.

  More than mere treaties, however, some Templars and Muslims even became friends with each other. For instance, Usama ibn Munqidh (1095–1188), a poet, author, warrior and diplomat from northern Syria, recorded that he had become friendly with several Christian knights and even stayed with the Templars ‘who were my friends’ in Jerusalem. The Templars allowed him to pray in a chapel they had built in the Al-Aqsa mosque.

  A portrait of Gregorio Papareschi, Pope Innocent II from 1130 to 1143, by Giuseppe Franchi (1731–1806).

  While it seemed a rational approach in the Holy Land, this behaviour was viewed by those living in Europe as going against all that the Christians had fought for. Other monastic orders and ordinary Muslims and Christians who were based elsewhere would neither have understood nor condoned what they would have perceived as duplicitous behaviour. When word spread back to Europe of the Templars’ secret dealings with the infidel, many suspicions were roused about their motives and their true faith and loyalties. This notion subsequently fuelled several conspiracy theories about the Knights Templar.

  Meanwhile, the situation in Outremer remained fraught with difficulties, and although minorities befriended each other and a few treaties were made, there was little trust between the various factions. William of Tyre refers to the Templars in Tripoli taking payment from the Assassins, and the Assassins negotiating with the King of Jerusalem for another form of alliance in order to stop the payments. Nearly a century later, another chronicler, Jean de Joinville (c.1224–1317), recorded that the Assassins were making regular payments to both the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller as reparations for murdering members of the Christian orders. In 1197, Henry II de Champagne, ruler of Jerusalem from 1192 to 1197, sought an alliance with the Assassin leader, which was immediately reported to Christians in Europe and caused outrage. Although diplomatic relations were necessary where these religious people lived in close proximity to each other, most writers were wary of relating too much about them for fear of provoking anger in Europe.

  The relationships between the Templars and the Muslim and Jewish communities in the Holy Land were more complex than Christians living beyond Outremer would understand. Despite his pressure on them to fight the infidel, Bernard of Clairvaux always insisted on tolerance, and even on the benevolent treatment of Jews. He only wanted Jerusalem and other important Christian sites to be under Christian control, but beyond that, he told the Templars to try to tolerate other religions. When the Templars acquired more land and property in the Holy Land, in several cases they became landlords to many Jews living there and were allegedly friendly and respectful.

  Depiction of Mary with Child and Saints from 1486 by Filippino Lippi (1457–1504). The inclusion of John the Baptist with Bernard of Clairvaux and two other saints is a demonstration of Bernard’s importance in the Church.

  Privileges and growth

  In 1139, in an unprecedented show of approval, largely due to his indebtedness to Bernard of Clairvaux, Pope Innocent II granted the Templars numerous privileges in a papal bull. Among other things, he made them responsible only to the Holy See, which was an enormous privilege. It gave them strong papal protection and local or any other clergy had no command over them, which was unprecedented. No one but the Pope could excommunicate them, or give them any form of penance. This annoyed many who did not have such advantage and it irritated some bishops and priests who had no authority over the Templars as they had over other orders. The privileges continued. Templars were absolved from feudal duties, entitled to keep any spoils of war, allowed to collect tithes, to build their own churches, to bury their own dead and to try and execute criminals. They were given the right to choose their own Grand Masters and Masters, and Templar properties and revenues were free from taxation to the Crown or the Church. All these concessions were almost unique and certainly singled the Templars out as a particularly favoured order. In 1144, Pope Celestine II (r. 1143–44) declared another bull that became called Milites Templi (Knights of the Temple) and caused even greater resentment within the clergy. Pope Celestine urged Christians everywhere to donate as much as they could to the Templar Order. If annual donations were made to the Templars, he declared, any penance subsequently given to the donor for any sins would be reduced by one-seventh. This was galling for almost all other orders and local churches, as it encouraged the faithful to donate to the Templars all the time rather than to their local churches.

  This, however, was not the biggest insult to other members of the Church. Milites Templi also decreed that when any Templars entered a town, city, village or castle to collect contributions, even if the place was under interdict, the churches should be opened ‘in a friendly manner in honour of the Temple and in respect for these knights, and divine offices should be celebrated’ (Milites Templi, 9 January 1144). Interdict was one of the few – and the strongest – methods the Church could use to enforce the obedience of its followers. It was the only way of punishing rulers and their parishioners for grave sins and it was generally effective. If a location was under interdict, usually due to the ruler’s wrongdoing, then no one could attend Mass, receive communion or go to confession. In the medieval period, this was particularly frightening to God-fearing Christians. By the Milites Templi insisting that, for any period in which Templars were present, that interdict would be lifted and everyone could rush into church and receive all the sacraments needed for the salvation of their souls, then the interdict would lose its power and it would not matter too much if it was re-imposed once the Templars had left. This took the gravity out of the interdict and also meant that grateful worshippers would be as generous as they could to the Templars, and any mone
y they might have given to their local church would no longer be forthcoming.

  The Splayed Cross

  It is believed that the splayed cross, also known as the cross pattée or crux gemmata, had been worn by members of the ancient tribe of Benjamin, one of the biblical tribes of Israel. It was later used in early Christian art and made popular in Christianity after Empress Helena claimed to have found the True Cross in the early fourth century, when she had a piece of the True Cross placed in an elaborate, cross-shaped reliquary with splayed ends. When the Templars adopted it, they did not use it consistently, nor did the design remain the same. In general, the lines making up the Templar cross are of equal length, unlike the more common Christian crucifix symbol that has a longer vertical line. It is believed that the Templars adopted the equal-length cross with splayed ends after seeing it in churches of the Coptic faith, an Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity founded in Egypt. The splayed cross was not their exclusive symbol, although they have become known for it in recent centuries, and they did not all wear it as an official emblem. Among others, the Knights Hospitaller and the Teutonic Knights also wore other forms of the splayed cross, as did St George.

  The rite of sepulture

  In 1146, according to William of Tyre, Pope Eugenius III granted the Order the right to wear the splayed red cross on their tunics, symbolizing their willingness to suffer martyrdom in the defence of the Holy Land. It was a great honour as it marked them out once again as being specially selected. Sixteen years later, Pope Alexander III (r. 1159–81) issued another papal bull confirming and endorsing all the grants and concessions that previous popes had bestowed upon them. With such advantages, it facilitated their rapid expansion. Almost inevitably, the Templars were criticized for taking advantage of their favours, but they would have been criticized equally had they not done so. Although other religious orders were also given privileges, it seemed that the Templars were being given more than their fair share. Eventually, there were few areas left where they did not receive special advantages. In 1162, Alexander III even gave them the ‘rite of sepulture’, which meant they could administer last rites and actually bury their own dead.

  We … concede to you the power of constructing oratories in the places bestowed upon the sacred house of the Temple, where you and your retainers and servants may dwell; so that both ye and they may be able to assist at the divine offices, and receive there the rite of sepulture; for it would be unbecoming and very dangerous to the souls of the religious brethren, if they were to be mixed up with a crowd of secular persons, and be brought into the company of women on the occasion of their going to church.

  EXCERPT FROM POPE ALEXANDER III’s PAPAL BULL, 7 JANUARY 1162

  A 17th-century portrait of Guido Ghefucci da Castello, Pope Celestine II from 1143 to 1144. A controversial pope, he particularly favoured the Templars, causing huge rancour within the clergy.

  In giving last rites and burying their own dead, once again the Knights Templar subverted the power and authority of local clergy. It was a bonus for the Templars but it exacerbated rancour elsewhere. Presumably reflecting the fact that both brotherhoods were based in the Holy Land and had specific functions to fulfil, the Hospitallers received similar grants and privileges. At the Third Lateran Council held in 1179, Pope Alexander received several complaints from priests and bishops that the Templars and the Hospitallers were abusing their privileges and undermining the authority of local clergy:

  Now we have learnt from the strongly worded complaints of our brethren and fellow bishops that the Templars and Hospitallers … exceeding the privileges granted them by the apostolic see have often disregarded episcopal authority, causing scandal to the people of God and grave danger to souls.

  EXCERPT FROM THE THIRD LATERAN COUNCIL, II79

  A fresco by Luca Spinelli (1332–1410), showing Alexander III entering Rome with the Germanic Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa (1122–90).

  The Council decreed that the Templars and Hospitallers were to amend their behaviour or they would find themselves under interdict. In 1207, Pope Innocent III (r. 1198–1216) wrote to the Knights Templar, complaining that they had grown proud and were misusing their prestigious position. He wrote that virtually anyone with money in their pockets was permitted to join the Order, including those who had been refused access to the Church, even wrongdoers. It seems that in their eagerness to raise as much money as possible, some Templars were perceived to be greedy and not always honest.

  Commercial activities

  With so many donations and new members pledging their worldly goods to the Templars, their expansion was rapid and, from the start, they ran the Order like a business. By the early 1140s, they had acquired enough new members, land and money to be able to initiate and uphold military operations in both the Holy Land and the Iberian Peninsula, as they conceded to Spanish and Portuguese rulers that they would help to fight the Moors in exchange for valuable land and castles. They were also given properties in other parts of Europe. So while their main priority was always the protection of Jerusalem, their farms, vineyards, mills, mines, barns, houses, chapels, castles and preceptories (known as commanderies in French) all over Europe meant that they could open chapters in various countries. By 1150, they owned areas stretching from the Holy Land to Tuscany, from Spain to Portugal, from Provence to Occitan (now known as Languedoc/Roussillon), from Normandy to England and Scotland, and from Denmark to the Orkney Islands. A huge amount of personnel was needed to maintain this vast amount of property and land, in the form of servants, farriers, labourers, blacksmiths, carpenters, farmhands, armourers and herdsmen, and, without any prior experience, the Templars quickly became an efficient and extremely well-organized enterprise. This maximized their capital, which in turn increased their efficiency and strength.

  From the middle of the 12th century to the beginning of the 13th, increasing international trade and social stabilization occurred throughout Europe, as the feudal system changed and agriculturalists, bankers and merchants gained wealth and status. A network of roads was being built across Europe, and although their vow of poverty meant that they owned nothing personally, the Knights Templar played an active part in the creation of this new, business-led society. They had started to generate substantial income through trade, farming, industry and shipping. Their farms, fields and vineyards yielded grain, wool, fruit, vegetables, wine and olives. They received rents and tithes from numerous properties in the form of land and buildings; they rented these to workers and farmers and for regular markets and fairs that were common at the time, and they mined coal and metal ores. They were also involved with smelting metal, which was used in tool and armament production. As they expanded, they necessarily used commercial shipping companies, but by the early 13th century they began building up a fleet of their own, another undertaking that they developed carefully and conscientiously, taking advice from experts. With so many members now of all different nationalities, they could research the best practice for any of their enterprises in each country. In a relatively short time they owned a large fleet of well-made ships, with bases in Italy, France, Spain and the Holy Land. Templar ships carried travellers, including pilgrims, merchants and troops, as well as provisions and supplies, horses and many commercial consignments including wine, olive oil, wheat, wool, cloth, armaments and various other foodstuffs across Europe and possibly even further afield. Much of this was for their own use, but even more was for their commercial enterprises. Among other ports, they based their ships in England at Bristol, Dover, Portsmouth and Rye, in France at La Rochelle and Marseilles, in Italy at Bari and Brindisi, and in Outremer at Acre, Caesarea, Sidon, Tortosa and Tripoli. For many years, their main port was Acre, a walled city built on a promontory with a double harbour. It was very important for the Christians who lived in and around Jerusalem, but after Saladin took Jerusalem in 1191, it became even more so; and the Templars moved their headquarters there.

  Late 13th-century fresco of Pope Innocent III, who complain
ed to the Templars that they were too proud and arrogant for holy men.

  Within 50 years of their foundation, the Knights Templar had become a strong and prosperous commercial force, while they still continued to maintain their primary role of defending pilgrims in the Holy Land. Within 100 years of their humble beginnings, they had developed into the medieval equivalent of an international corporation, with interests in almost every form of commercial enterprise of the time.

  Medieval markets and fairs

  As a consequence of the rapidly growing economy across Europe, markets and fairs became extremely popular, providing an opportunity for people to buy and sell goods. Markets took place on the same day each week or month. Traders paid tolls to the landowners where they set up their stalls. The same happened at annual fairs, which were held in practically every town. Usually beginning on the day of a religious festival, they attracted visitors from all over the country or further. As well as staple goods, they also offered luxurious produce, including silks, oils, perfumes, jewellery and spices from distant locations. Fairs also attracted entertainers such as jugglers, acrobats and fortune tellers, all of whom had to pay the landowners for their sites. Fairs were the result of new trading links and they expanded as new roads were built. They became important events on the calendars of local towns and villages, as popular and thriving social events and meeting places, and the Templars made good profits by renting their land for the purpose.