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THE HISTORY OF
The Knights Templars,
THE TEMPLE CHURCH, AND THE TEMPLE.
BY CHARLES G. ADDISON, ESQ.
OF THE INNER TEMPLE.
[Illustration: TESTIS SVM AGNI.]
LONDON:
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS,
PATERNOSTER ROW.
1842.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY G. J. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.
TO THE
MASTERS OF THE BENCH OF THE HONOURABLE SOCIETIES
OF THE
Inner and Middle Temple,
THE RESTORERS
OF
The Antient Church of the Knights Templars,
THIS WORK
IS
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
BY
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
The extraordinary and romantic career of the Knights Templars, their
exploits and their misfortunes, render their history a subject of peculiar
interest.
Born during the first fervour of the Crusades, they were flattered and
aggrandized as long as their great military power and religious fanaticism
could be made available for the support of the Eastern church and the
retention of the Holy Land, but when the crescent had ultimately triumphed
over the cross, and the religio-military enthusiasm of Christendom had
died away, they encountered the basest ingratitude in return for the
services they had rendered to the christian faith, and were plundered,
persecuted, and condemned to a cruel death, by those who ought in justice
to have been their defenders and supporters. The memory of these holy
warriors is embalmed in all our recollections of the wars of the cross;
they were the bulwarks of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem during the short
period of its existence, and were the last band of Europe's host that
contended for the possession of Palestine.
To the vows of the monk and the austere life of the convent, the Templars
added the discipline of the camp, and the stern duties of the military
life, joining
"The fine vocation of the sword and lance,
With the gross aims, and body-bending toil
Of a poor brotherhood, who walk the earth
Pitied."
The vulgar notion that the Templars were as _wicked_ as they were fearless
and brave, has not yet been entirely exploded; but it is hoped that the
copious account of the proceedings against the order in this country,
given in the ninth and tenth chapters of the ensuing volume, will tend to
dispel many unfounded prejudices still entertained against the fraternity,
and excite emotions of admiration for their constancy and courage, and of
pity for their unmerited and cruel fate.
Matthew Paris, who wrote at _St. Albans_, concerning events in
_Palestine_, tells us that the emulation between the Templars and
Hospitallers frequently broke out into open warfare to the great scandal
and prejudice of Christendom, and that, in a pitched battle fought between
them, the Templars were slain to a man. The solitary testimony of Matthew
Paris, who was no friend to the two orders, is invalidated by the silence
of contemporary historians, who wrote on the spot; and it is quite evident
from the letters of the pope, addressed to the Hospitallers, the year
after the date of the alleged battle, that such an occurrence never could
have taken place.
The accounts, even of the best of the antient writers, should not be
adopted without examination, and a careful comparison with other sources
of information. William of Tyre, for instance, tells us that
_Nassr-ed-deen_, son of sultan _Abbas_, was taken prisoner by the
Templars, and whilst in their hands became a convert to the Christian
religion; that he had learned the rudiments of the Latin language, and
earnestly sought to be baptized, but that the Templars were bribed with
sixty thousand pieces of gold to surrender him to his enemies in Egypt,
where certain death awaited him; and that they stood by to see him bound
hand and foot with chains, and placed in an iron cage, to be conducted
across the desert to Cairo. Now the Arabian historians of that period tell
us that _Nassr-ed-deen_ and his father murdered the caliph and threw his
body into a well, and then fled with their retainers and treasure into
Palestine; that the sister of the murdered caliph wrote immediately to the
commandant at Gaza, which place was garrisoned by the Knights Templars,
offering a handsome reward for the capture of the fugitives; that they
were accordingly intercepted, and _Nassr-ed-deen_ was sent to Cairo, where
the female relations of the caliph caused his body to be cut into small
pieces in the seraglio. The above act has constantly been made a matter of
grave accusation against the Templars; but what a different complexion
does the case assume on the testimony of the Arabian authorities!
It must be remembered that William archbishop of Tyre was hostile to the
order on account of its vast powers and privileges, and carried his
complaints to a general council of the church at Rome. He is abandoned, in
everything that he says to the prejudice of the fraternity, by James of
Vitry, bishop of Acre, a learned and most talented prelate, who wrote in
Palestine subsequently to William of Tyre, and has copied largely from the
history of the latter. The bishop of Acre speaks of the Templars in the
highest terms, and declares that they were universally loved by all men
for their piety and humility. "_Nulli molesti erant!_" says he, "_sed ab
omnibus propter humilitatem et religionem amabantur._"
The celebrated orientalist _Von Hammer_ has recently brought forward
various extraordinary and unfounded charges, destitute of all authority,
against the Templars; and _Wilcke_, who has written a German history of
the order, seems to have imbibed all the vulgar prejudices against the
fraternity. I might have added to the interest of the ensuing work, by
making the Templars horrible and atrocious villains; but I have
endeavoured to write a fair and impartial account of the order, not
slavishly adopting everything I find detailed in antient writers, but such
matters only as I believe, after a careful examination of the best
authorities, to be _true_.
It is a subject of congratulation to us that we possess, in the Temple
Church at London, the most beautiful and perfect memorial of the order of
the Knights Templars now in existence. No one who has seen that building
in its late dress of plaster and whitewash will recognize it when restored
to its antient magnificence. This venerable structure was one of the chief
ecclesiastical edifices of the Knights Templars in Europe, and stood next
in rank to the Temple at Jerusalem. As I have performed the pilgrimage to
the Holy City, and wandered amid the courts of the antient Temple of the
Knights Templars on Mount Moriah, I could not but regard with more than
ordinary interest the restoration by the societies of the Inner and the
Middle Temple of their beautiful Temple Church.
The greatest zeal and energy have been displayed by them in that
praiseworthy undertaking, and no expense has been spared to repair the
ravages of time, and to bring back the structure to _what it was_ in the
time of the Templars.
In the summer I had the pleasure of accompanying one of the chief and most
enthusiastic promoters of the restoration of the church (Mr. Burge, Q.C.)
over the interesting fabric, and at his suggestion the present work was
commenced. I am afraid that it will hardly answer his expectations, and am
sorry that the interesting task has not been undertaken by an abler hand.
Temple, Nov. 17, 1841.
P.S. Mr. Willement, who is preparing some exquisitely stained glass
windows for the Temple Church, has just drawn my attention to the
nineteenth volume of the "MEMOIRES DE LA SOCIETE ROYALE DES ANTIQUAIRES DE
FRANCE," published last year. It contains a most curious and interesting
account of the church of Brelevennez, in the department des Cotes-du-Nord,
supposed to have formerly belonged to the order of the Temple, written by
the Chevalier du FREMANVILLE. Amongst various curious devices, crosses,
and symbols found upon the windows and the tombs of the church, is a
copper medallion, which appears to have been suspended from the neck by a
chain. This decoration consists of a small circle, within which are
inscribed two equilateral triangles placed one upon the other, so as to
form a six-pointed star. In the midst of the star is a second circle,
containing within it the LAMB of the order of the Temple holding the
banner in its fore-paw, similar to what we see on the antient seal of the
order delineated in the title-page of this work. Mr. Willement has
informed me that he has received an offer from a gentleman in Brittany to
send over casts of the decorations and devices lately discovered in that
church. He has kindly referred the letter to me for consideration, but I
have not thought it advisable to delay the publication of the present work
for the purpose of procuring them.
Mr. Willement has also drawn my attention to a very distinct impression of
the reverse of the seal of the Temple described in page 106, whereon I
read very plainly the interesting motto, "TESTIS SVM AGNI."
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Origin of the Templars--The pilgrimages to Jerusalem--The
dangers to which pilgrims were exposed--The formation of the
brotherhood of the poor fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ to
protect them--Their location in the Temple--A description of
the Temple--Origin of the name Templars--Hugh de Payens
chosen Master of the Temple--Is sent to Europe by King
Baldwin--Is introduced to the Pope--The assembling of the
Council of Troyes--The formation of a rule for the government
of the Templars _Page_ 1
CHAPTER II.
Regula Pauperum Commilitonum Christi et Templi Salomonis.
The most curious parts of the rule displayed--The confirmation
of the rule by the Pope--The visit of Hugh de Payens, the
Master of the Temple, to England--His cordial reception--The
foundation of the Order in this country--Lands and money
granted to the Templars--Their popularity in Europe--The rapid
increase of their fraternity--St. Bernard takes up the pen in
their behalf--He displays their valour and piety 15
CHAPTER III.
Hugh de Payens returns to Palestine--His death--Robert de
Craon made Master--Success of the Infidels--The second
Crusade--The Templars assume the Red Cross--Their gallant
actions and high discipline--Lands, manors, and churches
granted them in England--Bernard de Tremelay made Master--He
is slain by the Infidels--Bertrand de Blanquefort made
Master--He is taken prisoner, and sent in chains to Aleppo--
The Pope writes letters in praise of the Templars--Their
religious and military enthusiasm--Their war banner called
_Beauseant_--The rise of the rival religio-military order of
the Hospital of St. John 36
CHAPTER IV.
The contests between Saladin and the Templars--The vast
privileges of the Templars--The publication of the bull, _omne
datum optimum_--The Pope declares himself the immediate Bishop
of the entire Order--The different classes of Templars--The
knights--Priests--Serving brethren--The hired soldiers--The
great officers of the Temple--Punishment of cowardice--The
Master of the Temple is taken prisoner, and dies in a
dungeon--Saladin's great successes--The Christians purchase a
truce--The Master of the Temple and the Patriarch Heraclius
proceed to England for succour--The consecration of the TEMPLE
CHURCH at LONDON 60
CHAPTER V.
The Temple at London--The vast possessions of the Templars in
England--The territorial divisions of the order--The different
preceptories in this country--The privileges conferred on the
Templars by the kings of England--The Masters of the Temple at
London--Their power and importance 81
CHAPTER VI.
The Patriarch Heraclius quarrels with the king of England--He
returns to Palestine without succour--The disappointments and
gloomy forebodings of the Templars--They prepare to resist
Saladin--Their defeat and slaughter--The valiant deeds of the
Marshal of the Temple--The fatal battle of Tiberias--The
captivity of the Grand Master and the true Cross--The captive
Templars are offered the Koran or death--They choose the
latter, and are beheaded--The fall of Jerusalem--The Moslems
take possession of the Temple--They purify it with rose-water,
say prayers, and hear a sermon--The Templars retire to
Antioch--Their letters to the king of England and the Master
of the Temple at London--Their exploits at the siege of Acre 114
CHAPTER VII.
Richard Coeur de Lion joins the Templars before Acre--The city
surrenders, and the Templars establish the chief house of
their order within it--Coeur de Lion takes up his abode with
them--He sells to them the island of Cyprus--The Templars form
the van of his army--Their foraging expeditions and great
exploits--Coeur de Lion quits the Holy Land in the disguise of
a Knight Templar--The Templars build the Pilgrim's Castle in
Palestine--The state of the order in England--King John
resides in the Temple at London--The barons come to him at
that place, and demand MAGNA CHARTA--The exploits of the
Templars in Egypt--The letters of the Grand Master to the
Master of the Temple at London--The Templars reconquer
Jerusalem 141
CHAPTER VIII.
The conquest of Jerusalem by the Carizmians--The slaughter of
the Templars, and the death of the Grand Master--The exploits
of the Templars in Egypt--King Louis of France visits the
Templars in Palestine--He assists them in putting the country
into a defensible state--Henry II., king of England, visits
the Temple at Paris--The magnificent hospitality of the
Templars in England and France--Benocdar, sultan of Egypt,
invades Palestine--He defeats the Templars, takes their strong
fortresses, and decapitates six hundred of their brethren--The
Grand Master comes to England for succour--The renewal of the
war--The fall of Acre, and the final extinction of the
Templars in Palestine 165
CHAPTER IX.
The downfall of the Templars--The cause thereof--The Grand
Master comes to Europe at the request of the Pope--He is
imprisoned, with all the Templars in France, by command of
king Philip--They are put to the torture, and confessions of
the guilt of heresy and idolatry are extracted from them--
Edward II. king of England stands up in defence of the
Templars, but afterwards persecutes them at the instance of
the Pope--The imprisonment of the Master of the Temple and
all his brethren in England--Their examination upon
eighty-seven horrible and ridiculous articles of accusation
before foreign inquisitors appointed by the Pope--A council
of the church assembles at London to pass sentence upon
them--The curious evidence adduced as to the mode of admission
into the order, and of the customs and observances of the
fraternity 193
CHAPTER X.
The Templars in France revoke their rack-extorted
confessions--They are tried as relapsed heretics, and burnt at
the stake--The progress of the inquiry in England--The curious
evidence adduced as to the mode of holding the chapters of the
order--As to the penance enjoined therein, and the absolution
pronounced by the Master--The Templars draw up a written
defence, which they present to the ecclesiastical council--
They are placed in separate dungeons, and put to the torture--
Two serving brethren and a chaplain of the order then make
confessions--Many other Templars acknowledge themselves guilty
of heresy in respect of their belief in the religious
authority of their Master--They make their recantations, and
are reconciled to the church before the south door of Saint
Paul's cathedral--The order of the Temple is abolished by the
Pope--The last of the Masters of the Temple in England dies in
the Tower--The disposal of the property of the order--
Observations on the downfall of the Templars 239
CHAPTER XI.
THE TEMPLE CHURCH.
The restoration of the Temple Church--The beauty and
magnificence of the venerable building--The various styles of
architecture displayed in it--The discoveries made during the
recent restoration--The sacrarium--The marble piscina--The
sacramental niches--The penitential cell--The ancient Chapel
of St. Anne--Historical matters connected with the Temple
Church--The holy relics anciently preserved therein--The
interesting monumental remains 289
CHAPTER XII.
THE TEMPLE CHURCH.
THE MONUMENTS OF THE CRUSADERS--The tomb and effigy of Sir
Geoffrey de Magnaville, earl of Essex, and constable of the
Tower--His life and death, and famous exploits--Of William
Marshall, earl of Pembroke, Protector of England--Of the Lord
de Ross--Of William and Gilbert Marshall, earls of Pembroke--
Of William Plantagenet, fifth son of Henry the Third--The
anxious desire manifested by king Henry the Third, queen
Eleanor, and various persons of rank, to be buried in the
Temple Church 309
CHAPTER XIII.
THE TEMPLE.
Antiquities in the Temple--The history of the place subsequent
to the dissolution of the order of the Knights Templars--The
establishment of a society of lawyers in the Temple--The
antiquity of this society--Its connexion with the antient
society of the Knights Templars--An order of knights and
serving brethren established in the law--The degree of _frere
serjen_, or _frater serviens_, borrowed from the antient
Templars--The modern Templars divide themselves into the two
societies of the Inner and Middle Temple 342
CHAPTER XIV.
THE TEMPLE.
The Temple Garden--The erection of new buildings in the
Temple--The dissolution of the order of the Hospital of Saint
John--The law societies become lessees of the crown--The
erection of the magnificent Middle Temple Hall--The conversion
of the old hall into chambers--The grant of the inheritance of
the Temple to the two law societies--Their magnificent present
to his Majesty--Their antient orders and customs, and antient
hospitality--Their grand entertainments--Reader's feasts--
Grand Christmasses and Revels--The fox-hunt in the hall--The
dispute with the Lord Mayor--The quarrel with the _custos_ of
the Temple Church 373
ERRATA.
In note, page 6, _for_ infinitus, _read_ infinitis.
29, _for_ carrissime, _read_ carissime.
42, _for_ Angli, _read_ Anglia.
79, _for_ promptia, _read_ promptior.
79, _for_ principos, _read_ principes.
80, _for_ Patriarcha, _read_ patriarcham.
THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS.
CHAPTER I.
Origin of the Templars--The pilgrimages to Jerusalem--The dangers to
which pilgrims were exposed--The formation of the brotherhood of the
poor fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ to protect them--Their location
in the Temple--A description of the Temple--Origin of the name
Templars--Hugh de Payens chosen Master of the Temple--Is sent to
Europe by King Baldwin--Is introduced to the Pope--The assembling of
the Council of Troyes--The formation of a rule for the government of
the Templars.
"Yet 'midst her towering fanes in ruin laid,
The pilgrim saint his murmuring vespers paid;
'Twas his to mount the tufted rocks, and rove
The chequer'd twilight of the olive-grove:
'Twas his to bend beneath the sacred gloom,
And wear with many a kiss Messiah's tomb."
The extraordinary and romantic institution of the Knights Templars, those
military friars who so strangely blended the character of the monk with
that of the soldier, took its origin in the following manner:--
On the miraculous discovery of the Holy sepulchre by the Empress Helena,
the mother of Constantine, about 298 years after the death of Christ, and
the consequent erection, by command of the first christian emperor, of
the magnificent church of the Resurrection, or, as it is now called, the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, over the sacred monument, the tide of
pilgrimage set in towards Jerusalem, and went on increasing in strength as
Christianity gradually spread throughout Europe. On the surrender of the
Holy City to the victorious Arabians, (A. D. 637,) the privileges and the
security of the christian population were provided for in the following
guarantee, given under the hand and seal of the Caliph Omar to Sophronius
the Patriarch.
"From OMAR EBNO 'L ALCHITAB to the inhabitants of AELIA."
"They shall be protected and secured both in their lives and fortunes, and
their churches shall neither be pulled down nor made use of by any but
themselves."[1]
Under the government of the Arabians, the pilgrimages continued steadily
to increase; the old and the young, women and children, flocked in crowds
to Jerusalem, and in the year 1064 the Holy Sepulchre was visited by an
enthusiastic band of seven thousand pilgrims, headed by the Archbishop of
Mentz and the Bishops of Utrecht, Bamberg, and Ratisbon.[2] The year
following, however, Jerusalem was conquered by the wild Turcomans. Three
thousand of the citizens were indiscriminately massacred, and the
hereditary command over the Holy City and territory was confided to the
Emir Ortok, the chief of a savage pastoral tribe.
Under the iron yoke of these fierce Northern strangers, the Christians
were fearfully oppressed; they were driven from their churches; divine
worship was ridiculed and interrupted; and the patriarch of the Holy City
was dragged by the hair of his head over the sacred pavement of the church
of the Resurrection, and cast into a dungeon, to extort a ransom from the
sympathy of his flock. The pilgrims who, through innumerable perils, had
reached the gates of the Holy City, were plundered, imprisoned, and
frequently massacred; an _aureus_, or piece of gold, was exacted as the
price of admission to the holy sepulchre, and many, unable to pay the tax,
were driven by the swords of the Turcomans from the very threshold of the
object of all their hopes, the bourne of their long pilgrimage, and were
compelled to retrace their weary steps in sorrow and anguish to their
distant homes.[3] The melancholy intelligence of the profanation of the
holy places, and of the oppression and cruelty of the Turcomans, aroused
the religious chivalry of Christendom; "a nerve was touched of exquisite
feeling, and the sensation vibrated to the heart of Europe."
Then arose the wild enthusiasm of the crusades; men of all ranks, and even
monks and priests, animated by the exhortations of the pope and the
preachings of Peter the Hermit, flew to arms, and enthusiastically
undertook "the pious and glorious enterprize" of rescuing the holy
sepulchre of Christ from the foul abominations of the heathen.
When intelligence of the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders (A. D.
1099) had been conveyed to Europe, the zeal of pilgrimage blazed forth
with increased fierceness; it had gathered intensity from the interval of
its suppression by the wild Turcomans, and promiscuous crowds of both
sexes, old men and children, virgins and matrons, thinking the road then
open and the journey practicable, successively pressed forwards towards
the Holy City, with the passionate desire of contemplating the original
monuments of the Redemption.[4] The infidels had indeed been driven out
of Jerusalem, but not out of Palestine. The lofty mountains bordering the
sea-coast were infested by bold and warlike bands of fugitive Mussulmen,
who maintained themselves in various impregnable castles and strongholds,
from whence they issued forth upon the high-roads, cut off the
communication between Jerusalem and the sea-ports, and revenged themselves
for the loss of their habitations and property by the indiscriminate
pillage of all travellers. The Bedouin horsemen, moreover, making rapid
incursions from beyond the Jordan, frequently kept up a desultory and
irregular warfare in the plains; and the pilgrims, consequently, whether
they approached the Holy City by land or by sea, were alike exposed to
almost daily hostility, to plunder, and to death.
To alleviate the dangers and distresses to which these pious enthusiasts
were exposed, to guard the honour of the saintly virgins and matrons,[5]
and to protect the gray hairs of the venerable palmer, nine noble knights
formed a holy brotherhood in arms, and entered into a solemn compact to
aid one another in clearing the highways of infidels, and of robbers, and
in protecting the pilgrims through the passes and defiles of the mountains
to the Holy City. Warmed with the religious and military fervour of the
day, and animated by the sacredness of the cause to which they had devoted
their swords, they called themselves the _Poor Fellow-soldiers of Jesus
Christ_. They renounced the world and its pleasures, and in the holy
church of the Resurrection, in the presence of the patriarch of Jerusalem,
they embraced vows of perpetual chastity, obedience, and poverty, after
the manner of monks.[6] Uniting in themselves the two most popular
qualities of the age, devotion and valour, and exercising them in the most
popular of all enterprises, the protection of the pilgrims and of the road
to the holy sepulchre, they speedily acquired a vast reputation and a
splendid renown.
At first, we are told, they had no church and no particular place of
abode, but in the year of our Lord 1118, (nineteen years after the
conquest of Jerusalem by the Crusaders,) they had rendered such good and
acceptable service to the Christians, that Baldwin the Second, king of
Jerusalem, granted them a place of habitation within the sacred inclosure
of the Temple on Mount Moriah, amid those holy and magnificent structures,
partly erected by the christian Emperor Justinian, and partly built by the
Caliph Omar, which were then exhibited by the monks and priests of
Jerusalem, whose restless zeal led them to practise on the credulity of
the pilgrims, and to multiply relics and all objects likely to be sacred
in their eyes, as the _Temple of Solomon_, whence the Poor Fellow-soldiers
of Jesus Christ came thenceforth to be known by the name of "_the
Knighthood of the Temple of Solomon_."[7]
A few remarks in elucidation of the name Templars, or Knights of the
Temple, may not be altogether unacceptable.
By the Mussulmen, the site of the great Jewish temple on Mount Moriah has
always been regarded with peculiar veneration. Mahomet, in the first year
of the publication of the Koran, directed his followers, when at prayer,
to turn their faces towards it, and pilgrimages have constantly been made
to the holy spot by devout Moslems. On the conquest of Jerusalem by the
Arabians, it was the first care of the Caliph Omar to rebuild "the Temple
of the Lord." Assisted by the principal chieftains of his army, the
Commander of the Faithful undertook the pious office of clearing the
ground with his own hands, and of tracing out the foundations of the
magnificent mosque which now crowns with its dark and swelling dome the
elevated summit of Mount Moriah.[8]
This great house of prayer, the most holy Mussulman Temple in the world
after that of Mecca, is erected over the spot where "Solomon began to
build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord
appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in
the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite." It remains to this day in a
state of perfect preservation, and is one of the finest specimens of
Saracenic architecture in existence. It is entered by four spacious
doorways, each door facing one of the cardinal points; the _Bab el
D'jannat_, or gate of the garden, on the north; the _Bab el Kebla_, or
gate of prayer, on the south; the _Bab ib'n el Daoud_, or the gate of the
son of David, on the east; and the _Bab el Garbi_, on the west. By the
Arabian geographers it is called _Beit Allah_, the house of God, also
_Beit Almokaddas_, or _Beit Almacdes_, the holy house. From it Jerusalem
derives its Arabic name, _el Kods_, the holy, _el Schereef_, the noble,
and _el Mobarek_, the blessed; while the governors of the city, instead of
the customary high-sounding titles of sovereignty and dominion, take the
simple title of _Hami_, or protectors.
On the conquest of Jerusalem by the crusaders, the crescent was torn down
from the summit of this famous Mussulman Temple, and was replaced by an
immense golden cross, and the edifice was then consecrated to the services
of the christian religion, but retained its simple appellation of "The
Temple of the Lord." William, Archbishop of Tyre and Chancellor of the
Kingdom of Jerusalem, gives an interesting account of this famous edifice
as it existed in his time, during the Latin dominion. He speaks of the
splendid mosaic work, of the Arabic characters setting forth the name of
the founder, and the cost of the undertaking, and of the famous rock under
the centre of the dome, which is to this day shown by the Moslems as the
spot whereon the destroying angel stood, "with his drawn sword in his hand
stretched out over Jerusalem."[9] This rock he informs us was left
exposed and uncovered for the space of fifteen years after the conquest of
the holy city by the crusaders, but was, after that period, cased with a
handsome altar of white marble, upon which the priests daily said mass.
To the south of this holy Mussulman temple, on the extreme edge of the
summit of Mount Moriah, and resting against the modern walls of the town
of Jerusalem, stands the venerable christian church of the Virgin, erected
by the Emperor Justinian, whose stupendous foundations, remaining to this
day, fully justify the astonishing description given of the building by
Procopius. That writer informs us that in order to get a level surface for
the erection of the edifice, it was necessary, on the east and south sides
of the hill, to raise up a wall of masonry from the valley below, and to
construct a vast foundation, partly composed of solid stone and partly of
arches and pillars. The stones were of such magnitude, that each block
required to be transported in a truck drawn by forty of the emperor's
strongest oxen; and to admit of the passage of these trucks it was
necessary to widen the roads leading to Jerusalem. The forests of Lebanon
yielded their choicest cedars for the timbers of the roof, and a quarry of
variegated marble, seasonably discovered in the adjoining mountains,
furnished the edifice with superb marble columns.[10] The interior of this
interesting structure, which still remains at Jerusalem, after a lapse of
more than thirteen centuries, in an excellent state of preservation, is
adorned with six rows of columns, from whence spring arches supporting the
cedar beams and timbers of the roof; and at the end of the building is a
round tower, surmounted by a dome. The vast stones, the walls of masonry,
and the subterranean colonnade raised to support the south-east angle of
the platform whereon the church is erected, are truly wonderful, and may
still be seen by penetrating through a small door, and descending several
flights of steps at the south-east corner of the inclosure. Adjoining the
sacred edifice, the emperor erected hospitals, or houses of refuge, for
travellers, sick people, and mendicants of all nations; the foundations
whereof, composed of handsome Roman masonry, are still visible on either
side of the southern end of the building.
On the conquest of Jerusalem by the Moslems, this venerable church was
converted into a mosque, and was called _D'jame al Acsa_; it was enclosed,
together with the great Mussulman Temple of the Lord erected by the Caliph
Omar, within a large area by a high stone wall, which runs around the edge
of the summit of Mount Moriah, and guards from the profane tread of the
unbeliever the whole of that sacred ground whereon once stood the gorgeous
temple of the wisest of kings.[11]
When the Holy City was taken by the crusaders, the _D'jame al Acsa_, with
the various buildings constructed around it, became the property of the
kings of Jerusalem; and is denominated by William of Tyre "the palace," or
"royal house to the south of the Temple of the Lord, vulgarly called _the
Temple of Solomon_."[12] It was this edifice or temple on Mount Moriah
which was appropriated to the use of the poor fellow-soldiers of Jesus
Christ, as they had no _church_ and no particular place of abode, and
from it they derived their name of Knights Templars.[13]
James of Vitry, Bishop of Acre, who gives an interesting account of the
holy places, thus speaks of the Temple of the Knights Templars. "There is,
moreover, at Jerusalem another temple of immense spaciousness and extent,
from which the brethren of the knighthood of the Temple derive their name
of Templars, which is called the Temple of Solomon, perhaps to distinguish
it from the one above described, which is specially called the Temple of
the Lord."[14] He moreover informs us in his oriental history, that "in
the Temple of the Lord there is an abbot and canons regular; and be it
known that the one is the Temple of the _Lord_, and the other the Temple
of the _Chivalry_. These are _clerks_, the others are _knights_."[15]
The canons of the Temple of the Lord conceded to the poor fellow-soldiers
of Jesus Christ the large court extending between that building and the
Temple of Solomon; the king, the patriarch, and the prelates of Jerusalem,
and the barons of the Latin kingdom, assigned them various gifts and
revenues for their maintenance and support,[16] and the order being now
settled in a regular place of abode, the knights soon began to entertain
more extended views, and to seek a larger theatre for the exercise of
their holy profession.
Their first aim and object had been, as before mentioned, simply to
protect the poor pilgrims, on their journey backwards and forwards, from
the sea-coast to Jerusalem;[17] but as the hostile tribes of Mussulmen,
which everywhere surrounded the Latin kingdom, were gradually recovering
from the stupifying terror into which they had been plunged by the
successful and exterminating warfare of the first crusaders, and were
assuming an aggressive and threatening attitude, it was determined that
the holy warriors of the Temple should, in addition to the protection of
pilgrims, make the defence of the christian kingdom of Jerusalem, of the
eastern church, and of all the holy places, a part of their particular
profession.
The two most distinguished members of the fraternity were Hugh de Payens
and Geoffrey de St. Aldemar, or St. Omer, two valiant soldiers of the
cross, who had fought with great credit and renown at the siege of
Jerusalem. Hugh de Payens was chosen by the knights to be the superior of
the new religious and military society, by the title of "The Master of the
Temple;" and he has, consequently, generally been called the founder of
the order.
The name and reputation of the Knights _Templars_ speedily spread
throughout Europe, and various illustrious pilgrims from the far west
aspired to become members of the holy fraternity. Among these was Fulk,
Count of Anjou, who joined the society as a married brother, (A. D. 1120,)
and annually remitted the order thirty pounds of silver. Baldwin, king of
Jerusalem, foreseeing that great advantages would accrue to the Latin
kingdom by the increase of the power and numbers of these holy warriors,
exerted himself to extend the order throughout all Christendom, so that he
might, by means of so politic an institution, keep alive the holy
enthusiasm of the west, and draw a constant succour from the bold and
warlike races of Europe for the support of his christian throne and
kingdom.
St. Bernard, the holy abbot of Clairvaux, had been a great admirer of the
Templars. He wrote a letter to the Count of Champagne, on his entering the
order, (A. D. 1123,) praising the act as one of eminent merit in the sight
of God; and it was determined to enlist the all-powerful influence of this
great ecclesiastic in favour of the fraternity. "By a vow of poverty and
penance, by closing his eyes against the visible world, by the refusal of
all ecclesiastical dignities, the Abbot of Clairvaux became the oracle of
Europe, and the founder of one hundred and sixty convents. Princes and
pontiffs trembled at the freedom of his apostolical censures: France,
England, and Milan, consulted and obeyed his judgment in a schism of the
church: the debt was repaid by the gratitude of Innocent the Second; and
his successor, Eugenius the Third, was the friend and disciple of the holy
St. Bernard."[18]
To this learned and devout prelate two knights templars were despatched
with the following letter:
"Baldwin, by the grace of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, King of Jerusalem, and
Prince of Antioch, to the venerable Father Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux,
health and regard.
"The Brothers of the Temple, whom the Lord hath deigned to raise up, and
whom by an especial Providence he preserves for the defence of this
kingdom, desiring to obtain from the Holy See the confirmation of their
institution, and a rule for their particular guidance, we have determined
to send to you the two knights, Andrew and Gondemar, men as much
distinguished by their military exploits as by the splendour of their
birth, to obtain from the Pope the approbation of their order, and to
dispose his holiness to send succour and subsidies against the enemies of
the faith, reunited in their design to destroy us, and to invade our
christian territories.
"Well knowing the weight of your mediation with God and his vicar upon
earth, as well as with the princes and powers of Europe, we have thought
fit to confide to you these two important matters, whose successful issue
cannot be otherwise than most agreeable to ourselves. The statutes we ask
of you should be so ordered and arranged as to be reconcilable with the
tumult of the camp and the profession of arms; they must, in fact, be of
such a nature as to obtain favour and popularity with the christian
princes.
"Do you then so manage, that we may, through you, have the happiness of
seeing this important affair brought to a successful issue, and address
for us to heaven the incense of your prayers."[19]
Soon after the above letter had been despatched to St. Bernard, Hugh de
Payens himself proceeded to Rome, accompanied by Geoffrey de St. Aldemar,
and four other brothers of the order, viz. Brother Payen de Montdidier,
Brother Gorall, Brother Geoffrey Bisol, and Brother Archambauld de St.
Amand. They were received with great honour and distinction by Pope
Honorius, who warmly approved of the objects and designs of the holy
fraternity. St. Bernard had, in the mean time, taken the affair greatly to
heart; he negotiated with the Pope, the legate, and the bishops of France,
and obtained the convocation of a great ecclesiastical council at Troyes,
(A. D. 1128,) which Hugh de Payens and his brethren were invited to
attend. This council consisted of several archbishops, bishops, and
abbots, among which last was St. Bernard himself. The rules to which the
Templars had subjected themselves were there described by the master, and
to the holy Abbot of Clairvaux was confided the task of revising and
correcting these rules, and of framing a code of statutes fit and proper
for the governance of the great religious and military fraternity of the
Temple.