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.
"PLANTAGENET. Great lords and gentlemen, what means this silence?
Dare no man answer in a case of truth?
SUFFOLK. Within the TEMPLE HALL we were too loud:
The GARDEN here is more convenient."
Shakspeare makes the Temple Garden, which is to this day celebrated for
the beauty and profusion of its flowers, the scene of the choice of the
white and red roses, as the badges of the rival houses of York and
Lancaster. Richard Plantagenet and the earl of Somerset retire with their
followers from the hall into the garden, where Plantagenet thus addresses
the silent and hesitating bystanders:
"Since you are tongue-ty'd, and so loath to speak,
In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts:
Let him, that is a true-born gentleman,
And stands upon the honour of his birth,
If he suppose that I have pleaded truth,
From off this brier pluck a white rose with me.
_Somerset._ Let him that is no coward, nor no flatterer,
But dare maintain the party of the truth,
Pluck a red rose from off this thorn with me.
_Warwick._ I love no colours; and, without all colour
Of base insinuating flattery,
I pluck this white rope with Plantagenet.
_Suffolk._ I pluck this red rose with young Somerset,
And say withal I think he held the right.
* * * * *
_Vernon._ Then for the truth and plainness of the case,
I pluck this pale and maiden blossom here,
Giving my verdict on the white rose side.
_Somerset._ ... Come on, who else?
_Lawyer._ Unless my study and my books be false,
The argument you held was wrong in you;
In sign whereof I pluck a white rose too. [TO SOMERSET.
* * * * *
_Warwick._ ... This brawl to-day,
Grown to this faction in the Temple Garden,
Shall send, between the red rose and the white,
A thousand souls to death and deadly night."
In the Cotton Library is a manuscript written at the commencement of the
reign of Henry the Eighth, entitled "A description of the Form and Manner,
how, and by what Orders and Customs the State of the Fellowshyppe of the
Myddil Temple is maintained, and what ways they have to attaine unto
Learning."[591] It contains a great deal of curious information concerning
the government of the house, the readings, mot-yngs, boltings, and other
exercises formerly performed for the advancement of learning, and of the
different degrees of benchers, readers, cupboard-men, inner-barristers,
utter-barristers, and students, together with "the chardges for their mete
and drynke by the yeare, and the manner of the dyet, and the stipende of
their officers." The writer tells us that it was the duty of the "Tresorer
to gather of certen of the fellowship a tribute yerely of iii_s._ iii_d._
a piece, and to pay out of it the rent due to my lord of Saint John's for
the house that they dwell in."
"Item; they have no place to walk in, and talk and confer their learnings,
but in the church; which place all the terme times hath in it no more of
quietnesse than the perwyse of Pawles, by occasion of the confluence and
concourse of such as be suters in the lawe." The conferences between
lawyers and clients in the Temple Church are thus alluded to by Butler:
"Retain all sorts of witnesses
That ply in the Temple under trees,
Or walk the Round with knights of the posts,
About the cross-legged knights their hosts."
"Item; they have every day three masses said one after the other, and the
first masse doth begin at seaven of the clock, or thereabouts. On
festivall days they have mattens and masse solemnly sung; and during the
matyns singing they have three masses said."[592]
At the commencement of the reign of Henry VIII. a wall was built between
the Temple Garden and the river; the Inner Temple Hall was "seeled,"
various new chambers were erected, and the societies expended sums of
money, and acted as if they were absolute proprietors of the Temple,
rather than as lessees of the Hospitallers of Saint John.
In 32 Hen. VIII. was passed the act of parliament dissolving the order of
the Hospital, and vesting all the property of the brethren in the crown,
saving the rights and interests of lessees, and others who held under
them.
The two law societies consequently now held of the crown.
In 5 Eliz. the present spacious and magnificent Middle Temple Hall, one of
the most elegant and beautiful structures in the kingdom, was commenced,
(the old hall being converted into chambers;) and in the reigns both of
Mary and Elizabeth, various buildings and sets of chambers were erected in
the Inner and Middle Temple, at the expense of the Benchers and members of
the two societies. All this was done in full reliance upon the justice and
honour of the crown. In the reign of James I., however, some Scotchman
attempted to obtain from his majesty a grant of the fee-simple or
inheritance of the Temple, which being brought to the knowledge of the two
societies, they forthwith made "humble suit" to the king, and obtained a
grant of the property to themselves. By letters patent, bearing date at
Westminster the 13th of August, in the sixth year of his reign, A. D.
1609, king James granted the Temple to the Benchers of the two societies,
their heirs and assigns for ever, for the lodging, reception, and
education of the professors and students of the laws of England, the said
Benchers yielding and paying to the said king, his heirs, and successors,
ten pounds yearly for the mansion called the Inner Temple, and ten pounds
yearly for the Middle Temple.[593]
In grateful acknowledgment of this donation, the two societies caused to
be made, at their mutual cost, "a stately cup of pure gold, weighinge two
hundred ounces and an halfe, of the value of one thousand markes, or
thereabouts, the which in all humbleness was presented to his excellent
majestie att the court att Whitehall, in the said sixth year of his
majestie's raigne over the realme of England, for a new yeare's gifte, by
the hands of the said sir Henry Mountague, afterwards baron Mountague,
viscount Mandevil, the earl of Manchester, Richard Daston, esq., and other
eminent persons of both those honourable societies, the which it pleased
his majesty most gratiously to accept and receive.... Upon one side of
this cup is curiously engraven the proporcion of a church or temple
beautified, with turrets and pinnacles, and on the other side is figured
an altar, whereon is a representation of a holy fire, the flames propper,
and over the flames these words engraven, _Nil nisi vobis_. The cover of
this rich cup of gold is in the upper parte thereof adorned with a fabrick
fashioned like a pyramid, whereon standeth the statue of a military person
leaning, with the left hand upon a Roman-fashioned shield or target, the
which cup his excellent majestie, whilst he lived, esteemed for one of his
roialest and richest jewells."[594]
Some of the antient orders and regulations for the government of the two
societies are not unworthy of attention.
From the record of a parliament holden in the Inner Temple on the 15th of
November, 3 and 4 Ph. and Mary, A. D. 1558, it appears that eight
gentlemen of the house, in the previous reading vocation, "were _committed
to the Fleete_ for wilfull demenoure and disobedience to _the Bench_, and
were worthyly expulsed the fellowshyppe of the house, since which tyme,
upon their humble suite and submission unto the said Benchers of the said
house, it is agreed that they shall be readmitted into the fellowshyppe,
and into commons again, without payeing any ffine."[595]
Amongst the ancient customs and usages derived from the Knights Templars,
which were for a lengthened period religiously preserved and kept up in
the Temple, was the oriental fashion of long beards. In the reign of
Philip and Mary, at the personal request of the queen, attempts were made
to do away with this time-honoured custom, and to limit
THE LENGTH OF A LAWYER'S BEARD.
On the 22nd of June, 3 and 4 Philip and Mary, A. D. 1557, it was ordered
that none of the companies of the Inner and Middle Temple, under the
degree of a knight being in commons, should wear their beards above three
weeks growing, upon pain of XL_s._, and so double for every week after
monition. They were, moreover, required to lay aside their arms, and it
was ordered "that none of the companies, when they be in commons, shall
wear Spanish cloak, sword and buckler, or rapier, or gownes and hats, or
gownes girded with a dagger;" also, that "none of the COMPANIONS, except
Knights or Benchers, should thenceforth wear in their doublets or hoses
any light colours, except scarlet and crimson; or wear any upper velvet
cap, or any scarf, or wings on their gownes, white jerkyns, buskins or
_velvet shoes_, double cuffs on their shirts, feathers or ribbens on their
caps"! That no attorney should be admitted into either of the houses, and
that, in all admissions from thenceforth, it should be an implied
condition, that if the party admitted "should practyse any attorneyship,"
he was _ipso facto_ dismissed.[596]
In 1 Jac. I., it was ordered, in obedience to the commands of the king,
that no one should be admitted a member of either society who was not _a
gentleman by descent_;--that none of the gentlemen should come into the
hall "in cloaks, boots, spurs, swords, or daggers;" and it was publicly
declared that their "yellow bands, and ear toyes, and short cloaks, and
weapons," were "much disliked and forbidden."
In A. D. 1623, king James recommended the antient way of wearing caps to
be carefully observed; and the king was pleased to take notice of the good
order of the house of the Inner Temple in that particular. His majesty was
further pleased to recommend that boots should be laid aside as ill
befitting gownsmen; "for boots and spurs," says his majesty, "are the
badges rather of roarers than of civil men, who should use them only when
they ride. Therefore we have made example in our own court, that no boots
shall come into our presence."
The modern Templars for a long period fully maintained the antient
character and reputation of the Temple for sumptuous and magnificent
hospitality, although the venison from the royal forests, and the wine
from the king's cellars,[597] no longer made its periodical appearance
within the walls of the old convent. Sir John Fortescue alludes to the
revels and pastimes of the Temple in the reign of Henry VI., and several
antient writers speak of the grand Christmasses, the readers' feasts, the
masques, and the sumptuous entertainments afforded to foreign ambassadors,
and even to royalty itself. Various dramatic shows were got up upon these
occasions, and the leading characters who figured at them were the
"_Marshall of the Knights Templars_!" the constable marshall, the master
of the games, the lieutenant of the Tower, the ranger of the forest, the
lord of misrule, the king of Cockneys, and Jack Straw!
_The Constable Marshall_ came into the hall on banqueting days "fairly
mounted on his mule," clothed in complete armour, with a nest of feathers
of all colours upon his helm, and a gilt pole-axe in his hand. He was
attended by halberdiers, and preceded by drums and fifes, and by sixteen
trumpeters, and devised some sport "for passing away the afternoon."
_The Master of the Game_, and _the Ranger of the Forest_, were apparelled
in green velvet and green satin, and had hunting horns about their necks,
with which they marched round about the fire, "blowing three blasts of
venery."
The most remarkable of all the entertainments was _the hunt in the hall_,
when the huntsman came in with his winding horn, dragging in with him a
cat, a fox, a purse-net, and nine or ten couple of hounds! The cat and the
fox were both tied to the end of a staff, and were turned loose into the
hall; they were hunted with the dogs amid the blowing of hunting horns,
and were killed under the grate!!
The quantity of venison consumed on these festive occasions, particularly
at the readers' feasts, was enormous. In the reign of Queen Mary, it was
ordered by the benchers of the Middle Temple, that no reader should spend
less than fifteen bucks in the hall, and this number was generally greatly
exceeded: "there be few summer readers," we are informed in an old MS.
account of the readers' feasts, "who, in half the time that heretofore a
reading was wont to continue, spent so little as threescore bucks, besides
red deer; some have spent fourscore, some a hundred...."[598] The lawyers
in that golden age breakfasted on "brawn and malmsey," and supped on
"venison pasties and roasted hens!" Among the viands at dinner were "faire
and large bores' heads served upon silver platters, with minstralsye,
roasted swans, bustards, herns, bitterns, turkey chicks, curlews, godwits,
&c. &c."
The following observations concerning the Temple, and a grand
entertainment there, in the reign of Queen Mary, will be read with
interest. "Arriuing in the faire river of Thames, I landed within halfe a
leage from the city of London, which was, as I coniecture, in December
last. And drawing neere the citie, sodenly hard the shot of double
cannons, in so great a number, and so terrible, that it darkened the whole
aire, wherewith, although I was in my native countrie, yet stoode I
amazed, not knowing what it ment. Thus, as I abode in despaire either to
returne or to continue my former purpose, I chaunced to see comming
towardes me an honest citizen, clothed in long garment, keping the
highway, seming to walke for his recreation, which prognosticated rather
peace than perill. Of whom I demaunded the cause of this great shot, who
frendly answered, 'It is the warning shot to th' officers of the Constable
Marshall of the Inner Temple to prepare to dinner!' Why, said I, is he of
that estate, that seeketh not other meanes to warn his officers, then with
such terrible shot in so peaceable a countrey? Marry, saith he, he
vttereth himselfe the better to be that officer whose name he beareth. I
then demanded what prouince did he gouerne that needeth such an officer.
Hee answered me, the prouince was not great in quantitie, but antient in
true nobilitie; a place, said he, priuileged by the most excellent
princess, the high gouernour of the whole land, wherein are store of
gentilmen of the whole realme, that repaire thither to learne to rule, and
obey by LAWE, to yeelde their fleece to their prince and common weale, as
also to vse all other exercises of bodie and minde whereunto nature most
aptly serueth to adorne by speaking, countenance, gesture, and vse of
apparel, the person of a gentleman; whereby amitie is obtained and
continued, that gentilmen of al countries in theire young yeares, norished
together in one place, with such comely order and daily conference, are
knit by continual acquaintance in such vnitie of mindes and manners, as
lightly neuer after is seuered, then which is nothing more profitable to
the commonweale.
"And after he had told me thus much of honor of the place, I commended in
mine own conceit the pollicie of the gouernour, which seemed to vtter in
itselfe the foundation of a good commonweale. For that the best of their
people from tender yeares trayned vp in precepts of justice, it could not
chose but yeelde forth a profitable people to a wise commonweale.
Wherefore I determined with myselfe to make proofe of that I heard by
reporte.
"The next day I thought for my pastime to walke to this Temple, and
entering in at the gates, I found the building nothing costly; but many
comly gentlemen of face and person, and thereto very courteous, saw I
passe too and fro. Passing forward, I entered into a church of auncient
building, wherein were many monumentes of noble personnages armed in
knighteley habite, with their cotes depainted in auncient shieldes,
whereat I took pleasure to behold....
"Anon we heard the noise of drum and fyfe. What meaneth this drumme? said
I. Quod he, this is to warn gentlemen of the household to repaire to the
dresser; wherefore come on with me, and yee shall stand where ye may best
see the hall serued; and so from thence brought me into a long gallerie
that stretcheth itselfe alongest the hall, neere the prince's table, where
I saw the prince set, a man of tall personage, of mannelye countenance,
somewhat browne of visage, strongelie featured, and thereto comelie
proportioned. At the neather end of the same table were placed the
ambassadors of diuers princes. Before him stood the caruer, seruer, and
cup-bearer, with great number of gentlemen wayters attending his person.
The lordes steward, treasorer, with diuers honorable personages, were
placed at a side-table neere adjoyning the prince on the right hand, and
at another table on the left side were placed the treasorer of the
household, secretarie, the prince's serjeant of law, the four masters of
the reaulles, the king of armes, the deane of the chapell, and diuers
gentlemen pentioners to furnish the same. At another table, on the other
side, were set the maister of the game, and his chiefe ranger, maisters of
household, clerkes of the greene cloth and checke, with diuers other
strangers to furnish the same. On the other side, againste them, began the
table of the lieutenant of the Tower, accompanied with diuers captaines of
footbandes and shot. At the neather ende of the hall, began the table of
the high butler and panter, clerkes of the kitchen, maister cooke of the
priue kitchen, furnished throughout with the souldiours and guard of the
prince....
"The prince was serued with tender meates, sweet fruites, and daintie
delicates, confectioned with curious cookerie, as it seemed woonder a word
to serue the prouision. And at euerie course, the trompettes blew the
courageous blaste of deadlye warre, with noise of drum and fyfe, with the
sweet harmony of viollens, shakbuts, recorders, and cornettes, with other
instruments of musicke, as it seemed Apolloe's harpe had tewned their
stroke."
After dinner, prizes were prepared for "tilt and turney, and such
knighteley pastime, and for their solace they masked with bewtie's dames
with such heauenly armonie as if Apollo and Orpheus had shewed their
cunning."[599]
Masques, revels, plays, and eating and drinking, seem to have been as much
attended to in the Temple in those days as the grave study of the law. Sir
Christopher Hatton, a member of the Inner Temple, gained the favour of
Queen Elizabeth, for his grace and activity in a _masque_ which was acted
before her majesty. He was made vice-chamberlain, and afterwards lord
chancellor![600] In A. D. 1568, the tragedy of Tancred and Gismund, the
joint production of five students of the Inner Temple, was acted at the
Temple before queen Elizabeth and her court.[601]
On the marriage of the lady Elizabeth, daughter of king James I., to
prince Frederick, the elector palatine, (Feb. 14th, A. D. 1613,) a masque
was performed at court by the gentlemen of the Temple, and shortly after,
twenty Templars were appointed barristers there in honour of prince
Charles, who had lately become prince of Wales, "the chardges thereof
being defrayed by a contribution of xxxs, from each bencher, xvs. from
euery barister of seauen years' standing, and xs. a peice from all other
gentlemen in commons."[602]
Of all the pageants prepared for the entertainment of the sovereigns of
England, the most famous one was that splendid masque, which cost upwards
of L20,000, presented by the Templars, in conjunction with the members of
Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn, to king Charles I., and his young queen,
Henrietta of France. Whitelock, in his Memorials, gives a minute and most
animated account of this masque, which will be read with interest, as
affording a characteristic and admirable exhibition of the manners of the
age.
The procession from the Temple to the palace of Whitehall was the most
magnificent that had ever been seen in London. "One hundred gentlemen in
very rich clothes, with scarce anything to be seen on them but gold and
silver lace, were mounted on the best horses and the best furniture that
the king's stable and the stables of all the noblemen in town could
afford." Each gentleman had a page and two lacqueys in livery waiting by
his horse's side. The lacqueys carried torches, and the page his master's
cloak. "The richness of their apparel and furniture glittering by the
light of innumerable torches, the motion and stirring of their mettled
horses, and the many and gay liveries of their servants, but especially
the personal beauty and gallantry of the handsome young gentlemen, made
the most glorious and splendid show that ever was beheld in England."
These gallant Templars were accompanied by the finest band of picked
musicians that London could afford, and were followed by the _antimasque_
of beggars and cripples, who were mounted on "the poorest, leanest jades
that could be gotten out of the dirt-carts." The habits and dresses of
these cripples were most ingeniously arranged, and as the "gallant Inns of
Court men" had their music, so also had the beggars and cripples. It
consisted of _keys, tongs, and gridirons_, "snapping and yet playing in
concert before them." After the beggars' antimasque came a band of pipes,
whistles, and instruments, sounding notes like those of birds, of all
sorts, in excellent harmony; and these ushered in "_the antimasque of
birds_," which consisted of an owl in an ivy bush, with innumerable other
birds in a cluster about the owl, gazing upon her. "These were little boys
put into covers of the shape of those birds, rarely fitted, and sitting on
small horses with footmen going by them with torches in their hands, and
there were some besides to look unto the children, and these were very
pleasant to the beholders." Then came a wild, harsh band of northern
music, bagpipes, horns, &c., followed by the "_antimasque of projectors_,"
who were in turn succeeded by a string of chariots drawn by four horses
abreast, filled with "gods and goddesses," and preceded by heathen
priests. Then followed the chariots of the grand masquers drawn by four
horses abreast.
The chariots of the Inner and Middle Temple were silver and blue. The
horses were covered to their heels with cloth of tissue, and their heads
were adorned with huge plumes of blue and white feathers. "The torches and
flaming flamboys borne by the side of each chariot made it seem lightsom
as at noonday.... It was, indeed, a glorious spectacle."
Whitelock gives a most animated description of the scene in the
banqueting-room. "It was so crowded," says he, "with fair ladies
glittering with their rich cloaths and richer jewels, and with lords and
gentlemen of great quality, that there was scarce room for the king and
queen to enter in." The young queen danced with the masquers herself, and
judged them "as good dancers as ever she saw!" The great ladies of the
court, too, were "very free and easy and civil in dancing with all the
masquers as they were taken out by them."
Queen Henrietta was so delighted with the masque, "the dances, speeches,
musick, and singing," that she desired to see the whole thing _acted over
again_! whereupon the lord mayor invited their majesties and all the Inns
of Court men into the city, and entertained them with great state and
magnificence at Merchant Taylor's Hall.[603]
Many of the Templars who were the foremost in these festive scenes
afterwards took up arms against their sovereign. Whitelock himself
commanded a body of horse, and fought several sanguinary engagements with
the royalist forces.
The year after the restoration, Sir Heneage Finch, afterwards earl of
Nottingham, kept his readers' feast in the great hall of the Inner Temple
with extraordinary splendour. The entertainments lasted from the 4th to
the 17th of August.
At the first day's dinner were several of the nobility of the kingdom and
privy councillors, with divers others of his friends; at the second were
the lord mayor, aldermen, and principal citizens of London; to the third,
which was two days after the former, came the whole college of physicians,
who all appeared in their caps and gowns; at the fourth were all the
judges, advocates, and doctors of the civil law, and all the society of
Doctors' Commons; at the fifth were entertained the archbishops, bishops,
and chief of the clergy; and on the 15th of August his majesty king
Charles the Second came from Whitehall in his state barge, and dined with
the reader and the whole society in the hall. His majesty was accompanied
by the duke of York, and attended by the lord chancellor, lord treasurer,
lord privy seal, the dukes of Buckingham, Richmond, and Ormond; the lord
chamberlain, the earls of Ossory, Bristol, Berks, Portland, Strafford,
Anglesy, Essex, Bath, and Carlisle; the lords Wentworth, Cornbury, De la
Warre, Gerard of Brandon, Berkley of Stratton and Cornwallis, the
comptroller and vice-chamberlain of his majesties's household; Sir William
Morice, one of his principal secretaries of state; the earl of Middleton,
lord commissioner of Scotland, the earl of Glencairne, lord chancellor of
Scotland, the earls of Lauderdale and Newburgh, and others the
commissioners of that kingdom, and the earl of Kildare and others,
commissioners of Ireland.
An entrance was made from the river through the wall into the Temple
Garden, and his majesty was received on his landing from the barge by the
reader and the lord chief justice of the Common Pleas, whilst the path
from the garden to the hall was lined with the readers' servants in
scarlet cloaks and white tabba doublets, and above them were ranged the
benchers, barristers, and students of the society, "the loud musick
playing from the time that his majesty landed till he entered the hall,
where he was received with xx. violins." Dinner was brought up by fifty of
the young gentlemen of the society in their gowns, "who gave their
attendance all dinner-while, none other appearing in the hall but
themselves."
On the 3rd of November following, his royal highness the duke of York, the
duke of Buckingham, the earl of Dorset, and Sir William Morrice, secretary
of state, were admitted members of the society of the Inner Temple, the
duke of York being called to the bar and bench.[604]
In 8 Car. II., A. D. 1668, Sir William Turner, lord mayor of London, came
to the readers' feast in the Inner Temple with his sword and mace and
external emblems of civic authority, which was considered to be an affront
to the society, and the lord mayor was consequently very roughly handled
by some of the junior members of the Temple. His worship complained to the
king, and the matter was inquired into by the council, as appears from the
following proceedings:--
"At the Courte att Whitehall, the 7th April, 1669,
"Present the king's most excellent majestie."
H. R. H. the duke of York. Lord bishop of London.
Lord Keeper. Lord Arlington.
Duke of Ormonde. Lord Newport.
Lord Chamberlaine. Mr. Treasurer.
Earle of Bridgewater. Mr. Vice-chamberlaine.
Earle of Bath. Mr. Secretary Trevor.
Earle of Craven. Mr. Chancellor of the Dutchy.
Earle of Middleton. Mr. John Duncombe.
"Whereas, it was ordered the 31st of March last, that the complaints of
the lord maior of the city of London concerneing personall indignities
offered to his lordshippe and his officers when he was lately invited to
dine with the reader of the Inner Temple, should this day have a further
hearing, and that Mr. Hodges, Mr. Wyn, and Mr. Mundy, gentlemen of the
Inner Temple, against whome particular complaint was made, sshould appeare
att the board, when accordingly, they attendinge, and both parties being
called in and heard by their counsell learned, and affidavits haveing been
read against the said three persons, accuseing them to have beene the
principall actors in that disorder, to which they haveing made their
defence, and haveing presented severall affidavits to justifie their
carriage that day, though they could not extenuate the faults of others
who in the tumult affronted the lord maior and his officers; and, the
officers of the lord maior, who was alleaged to have beene abused in the
tumult, did not charge it upon anie of their particular persons; upon
consideration whereof it appeareing to his majestie that the matter
dependinge very much upon the right and priviledge of beareing up the lord
maior's sword within the Temple, which by order of this board of the 24th
of March last is left to be decided by due proceedings of lawe in the
courts of Westminster Hall; his majestie therefore thought fitt to suspend
the declaration of his pleasure thereupon until the said right and
priviledge shall accordinglie be determined att lawe."
On the 4th of November, 14 Car. II., his highness Rupert prince palatine,
Thomas earl of Cleveland, Jocelyn lord Percy, John lord Berkeley of
Stratton, with Henry and Bernard Howard of Norfolk, were admitted members
of the fellowship of the Inner Temple.[605]
We must now close our remarks on the Temple, with a short account of the
quarrel with Dr. Micklethwaite, the _custos_ or guardian of the Temple
Church.
After the Hospitallers had been put into possession of the Temple by king
Edward the Third, the prior and chapter of that order, appointed to the
antient and honourable post of _custos_, and the priest who occupied that
office, had his diet in one or other of the halls of the two law
societies, in the same way as the guardian priest of the order of the
Temple formerly had his diet in the hall of the antient Knights Templars.
He took his place, as did also the chaplains, by virtue of the appointment
of the prior and chapter of the Hospital, without admission, institution
or induction, for the Hospitallers were clothed with the privileges, as
well as with the property, of the Knights Templars, and were exempt from
episcopal jurisdiction. The _custos_ had, as before mentioned, by grant
from the prior and chapter of the order of St. John, one thousand faggots
a year to keep up the fire in the church, and the rents of Ficketzfeld and
Cotterell Garden to be employed in improving the lights and providing for
the due celebration of divine service. From two to three chaplains were
also provided by the Hospitallers, and nearly the same ecclesiastical
establishment appears to have been maintained by them, as was formerly
kept up in the Temple by the Knights Templars. In 21 Hen. VII. these
priests had divers lodgings in the Temple, on the east side of the
churchyard, part of which were let out to the students of the two
societies.
By sections 9 and 10 of the act 32 _Hen._ VIII., dissolving the order of
the Hospital of St. John, it is provided that William Ermsted, clerk, the
_custos_ or guardian of the Temple Church, who is there styled "Master of
the Temple," and Walter Limseie and John Winter, chaplains, should receive
and enjoy, during their lives, all such mansion-houses, stipends, and
wages, and all other profits of money, in as large or ample a manner as
they then lawfully had the same, the said Master and chaplains of the
Temple doing their duties and services there, as they had previously been
accustomed to do, and letters patent confirming them in their offices and
pensions were to be made out and passed under the great seal. This
appellation of "Master of the Temple," which antiently denoted the
superior of the proud and powerful order of Knights Templars in England,
the counsellor of kings and princes, and the leader of armies, was
incorrectly applied to the mere _custos_ or guardian of the Temple Church.
The act makes no provision for the _successors_ of the _custos_ and
chaplains, and Edward the Sixth consequently, after the decease of William
Ermsted, conveyed the lodgings, previously appropriated to the officiating
ministers, to a Mr. Keilway and his heirs, after which the custos and
clergymen had no longer _of right_ any lodgings at all in the Temple.[606]
From the period of the dissolution of the order of Saint John, down to the
present time, the _custos_, or, as he is now incorrectly styled, "the
Master of the Temple," has been appointed by letters patent from the
crown, and takes his place as in the olden time, without the ceremony of
admission, institution, or induction. These letters patent are couched in
very general and extensive terms, and give the _custos_ or Master many
things to which he is justly entitled, as against the crown, but no longer
obtains, and profess to give him many other things which the crown had no
power whatever to grant. He is appointed, for instance, "to rule, govern,
and superintend the house of the New Temple;" but the crown had no power
whatever to make him governor thereof, the government having always been
in the hands of the Masters of the bench of the two societies, who
succeeded to the authority of the Master and chapter of the Knights
Templars. In these letters patent the Temple is described as a rectory,
which it never had been, nor anything like it. They profess to give to the
_custos_ "all and all manner of tythes," but there were no tythes to give,
the Temple having been specially exempted from tythe as a religious house
by numerous papal bulls. The letters patent give the _custos_ all the
revenues and profits of money which the _custodes_ had at any time
previously enjoyed by virtue of their office, but these revenues were
dissipated by the crown, and the property formerly granted by the prior
and chapter of Saint John, and by pious persons in the time of the
Templars, for the maintenance of the priests and the celebration of
divine service in the Temple Church was handed over to strangers, and the
_custos_ was thrown by the crown for support upon the voluntary
contributions of the two societies. He received, indeed, a miserable
pittance of 37_l._ 6_s._ 8_d._ per annum from the exchequer, but for this
he was to find at his own expense a minister to serve the church, and also
a clerk or sexton!
As the crown retained in its own hands the appointment of the custos and
all the antient revenues of the Temple Church, it ought to have provided
for the support of the officiating ministers, as did the Hospitallers of
Saint John.
"The chardges of the fellowshyppe," says the MS. account of the Temple
written in the reign of Hen. VIII., "towards the salary or mete and drink
of the priests, is none; for they are found by my lord of Saint John's,
and they that are of the fellowshyppe of the house are chardged with
nothing to the priests, saving that they have eighteen offring days in the
yeare, so that the chardge of each of them is xviii_d._"[607]
In the reign of James the First, the _custos_, Dr. Micklethwaite, put
forward certain unheard-of claims and pretensions, which led to a rupture
between him and the two societies. The Masters of the bench of the society
of the Inner Temple, taking umbrage at his proceedings, deprived the
doctor of his place at the dinner-table, and "willed him to forbear the
hall till he was sent for." In 8 Car. I., A. D. 1633, the doctor presented
a petition to the king, in which he claims precedence within the Temple
"according to auncient custome, he being master of the house," and
complains that "his place in the hall is denyed him and his dyett, which
place the Master of the Temple hath ever had both before the profession of
the lawe kept in the Temple and ever since, whensoever he came into the
hall. That tythes are not payde him, whereas by pattent he is to have
_omnes et omnimodas decimas_.... That they denye all ecclesiastical
jurisdiction to the Master of the Temple, who is appointed by the king's
majesty master and warden of the house _ad regendum, gubernandum, et
officiendum domum et ecclesiam_," &c. The doctor goes into a long list of
grievances showing the little authority that he possessed in the Temple,
that he was not summoned to the deliberations of the houses, and he
complains that "they will give him no consideracion in the Inner House for
his supernumerarie sermons in the forenoon, nor for his sermons in the
afternoon," and that the officers of the Inner Temple are commanded to
disrespect the Master of the Temple when he comes to the hall.
The short answer to the doctor's complaint is, that the _custos_ of the
church never had any of the things which the doctor claimed to be entitled
to, and it was not in the power of the crown to give them to him.
The antient _custos_ being, as before mentioned, a priest of the order of
the Temple, and afterwards of the order of the Hospital, was a perfect
slave to his temporal superiors, and could be deprived of his post, be
condemned to a diet of bread and water, and be perpetually imprisoned,
without appeal to any power, civil or ecclesiastical, unless he could
cause his complaints to be brought to the ear of the pope. Dr.
Micklethwaite quite misunderstood his position in the Temple, and it was
well for him that the masters of the benches no longer exercised the
despotic power of the antient master and chapter, or he would certainly
have been condemned to the penitential cell in the church, and would not
have been the first _custos_ placed in that unenviable retreat.[608]
The petition was referred to the lords of the council, and afterwards to
Noy, the attorney-general, and in the mean time the doctor locked up the
church and took away the keys. The societies ordered fresh keys to be
made, and the church to be set open. Noy, to settle all differences,
appointed to meet the contending parties in the church, and then alluding
to the pretensions of the doctor, he declared that if he were visitor he
would proceed against him _tanquam elatus et superbus_.
In the end the doctor got nothing by his petition.
In the time of the Commonwealth, after Dr. Micklethwaite's death, Oliver
Cromwell sent to inquire into the duties and emoluments of the post of
"Master of the Temple," as appears from the following letter:--
"From his highness I was commanded to speake with you for resolution and
satisfaction in theise following particulers--
"1. Whether the Master of the Temple be to be putt in him by way of
presentation, or how?
"2. Whether he be bound to attend and preach among them in terme times and
out of terme?
"3. Or if out of terme an assistant must be provided? then, whether at the
charge of the Master, or how otherwise?
"4. Whether publique prayer in the chapell be allwayes performable by the
Master himselfe in terme times? And whether in time of vacation it be
constantly expected from himselfe or his assistant.
"5. What the certain revenue of the Master is, and how it arises?
"2. Sir, the gentleman his highness intends to make Master is Mr. Resburne
of Oundle, a most worthy and learned man, pastor of the church there,
whereof I myselfe am an unworthy member.
"3. The church would be willing (for publique good) to spare him in terme
times, but will not part with him altogether. And in some of the
particulers aforementioned Mr. R. is very desirous to be satisfyd; his
highness chiefly in the first.
"4. I begg of you to leave a briefe answer to the said particulars, and I
shall call on your servant for it.
"For the honourable Henry Scobell, esq., theise."[609]
During the late repair of the Temple Church, A. D. 1830, the workmen
discovered an antient seal of the order of the Hospital, which was carried
away, and appears to have got into the hands of strangers. On one side of
it is represented the holy sepulchre of Jerusalem, with the Saviour in his
tomb. At his head is an elevated cross, and above is a tabernacle or
chapel, from the roof of which depend two incense pots. Around the seal is
the inscription, "FR---- BERENGARII CUSTOS PAUPERUM HOSPITALIS
JHERUSALEM." On the reverse a holy man is represented on his knees in the
attitude of prayer before a patriarchal cross, on either side of which are
the letters _Alpha_ and _Omega_. Under the first letter is a star.
These particulars have been furnished me by Mr. Savage, the architect.
THE END.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY G. J. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Elmacin, Hist. Saracen. Eutychius.
[2] Ingulphus, the secretary of William the Conqueror, one of the number,
states that he sallied forth from Normandy with _thirty_ companions, all
stout and well-appointed horsemen, and that they returned _twenty_
miserable palmers, with the staff in their hand and the wallet at their
back.--_Baronius ad ann. 1064_, No. 43, 56.
[3] _Will. Tyr._, lib. i. cap. 10, ed. 1564.
[4] Omnibus mundi partibus divites et pauperes, juvenes et virgines, senes
cum junioribus, loca sancta visitaturi Hierosolymam pergerent.--Jac. de
Vitriaco. _Hist. Hierosol._ cap. lxv.
[5] "To kiss the holy monuments," says William of Tyre, "came sacred and
chaste widows, forgetful of feminine fear, and the multiplicity of dangers
that beset their path."--Lib. xviii. cap. 5.
[6] Quidam autem Deo amabiles et devoti milites, charitate ferventes,
mundo renuntiantes, et Christi se servitio mancipantes in manu Patriarchae
Hierosolymitani professione et voto solemni sese astrinxerunt, ut a
praedictis latronibus, et viris sanguinum, defenderent peregrinos, et
stratas publicas custodirent, more canonicorum regularium in _obedientia
et castitate et sine proprio_ militaturi summo regi. _Jac. de Vitr. Hist.
Hierosol. apud Gesta Dei per Francos_, cap. lxv. p. 1083.--_Will. Tyr._
lib. xii. cap. 7. There were three kinds of poverty. The first and
strictest (_altissima_) admitted not of the possession of any description
of property whatever. The second (_media_) forbade the possession of
individual property, but sanctioned any amount of wealth when shared by a
fraternity in common. The lowest was where a separate property in some few
things was allowed, such as food and clothing, whilst everything else was
shared in common. The second kind of poverty (media) was adopted by the
Templars.
[7] _Pantaleon_, lib. iii. p. 82.
[8] _D'Herbelot Bib. Orient._ p. 270, 687, ed. 1697. William of Tyre, who
lived at Jerusalem shortly after the conquest of the city by the
Crusaders, tells us that the Caliph Omar required the Patriarch Sophronius
to point out to him the site of the temple destroyed by Titus, which being
done, the caliph immediately commenced the erection of a fresh temple
thereon, "Quo postea infra modicum tempus juxta conceptum mentis suae
feliciter consummato, _quale hodie Hierosolymis esse dinoscitur_, multis
et infinites ditavit possessionibus."--_Will. Tyr._ lib. i. cap. 2.
[9] Erant porro in eodem Templi aedificio, intus et extra ex opere musaico,
Arabici idiomatis literarum vetustissima monimenta, quibus et auctor et
impensarum quantitas et quo tempore opus inceptum quodque consummatum
fuerit evidenter declaratur.... In hujus superioris areae medio Templum
aedificatum est, forma quidem _octogonum_ et laterum totidem, tectum habens
sphericum plumbo artificiose copertum.... Intus vero in medio Templi,
infra interiorem columnarum ordinem _rupes_ est, &c.--_Will. Tyr._ lib. i.
cap 2, lib. viii. cap. 3. In hoc loco, supra _rupem_ quae adhuc in eodem
Templo consistit, dicitur stetisse et apparuisse David exterminator
Angelus.... Templum Dominicum in tanta veneratione habent Saraceni, ut
nullus eorum ipsum audeat aliquibus sordibus maculare; sed a remotis et
longinquis regionibus, a temporibus Salomonis usque ad tempora praesentia,
veniunt adorare.--_Jac. de Vitr. Hist. Hierosol._ cap. lxii. p. 1080.
[10] _Procopius de aedificiis Justiniani_, lib. 5.
[11] Phocas believes the whole space around these buildings to be the area
of the ancient temple. [Greek: En to archaio dapedo tou perionymou naou
ekeinou tou Solomontos theoroumenos ... Exothen de tou naou esti
periaulion mega lithostoton to palaion, hos oimai, tou megalou naou
dapedon.]--_Phocae descript. Terr. Sanc._ cap. xiv. Colon. 1653.
[12] Quibus quoniam neque _ecclesia_ erat, neque certum habebant
domicilium, Rex in Palatio suo, quod secus Templum Domini ad _australem_
habet partem, eis concessit habitaculum.--_Will. Tyr._ lib. xii. cap. 7.
And in another place, speaking of the Temple of the Lord, he says, Ab
_Austro_ vero domum habet Regiam, quae vulgari appellatione _Templum
Salomonis_ dicitur.--_Ib._ lib. viii. cap. 3.
[13] Qui quoniam juxta Templum Domini, ut praediximus, in Palatio regio
mansionem habent, fratres militiae Templi dicuntur.--_Will. Tyr._ lib. xii.
cap. 7.
[14] Est praeterea Hierosolymis Templum aliud immensae quantitatis et
amplitudinis, _a quo fratres militiae Templi, Templarii nominantur_, quod
Templum Salomonis nuncupatur, forsitan ad distinctionem alterius quod
specialiter Templum Domini appellatur.--_Jac. de Vitr._ cap. 62.
[15] In Templo Domini abbas est et canonici regulares, et sciendum est
quod aliud est Templum Domini, aliud Templum militiae. Isti _clerici_, illi
_milites_.--_Hist. Orient. Jac. de Vitr. apud Thesaur. Nov. Anecd.
Martene_, tom. iii. col. 277.
[16] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xii. cap. 7.
[17] Prima autem eorum professio quodque eis a domino Patriarcha et
reliquis episcopis in remissionem peccatorum injunctum est, ut vias et
itinera, ad salutem peregrinorum contra latronum et incursantium insidias,
pro viribus conservarent.--_Will. Tyr._ lib. xii. cap. 7.
[18] _Gibbon._
[19] _Reg. Constit. et Privileg. Ordinis Cisterc._ p. 447.
[20] _Chron. Cisterc. Albertus Miraeus._ Brux. 1641. _Manricus ad ann.
1128_, cap. ii. _Act. Syn. Trec._ tom. x. edit. Labb.
[21] Ego Joannes Michaelensis, praesentis paginae, jussu consilii ac
venerabilis abbatis Claraevallensis, cui creditum ac debitum hoc fuit,
humilis scriba esse, divina gratia merui.--_Chron. Cisterc._ ut sup.
[22] See also Hoveden apud X script. page 479. Hen. Hunting. ib. page 384.
[23] _Annales Benedictini_, tom. vi. page 166.
[24] _Histoire de Languedoc_, lib. xvii. p. 407.
[25] _Hist. de l'eglise de Gandersheim. Mariana de rebus Hispaniae_, lib.
x. cap. 15, 17, 18. _Zurita anales de la corona de Aragon_, tom. i. lib.
i. cap. 52. _Quarita_, tom. i. lib. ii. cap. 4.
[26] Semel et secunda, et tertio, ni fallor, petiisti a me. Hugo
carrissime, ut tibi tuisque commilitonibus scriberem exhortationis
sermonem, et adversus hostilem tyrannidem, quia lanceam non liceret,
stilum vibrarem. _Exhortatio S. Bernardi ad Milites Templi, ed. Mabillon.
Parisiis_, 1839, tom. i. col. 1253 to 1278.
[27] i. e. Without any _separate_ property.
[28] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xiii. cap. 26; _Anselmus_, lib. iii. epistolarum.
epist. 43, 63, 66, 67; _Duchesne in Hist. Burg._ lib. iv. cap. 37.
[29] Miles eximius et in armis strenuus, nobilis carne et moribus, dominus
Robertus cognomine Burgundio Magister militiae Templi.--_Will. Tyr._ lib.
xv. cap. 6.
[30] Vir eximius frater militiae Templi Otto de Monte Falconis, omnes de
morte sua moerore et gemitu conficiens, occisus est.--_Will. Tyr._ lib.
xv. cap. 6.
[31] _Abulfeda_, ad ann. Hegir. 534, 539. _Will. Tyr._ lib. xvi. cap. 4,
5, 7, 15, 16, who terms Zinghis, Sanguin. _Abulfaradge Chron. Syr._ p.
326, 328. _Will. Tyr._ lib. xvi. cap. 14.
[32] _Odo de Diogilo_, p. 33. _Will. Tyr._ lib. xii. cap. 7; _Jac. de
Vitr._ cap. lxv.; _Paul. AEmil._ p. 254; _Monast. Angl._ vol. vii. p. 814.
[33] In nomine sanctae et individuae Trinitatis omnibus dominis et amicis
suis, et Sanctae Dei ecclesiae filiis, Bernardus de Baliolo Salutem. Volo
notum fieri omnibus tam futuris quam praesentibus, quod pro dilectione Dei
et pro salute animae meae, antecessorumque meorum fratribus militibus de
Templo Salomonis dedi et concessi Wedelee, &c. ... Hoc donum in capitulo,
quod in Octavis Paschae Parisiis fuit feci, domino apostolico Eugenio
praesente, et ipso rege Franciae et archiepiscopo Seuver, et Bardell et
Rothomagi, et Frascumme, et fratribus militibus Templi alba chlamide
indutis cxxx praesentibus.--_Reg. Cart. S. Joh. Jerus. in Bib. Cotton. Nero
E. b._ No. xx. fo. 118.
[34] _Gallia Christiana nova_, tom. i. col. 486.
[35] _Odo de Diogilo de Ludov._ vii. _profectione in Orientem_, p. 67.
[36] Rex per aliquot dies in Palatio Templariorum, ubi olim Regia Domus,
quae et Templum Salomonis constructa fuit manens, et sancta ubique loca
peragrans, per Samariam ad Galilaeam Ptolemaidam rediit.... Convenerat enim
cum rege militibusque Templi, circa proximum Julium, in Syriam ad
expugnationem Damasci exercitum ducere.--_Otto Frising_, cap. 58.
[37] Ludovici regis ad abbatem Sugerium epist. 58.--_Duchesne hist. franc.
scrip._ tom. iv. p. 512; see also epist. 59, ibid.
[38] _Simeonis Dunelmensis hist._ ad ann. 1148, _apud_ X _script._
[39] _Dugdale Baronage_, tom. i. p. 122, _Dugd. Monast._ vol. 7, p. 838.
[40] Ex regist. Hosp. S. Joh. Jerusalem in Angli in _Bib. Cotton._ fol.
289, a-b. _Dugd. Monast. Angl._ ed. 1830, vol. vii. p. 820.
[41] Ex. cod. vet. M. S. penes Anton. Wood, Oxon, fol. 14 a. Ib. p. 843.
[42] _Liber Johannis Stillingflete_, M. S. in officio armorum (L. 17) fol.
141 a, Harleian M. S. No. 4937.
[43] _Geoffrey of Clairvaux_ observes, however, that the second crusade
could hardly be called _unfortunate_, since, though it did not at all help
the Holy Land, it served to _people heaven with martyrs_.
[44] His head and right hand were cut off by Noureddin, and sent to the
caliph at Bagdad.--_Abulfarag. Chron. Syr._ p. 336.
[45] _Spicilegii Dacheriani_, tom. ii. p. 511; see also _Will. Tyr._ lib.
xvii. cap. 9.
[46] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xvii. cap. 21. _L'art de verifier les dates_, p.
340. _Nobiliaire de Franche-Compte_, par Dunod, p. 140.
[47] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xvii. cap. 20, ad ann. 1152.
[48] _S. Bernardi epistolae_, 288, 289, 392, ed. Mabillon.
[49] _Anselmi Gemblacensis Chron._ ad ann. 1153. _Will. Tyr._ lib. xvii.
cap. 27.
[50] Captus est inter caeteros ibi Bertrandus de Blanquefort, Magister
Militiae Templi, vir religiosus ac timens Deum. _Will. Tyr._ lib. xviii.
cap. 14. _Registr. epist._ apud _Martene_ vet. script. tom. ii. col. 647.
[51] Milites Templi circa triginta, ducentos Paganorum euntes ad nuphas
verterent in fugam, et divino praesidio comitante, omnes partim ceperunt,
partim gladio trucidarunt. _Registr. epist._ ut sup. col. 647.
[52] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xix. cap. 8.
[53] _Epist._ xvi. S. Remensi archiepiscopo et ejus suffraganeis pro
ecclesia Jerosolymitana et militibus Templi, apud _Martene vet. script._
tom. ii. col. 647.
[54] _Islam_, the name of the Mahometan religion. The word signifies
literally, delivering oneself up to God.
[55] Keightley's Crusaders.
[56] The virtues of Noureddin are celebrated by the Arabic Historian
_Ben-Schunah_, in his _Raoudhat Almenadhir_, by _Azzeddin Ebn-al-ather_,
by _Khondemir_, and in the work entitled, "The flowers of the two
gardens," by _Omaddeddin Kateb_. See also _Will. Tyr._ lib. xx. cap. 33.
[57] _Regula_, cap. xlviii.
[58] Vexillum bipartitum ex Albo et Nigro quod nominant _Beau-seant_ id
est Gallica lingua _Bien-seant_; eo quod Christi amicis candidi sunt et
benigni, inimicis vero terribiles atque nigri, _Jac. de Vitr. Hist.
Hierosol. apud Gesta Dei_, cap. lxv. The idea is quite an oriental one,
black and white being always used among the Arabs metaphorically, in the
sense above described. Their customary salutation is, May your day be
_white_, i. e. may you be happy.
[59] _Alwakidi Arab. Hist._ translated by Ockley. _Hist. Saracen._ It
refers to a period antecedent to the crusades, but the same
religio-military enthusiasm prevailed during the holy war for the recovery
of Jerusalem.
[60] _Cinnamus_, lib. iv. num. 22.
[61] _Gesta Dei_, inter regum et principum epistolas, tom. i. p. 1173, 6,
7. _Hist. Franc. Script._ tom. iv. p. 692, 693.
[62] Hist. de Saladin, par _M. Marin_, tom. i. p. 120, 1. _Gibbon_, cap.
59.
[63] _Gesta Dei_, epist. xiv. p. 1178, 9.
[64] De fratribus nostris ceciderunt LX. milites fortissimi, praeter
fratres clientes et Turcopulos, nec nisi _septem_ tantum evasere
periculum. Epist. _Gauf. Fulcherii_ procuratoris Templi Ludovico regi
Francorum. _Gesta Dei_, tom. i. p. 1182, 3, 4.
[65] Registr. epist. apud _Martene_, vel script. tom. ii. col. 846, 847,
883.
[66] "... praecipue pro fratribus Templi, vestram exoramus Majestatem ...
qui quotidie moriuntur pro Domino et servitio, et per quos possumus, si
quid possumus. In illis enim tota summa post Deum consistit omnium eorum,
qui sano fiunt consilio in partibus orientis...." _Gesta Dei_, tom. i.
epist. xxi. p. 1181.
[67] Dominus fuit Arabiae secundae, quae est Petracensis, qui locus hodie
Crach dicitur, et Syriae Sobal ... factus est Magister Militiae
Templi.--_Will. Tyr._ lib. xxii. cap. 5.
[68] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xviii. cap. 4, 5.
[69] Fratres ejusdem domus non formidantes pro fratribus suis animas
ponere; cum servientibus et equitaturis _ad hoc officium specialiter
deputatis et propriis sumptibus retentis_, tam in eundo, quam redeundo ab
incursibus Paganorum defensant.--_De Vertot._ hist. des chev. de Malte,
liv. i. preuve 9.
[70] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xx. cap. 5.
[71] Praedicti enim Hospitalis fratres _ad imitationem_ fratrum militiae
Templi, armis materialibus utentes, milites cum servientibus in suo
collegio receperunt.--_Jac. de Vit._ cap. lxv.
[72] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xx. cap. 5.
[73] This assumption of arms by the Hospitallers was entirely at variance
with the original end and object of their institution. Pope Anastasius, in
a bull dated A. D. 1154, observes, "omnia vestra _sustentationibus
peregrinorum et pauperum_ debent cedere, ac per hoc nullatenus aliis
usibus ea convenit applicari."--_De Vertot_, liv. i. preuve 13.
[74] _Gest. Dei per Francos_, p. 1177.
[75] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xx. cap. 5. _Hoveden_ in Hen. 2, p. 622. _De
Vertot_, Hist. des Chevaliers de Malte, liv. ii. p. 150 to 161, ed. 1726.
[76] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xxi. cap. 29.
[77] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xx. xxi. xxii.
[78] _Omne datum optimum_ et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens
a Patre luminum, apud quem non est transmutatio, nec vicissitudinis
obumbratio.
[79] Acta Rymeri, tom. i. ad ann. 1172, p. 30, 31, 32.
[80] _Wilcke_, Geschichte des Tempelherrenordens, vol. ii. p. 230.
[81] 3 Concil. Lat. cap. 9.
[82] Regula, cap. 20.
[83] Cap. 21, 22.
[84] Cap. 20, 27, of the rule.
[85] _Jac. de Vitr._ Hist. Orient. apud _Martene_ thesaur. nov. anecdot.
tom. iii. col. 276, 277.
[86] Narratio Patriarchae Hierosolymitani coram summo Pontifice de statu
Terrae Sanctae. ex M. S. Cod. Bigotiano, apud _Martene_ thesaur. nov.
anecdot. tom. iii. col. 276, 277.
[87] Dissertation sur les Assassins, Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xvii.
p. 127, 170. _De Guignes_, Hist. des Huns.--_Will. Tyr._ lib. xx. cap. 31.
[88] _Jac. de Vitr._ Hist. Orient. lib. iii. p. 1142. _Will. Tyr._ lib.
xx. cap. 32.
[89] Adjecit etiam et alia _a spiritu superbiae_, quo ipse plurimum
abundabat, dictata, quae praesenti narrationi no multum necessarium est
interserere.--_Will. Tyr._ lib. xx. cap. 32.
[90] _Will. Tyr._ lib. xxi. cap. 20, 22, 23. Abulfeda Abulpharadge, Chron.
Syr. p. 379.
[91] Capti sunt ibi de nostris, Otto de Sancto Amando militiae Templi
Magister, homo nequaquam superbus et arrogans, spiritum furoris habens in
naribus, nec Deum timens, nec ad homines habens reverentiam.--_Will. Tyr._
lib. xxi. cap. 29, Abulpharadge, Chron. Syr. p. 380, 381.
[92] _Abulpharadge_, Chron. Syr. ut sup. Menologium Cisterciente, p. 194.
_Bernardus Thesaurarius_ de acq. _Terr. Sanc._ cap. 139.
[93] Dicens non esse consuetudinis militum Templi ut aliqua redemptio
daretur pro eis praeter cingulum et cultellum. Chron. _Trivet_ apud _Hall_,
vol. i. p. 77.
[94] Eodem anno quo captus est in vinculis et squalore carceris, nulli
lugendus, dicitur obiisse.--_Will. Tyr._ lib. xxi. cap. 29. Ib. lib. xxii.
cap. 7. Gallia christiana nova, tom. i. col. 258; ibid p. 172,
instrumentorum.
[95] _Abulfeda_, ad ann. 1182, 3. _Will. Tyr._ lib. xxii. cap. 16-20.
[96] Unde propter causas praedictas generali providentia statutum est, ut
Jerosolymitanus Patriarcha, petendi contra immanissimum hostem Saladinum
auxilii gratia, ad christianos principos in Europam mitteretur; sed maxime
ad illustrem Anglorum regem, cujus efficacior et promptia opera
sperabatur.--_Hemingford_, cap. 33; _Radulph de Diceto_, inter; _Hist.
Angl._ X. script. p. 622.
[97] Concil. Magn. Brit. tom. iv. p. 788, 789.
[98] _Arnauld_ of Troy. _Radulph de Diceto_, ut sup. p. 625.
[99] Eodem anno (1185,) Baldewinus rex Jerusalem, et Templares et
Hospitalares, miserunt ad regem Angliae Heraclium, sanctae civitatis
Jerusalem Patriarcha, et summos Hospitalis et Templi Magistros una cum
vexillo regio, et clavibus sepulchri Domini, et turris David, et civitatis
Jerusalem; postulantes ab eo celerem succursum ... qui statim ad pedes
regis provoluti cum fletu magno et singultu, verba salutationis ex parte
regis et principum et universae plebis terrae Jerosolymitanae proferebant ...
tradiderunt ei vexillum regium, etc. etc.--_Hoveden_, ad ann. 1185;
_Radulph de Diceto_, p. 626.
[100] _Matt. Westm._ ad ann. 1185; _Guill. Neubr._ tom. i. lib. iii. cap.
12, 13. _Chron. Dunst._
[101] _Speed._ Hist. Britain, p. 506. A. D. 1185.
[102] _Stowe's_ Survey; _Tanner_, Notit. Monast.; _Dugd._ Orig. Jurid.
[103] _Herbert_, Antiq. Inns of Court.
[104] "Yea, and a part of that too," says Sir William Dugdale, in his
_origines juridiciales_, as appears from the first grant thereof to Sir
William Paget, Knight, Pat. ii. Edward VI. p. 2.
[105] We read on many old charters and deeds, "Datum apud _vetus_ Templum
Londoniae." See an example, _Nichols'_ Leicestershire, vol. iii. p. 959;
see also the account, in Matt. Par. and Hoveden, of the king's visit to
Hugh bishop of Lincoln, who lay sick of a fever at the Old Temple, and
died there, the 16th November, A. D. 1200.
[106] Anno ab incarnatione Domini MCLXXXV. facta est ista inquisitio de
terrarum donatoribus, et earum possessoribus, ecclesiarum scil. et
molendinorum, et terrarum assisarum, et in dominico habitarum, et de
redditibus assisis per Angliam, per fratrem Galfridum filium Stephani,
quando ipse suscepit balliam de Anglia, qui summo studio praedicta
inquirendo curam sollicitam exhibuit, ut majoris notitiae posteris
expressionem generaret, et pervicacibus omnimodam nocendi rescinderet
facultatem. Ex. cod. MS. in Scacc. penes Remor. Regis. fol. i. a.; _Dugd._
Monast. Angl. vol. vi. part ii. p. 820.
[107] Quorum res adeo crevit in immensum, ut hodie, trecentos in conventu
habeant equites, albis chlamydibus indutos: exceptis fratribus, quorum
pene infinitus est numerus. Possessiones autem, tam ultra quam citra mare,
adeo dicuntur immensas habere, ut jam non sit in orbe christiano provincia
quae praedictis fratribus suorum portionem non contulerit, et regiis
opulentiis pares hodie dicuntur habere copias.--_Will. Tyr._ lib. xii.
cap. 7.
[108] Dominus Baldwinus illustris memoriae, Hierosolymorum rex quartus,
Gazam munitissimam fratribus militiae Templi donavit, _Will. Tyr._ lib. xx.
cap. 21. Milites Templi Gazam antiquam Palaestinae civitatem reaedificant, et
turribus eam muniunt, _Rob. de Monte_, appen. ad chron. Sig. p. 631.
[109] _Marin. Sanut_, p. 221. _Bernard Thesaur._ p. 768. _Radulph
Coggleshale_, p. 249. Hoveden, p. 636. Radulph de Diceto, ut sup. p. 623.
Matt. Par. p. 142. Italia sacra, tom. iii. p. 407.
[110] Tunc Julianus Dominus Sydonis vendidit Sydonem et Belfort
Templariis, _Marin. Sanut_, cap. vi. p. 221.
[111] Atlas _Marianus_, p. 156; Siciliae Antiq., tom. iii. col. 1000.
[112] Gallia christiana nova, tom. iii. col. 118; Probat. tom. ix. col.
1067, tom. x. col. 1292, tom. xi. col. 46; _Roccus Pyrrhus_, Sicil. Antiq.
tom. iii. col. 1093, 4, 5, 6, 7, &c.
[113] _Petrus Maria Campus_ Hist. Placent. part ii. n. 28; _Pauli M.
Paciandi_ de cultu S. Johannis Bapt. Antiq. p. 297.
[114] Description et delices d'Espagne, tom. iii. p. 259; Hist. Portugal,
_La Clede_, tom. i. p. 200, 202, &c.; Hispania illustrata, tom. iii. p.
49.
[115] Annales Minorum, tom. v. p. 247; tom. vi. p. 211, 218; tom. viii. p.
26, 27; tom. ix. p. 130, 141.--_Campomanes._
[116] _Marcae_ Hispanicae, col. 1291, 1292, 1304. Gall. christ. nov. tom. i.
col. 195. _Mariana_, de. reb. Hisp. lib. ii. cap. 23.
[117] Script. rer. Germ. tom. ii. col. 584. Annales Minorum, tom. vi. p.
5, 95, 177. Suevia and Vertenbergia sacra, p. 74. Annal. Bamb. p. 186.
Notitiae episcopatus Middelb. p. 11. Scrip. de rebus Marchiae Brandeburg, p.
13. _Aventinus_ annal. lib. vii. cap. 1. n. 7. Gall. christ. nov. tom.
viii. col. 1382; tom. i. col. 1129.
[118] Constantinopolis christiana, lib. iv. p. 157.
[119] Hist. de l'Eglise de Besancon, tom. ii. p. 397, 421, 450, 474, 445,
470, 509, &c.
[120] Hist. de l'Eglise de St. Etienne a Dijon, p. 133, 137, 205. Hist. de
Bresse, tom. i. p. 52, 55, 84.
[121] Hist. gen. de Languedoc, liv. ii. p. 523; liv. xvi., p. 362; liv.
xvii. p. 427; liv. xxii. p. 25, 226. Gall. christ. tom. vi. col. 727.
_Martene_ Thesaur. anecd. tom. i. col. 575.
[122] Gall. christ. nov. tom. i. p. 32; tom. iii. col. 333; tom. ii. col.
46, 47, and 72. _La Martiniere_ dict. geogr. _Martene_, ampl. collect.
tom. vi. col. 226. Gloss. nov. tom. iii. col. 223.
[123] Histoire de la ville de Paris, tom. i. p. 174. Gall. christ. nov.
tom. vii. col. 853.
[124] Annales Trevir. tom. ii. p. 91, 197, 479. _Prodromus_ hist. Trevir.
p. 1077. _Bertholet_ hist. de Luxembourg, tom. v. p. 145. _Joh. Bapt._
Antiq. Flandriae Gandavum, p. 24, 207. Antiq. Bredanae, p. 12, 23.
_Austroburgus_, p. 115. _Aub Miraei_ Diplomat. tom. ii. p. 1165, &c.
[125] _Dugd._ Monast. Angl. vol. vi. part 2, p. 800 to 817. Concilia Magnae
Britanniae, tom. iii. p. 333 to 382. Acta _Rymeri_, tom. iii. p. 279, 288,
291, 295, &c.
[126] Acta _Rymeri_, tom. iii. p. 279, 288, 291, 297, &c.
[127] _Nichols'_ hist. of Leicestershire.
[128] _Clutterbuck's_ hist. Hertfordshire. _Chauncey_, antiq. Hert. Acta
_Rymeri_, tom. iii. p. 133, 134. _Dodsworth_, M. S. vol. xxxv.
[129] _Morant's_ hist. Essex, _Rymer._ tom. iii. p. 290 to 294.
[130] Redditus omnium ecclesiarum et molendinorum et terrarum de baillia
de Lincolnscire. Inquis. terrar. ut sup. fol. 41 b to 48 b and 49 a.
_Peck's_ MS. in Museo Britannico, vol. iv. fol. 95 et seq.
[131] _Peck's_ MS. ut sup. fol. 95.
[132] Inquis. ut. sup. 58 b to 65 b.
[133] Inquis. terrar. ut sup. fol. 12 a to 23 a. Dodsworth MS. vol. xx. p.
65, 67, ex quodam rotulo tangente terras Templariorum. Rot. 42, 46, p.
964. Dugd. Baron. tom. i. p. 70.
[134] Monast. Angl. ut sup. p. 840. _Hasted._ hist. Kent.
[135] Ex cod. MS. in officio armorum, L. xvii. fol. 141 a. Calendarium
Inquis. post mortem, p. 13. 18.
[136] _Manning's_ Surrey. _Atkyn's_ Gloucestershire; and see the
references in Tanner. _Nash's_ Worcestershire.
[137] _Bridge's_ Northamptonshire, vol. ii. p. 100.
[138] _Thoroton's_ Nottinghamshire. _Burn and Nicholson's_ Westmoreland.
_Worsley's_ Isle of Wight.
[139] Habuerunt insuper Templarii in Christianitate _novem millia_
maneriorum ... praeter emolumenta et varios proventus ex fraternitatibus et
praedicationibus provenientes, et per privilegia sua accrescentes. _Mat.
Par._ p. 615, ed. Lond. 1640.
[140] Amplis autem possessionibus tam citra mare quam ultra ditati sunt in
immensum, villas, civitates et oppida, ex quibus certam pecuniae summam,
pro defensione Terrae Sanctae, summo eorum magistro cujus sedes principalis
erat in Jerusalem, mittunt annuatim.--_Jac. de Vitr._ Hist. Hierosol. p.
1084.
[141] Masculum pullum, si natus sit super terram domus, vendere non
possunt sine licentia fratrum. Si filiam habent, dare non possunt sine
licentia fratrum. Inquisitio terrarum, ut supr. fol. 18 a.
[142] The Templars, by diverting the water, created a great nuisance. In
A. D. 1290, the _Prior et fratres de Carmelo_ (the white friars)
complained to the king in parliament of the putrid exhalations arising
from the Fleet river, which were so powerful as to overcome all the
frankincense burnt at their altar during divine service, and had
occasioned the deaths of many of their brethren. They beg that the stench
may be removed, lest they also should perish. The Friars preachers (black
friars) and the bishop of Salisbury (whose house stood in Salisbury-court)
made a similar complaint; as did also Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, who
alleges that the Templars (_ipsi de novo Templo_) had turned off the water
of the river to their mills at Castle Baignard.--_Rot. Parl._ vol. i. p.
60, 200.
[143] Ex cod. MS. in officio armorum, L. xvii. fol. 141 a. _Dugd._ Monast.
Angl. ut sup. p. 838. _Tanner_, Notit. Monast.
[144] _Dugd._ Baronage. Monast. Angl. p. 800 to 844.
[145] Power to hold courts;
[146] to impose and levy fines and amerciaments upon their tenants;
[147] to buy and sell, or to hold a kind of market;
[148] to judge and punish their villains and vassals;
[149] to try thieves and malefactors belonging to their manors, and taken
within the precincts thereof;
[150] to judge foreign thieves taken within the said manors, &c.
[151] Cart. 11. Hen. 3. M. 33. _Dugd._ Monast. p. 844.
[152] Acta _Rymeri_, tom. i. p. 54, 298, 574, 575.
[153] Page 431.
[154] 13 Edward I.
[155] 2 Inst. p. 432.
[156] 2 Inst. p. 465.
[157] Stat. Westr. 2, cap. 43, 13 Ed. I.
[158] The title Master of the Temple was so generally applied to the
superiors of the western provinces, that we find in the Greek of the lower
empire, the words [Greek: Templou Maistor]. _Ducange._ Gloss.
[159] Also summus magister, magister generalis.
[160] Concil. Mag. Brit. tom. ii. p. 335, 339, 340. Monast. Angl. p. 818.
[161] Concil. Mag. Brit. tom. ii. p. 355, 356.
[162] In cujus rei testimonium huic praesenti scripto indentato sigillum
capituli nostri apposuimus.
[163] MS. apud Belvoir. _Peck's_ MS. in Museo Britannico, vol. iv. p. 65.
[164] _Nicholl's_ Hist. Leicestershire, vol. iii. pl. cxxvii. fig. 947, p.
943; vol. ii. pl. v. fig. 13.
[165] Two of these visitors-general have been buried in the Temple Church.
[166] Rot. claus. 49. H. III. m. xi. d. Acta _Rymeri_, tom. iii. p. 802.
[167] L'histoire des Cisteaux, _Chrisost. Henriques_, p. 479.
[168] Ricardus de Hastinges, Magister omnium militum et fratrum Templi qui
sunt in Anglia, salutem. Notum vobis facimus quod omnis controversia quae
fuit inter nos et monachos de Kirkested ... terminata et finita est
assensu et consilio nostro et militum et fratrum, &c., anno ab
incarnatione Domini 1155, 11 die kal. Feb. The archbishop of Canterbury,
the papal legate, the bishop of Lincoln, and several abbots, are witnesses
to this instrument.--_Lansdown_ MS. 207 E, fol. 467, p. 162, 163; see also
p. 319, where he is mentioned as Master, A. D. 1161.
[169] Et paulo post rex Angliae fecit Henricum filium suum desponsare
Margaritam filiam regis Franciae, cum adhuc essent pueruli in cunis
vagientes; videntibus et consentientibus Roberto de Pirou et Toster de
Sancto Homero et Ricardo de Hastinges, Templariis, qui custodiebant
praefata castella, et statim tradiderunt illa castella regi Angliae, unde
rex Franciae plurimum iratus fugavit illos tres Templarios de regno
Franciae, quos rex Angliae benigne suscipiens, multis ditavit
honoribus.--_Rog. Hoveden_, script. post Bedam, p. 492. _Guilielmi
Neubrigiensis_ hist. lib. ii. cap. 4, apud _Hearne_.
[170] Life of Henry II. tom. iv. p. 203.
[171] Ib. tom. ii. p. 356. Hist. quad. p. 38. _Hoveden_, 453. _Chron.
Gervasii_, p. 1386, apud X script.
[172] Ricardus Mallebeench, magister omnium pauperum militum et fratrum
Templi Salomonis in Anglia, &c. ... Confirmavimus pacem et concordiam quam
Ricardus de Hastings fecit cum Waltero abbate de Kirkested.--_Lansdown_
MS. 207 E., fol. 467.
[173] Gaufridus, filius Stephani, militiae Templi in Anglia _Minister_,
assensu totius capituli nostri dedi, &c., totum illud tenementum in villa
de Scamtrun quod Emma uxor Walteri Camerarii tenet de domo nostra, &c. Ib.
fol. 201.
[174] Post.
[175] The money is ordered to be paid "dilecto filio nostro Thesaurario
domus militiae Templi Londonien." Acta _Rymeri_, tom. i. p. 442, 4, 5.
_Wilkins_ Concilia, tom. ii. p. 230.
[176] _Matt. Par._ p. 381.
[177] _Matt. Par._ p. 253, 645.
[178] _Wilkins_, Concilia Magnae Britanniae, tom. ii. p. 19, 26, 93, 239,
253, 272, 292.
[179] _Bernard Thesaur._ cap. 157, apud _Muratori_ script. rer. Ital. p.
792. _Cotton_ MS., Nero E. vi. p. 60, fol. 466.
[180] _Radulph de Diceto_, ut sup. p. 626. _Matt. Par._ ad ann. 1185.
[181] _Hoveden_ annal. apud rer. Angl. script. post Bedam, p. 636, 637.
[182] The above passage is almost literally translated from Abbot
Bromton's Chronicle. The Patriarch there says to the king, "Hactenus
gloriose regnasti, sed amodo ipse te deseret quem tu deseruisti. Recole
quae dominus tibi contulit, et qualia illi reddidisti; quomodo regi Franciae
infidus fuisti, beatum Thomam occidisti, et nunc protectionem
Christianorum abjecisti. Cumque ad haec rex excandesceret, obtulit
patriarcha caput suum et collum extensum, dicens, 'Fac de me quod de
_Thoma_ fecisti. Adeo libenter volo a te occidi in Anglia, sicut a
Saracenis in Syria, quia tu omni Saraceno pejor es.' Cui rex, 'Si omnes
homines mei unum corpus essent, unoque ore loquerentur, talia mihi dicere
non auderent.' Cui ille, 'Non est mirum, quia tu et non te diligunt,
praedam etiam et non hominem sequitur turba ista.' 'Recedere non possum,
quia filii mei insurgerent in me absentem.' Cui ille, 'Nec mirum, quia de
diabolo venerunt, et ad diabolum ibunt.' Et sic demum patriarcha navem
ascendens in Galliam reversus est."--_Chron. Joan. Bromton_, abbatis
Jornalensis, script. X. p. 1144, ad ann. 1185.
[183] Sed haec omnia praefatus Patriarcha parum pendebat, sperabat enim quod
esset reducturus secum ad defensionem Ierosolymitanae terrae praefatum regem
Angliae, vel aliquem de filiis suis, vel aliquem virum magnae auctoritatis;
sed quia hoc esse non potuit, repatriaturus dolens et confusus a curia
recessit.--_Hoveden_ ut sup. p. 630.