Payens himself proceeded to Rome, accompanied by Geoffrey de St. Aldemar
and four other brothers of the order: namely, Brother Payen de
Montdidier, Brother Gorall, Brother Geoffrey Bisol, and Brother
Archambauld de St. Armand. They were received with great honor 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 (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.
_The Rule of the Poor Fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ and of the Temple
of Solomon_, arranged by St. Bernard, and sanctioned by the holy Fathers
of the Council of Troyes, for the government and regulation of the
monastic and military society of the Temple, is principally of a
religious character and of an austere and gloomy cast. It is divided
into seventy-two heads or chapters, and is preceded by a short prologue
addressed "to all who disdain to follow after their own wills, and
desire with purity of mind to fight for the most high and true King,"
exhorting them to put on the armor of obedience, and to associate
themselves together with piety and humility for the defence of the Holy
Catholic Church; and to employ a pure diligence, and a steady
perseverance in the exercise of their sacred profession, so that they
might share in the happy destiny reserved for the holy warriors who had
given up their lives for Christ.
The rule enjoins severe devotional exercises, self-mortification,
fasting, and prayer, and a constant attendance at matins, vespers, and
on all the services of the Church, "that, being refreshed and satisfied
with heavenly food, instructed and stablished with heavenly precepts,
after the consummation of the divine mysteries," none might be afraid of
the _Fight_, but be prepared for the _Crown_.
If unable to attend the regular service of God, the absent brother is
for matins to say over thirteen _pater-nosters_, for every hour seven,
and for vespers nine. When any Templar draweth nigh unto death, the
chaplains and clerk are to assemble and offer up a solemn mass for his
soul; the surrounding brethren are to spend the night in prayer, and a
hundred pater-nosters are to be repeated for the dead brother.
"Moreover," say the holy Fathers, "we do strictly enjoin you, that with
divine and most tender charity ye do daily bestow as much meat and drink
as was given to that brother when alive, unto some poor man for forty
days."
The brethren are, on all occasions, to speak sparingly and to wear a
grave and serious deportment. They are to be constant in the exercise of
charity and almsgiving, to have a watchful care over all sick brethren,
and to support and sustain all old men. They are not to receive letters
from their parents, relations, or friends without the license of the
master, and all gifts are immediately to be taken to the latter or to
the treasurer, to be disposed of as he may direct. They are, moreover,
to receive no service or attendance from a woman, and are commanded,
above all things, to shun feminine kisses.
"This same year (1128) Hugh of the Temple came from Jerusalem to the
King in Normandy, and the King received him with much honor and gave him
much treasure in gold and silver, and afterward he sent him into
England, and there he was well received by all good men, and all gave
him treasure, and in Scotland also, and they sent in all a great sum in
gold and silver by him to Jerusalem, and there went with him and after
him so great a number as never before since the days of Pope Urban."
Grants of land, as well as of money, were at the same time made to Hugh
de Payens and his brethren, some of which were shortly afterward
confirmed by King Stephen on his accession to the throne (1135). Among
these is a grant of the manor of Bistelesham made to the Templars by
Count Robert de Ferrara, and a grant of the Church of Langeforde in
Bedfordshire made by Simon de Wahull and Sibylla his wife and Walter
their son.
Hugh de Payens, before his departure, placed a Knight Templar at the
head of the order in England, who was called the prior of the temple and
was the procurator and viceregent of the master. It was his duty to
manage the estates granted to the fraternity, and to transmit the
revenues to Jerusalem. He was also delegated with the power of admitting
members into the order, subject to the control and direction of the
master, and was to provide means of transport for such newly-admitted
brethren to the Far East, to enable them to fulfil the duties of their
profession. As the houses of the Temple increased in number in England,
subpriors came to be appointed, and the superior of the order in this
country was then called the "grand prior," and afterward master, of the
temple.
Many illustrious knights of the best families in Europe aspired to the
habit and vows, but, however exalted their rank, they were not received
within the bosom of the fraternity until they had proved themselves by
their conduct worthy of such a fellowship. Thus, when Hugh d'Amboise,
who had harassed and oppressed the people of Marmontier by unjust
exactions, and had refused to submit to the judicial decision of the
Count of Anjou, desired to enter the order, Hugh de Payens refused to
admit him to the vows until he had humbled himself, renounced his
pretensions, and given perfect satisfaction to those whom he had
injured. The candidates, moreover, previous to their admission, were
required to make reparation and satisfaction for all damage done by them
at any time to churches and to public or private property.
An astonishing enthusiasm was excited throughout Christendom in behalf
of the Templars; princes and nobles, sovereigns and their subjects, vied
with each other in heaping gifts and benefits upon them, and scarce a
will of importance was made without an article in it in their favor.
Many illustrious persons on their death-beds took the vows, that they
might be buried in the habit of the order; and sovereigns, quitting the
government of their kingdoms, enrolled themselves among the holy
fraternity, and bequeathed even their dominions to the master and the
brethren of the temple.
Thus, Raymond Berenger, Count of Barcelona and Provence, at a very
advanced age, abdicating his throne and shaking off the ensigns of royal
authority, retired to the house of the Templars at Barcelona, and
pronounced his vows (1130) before Brother Hugh de Rigauld, the prior.
His infirmities not allowing him to proceed in person to the chief house
of the order at Jerusalem, he sent vast sums of money thither, and
immuring himself in a small cell in the temple at Barcelona, he there
remained in the constant exercise of the religious duties of his
profession until the day of his death.
At the same period, the emperor Lothair bestowed on the order a large
portion of his patrimony of Supplinburg; and the year following (1131),
Alphonso I, King of Navarre and Aragon, also styled Emperor of Spain,
one of the greatest warriors of the age, by his will declared the
Knights of the Temple his heirs and successors in the crowns of Navarre
and Aragon, and a few hours before his death he caused this will to be
ratified and signed by most of the barons of both kingdoms. The validity
of this document, however, was disputed, and the claims of the Templars
were successfully resisted by the nobles of Navarre; but in Aragon they
obtained, by way of compromise, lands and castles and considerable
dependencies, a portion of the customs and duties levied throughout the
kingdom, and the contributions raised from the Moors.
To increase the enthusiasm in favor of the Templars, and still further
to swell their ranks with the best and bravest of the European chivalry,
St. Bernard, at the request of Hugh de Payens, took up his powerful pen
in their behalf. In a famous discourse, _In Praise of the New Chivalry_,
the holy abbot sets forth, in eloquent and enthusiastic terms, the
spiritual advantages and blessings enjoyed by the military friars of the
temple over all other warriors. He draws a curious picture of the
relative situations and circumstances of the _secular_ soldiery and the
soldiery of _Christ_, and shows how different in the sight of God are
the bloodshed and slaughter of the one from that committed by the other.
This extraordinary discourse is written with great spirit; it is
addressed "To Hugh, Knight of Christ, and Master of the Knighthood of
Christ," is divided into fourteen parts or chapters, and commences with
a short prologue. It is curiously illustrative of the spirit of the
times, and some of its most striking passages will be read with
interest.
The holy abbot thus pursues his comparison between the soldier of the
world and the soldier of Christ--the _secular_ and the _religious_
warrior: "As often as thou who wagest a secular warfare marchest forth
to battle, it is greatly to be feared lest when thou slayest thine enemy
in the body, he should destroy thee in the spirit, or lest peradventure
thou shouldst be at once slain by him both in body and soul. From the
disposition of the heart, indeed, not by the event of the fight, is to
be estimated either the jeopardy or the victory of the Christian. If,
fighting with the desire of killing another, thou shouldst chance to get
killed thyself, thou diest a manslayer; if, on the other hand, thou
prevailest, and through a desire of conquest or revenge killest a man,
thou livest a manslayer.... O unfortunate victory! when in overcoming
thine adversary thou fallest into sin, and, anger or pride having the
mastery over thee, in vain thou gloriest over the vanquished....
"What, therefore, is the fruit of this secular, I will not say
_militia_, but _malitia_, if the slayer committeth a deadly sin, and the
slain perisheth eternally? Verily, to use the words of the apostle, he
that plougheth should plough in hope, and he that thresheth should be
partaker of his hope. Whence, therefore, O soldiers, cometh this so
stupendous error? What insufferable madness is this--to wage war with so
great cost and labor, but with no pay except either death or crime? Ye
cover your horses with silken trappings, and I know not how much fine
cloth hangs pendent from your coats of mail. Ye paint your spears,
shields, and saddles; your bridles and spurs are adorned on all sides
with gold and silver and gems, and with all this pomp, with a shameful
fury and a reckless insensibility, ye rush on to death. Are these
military ensigns, or are they not rather the garnishments of women? Can
it happen that the sharp-pointed sword of the enemy will respect gold,
will it spare gems, will it be unable to penetrate the silken garment?
"As ye yourselves have often experienced, three things are indispensably
necessary to the success of the soldier: he must, for example, be bold,
active, and circumspect; quick in running, prompt in striking; ye,
however, to the disgust of the eye, nourish your hair after the manner
of women, ye gather around your footsteps long and flowing vestures, ye
bury up your delicate and tender hands in ample and wide-spreading
sleeves. Among you indeed naught provoketh war or awakeneth strife, but
either an irrational impulse of anger or an insane lust of glory or the
covetous desire of possessing another man's lands and possessions. In
such cases it is neither safe to slay nor to be slain.... But the
soldiers of Christ indeed securely fight the battles of their Lord, in
no wise fearing sin, either from the slaughter of the enemy or danger
from their own death. When indeed death is to be given or received for
Christ, it has naught of crime in it, but much of glory....
"And now for an example, or to the confusion of our soldiers fighting
not manifestly for God, but for the devil, we will briefly display the
mode of life of the Knights of Christ, such as it is in the field and in
the convent, by which means it will be made plainly manifest to what
extent the soldiery of God and the soldiery of the World differ from one
another.... The soldiers of Christ live together in common in an
agreeable but frugal manner, without wives and without children; and
that nothing may be wanting to evangelical perfection, they dwell
together without property of any kind, in one house, under one rule,
careful to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. You
may say that to the whole multitude there is but one heart and one soul,
as each one in no respect followeth after his own will or desire, but is
diligent to do the will of the Master. They are never idle nor rambling
abroad, but, when they are not in the field, that they may not eat their
bread in idleness, they are fitting and repairing their armor and their
clothing, or employing themselves in such occupations as the will of the
Master requireth or their common necessities render expedient. Among
them there is no distinction of persons; respect is paid to the best and
most virtuous, not the most noble. They participate in each other's
honor, they bear one anothers' burdens, that they may fulfil the law of
Christ.
"An insolent expression, a useless undertaking, immoderate laughter, the
least murmur or whispering, if found out, passeth not without severe
rebuke. They detest cards and dice, they shun the sports of the field,
and take no delight in the ludicrous catching of birds (hawking), which
men are wont to indulge in. Jesters and soothsayers and story-tellers,
scurrilous songs, shows, and games, they contemptuously despise and
abominate as vanities and mad follies. They cut their hair, knowing
that, according to the apostle, it is not seemly in a man to have long
hair. They are never combed, seldom washed, but appear rather with rough
neglected hair, foul with dust, and with skins browned by the sun and
their coats of mail.
"Moreover, on the approach of battle they fortify themselves with faith
within and with steel without, and not with gold, so that, armed and not
adorned, they may strike terror into the enemy, rather than awaken his
lust of plunder. They strive earnestly to possess strong and swift
horses, but not garnished with ornaments or decked with trappings,
thinking of battle and of victory, and not of pomp and show, studying to
inspire fear rather than admiration....
"Such hath God chosen for his own, and hath collected together as his
ministers from the ends of the earth, from among the bravest of Israel,
who indeed vigilantly and faithfully guard the Holy Sepulchre, all armed
with the sword, and most learned in the art of war....
"There is indeed a temple at Jerusalem in which they dwell together,
unequal, it is true, as a building, to that ancient and most famous one
of Solomon, but not inferior in glory. For truly the entire magnificence
of that consisted in corrupt things, in gold and silver, in carved
stone, and in a variety of woods; but the whole beauty of this resteth
in the adornment of an agreeable conversation, in the godly devotion of
its inmates, and their beautifully ordered mode of life. That was
admired for its various external beauties, this is venerated for its
different virtues and sacred actions, as becomes the sanctity of the
house of God, who delighteth not so much in polished marbles as in
well-ordered behavior, and regardeth pure minds more than gilded walls.
The face likewise of this temple is adorned with arms, not with gems,
and the wall, instead of the ancient golden chapiters, is covered around
with pendent shields.
"Instead of the ancient candelabra, censers, and lavers, the house is on
all sides furnished with bridles, saddles, and lances, all which plainly
demonstrate that the soldiers burn with the same zeal for the house of
God as that which formerly animated their great Leader, when, vehemently
enraged, he entered into the Temple, and with that most sacred hand,
armed not with steel, but with a scourge which he had made of small
thongs, drove out the merchants, poured out the changers' money, and
overthrew the tables of them that sold doves; most indignantly
condemning the pollution of the house of prayer by the making of it a
place of merchandise.
"The devout army of Christ, therefore, earnestly incited by the example
of its king, thinking indeed that the holy places are much more
impiously and insufferably polluted by the infidels than when defiled by
merchants, abide in the holy house with horses and with arms, so that
from that, as well as all the other sacred places, all filthy and
diabolical madness of infidelity being driven out, they may occupy
themselves by day and by night in honorable and useful offices. They
emulously honor the temple of God with sedulous and sincere oblations,
offering sacrifices therein with constant devotion, not indeed of the
flesh of cattle after the manner of the ancients, but peaceful
sacrifices, brotherly love, devout obedience, voluntary poverty.
"These things are done perpetually at Jerusalem, and the world is
aroused, the islands hear, and the nations take heed from afar...."
St. Bernard then congratulates Jerusalem on the advent of the soldiers
of Christ, and declares that the Holy City will rejoice with a double
joy in being rid of all her oppressors, the ungodly, the robbers, the
blasphemers, murderers, perjurers, and adulterers; and in receiving her
faithful defenders and sweet consolers, under the shadow of whose
protection "Mount Zion shall rejoice, and the daughters of Judah sing
for joy."
STEPHEN USURPS THE ENGLISH CROWN
HIS CONFLICTS WITH MATILDA: DECISIVE INFLUENCE OF THE CHURCH
A.D. 1135-1154
CHARLES KNIGHT
(William the Conqueror, King of England, was succeeded by his sons
William Rufus and Henry--on account of his scholarship known as
Beauclerc. Prince William, Henry's only son, was drowned when starting
from Normandy for England in 1120. In the absence of male issue Henry
settled the English and Norman crowns upon his daughter Matilda, and
demanded an oath of fidelity to her from the barons.
Matilda had been married first to Emperor Henry V of Germany, who died
in 1125, and secondly to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou.
Stephen was the son of Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror, who had
married Stephen, Count of Blois. Stephen, with his brother Henry, had
been invited to the court of England by their uncle, and had received
honors, preferments, and riches. Henry becoming an ecclesiast was
created abbot of Glastonbury and bishop of Winchester. Stephen, among
other possessions, received the great estate forfeited by Robert Mallet
in England, and that forfeited by the Earl of Mortaigne in Normandy. By
his marriage with Matilda, daughter of the Earl of Boulogne, he had
succeeded also to the territories of his father-in-law. Stephen by
studied arts and personal qualities became a great favorite with the
English barons and the people.
The empress Matilda and her husband Geoffrey, unfortunately, were
unpopular both in England and Normandy, the English barons especially
viewing with disfavor the prospect of a woman occupying the throne.
Henry Beauclerc died in 1135 at his favorite hunting-seat, the Castle of
Lions, near Rouen, in Normandy. Stephen, ignoring the oath of fealty to
the daughter of his benefactor, hastened to England, and,
notwithstanding some opposition, with the help of his clerical brother
and other functionaries had himself proclaimed and crowned king. This
act involved England in years of civil war, anarchy, and wretchedness,
which ended only with the accession as Henry II of Empress Matilda's
son, Henry Plantagenet of Anjou.)
Of the reign of Stephen, Sir James Mackintosh has said, "It perhaps
contains the most perfect condensation of all the ills of feudality to
be found in history." He adds, "The whole narrative would have been
rejected, as devoid of all likeness to truth, if it had been hazarded in
fiction." As a picture of "all the ills of feudality," this narrative is
a picture of the entire social state--the monarchy, the Church, the
aristocracy, the people--and appears to us, therefore, to demand a more
careful examination than if the historical interest were chiefly centred
in the battles and adventures belonging to a disputed succession, and in
the personal characters of a courageous princess and her knightly rival.
Stephen, Earl of Boulogne, the nephew of King Henry I, was no stranger
to the country which he aspired to rule. He had lived much in England
and was a universal favorite. "From his complacency of manners, and his
readiness to joke, and sit and regale even with low people, he had
gained so much on their affections as is hardly to be conceived." This
popular man was at the death-bed of his uncle; but before the royal body
was borne on the shoulders of nobles from the Castle of Lions to Rouen,
Stephen was on his road to England. He embarked at Whitsand, undeterred
by boisterous weather, and landed during a winter storm of thunder and
lightning. It was a more evil omen when Dover and Canterbury shut their
gates against him. But he went boldly on to London. There can be no
doubt that his proceedings were not the result of a sudden impulse, and
that his usurpation of the crown was successful through a very powerful
organization. His brother Henry was Bishop of Winchester; and his
influence with the other dignitaries of the Church was mainly
instrumental in the election of Stephen to be king, in open disregard of
the oaths taken a few years before to recognize the succession of
Matilda and of her son. Between the death of a king and the coronation
of his successor there was usually a short interval, in which the form
of election was gone through. But it is held that during that suspension
of the royal functions there was usually a proclamation of "the king's
peace," under which all violations of law were punished as if the head
of the law were in the full exercise of his functions and dignities.
King Henry I died on the 1st of December, 1135. Stephen was crowned on
the 26th of December. The death of Henry would probably have been
generally known in England in a week after the event. There is a
sufficient proof that this succession was considered doubtful, and,
consequently, that there was an unusual delay in the proclamation of
"the king's peace." The Forest Laws were the great grievance of Henry's
reign. His death was the signal for their violation by the whole body of
the people. "It was wonderful how so many myriads of wild animals, which
in large herds before plentifully stocked the country, suddenly
disappeared, so that out of the vast number scarcely two now could be
found together. They seemed to be entirely extirpated." According to the
same authority, "the people also turned to plundering each other without
mercy"; and "whatever the evil passions suggested in peaceable times,
now that the opportunity of vengeance presented itself, was quickly
executed." This is a remarkable condition of a country which, having
been governed by terror, suddenly passed out of the evils of despotism
into the greater evils of anarchy. This temporary confusion must have
contributed to urge on the election of Stephen. By the Londoners he was
received with acclamations; and the _witan_ chose him for king without
hesitation, as one who could best fulfil the duties of the office and
put an end to the dangers of the kingdom.