578 



KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 



could not claim, but which also gave occasion to 

 their more speedy corruption, and augmented the 

 number of their enemies. Most writers, however, 

 of the twelfth century speak respectfully of the 

 Knights of the Temple, and those unsparing sa- 

 tirists, the Troubadours, never mention them but 

 with honour. 



By the bull, Omne datum optimum, granted by 

 pope Alexander III. in 1162, the order of the 

 Templars acquired great importance, but with it 

 the ill-will and envy of the bishops and the secular 

 clergy. By this celebrated bull it was established, 

 that the grand master could only be chosen by the 

 order; that no Templar could be, on any account, 

 obliged to take an oath ; that no one who had been 

 received into the order could enter any other with- 

 out leave of the grand master and the chapter; 

 that the order should be free from the obligation of 

 paying tithes ; that it might admit spiritual per- 

 sons into it, who should not, however, meddle with 

 the affairs or the chapter of the order unless when 

 required. As the bishops, however, retained their 

 rights over these latter, they could not be buried 

 at the temple courts without the consent of the 

 bishops, for the Templars had peculiar chapels and 

 burial-places at their houses. With the consent of 

 the bishop and chapter, the order might levy tithes, 

 or employ other spiritual persons when none of 

 their own were at hand. But one of the most im- 

 portant privileges, (which had however been al- 

 ready granted them, in 1147, by Eugenius III.,) 

 was, that when they came to make their collec- 

 tions in any place which was under interdict, they 

 might have the churches opened once in the year, 

 and divine service performed there, to which the 

 excommunicated were admitted. 



From this time forth the order may be regarded 

 as totally independent, acknowledging no authority 

 but that before which the haughtiest monarchs 

 howed of the supreme pontiff, who protected and 

 favoured them as his champions against all who 

 might dispute his will. The order consisted of 

 three distinct classes, not degrees knights, chap- 

 lains, and serving-brethren, to which may be added 

 those who were attached to the order under the 

 name of affiliated, donates and ablates. 



The strength and flower of the order were the 

 knights; all its dignities and superior offices be- 

 longed to them. The candidate for admission 

 among the knights of the temple was required to 

 produce proof of his being the lawful issue of a 

 knight, or of one qualified to receive that distinc- 

 tion ; and he must himself have already received 

 the honour-conferring blow from a secular knight, 

 for the order was spiritual, and its members could 

 not deign to accept honour from a layman. The 

 only exception was in the case of a bishop, who 

 might draw his sword among the brethren of the 

 temple, without having beeti a secular knight. The 

 aspirant must moreover be free from debt, and, on 

 admission, pay a considerable sum into the hands 

 of the society. The most unlimited obedience to 

 the commands of his superiors in the house and in 

 the field of battle ; the total abnegation of all in- 

 terests but those of the society, (for the Templar 

 could hold no property, could receive no private 

 letter); the most unflinching valour, (for so long 

 as a Christian banner waved in the field the Tem- 

 plar, however severely wounded, must not abandon 

 it,) were the duties of the knight of the Tem- 

 ple. If he fled, disgrace and punishment awaited 

 him; if he surrendered, he had to end his life 



amid the torments inflicted by the enraged Mos- 

 lems, or to languish in perpetual captivity, for the 

 order never redeemed its members. Hence then 

 the Templar was valiant as the fabled heroes of 

 romance ; hence prodigies of prowess, such as al- 

 most surpass belief, so frequently illustrate the 

 name of the soldiers of the temple. Every motive 

 that could stimulate to deeds of renown combined 

 to actuate the soldier-monk. A knight, he obeyed 

 the call of honour and emulation; a monk, (but 

 the Templar was not, as some erroneously fancy, a 

 priest,) he was, according to the idea of the times, 

 engaged in the service most acceptable to God. 



The mode of reception into the order corres- 

 ponded with the dignity and importance of the 

 character of a Knight Templar. Though a novi- 

 ciate was enjoined by the original canons, in prac- 

 tice it was dispensed with; the candidate was, after 

 all due inquiry had been made, received in a chap- 

 ter assembled in the chapel of the order. All 

 strangers, even the relatives of the aspirant, were 

 excluded. The preceptor (usually one of the 

 priors) opened the business with an addn-ssto those 

 present, calling on them to declare if they knew 

 of any just cause and impediment to the aspirant, 

 whom the majority had agreed to receive, becom- 

 ing a member of their body. If all were silent, 

 the candidate was led into an adjacent chamber, 

 whither two or three of the knights came to him, 

 and setting before him the rigour and strictness of 

 the order, inquired if he still persisted in his de- 

 sire to enter it. If he did persist, they inquired 

 if he was married or betrothed ; had made a vow 

 in any other order ; if he owed more than he could 

 pay; if he was of sound body, without any secret 

 infirmity, and free? If his answers proved satis* 

 factory, they left him and returned to the chapter, 

 and the preceptor again asked if any one had any- 

 thing to say against his being received. If all were 

 silent, he asked if they were willing to admit him. 

 On their assenting, the candidate was led in by the 

 knights who had questioned him, and who now in- 

 structed him in the mode of asking admission. He 

 advanced, kneeling, with folded hands, before the 

 preceptor, and said, " Sir, I am come before God, 

 and before you and the brethren; and I pray and 

 beseech you, for the sake of God and our sweet 

 lady, to receive me into your society and the good 

 works of the order, as one who, all his life long, 

 will be the servant and slave of the order." The 

 preceptor then questioned him, if he had well con- 

 sidered all the toils and difficulties which awaited 

 him in the order, adjured him on the Holy Evan- 

 gelists to speak the truth, then put to him the 

 questions already asked by the knights, farther in- 

 quiring if he was a knight, the son of a knight and 

 a gentlewoman, and if he was a priest. He then 

 asked if he would promise to God and Mary, our 

 dear lady, obedience, as long as he lived, to the 

 master of the temple, and the prior who should be 

 set over him ; chastity of his body ; compliance 

 with the laudable manners and customs of the or- 

 der then in force; and such as the master arid 

 knights might hereafter add ; fight for and defend, 

 with all his might, the holy land of Jerusalem ; 

 never quit the order, but with consent of the mas- 

 ter and the chapter ; never see a Christian unjustly 

 deprived of his inheritance, or he aiding in such 

 deed. The preceptor then said " In the name, 

 then, of God and of Mary, our dear lady, and in 

 the name of St Peter of Rome, and of our father 

 the pope, and in the name of all the brethren of 



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