Chapter I: Preface

The extraordinary and romantic career of the Knights Templars, their exploits and their misfortunes, render their history a subject of peculiar interest.

Born during the first fervour of the Crusades, they were flattered and aggrandized as long as their great military power and religious fanaticism could be made available for the support of the Eastern church and the retention of the Holy Land, but when the crescent had ultimately triumphed over the cross, and the religio-military enthusiasm of Christendom had died away, they encountered the basest ingratitude in return for the services they had rendered to the christian faith, and were plundered, persecuted, and condemned to a cruel death, by those who ought in justice to have been their defenders and supporters. The memory of these holy warriors is embalmed in all our recollections of the wars of the cross; they were the bulwarks of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem during the short period of its existence, and were the last band of Europe's host that contended for the possession of Palestine.

To the vows of the monk and the austere life of the convent, the Templars added the discipline of the camp, and the stern duties of the military life, joining

"The fine vocation of the sword and lance,
With the gross aims, and body-bending toil
Of a poor brotherhood, who walk the earth
Pitied."

The vulgar notion that the Templars were as _wicked_ as they were fearless and brave, has not yet been entirely exploded; but it is hoped that the copious account of the proceedings against the order in this country, given in the ninth and tenth chapters of the ensuing volume, will tend to dispel many unfounded prejudices still entertained against the fraternity, and excite emotions of admiration for their constancy and courage, and of pity for their unmerited and cruel fate.

Matthew Paris, who wrote at _St. Albans_, concerning events in _Palestine_, tells us that the emulation between the Templars and Hospitallers frequently broke out into open warfare to the great scandal and prejudice of Christendom, and that, in a pitched battle fought between them, the Templars were slain to a man. The solitary testimony of Matthew Paris, who was no friend to the two orders, is invalidated by the silence of contemporary historians, who wrote on the spot; and it is quite evident from the letters of the pope, addressed to the Hospitallers, the year after the date of the alleged battle, that such an occurrence never could have taken place.

The accounts, even of the best of the antient writers, should not be adopted without examination, and a careful comparison with other sources of information. William of Tyre, for instance, tells us that _Nassr-ed-deen_, son of sultan _Abbas_, was taken prisoner by the Templars, and whilst in their hands became a convert to the Christian religion; that he had learned the rudiments of the Latin language, and earnestly sought to be baptized, but that the Templars were bribed with sixty thousand pieces of gold to surrender him to his enemies in Egypt, where certain death awaited him; and that they stood by to see him bound hand and foot with chains, and placed in an iron cage, to be conducted across the desert to Cairo. Now the Arabian historians of that period tell us that _Nassr-ed-deen_ and his father murdered the caliph and threw his body into a well, and then fled with their retainers and treasure into Palestine; that the sister of the murdered caliph wrote immediately to the commandant at Gaza, which place was garrisoned by the Knights Templars, offering a handsome reward for the capture of the fugitives; that they were accordingly intercepted, and _Nassr-ed-deen_ was sent to Cairo, where the female relations of the caliph caused his body to be cut into small pieces in the seraglio. The above act has constantly been made a matter of grave accusation against the Templars; but what a different complexion does the case assume on the testimony of the Arabian authorities!

It must be remembered that William archbishop of Tyre was hostile to the order on account of its vast powers and privileges, and carried his complaints to a general council of the church at Rome. He is abandoned, in everything that he says to the prejudice of the fraternity, by James of Vitry, bishop of Acre, a learned and most talented prelate, who wrote in Palestine subsequently to William of Tyre, and has copied largely from the history of the latter. The bishop of Acre speaks of the Templars in the highest terms, and declares that they were universally loved by all men for their piety and humility. "_Nulli molesti erant!_" says he, "_sed ab omnibus propter humilitatem et religionem amabantur._"

The celebrated orientalist _Von Hammer_ has recently brought forward various extraordinary and unfounded charges, destitute of all authority, against the Templars; and _Wilcke_, who has written a German history of the order, seems to have imbibed all the vulgar prejudices against the fraternity. I might have added to the interest of the ensuing work, by making the Templars horrible and atrocious villains; but I have endeavoured to write a fair and impartial account of the order, not slavishly adopting everything I find detailed in antient writers, but such matters only as I believe, after a careful examination of the best authorities, to be _true_.

It is a subject of congratulation to us that we possess, in the Temple Church at London, the most beautiful and perfect memorial of the order of the Knights Templars now in existence. No one who has seen that building in its late dress of plaster and whitewash will recognize it when restored to its antient magnificence. This venerable structure was one of the chief ecclesiastical edifices of the Knights Templars in Europe, and stood next in rank to the Temple at Jerusalem. As I have performed the pilgrimage to the Holy City, and wandered amid the courts of the antient Temple of the Knights Templars on Mount Moriah, I could not but regard with more than ordinary interest the restoration by the societies of the Inner and the Middle Temple of their beautiful Temple Church.

The greatest zeal and energy have been displayed by them in that praiseworthy undertaking, and no expense has been spared to repair the ravages of time, and to bring back the structure to _what it was_ in the time of the Templars.

In the summer I had the pleasure of accompanying one of the chief and most enthusiastic promoters of the restoration of the church (Mr. Burge, Q.C.) over the interesting fabric, and at his suggestion the present work was commenced. I am afraid that it will hardly answer his expectations, and am sorry that the interesting task has not been undertaken by an abler hand.

Temple, Nov. 17, 1841.

P.S. Mr. Willement, who is preparing some exquisitely stained glass windows for the Temple Church, has just drawn my attention to the nineteenth volume of the "MEMOIRES DE LA SOCIETE ROYALE DES ANTIQUAIRES DE FRANCE," published last year. It contains a most curious and interesting account of the church of Brelevennez, in the department des Cotes-du-Nord, supposed to have formerly belonged to the order of the Temple, written by the Chevalier du FREMANVILLE. Amongst various curious devices, crosses, and symbols found upon the windows and the tombs of the church, is a copper medallion, which appears to have been suspended from the neck by a chain. This decoration consists of a small circle, within which are inscribed two equilateral triangles placed one upon the other, so as to form a six-pointed star. In the midst of the star is a second circle, containing within it the LAMB of the order of the Temple holding the banner in its fore-paw, similar to what we see on the antient seal of the order delineated in the title-page of this work. Mr. Willement has informed me that he has received an offer from a gentleman in Brittany to send over casts of the decorations and devices lately discovered in that church. He has kindly referred the letter to me for consideration, but I have not thought it advisable to delay the publication of the present work for the purpose of procuring them.

Mr. Willement has also drawn my attention to a very distinct impression of the reverse of the seal of the Temple described in page 106, whereon I read very plainly the interesting motto, "TESTIS SVM AGNI."

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Origin of the Templars--The pilgrimages to Jerusalem--The
dangers to which pilgrims were exposed--The formation of the
brotherhood of the poor fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ to
protect them--Their location in the Temple--A description of
the Temple--Origin of the name Templars--Hugh de Payens
chosen Master of the Temple--Is sent to Europe by King
Baldwin--Is introduced to the Pope--The assembling of the
Council of Troyes--The formation of a rule for the government
of the Templars _Page_ 1

CHAPTER II.

Regula Pauperum Commilitonum Christi et Templi Salomonis.

The most curious parts of the rule displayed--The confirmation
of the rule by the Pope--The visit of Hugh de Payens, the
Master of the Temple, to England--His cordial reception--The
foundation of the Order in this country--Lands and money
granted to the Templars--Their popularity in Europe--The rapid
increase of their fraternity--St. Bernard takes up the pen in
their behalf--He displays their valour and piety 15

CHAPTER III.

Hugh de Payens returns to Palestine--His death--Robert de
Craon made Master--Success of the Infidels--The second
Crusade--The Templars assume the Red Cross--Their gallant
actions and high discipline--Lands, manors, and churches
granted them in England--Bernard de Tremelay made Master--He
is slain by the Infidels--Bertrand de Blanquefort made
Master--He is taken prisoner, and sent in chains to Aleppo--
The Pope writes letters in praise of the Templars--Their
religious and military enthusiasm--Their war banner called
_Beauseant_--The rise of the rival religio-military order of
the Hospital of St. John 36

CHAPTER IV.

The contests between Saladin and the Templars--The vast
privileges of the Templars--The publication of the bull, _omne
datum optimum_--The Pope declares himself the immediate Bishop
of the entire Order--The different classes of Templars--The
knights--Priests--Serving brethren--The hired soldiers--The
great officers of the Temple--Punishment of cowardice--The
Master of the Temple is taken prisoner, and dies in a
dungeon--Saladin's great successes--The Christians purchase a
truce--The Master of the Temple and the Patriarch Heraclius
proceed to England for succour--The consecration of the TEMPLE
CHURCH at LONDON 60

CHAPTER V.

The Temple at London--The vast possessions of the Templars in
England--The territorial divisions of the order--The different
preceptories in this country--The privileges conferred on the
Templars by the kings of England--The Masters of the Temple at
London--Their power and importance 81

CHAPTER VI.

The Patriarch Heraclius quarrels with the king of England--He
returns to Palestine without succour--The disappointments and
gloomy forebodings of the Templars--They prepare to resist
Saladin--Their defeat and slaughter--The valiant deeds of the
Marshal of the Temple--The fatal battle of Tiberias--The
captivity of the Grand Master and the true Cross--The captive
Templars are offered the Koran or death--They choose the
latter, and are beheaded--The fall of Jerusalem--The Moslems
take possession of the Temple--They purify it with rose-water,
say prayers, and hear a sermon--The Templars retire to
Antioch--Their letters to the king of England and the Master
of the Temple at London--Their exploits at the siege of Acre 114

CHAPTER VII.

Richard Coeur de Lion joins the Templars before Acre--The city
surrenders, and the Templars establish the chief house of
their order within it--Coeur de Lion takes up his abode with
them--He sells to them the island of Cyprus--The Templars form
the van of his army--Their foraging expeditions and great
exploits--Coeur de Lion quits the Holy Land in the disguise of
a Knight Templar--The Templars build the Pilgrim's Castle in
Palestine--The state of the order in England--King John
resides in the Temple at London--The barons come to him at
that place, and demand MAGNA CHARTA--The exploits of the
Templars in Egypt--The letters of the Grand Master to the
Master of the Temple at London--The Templars reconquer
Jerusalem 141

CHAPTER VIII.

The conquest of Jerusalem by the Carizmians--The slaughter of
the Templars, and the death of the Grand Master--The exploits
of the Templars in Egypt--King Louis of France visits the
Templars in Palestine--He assists them in putting the country
into a defensible state--Henry II., king of England, visits
the Temple at Paris--The magnificent hospitality of the
Templars in England and France--Benocdar, sultan of Egypt,
invades Palestine--He defeats the Templars, takes their strong
fortresses, and decapitates six hundred of their brethren--The
Grand Master comes to England for succour--The renewal of the
war--The fall of Acre, and the final extinction of the
Templars in Palestine 165

CHAPTER IX.

The downfall of the Templars--The cause thereof--The Grand
Master comes to Europe at the request of the Pope--He is
imprisoned, with all the Templars in France, by command of
king Philip--They are put to the torture, and confessions of
the guilt of heresy and idolatry are extracted from them--
Edward II. king of England stands up in defence of the
Templars, but afterwards persecutes them at the instance of
the Pope--The imprisonment of the Master of the Temple and
all his brethren in England--Their examination upon
eighty-seven horrible and ridiculous articles of accusation
before foreign inquisitors appointed by the Pope--A council
of the church assembles at London to pass sentence upon
them--The curious evidence adduced as to the mode of admission
into the order, and of the customs and observances of the
fraternity 193