MIlitary monks

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Militant Monks, The Knights Templar, a military order of

monks answerable only to the Pope himself, were founded in

1118. Their primary responsibility, at least initially, was

to provide protection to Christians making pilgrimages to Write your MIlitary monks research paper

the Holy Land. They rose in power, both religious and

secular, to become one of the richest and most powerful

entities in Christendom. By the time of their disbandment

in 107, this highly secretive organization controlled vast

wealth, a fleet of merchant ships, and castles and estates

spanning the entire Mediterranean area.

When the crusaders captured Jerusalem from the Muslims in

10, the Church encouraged all faithful Christians to

visit that holy city in order to affirm their faith. The

area, however, was still subject to sporadic attacks from

various non-Christian factions. A small group of knights,

led by Hugh de Payens, vowed to protect the pilgrims. The

group was granted quasi-official status by King Baldwin II

of Jerusalem, who allowed them quarters in a wing of the

royal palace near the Temple of Solomon. It is from this

initial posting that the order derived its name. They took

the standard vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and

were bound to the rules of the Augustinian order.

[Upton-Ward 1]

The order languished in near-anonimity for several years,

despite generous contributions from various European

personages. In 116, Count Hugh of Champagne, having

donated his estates to Bernard of Clairvaux for use in

building a monastery for the Cistercian order, arrived in

Jerusalem to join the Templars. This action indirectly

obligated Bernard to support the newly chosen advocacy of

his benefactor. He wrote to the count, If, for Gods work,

you have changed yourself from count to knight and from

rich to poor, I congratulate you. [Howarth 4]

In the year 116, King Baldwin found two reasons for

wanting official recognition of the order. First, he had,

perhaps prematurely, bestowed upon Hugh de Payens the title

of Master of the Temple. Second, the king had the

opportunity to launch an attack on the city of Damascus,

but he needed more knights. Papal recognition would allow

open recruiting in Europe for the order. King Baldwin sent

a letter to Bernard of Clairvaux, the orders primary

patron, later known as Saint Bernard, asking him to

petition the Pope for official recognition of the order.

[Howarth 50-51]

The Kings letter was hand-carried to Bernard by two loyal

and trusted knights, Andrew de Montbard, maternally related

to Bernard, and Gondemare. Upon their arrival at Clairvaux,

the two knights presented Bernard with Baldwins letter,

which came right to the point. [Upton-Ward ] The brothers

Templar, whom God has raised up for the defense of our

province and to whom he has accorded special protection,

desire to receive apostolic approval and also their own

Rule of life ... Since we know well the weight of your

intercession with God and also with His Vicar and with the

other princes of Europe, we give into your care this

two-fold mission, whose success will be very welcome to us.

Let the constitution of the Templars be such as is suitable

for men who live in the clash and tumult of war, and yet of

a kind which will be acceptable to the Christian princes,

of whom they have been the valuable auxiliaries. So far as

in you lies and if God pleases, strive to bring this matter

to a speedy and successful issue. [qtd. in Howarth 50-51]

Bernard realized at once the genius of the proposal to

combine religious and military endeavors. Through such

organizations, the borders of Christendom could be extended

and fortified. He immediately granted his approval of the

plan and pledged his full support. He petitioned Pope

Honorius II for a special council to consider the matter,

and he notified Hugh of his actions. [Howarth 51]

The Council of Troyes convened on January 1, 118, a

bitterly cold Saint Hilarys Day, for the primary purpose

of considering the request of the Knights Templar. Despite

the delays of written communications, Hugh de Payens,

accompanied by several brother knights, arrived from the

Holy Land in time to attend the meetings of the Council.

[Howarth 51]

William of Tyre wrote an account of the events Nine years

after the founding of this order, the knights were still in

secular garb. They wore such garments as the people, for

salvation of their souls, bestowed upon them. During this

ninth year, a council was held at Troyes in France. There

were present the archbishops of Rheims and Sens, with their

suffragans; the bishop of Albano, the Popes legate; the

abbots of Citeaux, Clairvaux, Potigny; and many others. At

this council, by order of Pope Honorious and of Stephen,

patriarch of Jerusalem, a rule was drawn up for this order

and a habit of white assigned them. [qtd. in

Burman/Templars 7]

Although referred to in Williams account by the generic

title Abbott of Clairvaux, Bernard, in actuality controlled

the proceedings of the council. There was little doubt

Bernards request would be met with approval; he was well

known for his successes in reforming monastic life. He was

held in the utmost respect by religious and lay leaders

alike; in many circles he was referred to as the second

pope. In fact, many of the popes were supplied by the

mendicant orders. [Robinson 66-67]

At a time when monks were more highly regarded than

priests, and considered closer to God because of their

ascetic life-styles, Benard said, The people cannot look

up to the priests, because the people are better than

priests. [Robinson 67]

Bernards offer to personally assist in the formulation of

the Rules of the order was gratefully accepted by all.

Bernard based his Rule of the Templars on that of his own

Cistercian order, which was itself based on the older

Benedictine Rule. [Robinson 67]

The Rule of the Templars was a strict and complex system of

686 written laws, meant to cover every possible aspect of

daily life. As an example, Rule 5, On Bowls and Drinking

Vessels, states Because of the shortage of bowls, the

brothers will eat in pairs, so that one may study the other

more closely, and so that neither austerity nor secret

abstinence is introduced into the communal meal. And it

seems just to us that each brother should have the same

ration of wine in his cup. [qtd. in Upton-Ward 6]

In 11, Pope Innocent II issued a Bull, titled Omne Datum

Optimum, declaring that the Knights Templar were under the

direct and sole control of the Pope. This freed the Knights

to operate throughout Christendom and the Levant

unencumbered by local ecclesiastical and secular rulers.

This unprecedented autonomy was due, in no small part, to

the personal petitions of the new Grand Master, Robert the

Burgundian. While Hugh had been an excellent warrior,

Robert was an ideal administrator who understood politics.

[Howarth 80]

The Order was authorized to have chaplain brothers, who

were authorized to hear the confessions of their fellow

brothers, and thereby absolve them of their sins. There

were, however, five specific crimes for which granting of

absolution was reserved by the Pope. These were the

killing of a Christian man or woman,; violently attacking

another brother; attacking a member of another order or a

priest; renouncing holy orders in order to be received as a

brother; and entering the order by simony. [Upton-Ward 5]

It was also during the mastership of Robert that the Rules

were translated from Latin into French. Church documents

were normally in Latin only, but since most of the Knights

were soldiers rather than educated clerics, they were

unable to read Latin. In 1147, the Knights were authorized

to wear a red cross upon their white mantles, despite rule

18, which forbade any decorations on their clothing.

[Upton-Ward 1]

As the Knights Templar gained political and economic

strength, they found themselves involved in many aspects of

secular life. They established the first truly

international banking service; travelers not wanting to

travel with large sums could deposit their money at any

Temple and collect a like amount at their destination.

[Burman/Templars 85] The Templars were the primary bankers

for the Holy See. Since the order was a papal creation

which was administered directly by the Pope himself, their

significance as papal bankers is understandable. Less

obvious is the Templars function as royal bankers for

several of Europes royal houses. The two greatest Temples

outside the Levant were located in Paris and London. These

two Temples offered a full range of financial services to

the royal houses, including collecting taxes, controlling

debts and administering pension funds. [Burman/Templars

87-88] The treasury of the King of France was kept safely

within the vault of the Temple of Paris. [Sinclair 6]

The Templars owned a great fleet of merchant ships with

which to convey all manner of goods, e.g., pepper and

cotton, as well as pilgrims, between Europe and the Holy

Land. People wanting to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land,

but lacking the resources to do so, were allowed to assign

rights to their houses and property, upon their death, to

the Templars in exchange for passage on a Templar ship. To

avoid accusations of usury, this procedure was legitimized

by the papal bull Quantum Praedecessores, issued by Pope

Eugenius II in 1145. [Burman/Templars 75-78]

The Holy Land was divided into four Crusader States

Jerusalem, Antioch, Tripoli and Edessa. Shifting alliances,

complicated by the plotting of independent Arab emirates,

posed a complicated and often confusing backdrop for the

Knights military operations. Their first action was in the

northern sector of the Principality of Antioch. They

captured the March of Amanus, which formed a natural

barrier between the city of Amanus and Asia Minor.

[Burman/Templars 50]

The Knights Templar frequently fought side-by-side with

their counter- parts, the Knights Hospitaller, another

military order, founded to provide shelter to sick, wounded

or destitute pilgrims. Together, these two warrior orders

afforded the Holy Land a formidable fighting force.

Although some histories allude to a deep and bitter rivalry

between the two, it is more likely that they cooperated

well during the battles, keeping any such pettiness for the

monotonous weeks between actions. [Upton-Ward 6-7]

The first military action of the Templars was in the

northern sector of the Holy Land. In 111, they captured

the March of Amanus in Antioch. It was a natural barrier

between the city and Asia Minor, which afforded control of

two roads into Antioch. The same year, King Fulk, Baldwins

successor, traveled to the site and granted ownership to

the Templars. [Burman/Templars 5]

Control of the various areas of the Holy Land see-sawed

back and forth between the Crusaders and the Arabs, with

neither side enjoying a decisive victory. Then the balance

of power began to change with the rise of the great Arab

leader Salah-ad-Din Yusuf ibn-Aiyub, known to westerners as

Saladin. Descended from a long line of military heroes, he

was born in 118 in Baalbek, Syria, where his father was

military governor. He began to develop his warrior skills

by accompanying his father and uncles on various campaigns.

[Burman/Templars 8]

Saladins rise to power was rapid and successful. His

adherence to the orthodox Sunni faith caused him to

initiate dramatic changes in his Shi-ite army. Upon his

ultimate rise to the position of Sultan, he declared a

jihad, or holy war, against the Crusaders. This intense

refocusing of the Moslem effort began a gradual shift in

power. Christian strongholds fell in increasing numbers,

creating a domino effect. By the middle of 1187, Saladin

had captured Acre, Nablus, Jaffa, Toron, Sidon, Beirut and

Ascalon. Jerusalem fell on October, 1187.

[Burman/Templars 108]

The fall of Jerusalem was a disaster from which the

Crusades never recovered. Among Saladins prisoners were

the King of Jerusalem and Raynald de Chatillon, commander

of the fortress at Moab. After entertaining the two in his

tent, Saladin had Raynald killed. The King saw his fellow

prisoner executed and thought he was surely next, but

Saladin had him brought back into his tent and told him,

It is not the habit of kings to kill kings. Saladins

victory was complete. [Payne -4]

In the disarray that followed, the orders began to

disperse. The Hospitallers removed their headquarters,

first to Rhodes and then to Malta; and, with the ultimate

fall of Acre in 11, the Templars lost their base of

operations and relocated to Cyprus. In effect, the orders

had lost their original reason for existence. [Upton-Ward ]

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