of Cyprus and Jerusalem, from Acre to Tyre. In the ensuing year, when Mary of Antioch had sold her claim to the crown to Charles of Anjou, they welcomed this prince’s lieutenant to Acre and succeeded for the moment in forcing the knights of that city to do homage to the new king. Thirteen years later (26th April 1290) Tripoli fell, and next year Acre, after a siege of six weeks at the close of which (16th May) William de Beaujeu, the grand-master, was slain. Abandonment of Palestine.The few surviving Templars elected a new master, and, forcing their way to the seashore sailed for Cyprus, which now became the headquarters of the order. A futile attempt against Alexandria in 1300 and an unsuccessful effort to form a new settlement at Tortosa about the same time (1300–2) are the closing acts of their long career in the western parts of Asia.
Power and influence of the order.For more than a hundred years the Templars had been one of the wealthiest and most influential factors in European politics. If we confine our attention to the East, we realize but a small part of their enormous power. Two Templars were appointed guardians of the disputed castles on the betrothal of Prince Henry of England and the French princess in 1161. Other Templars were almoners of Henry III. of England and of Philip IV. of France. One grand-master was godfather to a daughter of Louis IX.; another, despite the prohibition of the order, is said to have been godfather to a child of Philip IV. They are reported to have reckoned a pope (Innocent III.) among their members, and to have refused admission to a king and his nephew (Philip IV.). They were summoned to the great councils of the church, such as the Lateran of 1215 and the Lyons council of 1274. Frederick II.’s persecution of their order was one of the main causes of his excommunication in 1239; and his last will enjoined the restoration of their estates. Their property was scattered over every country of Christendom, from Denmark to Spain, from Ireland to Cyprus. Before the middle of the 13th century Matthew Paris reckons their manors at 9000, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines at 7050, whereas the rival order of St John had barely half the latter number. Some fifty years earlier their income from Armenia alone was 20,000 besants. Both in Paris and in London their houses were used as strongholds for the royal treasure. In the London temple Hubert de Burgh and the Poitevin favourites of Henry III. stored their wealth; and the same building was used as a bank into which the debtors of the foreign usurers paid their dues. From the English Templars Henry III. borrowed the purchase money of Oléron in 1235; from the French Templars Philip IV. exacted the dowry of his daughter Isabella on her marriage with Edward II. To Louis IX. they lent a great part of his ransom, and to Edward I. of England no less than 25,000 livres Tournois, of which they remitted four-fifths. James de Molai, the last grand-master, came to France in 1306 with 150,000 gold florins and ten horse-loads of silver. In the Spanish peninsula they occupied a peculiar position, and more than one king of Aragon is said to have been brought up under their discipline.
Such were the power and wealth of the Templars at the time when Philip IV. of France accused them of heresy and worse offences, had them arrested (13th October 1307), and forced them to confess by tortures of the most excruciating kinds. Five years later (26th May 1312) the order was suppressed by decree of the council of Vienne and its goods transferred to the hospital of St John.
Constitution. The order consisted of (1) knights, (2) chaplains, and (3) men-at-arms (armigeri, clientes, and servientes). The knights were either bound for life or for a fixed period, and were the only members entitled to wear the white mantle. Married brethren were admitted; but no woman might enter the order. Each knight might keep three horses and one man-at-arms, who, like his master, might be bound for life or only for a time. Like Augustinian canons, they were to attend daily services; but the soldier outwearied with his nightly duties might on certain conditions absent himself from matins with the master’s consent. Two regular meals were allowed for each day; but to these might be added, at the master’s discretion, a light collation towards sunset. Meat might be eaten thrice a week; and on other days there was to be a choice of vegetable fare so as to suit the tenderest stomach. Brethren were to eat by couples, each keeping an eye on his fellow to see that he did not practise an undue austerity. Wine was served at every meal, and at those times silence was strictly enjoined that the words of Holy Writ might be heard with the closest attention. Special care was to be taken of aged and ailing members. Every brother owed the most absolute obedience to the master of the order, and was to go wherever his superior bade him without delay, “as if commanded by God.” All undue display in arms or harness was forbidden. Parti-coloured garments were forbidden; black or dusky -brown (burellus) was to be worn by all except the knights. All garments were to be made of wool; but from Easter to All Souls a linen shirt might be substituted for one of wool. The hair was to be worn short, and a rough beard became one of the distinguishing marks of the order. Hunting and hawking were unlawful; and the very allusion to the follies or secular achievements of earlier life was forbidden. A lion, however, being the type of the evil one, was legitimate prey. Strict watch was kept on the incomings and out-goings of every brother, except when he went out by night to visit the Sepulchre of our Lord. No letter, even from the nearest relative, might be opened except in the master’s presence; nor was any member to feel annoyance if he saw his relative’s gift transferred at the master’s bidding to some other brother. The brethren were to sleep in separate beds in shirts and breeches, with a light always burning in the dormitory. Those who lacked a mattress might place a piece of carpet on the floor; but all luxury was discouraged. The order recognized two governing bodies,—the first, a meeting for ordinary business, to which only the wiser members were summoned; the second, one for extraordinary affairs, such as the granting of lands or the reception of new members, on which occasions the master might summon the whole community. Even at these last assemblies the master seems to have decided on the final action (c. 59). A term of probation was assigned to each candidate before admission; and a special clause discouraged the reception of boys before they were of an age to bear arms. Lastly, the brethren of the Temple were exhorted to shun the kiss of every woman, whether maid or widow, mother, aunt, or sister.
Administration.The general spirit of the Templar statutes remained unaltered to the end, though the increasing wealth of the order gave rise to a number of additional rules. The grand-master was always head of the society; his instructions were binding on every member, and the very laws were at his discretion. But he could not declare war, alienate the society’s estates, or even admit a member without the consent of his chapter. He as elected by thirteen brothers, chosen by a peculiar method of co-optation, and all, if possible, belonging to different nations. Next to him in dignity came the seneschal, on whom the duties of the absent master devolved. The marshal had charge of the steeds and accoutrements; he also commanded the knights and men-at-arms, the latter of whom seem in time of war to have been at the disposal of the turcopolier. The commander of the kingdom guarded the treasure-house, to which even the grand-master might not have a key; the commander of the city of Jerusalem had charge of the True Cross in time of war. There were twelve or perhaps more commanders or preceptors of the different provinces and kingdoms of Europe and Asia,—Jerusalem (kingdom and city), Acre, Tripoli, Antioch, France, England, Poitou, Aragon, Portugal, Apulia, and Hungary. No European preceptor could cross the sea without the grand-master’s leave; but all ought to be present at the election to this office. The privileges and duties of every member were strictly prescribed, from the number of horses he might ride and the amount of food he might eat to the colour of his clothes. The order seems to have owned a fleet, part of which, if not all, was under the authority of the commander of the kingdom. Besides the knights and men-at-arms, the society reckoned chaplains in its ranks; and it was the habit of confession to these priests that seems to have stirred the wrath of the Dominicans and the Franciscans, who played a very conspicuous part in the overthrow of the order, especially in England. For grievous offences, such as desertion to the Saracens, heresy, or losing the gonfalon, a Templar might he expelled (perdre la maison); for minor offences, such as disobedience or lowering the banner in battle, he suffered a temporary degradation (perdre son abit). By a mutual agreement the Templars and Hospitallers, despite their long and deadly feud, were bound not to receive ejected members of the rival order; and the Templar cut off in battle and defeat from all hope of rejoining his own ranks might rally to the cross of St John. As Acre was the headquarters of the order in the East, so Paris was its centre in the West (Matt. Paris, v, 478). Every member before admission must declare himself free of debt, sound of body, and affiliated to no other religious society; he must also take a vow of obedience and chastity, at the same time re-
