Jacques De Molay

Jacques de Molay) (c. 1240/1250 – March 1314[1]) was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, He lead the Order from April 20, 1292 until the Order was dissolved by order of Pope Clement V in 1312.[2] Most of his life is known during his last years as Grand Master. Despite of that he is the most well known Templar, next the Order's founder and first Grand Master, Hugues de Payens (1070–1136).

As Grand Master his goal was to reform the Order, and adapt to the situation in the Holy Land during the waning days of the Crusades. As European support for the Crusades decreased, others sought to disband the Order and claim the wealth of the Templars as their own.

King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt to the Templars, had Molay and many other French Templars arrested in 1307 and tortured into making false confessions.

Later de Molay retracted his confession, Philip had him burned at the stake on March 1314 in Paris.

Young Jacuques de Molay
Jacques de Molay was probably born in Molay, Haute-Saône in the county of Burgundy, at the time a territory ruled by Otto III as part of the Holy Roman Empire, and in modern times in the area of Franche-Comté, northeastern France. His birth year is not certain, but judging by statements made during the later trials, was probably between 1240 and 1250. He was born as most Templar knights were, into a family of minor or middle nobility. It is said he was dubbed a Knight at age 21 in 1265 and that he was executed in 1314 at age 70. These two facts lead to the belief that he was born in 1244.

In 1265, as a young man, he was received into the Order of the Templars in a chapel at the Beaune House, by Humbert de Pairaud, the Visitor of France and England. Another prominent Templar in attendance was Amaury de la Roche, Templar Master of the province of France.

Around 1270, Molay went to the East (Outremer), though little is remembered of his activities for the next 20 years.

Grand Master

After the Fall of Acre to the Egyptian Mamluks in 1291, the Franks (Europeans) who were able to do so retreated to the island of Cyprus. It became the headquarters of the dwindling Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the base of operations for any future military attempts by the Crusaders against the Egyptian Mamluks, who for their part were systematically conquering any last Crusader strongholds on the mainland. Templars in Cyprus included Jacques de Molay and Thibaud Gaudin, the 22nd Grand Master. During a meeting assembled on the island in the autumn of 1291, Jacques de Molay spoke of reforming the Order, and put himself forward as an alternative to the current Grand Master. Gaudin died around 1292, and as there were no other serious contenders for the role at the time, Molay was soon elected. In spring 1293, he began a tour of the West to try to muster more support for a reconquest of the Holy Land. Developing relationships with European leaders such as Pope Boniface VIII, Edward I of England, James I of Aragon and Charles II of Naples, Molay's immediate goals were to strengthen the defence of Cyprus, and rebuild the Templar forces. From his travels, he was able to secure authorization from some monarchs for the export of supplies to Cyprus, but could obtain no firm commitment for a new Crusade.There was talk of merging the Templars with one of the other military orders, the Knights Hospitaller. The Grand Masters of both orders opposed such a merger, but pressure increased from the Papacy.

It is known that Molay held two general meetings of his order in southern France, at Montpellier in 1293 and at Arles in 1296, where he tried to make reforms. In the autumn of 1296 Molay was back in Cyprus to defend his order against the interests of Henry II of Cyprus, which conflict had its roots back in the days of Guillaume de Beaujeu.

From 1299 to 1303, Jacques de Molay was engaged in planning and executing a new attack against the Mamluks. The plan was to coordinate actions between the Christian military orders, the King of Cyprus, the aristocracy of Cyprus, the forces of Cilician Armenia, and a new potential ally, the Mongols of the Ilkhanate (Persia), to oppose the Egyptian Mamluks and retake the coastal city of Tortosa in Syria.
Ghazan, the Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate, sought a Franco-Mongol alliance with the Crusaders against the Egyptian Mamluks, but was never able to successfully coordinate military actions

For generations, there had been communications between the Mongols and Europeans towards the possibility of forging a Franco-Mongol alliance against the Mamluks, but without success. The Mongols had been repeatedly attempting to conquer Syria themselves, each time being forced back either by the Egyptian Mamluks, or having to retreat because of a civil war within the Mongol Empire, such as having to defend from attacks from the Mongol Golden Horde to the north. In 1299, the Ilkhanate again attempted to conquer Syria, having some preliminary success against the Mamluks in the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar in December 1299. In 1300, Jacques de Molay and other forces from Cyprus put together a small fleet of 16 ships which committed raids along the Egyptian and Syrian coasts. The force was commanded by King Henry II of Jerusalem, the king of Cyprus, accompanied by his brother, Amalric, Lord of Tyre, and the heads of the military orders, with the ambassador of the Mongol leader Ghazan also in attendance. The ships left Famagusta on July 20, 1300, and under the leadership of Admiral Baudouin de Picquigny, raided the coasts of Egypt and Syria: Rosette. Alexandria, Acre, Tortosa, and Maraclea, before returning to Cyprus.

The Cypriots then prepared for an attack on Tortosa in late 1300, sending a joint force to a staging area on the island of Ruad, from which raids were launched on the mainland. The intent was to establish a Templar bridgehead to await assistance from Ghazan's Mongols, but the Mongols failed to appear in 1300. The same happened in 1301 and 1302, and the island was finally lost in the Siege of Ruad on September 26, 1302, eliminating the Crusaders' last foothold near the mainland.

Following the loss of Ruad, Molay abandoned the tactic of small advance forces, and instead put his energies into trying to raise support for a new major Crusade, as well as strengthening Templar authority in Cyprus. When a power struggle erupted between King Henry II and his brother Amalric, the Templars supported Amalric, who took the crown and had his brother exiled in 1306. Meanwhile, pressure increased in Europe that the Templars should be merged with the other military orders, perhaps all placed under the authority of one king, and that individual should become the new King of Jerusalem when it was conquered.
Travel to France

Pope Clement V

In 1305, the newly elected Pope Clement V asked the leaders of the military orders for their opinions concerning a new crusade and the merging of the orders. Jacques de Molay was asked to write memoranda on each of the issues, which he did during the summer of 1306. Molay was opposed to the merger, believing instead that having separate military orders was a stronger position, as the missions of each order were somewhat different. He was also of the belief that if there were to be a new crusade, it needed to be a large one, as the smaller attempts were not effective.

On June 6, the leaders of both the Templars and the Hospitallers were officially asked to come to the Papal offices in Poitiers to discuss these matters, with the date of the meeting scheduled as All Saints Day in 1306, though it later had to be postponed due to the Pope's illness with gastro-enteritis. Molay left Cyprus on 15 October, arriving in France in late 1306 or early 1307; however, the meeting was again delayed until late May due to the Pope's illness.

King Philip IV of France was at war with the English, and deeply in debt to the Templars. He was in favor of merging the Orders under his own command, to make himself Rex Bellator or War King, but Molay rejected this idea. Philip was already at odds with the papacy, trying to tax the clergy, and had been attempting to assert his own authority as higher than that of the Pope. For this, one of Clement's predecessors, Pope Boniface VIII, had attempted to have Philip excommunicated, but Philip then had Boniface abducted and charged with heresy. The elderly Boniface was rescued, but then died of shock shortly thereafter. His successor Pope Benedict VIII did not last long, dying in less than a year, possibly poisoned via Philip's councillor Guillaume de Nogaret. It took a year to choose the next Pope, the Frenchman Clement V, who was also under strong pressure to bend to Philip's will. Clement moved the Papacy from Italy to Poitiers, France, where Philip continued to assert more dominance over the Papacy and the Templars.

The leader of the Hospitallers, Fulk de Villaret was also delayed in his travel to France, as he was engaged with a battle at Rhodes. He did not arrive until late Summer,[10] so while waiting for his arrival, Molay met with the Pope on other matters, one of which was the charges by one or more ousted Templars who had made accusations of impropriety in the Templars' initiation ceremony. Molay had already spoken with the king in Paris on June 24, 1307 about the accusations against his order and was partially reassured. Returning to Poitiers, Molay asked the pope to set up an inquiry to quickly clear the Order of the rumours and accusations surrounding it, and the pope convened an inquiry on 24 August.

Arrest

On September 14, Philip took advantage of the rumors and inquiry to begin his move against the Templars, sending out a secret order to his agents in all parts of France to implement a mass arrest of all Templars at dawn on October 13. Philip wanted the Templars arrested and their possessions confiscated to incorporate their wealth into the Royal Treasury and to be free of the enormous debt he owed the Templar Order. Jacques de Molay was in Paris on October 12, where he was a pallbearer at the funeral of Catherine of Courtenay, wife of Count Charles of Valois, and sister-in-law of King Philip. In a dawn raid on Friday, October 13, 1307, Jacques de Molay and sixty of his Templar brothers were arrested. Philip then had the Templars charged with heresy and many other trumped-up charges, most of which were identical to the charges which had previously been leveled by Philip's agents against Pope Boniface VIII.

Interrogation
During forced interrogation by royal agents at the University of Paris on October 24/25, Molay confessed that the Templar initiation ritual included "denying Christ and trampling on the Cross". He was also forced to write a letter asking every Templar to admit to these acts. Under pressure from Philip IV, Pope Clement V ordered the arrest of all the Templars throughout Christendom.

Jacques de Molay sentenced to the stake in 1314, from the Chronicle of France or of St Denis (fourteenth century). Note the shape of the island, representing the Île de la Cité (Island of the City) in the Seine where the executions took place.

The pope still wanted to hear Jacques de Molay's side of the story, and dispatched two cardinals to Paris in December 1307. In front of the cardinals, Molay retracted his earlier confessions. A power struggle ensued between the king and the pope, which was settled in August 1308 when they agreed to split the convictions. Through the papal bull Faciens misericordiam the procedure to prosecute the Templars was set out on a duality where one commission would judge individuals of the Order and a different commission would judge the Order as an entity. Pope Clement called for an ecumenical council to meet in Vienne in 1310 to decide the future of the Templars. In the meantime, the Order's dignitaries, among them Jacques de Molay, were to be judged by the pope.

In the royal palace at Chinon, Jacques de Molay was again questioned by the cardinals, but this time with royal agents present, and he returned to his forced admissions made in 1307. In November 1309, the Papal Commission for the Kingdom of France began its own hearings, during which Molay again recanted, stating that he did not acknowledge the accusations brought against his order.
Marker from the site of his execution in Paris.

Any further opposition by the Templars was effectively broken when Philip used the previously forced confessions to sentence 54 Templars to be burnt at the stake on May 10–12, 1310.

The council which had been called for 1310 was delayed for two years due to the length of the trials, but finally was convened in 1312. On March 22, 1312, at the Council of Vienne, the Order of the Knights Templar was abolished by papal decree.

Molay's sentencing took another two years. On March 10, 1314, three cardinals sent by the pope sentenced Molay and three other Templar dignitaries, Hugues de Pairaud, Geoffroi de Charney and Geoffroy de Gonneville, to life imprisonment. Pairaud and Gonneville accepted their fate, but the 70-year-old Jacques de Molay rose up and again recanted publicly. His associate Geoffroi de Charney rallied to his side, and both loudly proclaimed the innocence of themselves and their Order. Philip's response was to order both to be executed immediately as relapsed heretics. that very night, Jacques de Molay and Geoffroi de Charney were taken to the Isle des Juifs, now incorporated into the Île de la Cité in the Seine River in the center of Paris, where they were burned at the stake. According to legend, Jacques de Molay asked for his hands to be left free so that he could keep them together in prayer, while facing the nearby Notre Dame Cathedral. Another oft-told tale is that he called out from the flames that both Philip and Clement would soon meet him before God. Clement did indeed die of illness just a few months later, and a few months after that, Philip was killed in a hunting accident.

Death

Of his death it is recorded: (The account varies by one day, not unusual for chronicles of the middle ages), "The cardinals dallied with their duty until March 19, 1314, when, on a scaffold in front of Notre Dame, Jacques de Molay, Templar Grand Master, Geoffroi de Charney, Master of Normandy, Ilugues de Peraud, Visitor of France, and Godefroi de Gonneville, Master of Aquitaine, were brought forth from the jail in which for nearly seven years they had lain, to receive the sentence agreed upon by the cardinals, in conjunction with the Archbishop of Sens and some other prelates whom they had called in. Considering the offences which the culprits had confessed and confirmed, the penance imposed was in accordance with rule—that of perpetual imprisonment. The affair was supposed to be concluded when, to the dismay of the prelates and wonderment of the assembled crowd, de Molay and Geoffroi de Charney arose. They had been guilty, they said, not of the crimes imputed to them, but of basely betraying their Order to save their own lives. It was pure and holy; the charges were fictitious and the confessions false. Hastily the cardinals delivered them to the Prevot of Paris, and retired to deliberate on this unexpected contingency, but they were saved all trouble. When the news was carried to Philippe he was furious. A short consultation with his council only was required. The canons pronounced that a relapsed heretic was to be burned without a hearing; the facts were notorious and no formal judgment by the papal commission need be waited for. That same day, by sunset, a pile was erected on a small island in the Seine, the Isle des Juifs, near the palace garden. There de Molay and de Charney were slowly burned to death, refusing all offers of pardon for retraction, and bearing their torment with a composure which won for them the reputation of martyrs among the people, who reverently collected their ashes as relics."

Chinon Parchment

In 2002, Dr. Barbara Frale found a copy of the Chinon Parchment in the Vatican Secret Archives, a document which explicitly confirms that in 1308 Pope Clement V absolved Jacques de Molay and other leaders of the Order including Geoffroi de Charney and Hugues de Pairaud. She published her findings in the Journal of Medieval History in 2004.

Legends

The sudden arrest of the Templars, the conflicting stories about confessions, and the dramatic deaths by burning, generated many stories and legends about both the Order, and its last Grand Master.

In France in the 19th century, false stories circulated that Jacques de Molay had captured Jerusalem in 1300. These rumors are likely related to the fact that the medieval historian the Templar of Tyre wrote about a Mongol general named "Mulay" who occupied Syria and Palestine for a few months in early 1300. The Mongol Mulay and the Templar Jacques de Molay were entirely different people, but some historians regularly confused the two.

The confusion was enhanced in 1805, when the French playwright/historian François Raynouard made claims that Jerusalem had been captured by the Mongols, with Jacques de Molay in charge of one of the Mongol divisions. "In 1299, the Grand-Master was with his knights at the taking of Jerusalem."This story of wishful thinking was so popular in France, that in 1846 a large-scale painting was created by Claude Jacquand, entitled Molay Prend Jerusalem, 1299 ("Molay Takes Jerusalem, 1299"), which depicts the supposed event. Today the painting hangs in the Hall of the Crusades in the French national museum in Versailles.

In the 1861 edition of the French encyclopedia, the Nouvelle Biographie Universelle, it even lists Jacques de Molay as a Mongol commander in its "Molay" article:

"Jacques de Molay was not inactive in this decision of the Great Khan. This is proven by the fact that Molay was in command of one of the wings of the Mongol army. With the troops under his control, he invaded Syria, participated in the first battle in which the Sultan was vanquished, pursued the routed Malik Nasir as far as the desert of Egypt: then, under the guidance of Kutluk, a Mongol general, he was able to take Jerusalem, among other cities, over the Muslims, and the Mongols entered to celebrate Easter"
—Nouvelle Biographie Universelle, "Molay" article, 1861.

Modern historians, however, state that the truth of the matter is this: There are indeed numerous ancient records of Mongol raids and occupations of Jerusalem (from either Western, Armenian or Arab sources), and in 1300 the Mongols did achieve a brief victory in Syria which caused a Muslim retreat, and allowed the Mongols to launch raids into the Levant as far as Gaza for a period of a few months. During that year, rumors flew through Europe that the Mongols had recaptured Jerusalem and were going to return the city to the Europeans. However, this was only an urban legend, as the only activities that the Mongols had even engaged in were some minor raids through Palestine, which may or may not have even passed through Jerusalem itself.] And regardless of what the Mongols may or may not have done, Jacques de Molay was never a Mongol commander, and probably never set foot in Jerusalem.

Templars- Shipyards and Banking

A very own Shipyard
When setting out on a journey to the Holy Land, people could travel over land to Palestine, usually through Hungary. The Order had chapters there as well. However, transporting goods over land was more difficult. It cost time, money and it was hazardous. That's why this transport preferably took place by boat, over water , through rivers, and mostly by sea. Many of the landroutes protected by the Knights Templar ended near a harbour, for example: Touon, Nice, Marseille, Genua, Nantes, Bristol etc.

Independent Templar fleet
Initially existing shipping was relied upon. But soon the Order took this into it's own hands sothat they would be independent and safer. In the long run they maintained their own shipping-services over the mediterranean sea between the harbours of South France and their own harbour in Akka. Also far outside over the Atlantic Ocean they sailed. Many pilgrims, crusaders and other used these services. Seemingly people felt safe when it was in the hands of the Order. Eventually they had their own shipyards and deployed their own fleet especially designed to transport horses.

The Templars as early bankers
Transporting money and expensive goods over such a great distance was very risky. For that reason a 'girosystem' was developed. An amount of money could be deposited at one Templar House and a letter of credit would be given in return, with which the money could be withdrawn at any random other Templar Preceptory.

This was possible because of the rigid way the Order was organised, with branches throughout the Christian world and because they enjoyed a lot of respect based on reliability of the Order. It limited the dangerous transport of money and it met the scarcity of coined money.

European money streams in Templar hands
the role of the Order expanded to that of general bankers. European money streams fell into their hands. Kings going on Crusade deposited their most important money there. From the middle of the twelfth century the whole French treasury was deposited at the Templars Houses. In the 13th century the Knight Templar did the administration and keeping of the English Treasury for decades. Even the common people used these services for loans. The Paris branche opened four counters on a daily basis.

Reliability and credit
apparently kings and commoners trusted the Knights Templar so much that they dared to deposit their money into their hands. This shows how the Order was seen and considered by everybody all over the Christian world. This responsibility also gave the Order a silent form of power over people and kings who owed them money.

The Templars Lands 'Overseas' (Outre Mer)

Jerusalem, centre of the world
The primary theatre of the Knights Templar was the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which was for the Christians back then the centre of the world. Which had to be held at all costs.
This is important to know. Many maps in the middle ages had either Jerusalem or Rome in the very centre. This was not meant as a real map, they have to be considered more as small encyclopediae. That is why in ancient maps, either Rome or Jerusalem is in the very centre.

Therefore the Templar Rules determined the headquarters to be established in Jerusalem. Everything that happened under the banner of the Order was fully dedicated to that task in the East. All the lands in the new Kingdom were called: 'the lands overseas' or, "Outre Mer" (across the sea).

Donations
After the Council of Troyes, a wave of donations came rolling into the 'Outre Mer'. And every Templar gave away all his possessions to the Order. This changing of ownerhsip was to support the Battles for the Holy Places. To fully legitimise this, a fully dedicated organisation came to life in Europe.

At first the donations formed a riff-raff of land, buildings, ownerships, tax, fishing rights etc. By buying and selling this was structured as best as possible to a large number of relatively structured companies, mostly agricultural, called: "preceptories" or "houses".

The General Rule was, that a third of the profit (called: "responsorium") was annually donated to the Headquarters.

Knights Templar, pioneers in many areas
Better than local authorities, the Knights Templar had a wider perspective about the world, and on top of that they were powerful. That enabled them an unusually broad horizon in terms of policy. This went hand in hand with a dominating strive for profit. The needs of the armies in the East was difficult to satisfy. This led to Knight Templars being pioneers in many areas like: breeding grain and cattle, trading wool, building dykes, mills, irrigation etc.
They modernised local politics, agricultural methods, trade, moneytransfer etc. They were very flexible in their behaviour as long as the single purpose - profit in the interest of the war in the Holy Land- was served. The Order was a Middle Age Multinational which led a purely colonial policy in relation to their possessions in Europe itself.

Other areas (covered in new blogs) where Templars were revolutionary are:
-transport and travel
-shipyards
-preceptories

One other area to be covered will be the inhabitants of the preceptories.

Bernard of Clairvaux

Because Bernard of Clairvaux has written one of the first letters regarding the Rules of the Knights Templar, he is important enough to deserve a special paragraph on this weblog.
(info taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia)

Bernard's youth
He was born from his father Tescelin, lord of Fontaines, and Aleth of Montbard, both of Burgundy nobility . Bernard, was sent to a much renowned school at Chatillon-sur-Seine when he was nine years old, this school was kept by the secular canons of Saint-Vorles. He loved literature and to a lesser extent, poetry.
Bernard's motivation with literature was inspired to take up the study of Sacred Scripture. He was especially devoted to the Blessed Virgin.
During his youth, he was tempted in different ways, but his virtue triumphed over them, in many instances in a heroic manner, and from this time he thought of retiring from the world and living a life of solitude and prayer. So his way to Monastic life was paved here.

The Abbey of Citeaux
Around 1113 Bernard sought entrance and admittance to the Monastic Order (Cistercian). Life in this Monastery was dictated by the Rule of Benedict. After almost three years Bernard and a number of other monks were sent to found a new house in the 'Vallée d'Absinthe' (valley of bitterness; freely translated). Bernard named the house: 'Claire Vallée' or, Clairvaux, this he did at June 25th in the year 1115.
William of Champeaux, Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne, blessed Bernard as abbot because he saw in him the predestined man, servum Dei. (serving god)
It is an interesting fact that apart from Bernard, also his father (Tescelin, now old) and all his brothers entered his Monastery as well.
Because of great success Bernard had to found new houses:

• in 1118, the Monastery of the Three Fountains was founded in the Diocese of Châlons;
• in 1119, that of Fontenay in the Diocese of Auton (now Dijon)
  
• and in 1121, that of Foigny, near Vervins, in the Diocese of Laon (now Soissons)

In the year 1119, Bernard attended the first general chapter of the order convoked by Stephen of Cîteaux. Though one of the younger participants, Bernard was listened to with the greatest attention and respect, especially when he presented his thoughts upon the revival of the primitive spirit of regularity and fervour in all the monastic orders. It was this general chapter that gave definitive form to the constitutions of the order and the regulations of the "Charter of Charity" which Pope Callixtus II confirmed 23 December, 1119. In 1120 Bernard composed his first work "De Gradibus Superbiae et Humilitatis" and his homilies which he entitles "De Laudibus Mariae".

Council of Troyes
In the year 1128, Bernard was assisting as Secretary at the Council of Troyes, which had been convoked by Pope Honorius II, and was presided over by Cardinal Matthew, Bishop of Albano.
It was at this council that Bernard traced the outlines of the Rule of the Knights Templars who would later become the ideal of the French nobility. Bernard praises it in his "De Laudibus Novae Militiae".

Pope Innocentius visits Clairvaux
Around 1130 the pope Innocentius visited the Monastery of Clairvaux and he was taken by the pure and simple religous reception there. n 1132, Bernard accompanied Innocent II into Italy, and at Cluny the pope abolished the dues which Clairvaux used to pay to this celebrated abbey--an action which gave rise to a quarrel between the "White Monks" and the "Black Monks" which lasted twenty years.

Fall of Edessa 1144
When the news came that Edessa had fallen to the Siege and that jeruzalem and Atoich could expect a similar fate, the pope commissioned Bernard to preach a new Crusade and granted the same indulgences for it which Urban II had accorded to the first. Then a parliament was convoked at Vézelay in Burgundy in 1146, and Bernard preached before the assembly. And it was a success, many pledged the vows to go on Crusade.



The Works of Bernard of Clairvaux

The works of St. Bernard are the following:

* "De Gradibus Superbiae", his first treatise;
* "Homilies on the Gospel 'Missus est'" (1120);
* "Apology to William of St. Thierry" against the claims of the monks of Cluny;
* "On the Conversion of Clerics", a book addressed to the young ecclesiastics of Paris (1122);
* "De Laudibus Novae Militiae", addressed to Hughes de Payns, first Grand Master and Prior of Jerusalem (1129). This is a eulogy of the military order instituted in 1118, and an exhortation to the knights to conduct themselves with courage in their several stations.
* "De amore Dei" wherein St. Bernard shows that the manner of loving God is to love Him without measure and gives the different degree of this love;
* "Book of Precepts and Dispensations" (1131), which contains answers to questions upon certain points of the Rule of St. Benedict from which the abbot can, or cannot, dispense;
* "De Gratiâ et Libero Arbitrio" in which the Catholic dogma of grace and free will is proved according to the principles of St. Augustine;
* "Book of Considerations", addressed to Pope Eugenius III;
* "De Officiis Episcoporum", addressed to Henry, Archbishop of Sens.

His sermons are also numerous:

* "On Psalm 90, 'Qui habitat'" (about 1125);
* "On the Canticle of Canticles". St. Bernard explained in eighty-six sermons only the first two chapters of the Canticle of Canticles and the first verse of the third chapter.
* There are also eighty-six "Sermons for the Whole Year"; his "Letters" number 530.

There is more to tell about Bernard of Clairvaux, but the above is enough.

The Knights Templar in Battle

Men and Material
When Hugo de Payens left Europe for the Holy Land with new members of the Order, they immediately got involved in battle: the siege of Damascus.
Since they lost most of their men there, they concentrated on their inital task now: protecting the Pilgrim-road to jeruzalem (Hierosolym).
In the meantime from the West came a flow of new men and material. Because of increasing demand for new troops in The Holy Land the Knights Templar participated in different campaigns.

Size and Equipment
the core of the Templars army was formed by knights (those of royal blood). When the army was at full battle strength there were on average 600 knights.
Each knight had at least three horses, two squires (on horseback as well). He was standard equipped with:

• chainmail
• weapons
• cloth
• other clothing
• shield
• helmet
• tent etc.

Each knight had more horses because the horses fought with their masters in battle, when the horse was tired, injured or worse it had to be replaced.
Around the knights the regiment constisted of warriors a.k.a.: 'brother-sergents', who were full members of the Order but who were not of nobility, they usually were about 2000 strong.
Further the regiment had a few thousand 'Turcopoles' (locally hired troops), some of them on horseback, mostly armed with bow and arrow.
Then there were the socalled: 'Chaplins', they didn't fight but did the religious blessings and the necessary mental support. This mental support ought not to be overlooked. If soldiers (nowadays) have psychological problems like PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), it can be imagined that soldiers fighting in close combat, looking the enemy in the eye, feeling and seeing the agression, fear, and seeing him in pain or dying, from up close, and getting the blood of enemies all over them (which must be horrific) develop the same type of psychological problems. The mental support of Chaplins is not that well known in regular sources about the Knights Templar, but it deserves more attention at least.
At last there were support troops, like: blacksmiths, carpenters, macons, cooks etc. they were paid and hired workers who were not required to participate in battle, unless they volunteered. If the going got too tough, they were allowed to retreat. Retreat was strictly forbidden to battle troops, they were only allowed to retreat when the Grandmaster gave the signal.

Strict rules during battle
The Knights Templar had strict rules of battle. They were only allowed to attack when the order to do so was given. No one could leave the battlefield without permission, if the own unit was scattered the Templar had to report to the closest unit that kept battle rank. In case of total defeat one had to find a shelter as good as possible and report to the most nearby preceptory.

Confusion on the Battlefields-politics etc
many factors were responsible for confusing situation in war and in battle:

• Dynastic problems (many noblemen tried to be King of Jeruzalem)
• Colonists (usually the main source for soldiers, but they got influenced by the eastern culture and customs)
• inexperienced crusaders (they arrived on irregular basis and just barged into battle with anyone they could fight)
• christian-Kings (they usually served their own interest instead of common interest)
• reconquista (Iberia) (The Knights Templar were called to fight in Spain and Portugal against the muslim armies there)
• trading cities like Pisa and Venice (whose interest in the Mediterranean Sea was not always the same as that of the Knights Templar
• Rivalry with other Crusader Orders (Hospitallers, German Order)
• Different Islamic Leaders (with different strategies and tactics)
• Internal Affairs in the Templars Order not all Grandmasters were good generals

The above factors were responsible for confusion on the battlefield in the theatre of war in The Holy Land.

All in all, the Knights Templar were known by friend and foe as brave and very well disciplined warriors.

Dying in Battle
To be engaged into a fierce battle and then to die was for a Knight Templar the fastest path to God, this was in fact the highest honor he could achieve. This attitude and frame of mind made these Warrior Monks almost fearless and hard to beat and impossible to intimidate. It also expresses their mentality in general. The Knights Templar, The Warrior Monks hardly ever surrendered, they rather died.

The Rule of the Knights Templar

Rules-Monastic Life
The rule, that was established at the Council of Troyes, was relatively compact. It contained only 72 articles which mainly set out the rules in relation to Monastic Life of the Knights Templar. It contained general rules that could also apply in Monasteries of different Religious Orders: vows of: Obedience, poverty, chastity, communal life, meals together, silence during meals, eight times a day required communal prayer, established austere clothing style, rules for entry into the order, dietary rules, and their weekly Chaptermeeting.

The weekly meetings
During these gatherings-which were compulsory for every Templar at every level in the organisation, even at the lowest levels of the preceptory or there where at least 4 brethren were gathered- all current events were discussed critically. Violations of the Rule were established and punished if deemed proper and important decisions were made.

One could summarize the above to: the Templars were above all Monastic.

Rules-warrior
The diversion from common monastic rules is interesting, because the Templars were next to monastic, also soldiers with a specific assignment. Firstly, there was the socalled: "Fourth vow" which meant that they swore to devote themselves to the protection of the pilgrims. Also, the soldiers should have a healthy and powerful body, that;s why the Templar Monks had it relatively comfortable, compared to Monks from other orders. But the last rule was very general and very specific as well:

..."The Brethren ought to obey the Master and the Master ought to obey his Chapter”...

This rule excludes absolutism. This is in fact a quite important structure. The Master was thus considered as: ..."primus inter pares"... (the first amongst the equals). It seems a very balanced structure within this Order. And lastly, every preceptory ought to have a copy of the Rule in it's possession and the Rule was to be kept secret to outsiders.

Templars - the western warrior monks

It begins
Around the year 1119 a small, select group of 9 knights under supervision of the French knight Hugo De Payens and the Flemish knight Godfried van Sint-Omaars established a small order of warrior monks to protect the pilgrims traveling from Europe to the Holy Land. They called themselves: The Order of the Poor Knights of Christ.
They accepted the rule of the Holy Augustinus and swore vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The Order and their Rules were approved by the patriarch of Jerusalem (or: Ierosalym).

Their first goal was to fight against raiders, robbers and marauders along the roads traveled by the Pilgrims. For that they were highly appreciated. Initially their only income consisted of alms. The King of Jerusalem (or: Ierosalym) came to their aid and he granted them shelter in his Palace, which was situated in the "Al-Aqsa Mosque" on the square of the former "Temple of Solomon".

Symbolism of the new shelter
Abraham made his sacrifice there, Jakob had his visions of the stairway reaching towards heaven, Solomon built his temple there and the grave of Christ was nearby as well. The Al-Aqsa Mosque was built there in 637 as a symbol of victory of Islam over Christianity and the Jewish Fate. These facts made sure that this new shelter was of utmost symbolic meaning for Christians as well as Jews and for Islamic people too. It was the preferred place for Pilgrimage and in that vein it was considered as the centre of the world.

This is where "The Order of the Poor Knights of Christ" established themselves and henceforth they were called: "Knights Templar", which we can consider: the Warrior Monks of Europe.

Official Recognition: The Council of Troyes
For Jerusalem (or: Ierosalym) was in need of re-inforcements it was decided that a number of monks amongst which: Hugo de Payens-the first master of the Knights Templar, and Godfried van Sint-Omaars, should be sent to the West to get official recognition from the Church and obtain material and new recruits. This Council took place in 1129, and there the "Primitive Rule" was established for the Knights Templar, this rule was closer to the rule of Benedictus-which is more according to the rule of the Cistercian Monks. Later Bernard de Clairvaux wrote the letter:
"De Laude Novae Militiae", this letter boosted the Templars towards fame and fortune.

Extension of their tasks
Apart from the defense and protection of Pilgrims the Knights Templar also had a new task: protection of the Holy places against those who attack them. This is a crucial shift, from protecting pilgrims against small groups of bandits to organised defense and battle against standing armies, or, at least, larger groups of opponents. It at least got the Order further and deeper involved than what was originally set out as their main goal.

The white habit and the Red cross and dark habits
Now they were also awarded the right to wear a white habit with a red shouldercross.
A white habit, in the Monastic world, stood for chastity and for swearing the Eternal Monastic Vows. It is often thought that all Templars wore white habits. This is not necessarily true. Only Templars who swore vows of chastity and who lived in chastity were allowed to wear white habits. Other Templars, for example, if they were married, wore other colours like: dark brown, of dark blue. (Except the Knights Hospitallers who wore mostly black, with a white eight-pointed cross)

Lands and Priories
from now on noblemen donated land and the Knights Templar obtained preceptories. And these were a good source of income, logistics and support for the protection of the Pilgrims places in the Holy Land.

Later on, other articles will appear. The above is about the beginning.