The Knights Templars
by C. G. Addison · English · Gutenberg #44376 · 683,484 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The Knights Templars
Author: C. G. Addison
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THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS,
by
C. G. ADDISON ESQE.
Barrister at Law
[Illustration]
THIRD EDITION.
London,
Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans.
Paternoster Row, 1852.
[Illustration: THE ADMISSION OF A NOVICE TO THE VOWS OF THE ORDER OF
THE TEMPLE]
PREFACE
TO THE FIRST EDITION.
Having some years ago, during a pilgrimage to the Holy City of
Jerusalem, gained admission to the courts of the ancient Temple of the
Knights Templars, which still exists on Mount Moriah in a perfect state
of preservation as a Mussulman Mosque, and having visited many of the
ruined fortresses and castles of the ancient order of the Temple, whose
shattered walls are still to be seen at intervals in Palestine and in
Syria, from Gaza to Antioch, and from the mountains of the Dead Sea to
the shores of the Mediterranean, I naturally became greatly interested
in the history of the order, and in the numerous remains and memorials
of the Knights Templars still to be met with in various stages of decay
and ruin in almost every part of Europe. The recent restoration of the
Temple Church at London, the most beautiful and the best preserved of
all the ancient ecclesiastical edifices of the western provinces of the
Temple, first suggested to me the idea of writing a short historical
account of the varied fortunes of that great religious and military
fraternity of knights and monks by whom it was erected, and of their
dark and terrible end.
Born during the first fervour of the Crusaders, the Templars 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 religious and
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,
they 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 holy zeal and body-bending toil of a poor brotherhood. The
vulgar notion that they 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 ensuing volume, will 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.
The accounts, even of the best of the ancient historians concerning the
Templars ought not to be implicitly relied upon. 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
Christianity; 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. The Arabian historians, on
the other hand, tell us that Nassr-ed-deen and his father murdered the
caliph, threw his body into a well, and then fled into Palestine; that
the sister of the murdered caliph wrote immediately to the commander
of the garrison of the Knights Templars at Gaza, 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.
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
ancient writers, but such matters only as I believe, after a careful
examination of the best authorities, to be true.
PREFACE
TO THE THIRD EDITION.
The favourable reception given to the first edition of the ensuing
work, and the interest that was taken in the extraordinary and romantic
career of the Knights Templars, induced me to publish a second edition
greatly enlarged, and to introduce various collateral matters of an
antiquarian and local character, interesting only to a comparatively
small number of readers. This enlarged edition having been exhausted,
it occurred to me, in preparing a third edition for the press, that
the work might be materially shortened and reduced in price without
in anywise detracting from its value and interest as a record of the
chief events of one of the most remarkable and interesting periods of
history, and of the extraordinary and romantic achievements of the
first and most ancient of the great religio-military orders of knights
and monks established during the crusades.
The dry matters of detail, of local and partial interest, which
interfered with the continuity of the main narrative, have been struck
out of the body of the work, and the more striking incidents of the
history have been thus brought into greater prominence. The long Latin
and French extracts from the old chronicles have also been discarded
from the notes, but the historical references have been preserved to
enable the reader, if he thinks fit, to study the quaint and curious
language of the originals. By these means, and by enlarging the size of
the page, the work has been compressed into a smaller compass, and the
price reduced nearly one half.
It is hoped that these alterations will be found to be improvements.
_Inner Temple, December 8, 1851._
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
The pilgrimages to Jerusalem--Origin of the Templars--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--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 _Page_ 5
CHAPTER II.
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--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 Master of the Temple is taken prisoner,
and dies in a dungeon--Saladin’s great success--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 24
CHAPTER III.
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 44
CHAPTER IV.
The Patriarch Heraclius quarrels with the king of
England--He returns to Palestine without succour--The
disappointment 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 68
CHAPTER V.
Richard Cœur de Lion joins the Templars before Acre--The
city surrenders, and the Templars establish the chief
house of their order within it--Cœur 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 exploits--Cœur de Lion quits
the Holy Land in the disguise of a Knight Templar--The
Templars build the Pilgrim’s Castle in Palestine--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--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--Consecration of the nave or oblong portion of
the Temple Church at London 129
CHAPTER VI.
The conquest of Jerusalem by the Carizmians--The
slaughter of the Templars, and the death of the Grand
Master--Rise and progress of the Comans--They are
defeated and destroyed by the Templars--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 III.,
king of England, visits the Temple at Paris--The
magnificent hospitality of the Templars in England
and France--Bendoedar, 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--The
Templars establish their head-quarters in the island
of Cyprus--Their alliance with the king of Persia--The
reconquest of Jerusalem--The desolation of the Holy
Land--The final extinction of the Templars in Palestine
180
CHAPTER VII.
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 III.,
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--The Templars in France having revoked
their rack-extorted confessions, are treated as
relapsed heretics, and burnt at the stake--Solitary
confinement of the Templars in England in separate
dungeons--Torture--Confessions and recantations--The
Master of the Temple at London dies in the Tower--The
Grand Master is burnt at the stake--The abolition of
the order and disposal of its property. Grant of the
Temple at London to a body of lawyers--Introduction
into the profession of the law of an order of knights
and serving-brethren 236
INTRODUCTION.
“Go forth to battle and employ your substance and your persons
for the advancement of God’s religion. Verily, God loveth those
who fight for his religion in battle array.”--KORAN, _chapter 56,
entitled_ BATTLE ARRAY.
“O Prophet, stir up the faithful to war! If twenty of you persevere
with constancy they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be
one hundred of you they shall overcome one thousand of those who
believe not.”--_Chapter 8, entitled_ THE SPOILS.
“Verily, if God pleased, he could take vengeance on the unbelievers
without your assistance, but he commandeth you to fight his battles
that he may prove the one of you by the other; and as to those who
fight in defence of God’s true religion, God will not suffer their
works to perish.”--KORAN, _chapter 47, entitled_ WAR.
To be propagated by the sword was a vital principle of Mahommedanism.
War against infidels for the establishment and extension of the faith
was commanded by the Prophet, and the solemn injunction became hallowed
and perpetuated by success.
A century after the death of Mahomet, the Moslems had extended their
religion and their arms from India to the Atlantic Ocean; they had
subdued and converted, by the power of the sword, Persia and Egypt,
and all the north of Africa, from the mouth of the Nile to the extreme
western boundary of that vast continent; they overran Spain, invaded
France, and turning their footsteps towards Italy they entered the
kingdoms of Naples and Genoa, threatened Rome, and subjected the
island of Sicily to the laws and the religion of their Prophet. But at
the very period when they were about to plant the Koran in the very
heart of Europe, and were advancing with rapid strides to universal
dominion, intestine dissensions broke out amongst them which undermined
their power, and Europe was released from the dread and danger of
Saracen dominion.
In the tenth century of the Christian era, however, the ferocious
and barbarous Turcomans appeared as the patrons of Mahommedanism,
and the propagators of the Koran. These were wild pastoral tribes of
shepherds and hunters, who descended from the frozen plains to the
north of the Caspian, conquered Persia, embraced the religion and the
law of Mahomet, and became united under the standard of the Prophet
into one great and powerful nation. They overran the greater part of
the Asiatic continent, destroyed the churches of the Christians and
the temples of the Pagans, and appeared (A. D. 1084) in warlike array
on the Asiatic shore of the Hellespont in front of Constantinople.
The terrified emperor Alexius sent urgent letters to the Pope and
the christian princes of Europe, exhorting them to assist him and
their common Christianity in the perilous crisis. The preachings of
Peter the hermit, and the exhortations of the Pope, forthwith aroused
Christendom; Europe was armed and precipitated upon Asia; the Turkish
power was broken; the Christian provinces of the Greek empire of
Constantinople were recovered from the grasp of the infidels; and the
Latin kingdom of Jerusalem was reared upon the ruins of the Turkish
empire of sultan Soliman. The monastic and military order of the Temple
was then called into existence for the purpose of checking the power
of the infidels, and fighting the battles of Christendom in the plains
of Asia. “Suggested by fanaticism,” as Gibbon observes, but guided by
an intelligent and far reaching policy, it became the firmest bulwark
of Christianity in the East, and mainly contributed to preserve Europe
from Turkish desolation, and probably from Turkish conquest.
Many grave and improbable charges have been brought against the
Templars by monks and priests who wrote in Europe concerning events in
the Holy Land, and who regarded the vast privileges of the order with
indignation and aversion. Matthew Paris tells us that they were leagued
with the infidels, and fought pitched battles with the rival order of
Saint John; but as contemporary historians of Palestine, who describe
the exploits of the Templars, and were eye-witnesses of their career,
make no mention of such occurrences, and as no allusion is made to
them in the letters of the Pope addressed to the Grand Master of the
order of Saint John shortly after the date of these pretended battles,
I have omitted all mention of them, feeling convinced, after a careful
examination of the best authorities, that they never did take place.
At this distant day, when the times and scenes in which the Templars
acted are changed, and the deep religious fervour and warm fresh
feelings of bygone ages have given way to a cold and calculating
philosophy, we may doubt the sincerity of the military friars, exclaim
against their credulity, and deride their zeal; but when we call to
mind the hardships and fatigues, the dangers, sufferings, and death,
to which they voluntarily devoted themselves in a far distant land,
the sacrifice of personal comforts, of the ties of kindred, and of all
the endearments of domestic life, which they made without any prospect
of worldly gain or temporal advantage, for objects which they believed
to be just, and noble, and righteous, we must ever rank the generous
impulses by which they were actuated among the sublime emotions which
can influence the human character in those periods when men feel rather
than calculate, before knowledge has chilled the sensibility, or
selfish indifference hardened the heart.
THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS.
CHAPTER I.
The pilgrimages to Jerusalem--Origin of the Templars--Their
location in the Temple--Hugh de Payens chosen Master of the
Temple--His introduction to the Pope--The assembling of the
Council of Troyes--The formation of a rule for the government of
the Templars--The most curious parts of the rule displayed--Visit
of Hugh de Payens to England--The foundation of the Order in this
country--Lands and money granted to the Templars--St. Bernard
displays their valour and piety.
“Yet ’midst her towering fanes in ruin laid,
The pilgrim saint his murmuring vespers paid;
’Twas his to mount the tufted rocks, and rove
The chequer’d twilight of the olive grove;
’Twas his to bend beneath the sacred gloom,
And wear with many a kiss Messiah’s tomb.”
The natural desire of visiting those holy spots which have been
sanctified by the presence, and rendered memorable by the sufferings,
of the Son of God, drew, during the early ages of Christianity,
crowds of devout worshippers and pilgrims to Jerusalem. Among the
most illustrious and enthusiastic of the many wanderers to the Holy
City was the empress Helena, the mother of Constantine, who, with
the warm feelings of a recent conversion, visited in person every
place and every object in Palestine associated with the memory of him
who died for mankind on the blessed cross. With a holy zeal and a
lively enthusiasm, she attempted to fix by unquestionable tradition
the scene of each memorable event in the gospel narrative; and
Christendom is indebted to her for the real or pretended discovery
(about two hundred and ninety-eight years after the death of Christ)
of the Holy Sepulchre. Over this sacred monument the empress and
her son Constantine caused to be erected the magnificent church of
the Resurrection, or, as it is now called, the church of the Holy
Sepulchre; and they adorned all those places in the Holy Land which
remind us most forcibly of the earthly existence and death of Jesus
Christ, with magnificent churches and religious houses.
The example of this pious princess, and the pretended discoveries made
by her of holy relics, caused a great increase in the pilgrimages to
Jerusalem. The conquest of Palestine by the Arabians, (A. D. 637,)
stimulated rather than suppressed them; it added to the merit by
increasing the danger and difficulty of the undertaking, whilst the
enthusiasm which prompted the long and perilous journey was increased
by the natural feelings of sorrow and indignation at the loss of the
holy places, and the possession of them by the conquering infidels.
Year after year, and century after century, hundreds and thousands of
both sexes, of all ranks and every age, the monarch and the peasant,
the noble and the beggar, flocked to the shrines and the altars of
Palestine. They visited, with pious affection, Bethlehem, where the
Saviour first saw the light; they bathed in the waters of the river
Jordan, wherein he was baptized, and wept and prayed upon Mount
Calvary, where he was crucified.
On the conquest of Jerusalem by the Arabians, the security of the
christian population had been provided for in a solemn guarantee
given under the hand and seal of the caliph Omar, to Sophronius the
patriarch. One fourth of the entire city, with the church of the
Resurrection, the Holy Sepulchre, and the great Latin convent, had been
left in the hands of the Christians and the pilgrims were permitted,
on payment of a trifling tribute, freely to visit the various objects
of their regard. When the sceptre was transferred from the family of
the Abassides to the Fatimites, and the caliphs of Egypt obtained
possession of Palestine, the same mild and tolerant government was
continued. In the eleventh century, the zeal of pilgrimage had reached
its height, and the caravans of pilgrims had become so numerous as to
be styled _the armies of the Lord_. The old and the young, women and
children, flocked in crowds to Jerusalem, and in the year 1064 the
Holy Sepulchre was visited by an enthusiastic band of seven thousand
pilgrims. The year following, however, Jerusalem was conquered by the
wild Turcomans, three thousand of the citizens were massacred, and
the command over the holy city and territory was confided to the emir
Ortok, the chief of a savage pastoral tribe.
Under the iron yoke of these fierce northern strangers, the Christians
were fearfully oppressed; they were driven from their churches; divine
worship was ridiculed and interrupted; and the patriarch of the Holy
City was dragged by the hair of his head over the sacred pavement of
the church of the Resurrection, and cast into a dungeon, to extort
a ransom from the sympathy of his flock. The pilgrims who, through
innumerable perils, had reached the gates of the Holy City, were
plundered, imprisoned, and frequently massacred; a piece of gold, was
exacted as the price of admission to the holy sepulchre, and many,
unable to pay the tax, were driven by the swords of the Turcomans from
the very threshold of the object of all their hopes, the bourne of
their long pilgrimage, and were compelled to retrace their weary steps
in sorrow and anguish to their distant homes. The intelligence of these
cruelties aroused the religious chivalry of Christendom; “a nerve was
touched of exquisite feeling, and the sensation vibrated to the heart
of Europe.” Then arose the wild enthusiasm of the crusades, and men of
all ranks, and even monks and priests, animated by the exhortations
of the pope and the preachings of Peter the Hermit, flew to arms,
and enthusiastically undertook “the pious and glorious enterprize” of
rescuing the holy sepulchre of Christ from the foul abominations of the
heathen.
When intelligence of the CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM by the CRUSADERS (A. D.
1099) had been conveyed to Europe, the zeal of pilgrimage blazed
forth with increased fierceness: it had gathered intensity from the
interval of its suppression by the wild Turcomans, and promiscuous
crowds of both sexes, old men and children, virgins and matrons,
thinking the road then open and the journey practicable, successively
pressed forwards towards the Holy City. The infidels had indeed been
driven out of Jerusalem, but not out of Palestine. The lofty mountains
bordering the sea coast were infested by warlike bands of fugitive
Mussulmen, who maintained themselves in various impregnable castles
and strongholds, from whence they issued forth upon the high-roads,
cut off the communication between Jerusalem and the sea-ports, and
revenged themselves for the loss of their habitations and property by
the indiscriminate pillage of all travellers. The Bedouin horsemen,
moreover, making rapid incursions from beyond the Jordan, frequently
kept up a desultory and irregular warfare in the plains; and the
pilgrims, consequently, whether they approached the Holy City by land
or by sea, were alike exposed to almost daily hostility, to plunder,
and to death.
To alleviate the dangers and distresses to which they were exposed, to
guard the honour of the saintly virgins and matrons, and to protect the
gray hairs of the venerable palmer, nine noble knights, who had greatly
distinguished themselves at the siege and capture of Jerusalem, formed
a holy brotherhood in arms, and entered into a solemn compact to aid
one another in clearing the highways, and in protecting the pilgrims
through the passes and defiles of the mountains to the Holy City.
Warmed with the religious and military fervour of the day, and animated
by the sacredness of the cause to which they had devoted their swords,
they called themselves the _Poor Fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ_.
They renounced the world and its pleasures, and in the holy church of
the Resurrection, in the presence of the patriarch of Jerusalem, they
embraced vows of perpetual chastity, obedience, and poverty, after the
manner of monks. Uniting in themselves the two most popular qualities
of the age, devotion and valour, and exercising them in the most
popular of all enterprises, they speedily acquired a famous reputation.
At first, we are told, they had no church, and no particular place
of abode, but in the year of our Lord 1118, (nineteen years after
the conquest of Jerusalem by the Crusaders,) they had rendered such
good and acceptable service to the Christians, that Baldwin the
Second, king of Jerusalem, granted them a place of habitation within
the sacred inclosure of the Temple on Mount Moriah, amid those holy
and magnificent structures, partly erected by the Christian Emperor
Justinian, and partly built by the Caliph Omar, which were then
exhibited by the monks and priests of Jerusalem, whose restless zeal
led them to practise on the credulity of the pilgrims, and to multiply
relics and all objects likely to be sacred in their eyes, as the TEMPLE
OF SOLOMON, whence the Poor Fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ came
thenceforth to be known by the name of “THE KNIGHTHOOD OF THE TEMPLE OF
SOLOMON.”
By the Mussulmen, the site of the great Jewish temple on Mount Moriah
has always been regarded with peculiar veneration. Mahomet, in the
first year of the publication of the Koran, directed his followers,
when at prayer, to turn their faces towards it, and pilgrimages
have constantly been made to the holy spot by devout Moslems. On
the conquest of Jerusalem by the Arabians, it was the first care of
the Caliph Omar to rebuild “the Temple of the Lord.” Assisted by
the principal chieftains of his army, the Commander of the Faithful
undertook the pious office of clearing the ground with his own hands,
and of tracing out the foundations of the magnificent mosque which now
crowns with its dark and swelling dome the elevated summit of Mount
Moriah.
This great house of prayer, the most holy Mussulman Temple in the world
after that of Mecca, is erected over the spot where “Solomon began
to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where
the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had
prepared in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” It remains to
this day in a state of perfect preservation, and is one of the finest
specimens of Saracenic architecture in existence. It is entered by
four spacious doorways, each door facing one of the cardinal points;
the _Bab el D’Jannat_, or gate of the garden, on the north; the _Bab
el Kebla_, or gate of prayer, on the south; the _Bab ib’n el Daoud_,
or the gate of the son of David, on the east; and the _Bab el Garbi_,
on the west. By the Arabian geographers it is called _Beit Allah_, the
house of God, also _Beit Almokaddas_, or _Beit Almacdes_, the holy
house. From it Jerusalem derives its Arabic name, _el Kods_, the holy,
_el Schereef_, the noble, and _el Mobarek_, the blessed.
The crescent had been torn down by the crusaders from the summit of
this great Mussulman Temple, and replaced by an immense golden cross,
and the edifice was consecrated to the services of the christian
religion, but retained its simple appellation of “The Temple of the
Lord.” William, Archbishop of Tyre and Chancellor of the Kingdom of
Jerusalem, gives an interesting account of the building as it existed
in his time during the Latin dominion. He speaks of the splendid mosaic
work on the walls; of the Arabic characters setting forth the name of
the founder, and the cost of the undertaking; and of the famous rock
under the centre of the dome, which is to this day shown by the Moslems
as the spot whereon the destroying angel stood, “with his drawn sword
in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem.”[1] This rock, he informs
us, was left exposed and uncovered for the space of fifteen years after
the conquest of the holy city by the crusaders, but was, after that
period, cased with a handsome altar of white marble, upon which the
priests daily said mass.
To the south of this holy Mussulman temple, on the extreme edge of
the summit of Mount Moriah, and resting against the modern walls of
the town of Jerusalem, stands the venerable christian church of the
Virgin, erected by the Emperor Justinian, whose stupendous foundations,
remaining to this day, fully justify the astonishing description given
of the building by Procopius. That writer informs us that in order to
get a level surface for the erection of the edifice, it was necessary,
on the east and south sides of the hill, to raise up a wall of masonry
from the valley below, and to construct a vast foundation, partly
composed of solid stone and partly of arches and pillars. The stones
were of such magnitude, that each block required to be transported in
a truck drawn by forty of the emperor’s strongest oxen; and to admit
of the passage of these trucks it was necessary to widen the roads
leading to Jerusalem. The forests of Lebanon yielded their choicest
cedars for the timbers of the roof, and a quarry of variegated marble,
in the adjoining mountains, furnished the edifice with superb marble
columns.[2] The interior of this interesting structure, which still
remains at Jerusalem, after a lapse of more than thirteen centuries,
in an excellent state of preservation, is adorned with six rows of
columns, from whence spring arches supporting the cedar beams and
timbers of the roof, and at the end of the building is a round tower,
surmounted by a dome. The vast stones, the walls of masonry, and the
subterranean colonnade raised to support the south-east angle of the
platform whereon the church is erected, are truly wonderful, and may
still be seen by penetrating through a small door, and descending
several flights of steps at the south-east corner of the enclosure.
Adjoining the sacred edifice, the emperor erected hospitals, or houses
of refuge, for travellers, sick people, and mendicants of all nations,
the foundations whereof, composed of handsome Roman masonry, are still
visible on either side of the southern end of the building.
On the conquest of Jerusalem by the Moslems, this venerable church
was converted into a mosque, and was called _D’Jamé al Acsa_; it was
enclosed, together with the great Mussulman Temple of the Lord erected
by the Caliph Omar, within a large area by a high stone wall, which
runs around the edge of the summit of Mount Moriah, and guards from
the profane tread of the unbeliever the whole of that sacred ground
whereon once stood the gorgeous temple of the wisest of kings. When the
Holy City was taken by the crusaders, the _D’Jamé al Acsa_, with the
various buildings constructed around it, became the property of the
kings of Jerusalem: and is denominated by William of Tyre “the palace,”
or “royal house to the south of the Temple of the Lord, vulgarly called
the TEMPLE OF SOLOMON.” It was this edifice or temple on Mount Moriah
which was appropriated to the poor fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ, as
they had no _church_ and no particular place of abode, and from it they
derived their name of Knights Templars.[3] The canons of the Temple
of the Lord conceded to them the large court extending between that
building and the Temple of Solomon; the king, the patriarch, and the
prelates of Jerusalem, and the barons of the Latin kingdom, assigned
them various gifts and revenues for their maintenance and support, and
the order being now settled in a regular place of abode, the knights
soon began to entertain more extended views, and to seek a larger
theatre for the exercise of their holy profession.
Their first aim and object had been, as before mentioned, simply to
protect the poor pilgrims, on their journey backwards and forwards,
from the sea-coast to Jerusalem; but as the hostile tribes of
Mussulmen, which everywhere surrounded the Latin kingdom, were
gradually recovering from the terror into which they had been plunged
by the successful and exterminating warfare of the first crusaders,
and were assuming an aggressive and threatening attitude, it was
determined that the holy warriors of the Temple should, in addition to
the protection of pilgrims, make the defence of the christian kingdom
of Jerusalem, of the eastern church, and of all the holy places, a part
of their particular profession. The two most distinguished members of
the fraternity were Hugh de Payens and Geoffrey de St. Aldemar, or St.
Omer, two valiant soldiers of the cross, who had fought with great
credit and renown at the siege of Jerusalem. Hugh de Payens was chosen
by the knights to be the superior of the new religious and military
society, by the title of “The Master of the Temple;” and he has,
consequently, generally been called the founder of the order.
Baldwin, king of Jerusalem, foreseeing that great advantages would
accrue to the Latin kingdom by the increase of the power and numbers of
these holy warriors, despatched two Knights Templars to St. Bernard,
the holy Abbot of Clairvaux, with a letter, telling him that the
Templars whom the Lord had deigned to raise up, and whom in a wonderful
manner he preserved for the defence of Palestine, desired to obtain
from the Holy See the confirmation of their institution, and a rule
for their particular guidance, and beseeching him “to obtain from the
Pope the approbation of their order, and to induce his holiness to send
succour and subsidies against the enemies of the faith.”[4] Shortly
afterwards Hugh de Payens himself proceeded to Rome, accompanied by
Geoffrey de St. Aldemar, and four other brothers of the order, who
were received with great honour and distinction by Pope Honorius. A
great ecclesiastical council was assembled at Troyes, (A. D. 1128,)
which Hugh de Payens and his brethren were invited to attend, and the
rules to which the Templars had subjected themselves being there
described, the holy Abbot of Clairvaux undertook the task of revising
and correcting them, and of forming a code of statutes fit and proper
for the governance of the great religious and military fraternity of
the Temple.
Regula Pauperum Commilitonum Christi et Templi Salomonis.
“THE RULE OF THE POOR FELLOW SOLDIERS OF JESUS CHRIST AND OF THE TEMPLE
OF SOLOMON,” arranged by St. Bernard, and sanctioned by the Holy
Fathers of the Council of Troyes, for the government and regulation
of the monastic and military society of the Temple, is principally
of a religious character, and of an austere and gloomy cast. It is
divided into seventy-two heads or chapters, and is preceded by a short
prologue, addressed “to all who disdain to follow after their own
wills, and desire with purity of mind to fight for the most high and
true king,” exhorting them to put on the armour of obedience, and to
associate themselves together with piety and humility for the defence
of the holy catholic church; and to employ a pure diligence, and a
steady perseverance in the exercise of their sacred profession, so that
they might share in the happy destiny reserved for the holy warriors
who had given up their lives for Christ.
The rule enjoins severe devotional exercises, self-mortification,
fasting, and prayer, and a constant attendance at matins, vespers, and
on all the services of the church, that “being refreshed and satisfied
with heavenly food, instructed and stablished with heavenly precepts,
after the consummation of the divine mysteries,” none might be afraid
of the _fight_, but be prepared for the _crown_. The following extracts
from this rule may be read with interest.
“VIII. In one common hall, or refectory, we will that you take meat
together, where, if your wants cannot be made known by signs, ye are
softly and privately to ask for what you want. If at any time the thing
you require is not to be found, you must seek it with all gentleness,
and with submission and reverence to the board, in remembrance of the
words of the apostle, _Eat thy bread in silence_, and in emulation of
the psalmist, who says, _I have set a watch upon my mouth_; that is,
I have communed with myself that I may not offend, that is, with my
tongue; that is, I have guarded my mouth, that I may not speak evil.
“XI. Two and two ought in general to eat together, that one may have an
eye upon another....
“XVII. After the brothers have once departed from the hall to bed, it
must not be permitted any one to speak in public, except it be upon
urgent necessity. But whatever is spoken must be said in an under tone
by the knight to his esquire. Perchance, however, in the interval
between prayers and sleep, it may behove you, from urgent necessity, no
opportunity having occurred during the day, to speak on some military
matter, or concerning the state of your house, with some portion of
the brethren, or with the Master, or with him to whom the government
of the house has been confided: this, then, we order to be done in
conformity with that which hath been written: _In many words thou shalt
not avoid sin;_ and in another place, _Life and death are in the hands
of the tongue._ In that discourse, therefore, we utterly prohibit
scurrility and idle words moving unto laughter, and on going to bed, if
any one among you hath uttered a foolish saying, we enjoin him, in all
humility, and with purity of devotion, to repeat the Lord’s Prayer.
“XX. ... To all the professed knights, both in winter and summer, we
give, if they can be procured, WHITE GARMENTS, that those who have cast
behind them a dark life may know that they are to commend themselves
to their Creator by a pure and white life. For what is whiteness but
perfect chastity, and chastity is the security of the soul and the
health of the body. And unless every knight shall continue chaste, he
shall not come to perpetual rest, nor see God, as the apostle Paul
witnesseth: _Follow after peace with all men, and chastity, without
which no man shall see God_....
“XXI. ... Let all the esquires and retainers be clothed in _black_
garments: but if such cannot be found, let them have what can be
procured in the province where they live, so that they be of one
colour, and such as is of a meaner character, viz. brown.
“XXII. It is granted to none to wear WHITE habits, or to have WHITE
mantles, excepting the above-named knights of Christ.
“XXXVII. We will not that gold or silver, which is the mark of private
wealth, should ever be seen on your bridles, breastplates, or spurs,
nor should it be permitted to any brother to buy such. If, indeed, such
like furniture shall have been charitably bestowed upon you, the gold
and silver must be so coloured, that its splendour and beauty may not
impart to the wearer an appearance of arrogance beyond his fellows.
“XLI. It is in no wise lawful for any of the brothers to receive
letters from his parents, or from any man, or to send letters, without
the license of the Master, or of the procurator. After the brother
shall have had leave, they must be read in the presence of the Master,
if it so pleaseth him. If, indeed, anything whatever shall have been
directed to him from his parents, let him not presume to receive it
until information has been first given to the Master. But in this
regulation the Master and the procurators of the houses are not
included.
“XLII. We forbid, and we resolutely condemn, all tales related by
any brother, of the follies and irregularities of which he hath been
guilty in the world, or in military matters, either with his brother
or with any other man. It shall not be permitted him to speak with his
brother of the irregularities of other men, nor of the delights of the
flesh with miserable women; and if by chance he should hear another
discoursing of such things, he shall make him silent, or with the swift
foot of obedience he shall depart from him as soon as he is able, and
shall lend not the ear of the heart to the vender of idle tales.
“XLIII. If any gift shall be made to a brother, let it be taken to the
Master or the treasurer. If, indeed, his friend or his parent will
consent to make the gift only on condition that he useth it himself,
he must not receive it until permission hath been obtained from the
Master. And whosoever shall have received a present, let it not grieve
him if it be given to another. Yea, let him know assuredly, that if he
be angry at it, he striveth against God.
“XLVI. We are all of opinion that none of you should dare to follow
the sport of catching one bird with another: for it is not agreeable
unto religion for you to be addicted unto worldly delights, but rather
willingly to hear the precepts of the Lord, constantly to kneel down to
prayer, and daily to confess your sins before God with sighs and tears.
Let no brother, for the above especial reason, presume to go forth with
a man following such diversions with a hawk, or with any other bird.
“XLVII. Forasmuch as it becometh all religion to behave decently and
humbly without laughter, and to speak sparingly but sensibly, and not
in a loud tone, we specially command and direct every professed brother
that he venture not to shoot in the woods either with a long-bow or a
cross-bow; and for the same reason, that he venture not to accompany
another who shall do the like, except it be for the purpose of
protecting him from the perfidious infidel; neither shall he dare to
halloo, or to talk to a dog, nor shall he spur his horse with a desire
of securing the game.
“LI. Under Divine Providence, as we do believe, this new kind of
religion was introduced by you in the holy places, that is to say, the
union of WARFARE with RELIGION, so that religion, being armed, maketh
her way by the sword, and smiteth the enemy without sin. Therefore we
do rightly adjudge, since ye are called KNIGHTS OF THE TEMPLE, that for
your renowned merit, and especial gift of godliness, ye ought to have
lands and men, and possess husbandmen and justly govern them, and the
customary services ought to be specially rendered unto you.
“LV. We permit you to have married brothers in this manner, if such
should seek to participate in the benefit of your fraternity; let
both the man and his wife grant, from and after their death, their
respective portions of property, and whatever more they acquire in
after life, to the unity of the common chapter; and, in the interim,
let them exercise an honest life, and labour to do good to the
brethren: but they are not permitted to appear in the white habit and
white mantle. If the husband dies first, he must leave his portion of
the patrimony to the brethren, and the wife shall have her maintenance
out of the residue, and let her depart therewith; for we consider it
most improper that such women should remain in one and the same house
with the brethren who have promised chastity unto God.
“LVI. It is moreover exceedingly dangerous to join sisters with you in
your holy profession, for the ancient enemy hath drawn many away from
the right path to paradise through the society of women: therefore,
dear brothers, that the flower of righteousness may always flourish
amongst you, let this custom from henceforth be utterly done away with.
“LXIV. The brothers who are journeying through different provinces
should observe the rule, so far as they are able, in their meat
and drink, and let them attend to it in other matters, and live
irreproachably, that they may get a good name out of doors. Let them
not tarnish their religious purpose either by word or deed; let them
afford to all with whom they may be associated, an example of wisdom,
and a perseverance in all good works. Let him with whom they lodge be
a man of the best repute, and, if it be possible, let not the house of
the host on that night be without a light, lest the dark enemy (from
whom God preserve us) should find some opportunity.
“LXVIII. Care must be taken that no brother, powerful or weak, strong
or feeble, desirous of exalting himself, becoming proud by degrees,
or defending his own fault, remain unchastened. If he showeth a
disposition to amend, let a stricter system of correction be added: but
if by godly admonition and earnest reasoning he will not be amended,
but will go on more and more lifting himself up with pride, then let
him be cast out of the holy flock in obedience to the apostle, _Take
away evil from among you._ It is necessary that from the society of
the Faithful Brothers the dying sheep be removed. But let the Master,
who _ought to hold the staff and the rod in his hand_, that is to say,
the staff that he may support the infirmities of the weak, and the
rod that he may with the zeal of rectitude strike down the vices of
delinquents; let him study, with the counsel of the patriarch and with
spiritual circumspection, to act so that, as blessed Maximus saith, The
sinner be not encouraged by easy lenity, nor hardened in his iniquity
by immoderate severity. LASTLY. We hold it dangerous to all religion
to gaze too much on the countenance of women; and therefore no brother
shall presume to kiss neither widow, nor virgin, nor mother, nor
sister, nor aunt, nor any other woman. Let the knighthood of Christ
shun _feminine kisses_, through which men have very often been drawn
into danger, so that each, with a pure conscience and secure life, may
be able to walk everlastingly in the sight of God.”
After the confirmation by a Papal bull of the rules and statutes of
the order, Hugh de Payens proceeded to France, and from thence he came
to England, and the following account is given of his arrival, in the
Saxon chronicle. “This same year, (A. D. 1128,) Hugh of the Temple
came from Jerusalem to the king in Normandy, and the king received him
with much honour, and gave him much treasure in gold and silver, and
afterwards he sent him into England, and there he was well received
by all good men, and all gave him treasure, and in Scotland also, and
they sent in all a great sum in gold and silver by him to Jerusalem,
and there went with him and after him so great a number as never before
since the days of Pope Urban.”[5] Grants of lands, as well as of money,
were at the same time made to Hugh de Payens and his brethren, some
of which were shortly afterwards confirmed by King Stephen on his
accession to the throne, (A. D. 1135.) Among these is a grant of the
manor of Bistelesham made to the Templars by Count Robert de Ferrara,
and a grant of the church of Langeforde in Bedfordshire made by Simon
de Wahull, and Sibylla his wife, and Walter their son.
Hugh de Payens, before his departure, placed a Knight Templar at the
head of the order in this country, who was called the Prior of the
Temple, and was the procurator and vicegerent of the Master. It was
his duty to manage the estates granted to the fraternity, and to
transmit the revenues to Jerusalem. He was also delegated with the
power of admitting members into the order, subject to the control and
direction of the Master, and was to provide means of transport for such
newly-admitted brethren to the far east, to enable them to fulfil the
duties of their profession. As the houses of the Temple increased in
number in England, sub-priors came to be appointed, and the superior
of the order in this country was then called the Grand Prior, and
afterwards Master of the Temple.
An astonishing enthusiasm was excited throughout Christendom in behalf
of the Templars; princes and nobles, sovereigns and their subjects,
vied with each other in heaping gifts and benefits upon them, and
scarce a will of importance was made without an article in it in their
favour. Many illustrious persons on their deathbeds took the vows, that
they might be buried in the habit of the order; and sovereign princes,
quitting the government of their kingdoms, enrolled themselves amongst
the holy fraternity, and bequeathed even their dominions to the Master
and the brethren of the Temple. St. Bernard, at the request of Hugh de
Payens, took up his powerful pen in their behalf. In a famous discourse
“In praise of the New Chivalry,” the holy abbot sets forth, in eloquent
and enthusiastic terms, the spiritual advantages and blessings enjoyed
by the military friars of the Temple over all other warriors. He draws
a curious picture of the relative situations and circumstances of the
_secular_ soldiery and the soldiery of CHRIST, and shows how different
in the sight of God are the bloodshed and slaughter perpetrated by
the one, from that committed by the other. Addressing himself to the
secular soldiers he says “Ye cover your horses with silken trappings,
and I know not how much fine cloth hangs pendent from your coats of
mail. Ye paint your spears, shields, and saddles; your bridles and
spurs are adorned on all sides with gold, and silver, and gems, and
with all this pomp, with a shameful fury and a reckless insensibility,
ye rush on to death. Are these military ensigns, or are they not rather
the garnishments of women? Can it happen that the sharp-pointed sword
of the enemy will respect gold, will it spare gems, will it be unable
to penetrate the silken garment? Lastly, as ye yourselves have often
experienced, three things are indispensably necessary to the success
of the soldier; he must be bold, active, and circumspect; quick in
running, prompt in striking; ye, however, to the disgust of the eye,
nourish your hair after the manner of women, ye gather around your
footsteps long and flowing vestures, ye bury up your delicate and
tender hands in ample and wide-spreading sleeves. Among you, indeed,
nought provoketh war or awakeneth strife, but either an irrational
impulse of anger, or an insane lust of glory, or the covetous desire of
possessing another man’s lands and possessions. In such causes it is
neither safe to slay nor to be slain.
“And now we will briefly display the mode of life of the Knights of
Christ, such as it is in the field and in the convent, by which means
it will be made plainly manifest to what extent the soldiery of GOD
and the soldiery of the WORLD differ from one another.... The soldiers
of Christ live together in common in an agreeable but frugal manner,
without wives, and without children; and that nothing may be wanting to
evangelical perfection, they dwell together without separate property
of any kind, in one house, under one rule, careful to preserve the
unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. You may say, that to the
whole multitude there is but one heart and one soul, as each one in
no respect followeth after his own will or desire, but is diligent to
do the will of the Master. They are never idle nor rambling abroad,
but when they are not in the field, that they may not eat their bread
in idleness, they are fitting and repairing their armour and their
clothing, or employing themselves in such occupations as the will of
the Master requireth, or their common necessities render expedient.
Among them there is no distinction of persons; respect is paid to the
best and most virtuous, not the most noble. They participate in each
other’s honour, they bear one another’s burthens, that they may fulfil
the law of Christ. An insolent expression, a useless undertaking,
immoderate laughter, the least murmur or whispering, if found out,
passeth not without severe rebuke. They detest cards and dice, they
shun the sports of the field, and take no delight in that ludicrous
catching of birds, (hawking,) which men are wont to indulge in.
Jesters, and soothsayers, and storytellers, scurrilous songs, shows and
games, they contemptuously despise and abominate as vanities and mad
follies. They cut their hair, knowing that, according to the apostle,
it is not seemly in a man to have long hair. They are never combed,
seldom washed, but appear rather with rough neglected hair, foul with
dust, and with skins browned by the sun and their coats of mail.
Moreover, on the approach of battle they fortify themselves with faith
within, and with steel without, and not with gold, so that armed and
not adorned, they may strike terror into the enemy, rather than awaken
his lust of plunder. They strive earnestly to possess strong and swift
horses, but not garnished with ornaments or decked with trappings,
thinking of battle and of victory, and not of pomp and show, and
studying to inspire fear rather than admiration....
“There is a Temple at Jerusalem in which they dwell together, unequal,
it is true, as a building, to that ancient and most famous one of
Solomon, but not inferior in glory. For truly, the entire magnificence
of that consisted in corrupt things, in gold and silver, in carved
stone, and in a variety of woods; but the whole beauty of this resteth
in the adornment of an agreeable conversation, in the godly devotion
of its inmates, and their beautifully-ordered mode of life. That was
admired for its various external beauties, this is venerated for its
different virtues and sacred actions, as becomes the sanctity of the
house of God, who delighteth not so much in polished marbles as in
well-ordered behaviour, and regardeth pure minds more than gilded
walls. The face likewise of this Temple is adorned with arms, not
with gems, and the wall, instead of the ancient golden chapiters, is
covered around with pendent shields. Instead of the ancient candelabra,
censers, and lavers, the house is on all sides furnished with bridles,
saddles, and lances, all which plainly demonstrate that the soldiers
burn with the same zeal for the house of God, as that which formerly
animated their great leader, when, vehemently enraged, he entered into
the Temple, and with that most sacred hand, armed not with steel,
but with a scourge which he had made of small thongs, drove out the
merchants, poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables of
them that sold doves; most indignantly condemning the pollution of the
house of prayer, by the making of it a place of merchandize.”
St. Bernard then congratulates Jerusalem on the advent of the soldiers
of Christ, “Be joyful, O Jerusalem,” says he, in the words of the
prophet Isaiah, “and know that the time of thy visitation hath
arrived. Arise now, shake thyself from the dust, &c., &c. HAIL, O
holy city, hallowed by the tabernacle of the Most High! HAIL, city of
the great King, wherein so many wonderful and welcome miracles have
been perpetually displayed. HAIL, mistress of the nations, princess
of provinces, possession of patriarchs, mother of the prophets and
apostles, initiatress of the faith, glory of the christian people,
whom God hath on that account always from the beginning permitted to
be visited with affliction, that thou mightest thus be the occasion of
virtue as well as of salvation to brave men. HAIL, land of promise,
which, formerly flowing only with milk and honey for thy possessors,
now stretchest forth the food of life, and the means of salvation
to the entire world. Most excellent and happy land, I say, which,
receiving the celestial grain from the recess of the paternal heart,
in that most fruitful bosom of thine, has produced such rich harvests
of martyrs from the heavenly seed, and whose fertile soil has no less
manifoldly engendered fruit a thirtieth, sixtieth, and a hundredfold
in the remaining race of all the faithful throughout the entire world.
Whence most agreeably satiated, and most abundantly crammed with the
great store of thy pleasantness, those who have seen thee diffuse
around them in every place the remembrance of thy abundant sweetness,
and tell of the magnificence of thy glory to the very end of the earth
to those who have not seen thee, and relate the wonderful things that
are done in thee.
“Glorious things are spoken concerning thee, CITY OF GOD!”
CHAPTER II.
Hugh de Payens returns to Palestine--His death--Robert de Craon
made Master--The second Crusade--The Templars assume the Red
Cross--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 confers vast privileges upon the
Templars--The knights, priests, and serving brethren of the
order--Their religious and military enthusiasm--Their war banner
called _Beauseant_--Rise of the rival religio-military order
of the Hospital of St. John--Contests between Saladin and the
Templars--Imprisonment and death of the Grand Master--The new
Master and the Patriarch go to England for succour--Consecration of
the Temple church at London.
“We heard the _tecbir_, so the Arabs call
Their shout of onset, when with loud appeal
They challenge _heaven_, as if commanding conquest.”
Hugh de Payens, having now laid in Europe the foundations of the great
monastic and military institution of the Temple, which was destined
shortly to spread its ramifications to the remotest quarters of
Christendom, returned to Palestine at the head of a valiant band of
newly-elected Templars, drawn principally from England and France. On
their arrival at Jerusalem they were received with great distinction
by the king, the clergy, and the barons of the Latin kingdom. Hugh
de Payens died, however, shortly after his return, and was succeeded
(A. D. 1136) by the Lord Robert, surnamed the Burgundian, (son-in-law
of Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury,) who, after the death of his
wife, had taken the vows and the habit of the Templars.[6] At this
period the fierce religious and military enthusiasm of the Mussulmen
had been again aroused by the warlike Zinghis, and his son Noureddin,
two of the most famous chieftains of the age. The one was named
_Emod-ed-deen_, “Pillar of religion;” and the other _Nour-ed-deen_,
“Light of Religion,” vulgarly, Noureddin. The Templars were worsted
by overpowering numbers. The latin kingdom of Jerusalem was shaken to
its foundations, and the oriental clergy in trepidation and alarm sent
urgent letters to the Pope for assistance.
The Lord Robert, Master of the Temple, had at this period (A. D. 1146)
been succeeded by Everard des Barres, Prior of France, who convened
a general chapter of the order at Paris, which was attended by Pope
Eugenius the Third, Louis the Seventh, king of France, and many
prelates, princes, and nobles, from all parts of Christendom. The
second crusade was there arranged, and the Templars, with the sanction
of the Pope, assumed the blood-red cross, the symbol of martyrdom, as
the distinguishing badge of the order, which was appointed to be worn
on their habits and mantles on the left side of the breast over the
heart, whence they came afterwards to be known by the name of the _Red
Friars_ and the _Red Cross Knights_. At this famous assembly various
donations were made to the Templars, to enable them to provide more
effectually for the defence of the Holy Land. Bernard Baliol, through
love of God and for the good of his soul, granted them his estate
of Wedelee, in Hertfordshire, which afterwards formed part of the
preceptory of Temple Dynnesley. This grant is expressed to be made at
the chapter held at Easter, in Paris, in the presence of the Pope, the
king of France, several archbishops, and one hundred and thirty Knights
Templars clad in white mantles.[7]
Brother Everard des Barres, the newly-elected Master of the Temple,
having collected together all the brethren from the western provinces,
joined the second crusade to Palestine. During the march through Asia
Minor, the rear of the christian army was protected by the Templars,
who greatly signalized themselves on every occasion. Odo of Deuil, or
Diagolum, the chaplain of King Louis, and his constant attendant upon
this expedition, informs us that the king loved to see the frugality
and simplicity of the Templars, and to imitate it; he praised their
union and disinterestedness, admired above all things the attention
they paid to their accoutrements, and their care in husbanding and
preserving their equipage and munitions of war, and proposed them as a
model to the rest of the army.[8]
Conrad, emperor of Germany, had preceded King Louis at the head of a
powerful army, which was cut to pieces by the infidels in the north
of Asia; he fled to Constantinople, embarked on board some merchant
vessels, and arrived with only a few attendants at Jerusalem, where
he was received and entertained by the Templars, and was lodged in
the Temple in the Holy City. Shortly afterwards King Louis arrived,
accompanied by the new Master of the Temple, Everard des Barres; and
the Templars now unfolded for the first time the red-cross banner
in the field of battle. This was a white standard made of woollen
stuff, having in the centre of it the blood-red cross granted by Pope
Eugenius. The two monarchs, Louis and Conrad, took the field, supported
by the Templars, and laid siege to the magnificent city of Damascus,
“the Queen of Syria,” which was defended by the great Noureddin, “Light
of religion,” and his brother _Saif-eddin_, “Sword of the faith.”
The services rendered by the Templars are thus gratefully recorded in
the following letter sent by Louis, the French king, to his minister
and vicegerent, the famous Suger, abbot of St. Denis: “I cannot imagine
how we could have subsisted for even the smallest space of time in
these parts, had it not been for their (the Templars’) support and
assistance, which have never failed me from the first day I set foot in
these lands up to the time of my despatching this letter--a succour
ably afforded and generously persevered in. I therefore earnestly
beseech you, that as these brothers of the Temple have hitherto
been blessed with the love of God, so now they may be gladdened and
sustained by our love and favour. I have to inform you that they have
lent me a considerable sum of money, which must be repaid to them
quickly, that their house may not suffer, and that I may keep my
word....”[9]
Among the English nobility who enlisted in the second crusade were the
two renowned warriors, Roger de Mowbray and William de Warrenne. Roger
de Mowbray was one of the most powerful and warlike of the barons of
England, and was one of the victorious leaders at the famous battle of
the standard: he marched with King Louis to Palestine; fought under
the banners of the Temple against the infidels, and, smitten with
admiration of the piety and valour of the holy warriors of the order,
he gave them, on his return to England, many valuable estates and
possessions. Among these were the manors of Kileby and Witheley, divers
lands in the isle of Axholme, the town of Balshall in the county of
Warwick, and various places in Yorkshire: and so munificent were his
donations, that the Templars conceded to him and to his heirs various
special privileges. About the same period, Stephen, King of England,
granted and confirmed “to God and the blessed Virgin Mary, and to the
brethren of the Knighthood of the Temple of Solomon at Jerusalem,
all the manor of Cressynge, with the advowson of the church of the
same manor, and also the manors of Egle and Witham.” Queen Matilda,
likewise, granted them the manor of Covele or Cowley in Oxfordshire,
two mills in the same county, common of pasture in Shotover forest, and
the church of Stretton in Rutland. Ralph de Hastings and William de
Hastings also gave to the Templars, in the same reign, (A. D. 1152,)
lands at Hurst and Wyxham in Yorkshire, afterwards formed into the
preceptory of Temple Hurst. William Asheby granted them the estate
whereon the house and church of Temple Bruere were afterwards erected;
and the order continued rapidly to increase in power and wealth in
England and in all parts of Europe, through the charitable donations of
pious Christians.[10]
After the miserable failure of the second crusade, brother Everard
des Barres, the Master of the Temple, returned to Paris, with his
friend and patron Louis, the French king; and the Templars, deprived
of their chief, were now left, alone and unaided, to withstand the
victorious career of the fanatical Mussulmen. Their miserable situation
is pourtrayed in a melancholy letter from the treasurer of the order,
written to the Master, Everard des Barres, during his sojourn at the
court of the king of France, informing him of the slaughter of the
prince of Antioch and all his nobility. “We conjure you,” says he, “to
bring with you from beyond sea all our knights and serving brothers
capable of bearing arms. Perchance, alas! with all your diligence, you
may not find one of us alive. Use, therefore, all imaginable celerity;
pray forget not the necessities of our house: they are such that no
tongue can express them. It is also of the last importance to announce
to the Pope, to the king of France, and to all the princes and prelates
of Europe, the approaching desolation of the Holy Land, to the intent
that they succour us in person, or send us subsidies.”
The Master of the Temple, however, instead of proceeding to Palestine,
abdicated his authority, and entered into the monastery of Clairvaux,
where he devoted the remainder of his days to the most rigorous
penance and mortification. He was succeeded (A. D. 1151) by Bernard de
Tremelay, a nobleman of an illustrious family in Burgundy, in France,
and a valiant and experienced soldier.[11]
Shortly after his accession to power, the infidels crossed the
Jordan, and advanced within sight of Jerusalem. Their banners waved
on the summit of the Mount of Olives, and the warlike sound of their
kettle-drums and trumpets was heard within the sacred precincts of the
holy city. They encamped on the mount over against the Temple; and had
the satisfaction of regarding from a distance the _Beit Allah_, or
Temple of the Lord, their holy house of prayer; but in a night attack
they were defeated with terrible slaughter, and were pursued all the
way to the Jordan, five thousand of their number being left dead on the
plain.
On the 20th of April, A. D. 1153, the Templars lost their great patron
Saint Bernard, who died in the sixty-third year of his age. On his
deathbed he wrote three letters in behalf of the order. The first
was addressed to the patriarch of Antioch, exhorting him to protect
and encourage the Templars, a thing which the holy abbot assures him
will prove most acceptable to God and man. The second was written to
Melesinda, queen of Jerusalem, praising her majesty for the favour
shown by her to the brethren of the order; and the third, addressed to
Brother André de Montbard, a Knight Templar, conveys the affectionate
salutations of St. Bernard to the Master and brethren, to whose prayers
he recommends himself.
The same year the Master of the Temple perished at the head of his
knights whilst attempting to carry the important city of Ascalon by
storm. Passing through a breach made in the walls, he penetrated into
the centre of the town, and was there surrounded and overpowered.
The dead bodies of the Master and his ill-fated knights were exposed
in triumph from the walls; and, according to the testimony of an
eye-witness, not a single Templar escaped.
De Tremelay was succeeded (A. D. 1154) by Brother Bertrand de
Blanquefort, a knight of a noble family of Guienne, called by William
of Tyre a pious and God-fearing man. On Tuesday, June 19, A. D. 1156,
the Templars were drawn into an ambuscade whilst marching with Baldwin,
king of Jerusalem, near Tiberias, three hundred of the brethren were
slain on the field of battle, and eighty-seven fell into the hands of
the enemy, among whom was Bertrand de Blanquefort himself, and Brother
Odo, marshal of the kingdom. Shortly afterwards, a small band of them
captured a large detachment of Saracens; and in a night attack on the
camp of Noureddin, they compelled that famous chieftain to fly, without
arms and half-naked, from the field of battle. In this last affair the
name of Robert Mansel, an Englishman, and Gilbert de Lacy, preceptor of
the Temple of Tripoli, are honourably mentioned.[12]
The fiery zeal and warlike enthusiasm of the Templars were equalled,
if not surpassed, by the stern fanaticism and religious ardour of the
followers of Mahomet. “Noureddin fought,” says his oriental biographer,
“like the meanest of his soldiers, saying, ‘Alas! it is now a long time
that I have been seeking martyrdom without being able to obtain it.’
The Imaum Koteb-ed-din, hearing him on one occasion utter these words,
exclaimed, ‘In the name of God do not put your life in danger, do not
thus expose Islam and the Moslems. Thou art their stay and support,
and if (but God preserve us therefrom) thou shouldest be slain, we
are all undone.’ ‘Ah! Koteb-ed-deen,’ said he, ‘what hast thou said,
who can save _Islam_ and our country, but that great God who has no
equal?’ ‘What,’ said he, on another occasion, ‘do we not look to the
security of our houses against robbers and plunderers, and shall we not
defend RELIGION?’”[13] Like the Templars, Noureddin fought constantly
with spiritual and with carnal weapons. He resisted the world and
its temptations, by fasting and prayer, and by the daily exercise of
the moral and religious duties and virtues inculcated in the Koran.
He fought with the sword against the foes of Islam, and employed
his whole energies, to the last hour of his life in the enthusiastic
and fanatic struggle for the recovery of Jerusalem.[14] In his camp,
all profane and frivolous conversation was severely prohibited; the
exercises of religion were assiduously practised, and the intervals of
action were employed in prayer, meditation, and the study of the Koran.
“The sword,” says the prophet Mahomet, in that remarkable book, “is the
key of heaven and of hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a
night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting and
of prayer. Whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven him. At
the day of judgment his wounds will be resplendent as vermillion, and
odoriferous as musk, and the loss of limbs shall be supplied by the
wings of angels and cherubims.”
Among the many instances of the fanatical ardour of the Moslem
warriors, are the following, extracted from the history of _Abu
Abdollah Alwakidi_, Cadi of Bagdad. “Methinks,” said a valiant Saracen
youth, in the heat of battle--“methinks I see the black-eyed girls
looking upon me, one of whom, should she appear in this world, all
mankind would die for love of her; and I see in the hand of one of them
a handkerchief of green silk, and a cap made of precious stones, and
she beckons me, and calls out, Come hither quickly, for I love thee.”
With these words, charging the Christian host, he made havoc wherever
he went, until at last he was struck down by a javelin. “It is not,”
said another dying Arabian warrior, when he embraced for the last time
his sister and mother--“it is not the fading pleasure of this world
that has prompted me to devote my life in the cause of RELIGION, I
seek the favour of GOD and his APOSTLE, and I have heard from one of
the companions of the prophet, that the spirits of the martyrs will be
lodged in the crops of green birds who taste the fruits and drink of
the waters of paradise. Farewell: we shall meet again among the groves
and fountains which God has prepared for his elect.”[15]
The Master of the Temple, Brother Bertrand de Blanquefort, was
liberated from captivity at the instance of Manuel Comnenus, Emperor
of Constantinople. After his release, he wrote several letters to
Louis VII., king of France, describing the condition and prospects
of the Holy Land: the increasing power and boldness of the infidels;
and the ruin and desolation caused by a dreadful earthquake, which
had overthrown numerous castles, prostrated the walls and defences of
several towns, and swallowed up the dwellings of the inhabitants. “The
persecutors of the church,” says he, “hasten to avail themselves of
our misfortunes; they gather themselves together from the ends of the
earth, and come forth as one man against the sanctuary of God.”
It was during his mastership, that Geoffrey, the Knight Templar, and
Hugh of Cæsarea, were sent on an embassy into Egypt, and had their
famous interview with the Caliph. They were introduced into the palace
of the Fatimites through a series of gloomy passages and glittering
porticos, amid the warbling of birds and the murmur of fountains; the
scene was enriched by a display of costly furniture and rare animals;
and the long order of unfolding doors was guarded by black soldiers and
domestic eunuchs. The sanctuary of the presence chamber was veiled with
a curtain, and the vizier who conducted the ambassadors laid aside his
scimitar, and prostrated himself three times on the ground; the veil
was then removed, and they saw the Commander of the Faithful.[16]
Brother Bertrand de Blanquefort, in his letters to the king of France,
gives an account of the military operations undertaken by the order of
the Temple in Egypt, and of the capture of the populous and important
city of Belbeis, the ancient Pelusium.[17] During the absence of the
Master with the greater part of the fraternity on that expedition,
the sultan Noureddin invaded Palestine; he defeated with terrible
slaughter the serving brethren and Turcopoles, or light horse of the
order, who remained to defend the country, and sixty of the knights who
commanded them were left dead on the plain. Amalric, king of Jerusalem,
the successor of Baldwin the Third, in a letter “to his dear friend
and father,” Louis the Seventh, king of France, beseeches the good
offices of that monarch in behalf of all the devout Christians of the
Holy Land; “but above all,” says he, “we earnestly entreat your Majesty
constantly to extend to the utmost your favour and regard to the
Brothers of the Temple, who continually render up their lives for God
and the faith, and through whom we do the little that we are able to
effect, for in them indeed, after God, is placed the entire reliance of
all those in the eastern regions who tread in the right path.”[18] The
Master, Brother Bertrand de Blanquefort, was succeeded, (A. D. 1167,)
by Philip of Naplous, the first Master of the Temple who had been born
in Palestine. He had been Lord of the fortresses of Krak and Montreal
in Arabia Petræa, and took the vows and the habit of the order of the
Temple after the death of his wife.[19]
We must now pause to take a glance at the rise of another great
religio-military institution which, from henceforth, takes a leading
part in the defence of the Latin kingdom. In the eleventh century, when
pilgrimages to Jerusalem had greatly increased, some Italian merchants
of Amalfi, who carried on a lucrative trade with Palestine, purchased
of the Caliph _Monstasserbillah_, a piece of ground in the Christian
quarter of the Holy City, near the church of the Resurrection, whereon
two hospitals were constructed, the one being appropriated for the
reception of male pilgrims, and the other for females. Several pious
and charitable Christians, chiefly from Europe, devoted themselves in
these hospitals to constant attendance upon the sick and destitute.
Two chapels were erected, the one annexed to the female establishment
being dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, and the other to St. John the
Eleemosynary, a canonized patriarch of Alexandria, remarkable for his
exceeding charity. The pious and kind-hearted people who here attended
upon the sick pilgrims, clothed the naked and fed the hungry, were
called “The Hospitallers of St. John.” On the conquest of Jerusalem
by the Crusaders, these charitable persons were naturally regarded
with the greatest esteem and reverence by their fellow-christians
from the west; many of the soldiers of the cross, smitten with their
piety and zeal, desired to participate in their good offices, and
the Hospitallers, animated by the religious enthusiasm of the day,
determined to renounce the world, and devote the remainder of their
lives to pious duties and constant attendance upon the sick. They took
the customary monastic vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty, and
assumed as their distinguishing habit a _black_ mantle with a _white_
cross on the breast. Various lands and possessions were granted them by
the lords and princes of the Crusade, both in Palestine and in Europe,
and the order of the hospital of St. John speedily became a great and
powerful institution.
Gerard, a native of Provence, was at this period at the head of the
society, with the title of “Guardian of the Poor.” He was succeeded
(A. D. 1118) by Raymond Dupuy, a knight of Dauphiné, who drew up a
series of rules for the direction and government of his brethren. In
these rules no traces are discoverable of the military spirit which
afterwards animated the order of the Hospital of St. John. The first
authentic notice of an intention on the part of the Hospitallers to
occupy themselves with military matters, occurs in the bull of Pope
Innocent the Second, dated A. D. 1130. This bull is addressed to the
archbishops, bishops, and clergy of the church universal, and informs
them that the Hospitallers then retained, at their own expense, a
body of horsemen and foot soldiers, to defend the pilgrims in going
to and returning from the holy places; the pope observes that the
funds of the hospital were insufficient to enable them effectually
to fulfil the pious and holy task, and he exhorts the archbishops,
bishops, and clergy, to minister to the necessities of the order out of
their abundant property. The Hospitallers consequently at this period
had resolved to add the task of _protecting_ to that of tending and
relieving pilgrims.
After the accession (A. D. 1168) of Gilbert d’Assalit to the
guardianship of the Hospital--a man described by De Vertot as “bold
and enterprising, and of an extravagant genius”--a military spirit
was infused into the Hospitallers, which speedily predominated over
their pious and charitable zeal in attending upon the poor and the
sick. Gilbert d’Assalit was the friend and confidant of Amalric,
king of Jerusalem, and planned with that monarch a wicked invasion
of Egypt in defiance of treaties. The Master of the Temple being
consulted concerning the expedition, flatly refused to have anything
to do with it, or to allow a single brother of the order of the
Temple to accompany the king in arms: “For it appeared a hard matter
to the Templars,” says William of Tyre, “to wage war without cause,
in defiance of treaties, and against all honour and conscience, upon
a friendly nation, preserving faith with us, and relying on our own
faith.” Gilbert d’Assalit consequently determined to obtain for the
king from his own brethren that aid which the Templars denied; and to
tempt the Hospitallers to arm themselves generally as a great military
society, in imitation of the Templars, and join the expedition to
Egypt, Gilbert d’Assalit was authorised to promise them in the name of
the king, the possession of the wealthy and important city of Belbeis,
the ancient Pelusium, in perpetual sovereignty.
According to De Vertot, the senior Hospitallers were greatly averse
to the military projects of their chief: “They urged,” says he, “that
they were a religious order, and that the church had not put arms into
their hands to make conquests;” but the younger and more ardent of
the brethren, burning to exchange the monotonous life of the cloister
for the enterprise and activity of the camp, received the proposals
of their superior with enthusiasm, and a majority of the chapter
decided in favour of the plans and projects of their Guardian. They
authorised him to borrow money of the Florentine and Genoese merchants,
to take hired soldiers into the pay of the order, and to organize the
Hospitallers as a great military society.
It was in the first year of the government of Philip of Naplous (A. D.
1168) that the king of Jerusalem and the Hospitallers marched
forth upon their memorable and unfortunate expedition. The Egyptians
were taken completely by surprise; the city of Belbeis was carried by
assault, and the defenceless inhabitants were barbarously massacred.
The cruelty and the injustice of the Christians, however, speedily
met with condign punishment. The king of Jerusalem was driven back
into Palestine; Belbeis was abandoned with precipitation; and the
Hospitallers fled before the infidels in sorrow and disappointment to
Jerusalem. There they vented their indignation and chagrin upon the
unfortunate Gilbert d’Assalit, their superior, who had got the order
into debt to the extent of 100,000 pieces of gold; they compelled him
to resign his authority, and the unfortunate guardian of the hospital
fled from Palestine to England, and was drowned in the Channel. From
this period, however, the character of the order of the Hospital of
St. John was entirely changed: the Hospitallers appear henceforth as a
great military body; their superior styles himself Master, and leads
in person the brethren into the field of battle. Attendance upon the
poor and the sick still continued, indeed, one of the duties of the
fraternity, but it must have been feebly exercised amid the clash of
arms and the excitement of war.[20]
The Grand Master of the Temple, Philip of Naplous, resigned his
authority after a short government of three years, and was succeeded
(A. D. 1170) by Brother Odo de St. Amand, a proud and fiery warrior,
of undaunted courage and resolution; having, according to William,
Archbishop of Tyre, the fear neither of God nor of man before his
eyes.[21] It was during his Grand Mastership (A. D. 1172) that the
Knight Templar Walter du Mesnil slew an envoy or minister of the
assassins. These were an odious religious sect, settled in the
fastnesses of the mountains above Tripoli, and supposed to be descended
from the Ismaelians of Persia. They devoted their souls and bodies in
blind obedience to a chief who is called by the writers of the Crusades
“the old man of the mountain,” and were employed by him in the most
extensive system of murder and assassination known in the history of
the world. Both Christian and Moslem writers enumerate with horror the
many illustrious victims that fell beneath their daggers. They assumed
all shapes and disguises for the furtherance of their deadly designs,
and carried, in general, no arms except a small poniard concealed in
the folds of their dress, called in the Persian tongue _hassissin_,
whence these wretches were called _assassins_, their chief the prince
of the assassins; and the word itself, in all its odious import, has
passed into most European languages.[22]
Raimond, son of the count of Tripoli, had been slain by these fanatics
whilst kneeling at the foot of the altar in the church of the Blessed
Virgin at Carchusa or Tortosa; the Templars flew to arms to avenge
his death; they penetrated into the fastnesses and strongholds of
“the mountain chief,” and at last compelled him to purchase peace
by the payment of an annual tribute of two thousand crowns into the
treasury of the order. In the ninth year of Amalric’s reign, _Sinan
Ben Suleiman_, imaun of the assassins, sent a trusty counsellor to
Jerusalem, offering, in the name of himself and his people, to embrace
the christian religion, provided the Templars would release them from
the tribute money. The proposition was favourably received; the envoy
was honourably entertained for some days, and on his departure he was
furnished by the king with a guide and an escort to conduct him in
safety to the frontier. The Ismaelite had reached the borders of the
Latin kingdom, and was almost in sight of the castles of his brethren,
when he was slain by the Knight Templar Walter du Mesnil, who attacked
the escort with a body of armed followers. The king of Jerusalem
assembled the barons of the kingdom at Sidon to determine on the best
means of obtaining satisfaction for the injury; and it was determined
that two of their number should proceed to Odo de St. Amand to demand
the surrender of the criminal. The haughty Master of the Temple bade
them inform his majesty the king, that the members of the order were
not subject to his jurisdiction, nor to that of his officers; that the
Templars acknowledged no earthly superior except the pope; and that
to the holy pontiff alone belonged the cognizance of the offence. He
declared, however, that the crime should meet with due punishment: that
he had caused the criminal to be arrested and put in irons, and would
forthwith send him to Rome, but till judgment was given in his case, he
forbade all persons of whatsoever degree to meddle with him.[23]
The Templars were now destined to meet with a more formidable opponent
than any they had hitherto encountered in the field, one who was again
to cause the _crescent_ to triumph over the CROSS, and to plant the
standard of the prophet upon the walls of the holy city. When the
Fatimite caliph had received intelligence of king Amalric’s invasion of
Egypt, (ante p. 36) he sent the hair of his women, one of the greatest
tokens of distress known in the East, to the pious Noureddin, who
immediately despatched a body of troops to his assistance, headed by
Sheerkoh, and his nephew, _Youseef-Ben-Acoub-Ben-Schadi_ the famous
Saladin. Sheerkoh died immediately after his arrival, and Youseef
succeeded to his command, and was appointed vizier of the caliph. He
had passed his youth in pleasure and debauchery, sloth and indolence,
but as soon as he grasped the power of the sword, and obtained the
command of armies, he renounced the pleasures of the world, and assumed
the character of a saint. His dress was a coarse-woollen garment;
water was his only drink; and he carefully abstained from everything
disapproved of by the Mussulman religion. Five times each day he
prostrated himself in public prayer, surrounded by his friends and
followers, and his demeanour became grave, serious, and thoughtful. His
nights were often spent in watching and meditation, he was diligent in
fasting and in the study of the Koran, and his admiring brethren gave
him the name of _Salah-ed-deen_, “Integrity of Religion,” vulgarly
called Saladin.
Having aroused the religious enthusiasm of the Moslems he proceeded to
take vengeance upon the Christians for their perfidious invasion of
Egypt. He assembled an army of forty thousand horse and foot, crossed
the desert and besieged the fortified city of Gaza, which belonged to
the Knights Templars, and was considered to be the key of Palestine
towards Egypt. The luxuriant gardens, the palm and olive groves of
this city of the wilderness were destroyed by the wild cavalry of
the desert, and the innumerable tents of the Arab host were thickly
clustered on the neighbouring sand-hills. The warlike monks of the
Temple in their turn fasted and prayed, and invoked the aid of the God
of battles; they made a desperate defence, and in an unexpected sally
upon the enemy’s camp, they performed such prodigies of valour, that
Saladin, despairing of being able to take the place, abandoned the
siege, and retired into Egypt.[24]
On the death of Noureddin, sultan of Damascus, (A. D. 1175,) Saladin
raised himself to the sovereignty both of Egypt and of Syria. He
again levied an immense army, crossed the desert, and planted the
standard of Mahomet upon the sacred territory of Palestine. His forces
were composed of twenty-six thousand light infantry, eight thousand
horsemen, a host of archers and spearmen mounted on dromedaries,
eighteen thousand common soldiers, and a body-guard of a thousand
Mamlook emirs, clothed in yellow cloaks, worn over their shirts of
mail. In the great battle fought near Ascalon, (Nov. 1, A. D. 1177,)
Odo de St. Amand, the Master of the Temple, at the head of eighty of
his knights, broke through the guard of Mamlooks, slew their commander,
and penetrated to the imperial tent, from whence Saladin escaped with
great difficulty, almost naked, upon a fleet dromedary. The year
following, the Templars, in order to protect and cover the road leading
from Damascus to Jerusalem, commenced the erection of a strong fortress
on the northern frontier of the Latin kingdom, close to Jacob’s ford on
the river Jordan, at the spot where now stands _Djiss’r Beni Yakoob_,
“the bridge of the sons of Jacob.” Saladin advanced at the head of his
forces to oppose the progress of the work, and the king of Jerusalem
and all the chivalry of the Latin kingdom were gathered together in the
plain to protect the Templars and their workmen. In a general action
the entire army of the cross was defeated with immense slaughter. The
Templars and the Hospitallers, with the count of Tripoli, stood firm
on the summit of a small hillock, and for a long time presented a bold
and undaunted front to the victorious enemy. The count of Tripoli at
last cut his way through the infidels, and fled to Tyre; the Master of
the Hospital, after seeing most of his brethren slain, swam across the
Jordan, and fled, covered with wounds, to the castle of Beaufort; and
the Templars after fighting with their accustomed zeal and fanaticism
around the red-cross banner, which waved to the last over the field of
blood, were all killed or taken prisoners, and the Master, Odo de St.
Amand, fell alive into the hands of the enemy. Saladin then laid siege
to the newly-erected fortress, which was defended by thick walls,
flanked with large towers furnished with military engines, and after
a gallant resistance on the part of the garrison, it was set on fire,
and then stormed. “The Templars,” says Abulpharadge, “flung themselves
some into the fire, where they were burned, some cast themselves into
the Jordan, some jumped down from the walls on to the rocks, and were
dashed to pieces: thus were slain the enemy.” The fortress was reduced
to a heap of ruins, and the enraged sultan, it is said, ordered all
the Templars taken in the place to be sawn in two, excepting the most
distinguished of the knights, who were reserved for a ransom, and were
sent in chains to Aleppo. Saladin offered Odo de St. Amand his liberty
in exchange for the freedom of his own nephew, who was a prisoner in
the hands of the Templars; but the Master of the Temple haughtily
replied, that he would never, by his example, encourage any of his
knights to be mean enough to surrender, that a Templar ought either to
vanquish or die, and that he had nothing to give for his ransom but
his girdle and his knife. The proud spirit of Odo de St. Amand could
but ill brook confinement; he languished and died in the dungeons of
Damascus, and was succeeded (A. D. 1180) by Brother Arnold de Torroge,
who had filled some of the chief situations of the order in Europe.
The affairs of the Latin Christians were at this period in a deplorable
situation. Saladin encamped near Tiberias, and extended his ravages
into almost every part of Palestine. His light cavalry swept the valley
of the Jordan to within a day’s march of Jerusalem, and the whole
country as far as Panias on the one side, and Beisan, D’Jeneen, and
Sebaste, on the other, was destroyed by fire and the sword. The houses
of the Templars were pillaged and burnt; various castles belonging to
the order were taken by assault; but the immediate destruction of the
Latin power was arrested by some partial successes obtained by the
Christian warriors, and by the skilful generalship of their leaders.
Saladin was compelled to retreat to Damascus, after he had burnt
Naplous, and depopulated the whole country around Tiberias. A truce was
proposed, (A. D. 1184,) and as the attention of the sultan was then
distracted by the intrigues of the Turcoman chieftains in the north
of Syria, and he was again engaged in hostilities in Mesopotamia, he
agreed to a suspension of the war for four years, in consideration of
the payment by the Christians of a large sum of money.[25]
Immediate advantage was taken of this truce to secure the safety of the
Latin kingdom. A grand council was called together at Jerusalem, and it
was determined that Heraclius, the patriarch of the Holy City, and the
Masters of the Temple and Hospital, should forthwith proceed to Europe,
to obtain succour from the western princes. The sovereign mostly
depended upon for assistance was Henry the Second, king of England,
grandson of Fulk, the late king of Jerusalem, and cousin-german to
Baldwin, the then reigning sovereign. Henry had received absolution
for the murder of Saint Thomas à Becket, on condition that he should
proceed in person at the head of a powerful army to the succour of
Palestine, and should, at his own expense, maintain two hundred
Templars for the defence of the holy territory. The patriarch and the
two Masters landed in Italy, and after furnishing themselves with the
letters of the pope, threatening the English monarch with the judgments
of heaven if he did not forthwith perform the penance prescribed him,
they set out for England. At Verona, the Master of the Temple fell
sick and died, but his companions proceeding on their journey, landed
in safety in England at the commencement of the year 1185. They were
received by the king at Reading, and throwing themselves at the feet
of the English monarch, they with much weeping and sobbing saluted
him in behalf of the king, the princes, and the people of the kingdom
of Jerusalem. They explained the object of their visit, and presented
him with the pope’s letters, with the keys of the holy sepulchre,
of the tower of David, and of the city of Jerusalem, together with
the royal banner of the Latin kingdom. Their eloquent and pathetic
narrative of the fierce inroads of Saladin, and of the miserable
condition of Palestine, drew tears from king Henry and all his court.
The English sovereign gave encouraging assurances to the patriarch
and his companions, and promised to bring the whole matter before the
parliament, which was to meet the first Sunday in Lent.[26]
The patriarch, in the mean time, proceeded to London, and was received
by the Knights Templars at the Temple in that city, the chief house of
the order in Britain, where, in the month of February, he consecrated
the beautiful Temple church, dedicated to the blessed Virgin Mary,
which had just then been erected.[27]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER III.
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.
Li fiere, li Mestre du Temple
Qu’estoient rempli et ample
D’Or et d’argent et de richesse,
Et qui menoient tel noblesse,
Ou sont-il? que sont devenu?
Que tant ont de plait maintenu,
Que nul a elz ne s’ozoit prendre
Tozjors achetoient sans vendre
Nul riche a elz n’estoit de prise;
Tant va pot a eue qu’il brise.
_Chron._ à la suite du Roman de Favel.
The Knights Templars first established the chief house of their order
in England, without Holborn Bars, on the south side of the street,
where Southampton House formerly stood, adjoining to which Southampton
Buildings were afterwards erected: and it is stated, that about a
century and a half ago, part of the ancient chapel annexed to this
establishment, of a circular form, and built of Caen stone, was
discovered on pulling down some old houses near Southampton Buildings
in Chancery Lane.[28] This first house of the Temple, established by
Hugh de Payens himself, before his departure from England, on his
return to Palestine, was adapted to the wants and necessities of the
order in its infant state, when the knights, instead of lingering in
the preceptories of Europe, proceeded at once to Palestine, and when
all the resources of the society were strictly and faithfully forwarded
to Jerusalem, to be expended in defence of the faith; but when the
order had greatly increased in numbers, power, and wealth, and had
somewhat departed from its original purity and simplicity, we find that
the superior and the knights resident in London began to look abroad
for a more extensive and commodious place of habitation. They purchased
a large space of ground, extending from the White Friars westward to
Essex House without Temple Bar, and commenced the erection of a convent
on a scale of grandeur commensurate with the dignity and importance of
the chief house of the great religio-military society of the Temple in
Britain. It was called the _New_ Temple, to distinguish it from the
original establishment at Holborn, which came thenceforth to be known
by the name of the _Old_ Temple. This New Temple was adapted for the
residence of numerous military monks and novices, serving brothers,
retainers, and domestics. It contained the residence of the superior
and of the knights, the cells and apartments of the chaplains and
serving brethren, the council chamber where the chapters were held,
and the refectory or dining-hall, which was connected, by a range of
handsome cloisters, with the magnificent church, consecrated by the
patriarch. Alongside the river extended a spacious pleasure ground for
the recreation of the brethren, who were not permitted to go into the
town without the leave of the Master. It was used also for military
exercises and the training of horses.
The year of the consecration of the Temple Church, Geoffrey, the
superior of the order in England, caused an inquisition to be made
of the lands of the Templars in this country, and the names of the
donors thereof,[29] from which it appears, that the larger territorial
divisions of the order were then called bailiwicks, the principal
of which were London, Warwic, Couele, Meritune, Gutinge, Westune,
Lincolnscire, Lindeseie, Widine, and Eboracisire (Yorkshire).
The number of manors, farms, churches, advowsons, demesne lands,
villages, hamlets, windmills, and watermills, rents of assize, rights
of common and free warren, and the amount of all kinds of property
possessed by the Templars in England at the period of the taking of
this inquisition, are astonishing. Upon the great estates belonging
to the order, prioral houses had been erected, wherein dwelt the
procurators or stewards charged with the management of the manors
and farms in their neighbourhood, and with the collection of the
rents. These prioral houses became regular monastic establishments,
inhabited chiefly by sick and aged Templars, who retired to them to
spend the remainder of their days, after a long period of honourable
service against the infidels in Palestine. They were cells to the
principal house at London. There were also under them certain smaller
administrations established for the management of the farms, consisting
of a Knight Templar, to whom were associated some serving brothers
of the order, and a priest who acted as almoner. The commissions
or mandates directed by the Master of the Temple to the officers
at the head of these establishments were called precepts, from the
commencement of them, “_Præcipimus tibi_,” we enjoin or direct you, &c.
&c. The knights to whom they were addressed were styled _Præceptores
Templi_, or Preceptors of the Temple, and the districts administered by
them _Præceptoria_, or preceptories.
[Illustration: The ancient inscription on the Temple Church as it stood
over the door leading into the cloister.
ON THE 10th OF FEBRUARY,
IN
THE YEAR FROM THE INCARNATION OF OUR LORD, 1185,
THIS CHURCH WAS CONSECRATED IN HONOUR OF THE BLESSED MARY
BY THE LORD HERACLIUS,
BY
THE GRACE OF GOD PATRIARCH OF THE CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION,
WHO
HATH GRANTED AN INDULGENCE OF SIXTY DAYS
TO THOSE YEARLY VISITING IT.
Translation of the inscription on the Temple Church, as it stood over
the doorway leading into the cloister.]
It will now be as well to take a general survey of the possessions
and organization of the order both in Europe and Asia, “whose
circumstances,” saith William, archbishop of Tyre, writing from
Jerusalem about the period of the consecration at London of the Temple
Church, “are in so flourishing a state, that at this day they have in
their convent (the Temple on Mount Moriah) more than three hundred
knights robed in the white habit, besides serving brothers innumerable.
Their possessions indeed beyond the sea, as well as in these parts, are
said to be so vast, that there cannot now be a province in Christendom
which does not contribute to the support of the aforesaid brethren,
whose wealth is said to equal that of sovereign princes.”[30]
The eastern provinces of the order were, 1. Palestine, the ruling
province. 2. The principality of Antioch. 3. The principality of
Tripoli. In Palestine the Templars possessed, in addition to the
Temple at Jerusalem, the chief house of the order, and the residence
of the Master, the fortified city of Gaza, the key of the kingdom
of Jerusalem on the side next Egypt, which was granted to them in
perpetual sovereignty, by Baldwin king of Jerusalem; also the Castle of
Saphet, in the territory of the ancient tribe of Naphtali; the Castle
of the Pilgrims, in the neighbourhood of Mount Carmel; the Castle of
Assur near Jaffa, and the house of the Temple at Jaffa; the fortress
of Faba, or La Feue, the ancient Aphek, not far from Tyre, in the
territory of the ancient tribe of Asher; the hill-fort Dok between
Bethel and Jericho; the castles of La Cave, Marle, Citern Rouge, Castel
Blanc, Trapesach, Sommelleria of the Temple, in the neighbourhood of
Acca, now St. John d’Acre; Castrum Planorum, and a place called Gerinum
Parvum.[31] The Templars, moreover, purchased the castle of Beaufort
and the city of Sidon; they also got into their hands a great part of
the town of St. Jean d’Acre, where they erected a famous TEMPLE, and
almost all the sea coast of Palestine was in the end divided between
them and the Hospitallers of St. John. The principal houses of the
Temple in the PROVINCE OF ANTIOCH were at Antioch itself, at Aleppo,
and Haram; and in the PRINCIPALITY OF TRIPOLI, at Tripoli, Tortosa, the
ancient Antaradus; Castel Blanc in the same neighbourhood; Laodicea and
Beyrout.
In the western province of APULIA AND SICILY, the Templars possessed
numerous houses, viz., at Palermo, Syracuse, Lentini, Butera,
and Trapani. The house of the Temple at this last place has been
appropriated to the use of some monks of the order of St. Augustin. In
a church of the city is still to be seen the celebrated statue of the
Virgin, which Brother Guerrege and three other Knights Templars brought
from the East, with a view of placing it in the Temple Church on the
Aventine hill in Rome, but which they were obliged to deposit in the
island of Sicily. This statue is of the most beautiful white marble,
and represents the Virgin with the infant Jesus reclining on her left
arm; it is of about the natural height, and, from an inscription on the
foot of the figure, it appears to have been executed by a native of the
island of Cyprus, A. D. 733. The Templars possessed valuable estates in
Sicily, around the base of Mount Etna, and large tracts of land between
Piazza and Calatagirone, in the suburbs of which last place there was a
Temple house, the church whereof, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, still
remains. They possessed also many churches in the island, windmills,
rights of fishery, of pasturage, of cutting wood in the forests, and
many important privileges and immunities. The chief house was at
Messina, where the Grand Prior resided.[32]
UPPER AND CENTRAL ITALY also contained numerous preceptories of the
order of the Temple, all under the immediate superintendence of the
grand Prior or Preceptor of Rome. There were large establishments at
Lucca, Milan, and Perugia, at which last place the arms of the Temple
are still to be seen on the tower of the holy cross. At Placentia
there was a magnificent and extensive convent, called Santa Maria del
Tempio, ornamented with a very lofty tower. At Bologna there was also
a large Temple house, and on a clock in the city is the following
inscription, “_Magister Tosseolus de Miolâ me fecit ... Fr. Petrus de
Bon, Procur. Militiæ Templi in curiâ Romanâ_, MCCCIII.” In the church
of St. Mary in the same place, which formerly belonged to the Knights
Templars, is the interesting marble monument of Peter de Rotis, a
priest of the order.
In the PROVINCE OF PORTUGAL, the military power and resources of the
order were exercised in almost constant warfare against the Moors, and
Europe derived essential advantage from the enthusiastic exertions
of the warlike monks in that quarter against the infidels. In every
battle, indeed, fought in the south of Europe, after the year 1130,
against the enemies of the cross, the Knights Templars are to be found
taking an active and distinguished part. They were extremely popular
with all the princes and sovereigns of the great Spanish peninsula, and
were endowed with cities, villages, lordships, and splendid domains.
The Grand Prior or Preceptor of Portugal resided at the castle of
Tomar. It is seated on the river Narboan, in Estremadura, and is still
to be seen towering in gloomy magnificence on the hill above the
town. The castle at present belongs to the order of Christ, and was
lately one of the grandest and richest establishments in Portugal. It
possessed a splendid library, and a handsome cloister, the architecture
of which was much admired. The houses or preceptories of the Temple
in the province of Castile and Leon were those of Cuenca, and
Guadalfagiara; Tine and Aviles in the diocese of Oviedo, and Pontevreda
in Galicia. In Castile alone the order is said to have possessed
twenty-four bailiwicks.
In ARAGON the Templars possessed the castles of Dumbel, Cabanos, Azuda,
Granena, Chalonere, Remolins, Corbins, Lo Mas de Barbaran, Moncon, and
Montgausi, with their territories and dependencies. They were lords of
the cities of Borgia and Tortosa; they had a tenth part of the revenues
of the kingdom, the taxes of the towns of Huesca and Saragossa, and
houses, possessions, privileges, and immunities in all parts.[33] They
possessed likewise lands and estates in the Balearic Isles, which
were under the management of the Prior or Preceptor of the island of
Majorca, who was subject to the Grand Preceptor of Aragon.
In GERMANY AND HUNGARY the houses and preceptories most known were at
Homburg, Assenheim, Rotgen in the Rhingau, Mongberg in the Marché of
Brandenbourg, Nuitz on the Rhine, Tissia Altmunmunster near Ratisbon
in Bavaria, Bamberg, Middleburgh, Hall, and Brunswick. The Templars
possessed the fiefs of Rorich, Pausin and Wildenheuh in _Pomerania_,
an establishment at Bach in _Hungary_, several lordships in _Bohemia_
and _Moravia_, and lands, tithes, and large revenues, the gifts of
pious German crusaders.[34] In GREECE the Templars also possessed lands
and establishments. Their chief house was at Constantinople, in the
quarter called Ὁμόνοια, where they had an oratory dedicated to the holy
martyrs Marin and Pentaleon.[35] In FRANCE the principal preceptories
were at Besançon, Dole, Salins, à la Romagne, à la ville Dieu, Arbois
in _Franche Comté_. Dorlesheim near Molsheim, where their still remains
a chapel called Templehoff, Fauverney, where a chapel dedicated to the
Virgin still preserves the name of the Temple, Des Feuilles, situate
in the parish of Villett, near the chateau de Vernay, and Rouen, where
there were two houses of the Temple; one of them occupied the site of
the present _maison consulaire_, and the other stood in the street now
called _La Rue des Hermites_. The preceptories and houses of the Temple
in France, indeed, were so numerous, that it would be a wearisome and
endless task to repeat the names of them. Between Joinville and St.
Dizier may still be seen the remains of Temple Ruet, an old chateau
surrounded by a moat; and in the diocese of Meaux are the ruins of
the great manorial house of Choisy le Temple. Many interesting tombs
are there visible, together with the refectory of the knights, which
has been converted into a sheepfold. The chief house of the order for
France, and also for Holland and the Netherlands, was the Temple at
Paris, an extensive and magnificent structure, surrounded by a wall and
a ditch. It extended over all that large space of ground, now covered
with streets and buildings, which lies between the Rue du Temple, the
Rue St. Croix, and the environs de la Verrerie, as far as the walls and
the fossés of the port du Temple. It was ornamented with a great tower,
flanked by four smaller towers, erected by the Knight Templar Brother
Herbert, almoner to the king of France, and was one of the strongest
edifices in the kingdom.[36] Many of the modern streets of Paris which
now traverse the site of this interesting structure, preserve in the
names given to them some memorial of the ancient Temple. For instance,
_La rue du Temple_, _La rue des fossés du Temple_, _Boulevard du
Temple_, _Faubourg du Temple_, _rue de Faubourg du Temple_, _Vieille
rue du Temple_, _&c._, _&c._
[Illustration: TOWER OF THE PRECEPTORY OF TEMPLE BRUERE, LINCOLNSHIRE.]
All the houses of the Temple in Holland and the Netherlands were under
the immediate jurisdiction of the Master of the Temple at Paris. The
preceptories in these kingdoms were very numerous, and the property
dependent upon them was of great value.
In ENGLAND there were in bygone times the preceptories of Aslakeby,
Temple Bruere, Egle, Malteby, Mere, Wilketon, and Witham, in
_Lincolnshire_. North Feriby, Temple Hurst, Temple Newsom,
Pafflete, Flaxflete, and Ribstane, in _Yorkshire_. Temple Cumbe, in
_Somersetshire_. Ewell, Strode and Swingfield, near Dover, in _Kent_.
Hadescoe, in _Norfolk_. Balsall and Warwick, in _Warwickshire_. Temple
Rothley, in _Leicestershire_. Wilburgham Magna, Daney, and Dokesworth,
in _Cambridgeshire_. Halston, in _Shropshire_. Temple Dynnesley, in
_Hertfordshire_. Temple Cressing and Sutton, in _Essex_. Saddlescomb
and Chapelay, in _Sussex_. Schepeley, in _Surrey_. Temple Cowley,
Sandford, Bistelesham, and Chalesey, in _Oxfordshire_. Temple Rockley,
in _Wiltshire_. Upleden and Garwy, in _Herefordshire_. South Badeisley,
in _Hampshire_. Getinges, in _Worcestershire_. Giselingham and Dunwich,
in _Suffolk_.
There were also several smaller administrations established, as
before mentioned, for the management of the farms and lands, and the
collection of rent and tithes. Among these were Liddele and Quiely in
the diocese of Chichester; Eken in the diocese of Lincoln; Adingdon,
Wesdall, Aupledina, Cotona, &c. The different preceptors of the Temple
in England had under their management lands and property in every
county of the realm.[37]
In _Leicestershire_ the Templars possessed the town and the soke
of Rotheley; the manors of Rolle, Babbegrave, Gaddesby, Stonesby,
and Melton; Rothely wood, near Leicester; the villages of Beaumont,
Baresby, Dalby, North and South Mardefeld, Saxby, Stonesby, and Waldon,
with land in above _eighty_ others! They had also the churches of
Rotheley, Babbegrave, and Rolle; and the chapels of Gaddesby, Grimston,
Wartnaby, Cawdwell, and Wykeham.[38]
In _Hertfordshire_ they possessed the town and forest of Broxbourne,
the manor of Chelsin Templars, (_Chelsin Templariorum_,) and the manors
of Laugenok, Broxbourne, Letchworth, and Temple Dynnesley; demesne
lands at Stanho, Preston, Charlton, Walden, Hiche, Chelles, Levecamp,
and Benigho; the church of Broxbourne, two watermills, and a lock on
the river Lea; also property at Hichen, Pyrton, Ickilford, Offeley
Magna, Offeley Parva, Walden Regis, Furnivale, Ipolitz, Wandsmyll,
Watton, Therleton, Weston, Gravele, Wilien, Leccheworth, Baldock,
Datheworth, Russenden, Codpeth, Sumershale, Buntynford, &c., &c.,
and the Church of Weston.[39] In the county of _Essex_ they had the
manors of Temple Cressynge, Temple Roydon, Temple Sutton, Odewell,
Chingelford, Lideleye, Quarsing, Berwick, and Witham; the church of
Roydon, and houses, lands, and farms, both at Roydon, at Rivenhall,
and in the parishes of Prittlewall and Great and Little Sutton; an old
mansion-house and chapel at Sutton, and an estate called Finchinfelde
in the hundred of Hinckford.[40] In _Lincolnshire_ the Templars
possessed the manors of La Bruere, Roston, Kirkeby, Brauncewell,
Carleton, Akele, with the soke of Lynderby, Aslakeby, and the churches
of Bruere, Asheby, Akele, Aslakeby, Donington, Ele, Swinderby, Skarle,
&c. There were upwards of thirty churches in the county which made
annual payments, to the order of the Temple, and about forty windmills.
The order likewise received rents in respect of lands at Bracebrig,
Brancestone, Scapwic, Timberland, Weleburne, Diringhton, and a hundred
other places; and some of the land in the county was charged with the
annual payment of sums of money towards the keeping of lights eternally
burning on the altars of the Temple church. William Lord of Asheby
gave to the Templars the perpetual advowson of the church of Asheby in
Lincolnshire, and they in return agreed to find him a priest to sing
for ever twice a week in his chapel of St. Margaret.
In _Yorkshire_ the Templars possessed the manors of Temple Werreby,
Flaxflete, Etton, South Cave, &c.; the churches of Whitcherche
Keluntune, &c.; numerous windmills and lands and rents at Nehus,
Skelture, Pennel, and more than sixty other places besides. In
_Warwickshire_ they possessed the manors of Barston, Shirburne,
Balshale, Wolfhey, Cherlecote, Herbebure, Stodleye, Fechehampstead,
Cobington, Tysho and Warwick; lands at Chelverscoton, Herdwicke,
Morton, Warwick, Hetherburn, Chesterton, Aven, Derset, Stodley,
Napton, and more than thirty other places, the several donors whereof
are specified in Dugdale’s history of Warwickshire (p. 694) also
the churches of Sireburne, Cardington, &c., and more than thirteen
windmills. In 12 Hen. II., William Earle of Warwick built a new church
for them at Warwick.[41] In _Kent_ they had the manors of Lilleston,
Hechewayton, Saunford, Sutton, Dartford, Halgel, Ewell, Cocklescomb,
Strode, Swinkfield Mennes, West Greenwich, and the manor of Lydden,
which now belongs to the archbishop of Canterbury; the advowsons of
the churches of West Greenwich and Kingeswode juxta Waltham; extensive
tracts of land in Romney marsh, and farms and assize rents in all
parts of the county. In _Sussex_ they had the manors of Saddlecomb
and Shipley; lands and tenements at Compton and other places; and the
advowsons of the churches of Shipley, Wodmancote, and Luschwyke.
In _Surrey_ they had the manor farm of Temple Elfand or Elfant, and
an estate at Merrow in the hundred of Woking. In _Gloucestershire_,
the manors of Lower Dowdeswell, Pegsworth, Amford, Nishange, and five
others which belonged to them wholly or in part, the church of Down
Ammey, and lands in Frampton, Temple Guting, and Little Rissington.
In _Worcestershire_, the manor of Templars Lawern, and lands in
Flavel, Temple Broughton, and Hanbury. In _Northamptonshire_, the
manors of Asheby, Thorp, Watervill, &c., &c.; they had the advowson
of the church of the manor of Hardwicke in Orlington hundred, and we
find that “Robert Saunford, Master of the soldiery of the Temple in
England,” presented to it in the year 1238.[42] In _Nottinghamshire_,
the Templars possessed the church of Marnham, lands and rents at
Gretton and North Carleton; in _Westmoreland_, the manor of Temple
Sowerby; in the Isle of Wight, the manor of Uggeton, and lands in
Kerne. But it would be tedious further to continue with a dry detail
of ancient names and places; sufficient has been said to give an idea
of the enormous wealth of the order in this country, where it is known
to have possessed some hundreds of manors, the advowson or right of
presentation to churches innumerable, and thousands of acres of arable
land, pasture, and woodland, besides villages, farm-houses, mills, and
tithes, rights of common, of fishing, of cutting wood in forests, &c.,
&c. There were also several preceptories in Scotland and Ireland, which
were dependent on the Temple at London.
The annual income of the order in Europe has been roughly estimated
at six millions sterling! According to Matthew Paris, the Templars
possessed _nine thousand_ manors or lordships in Christendom, besides a
large revenue and immense riches arising from the constant charitable
bequests and donations of sums of money from pious persons.[43] The
Templars, in imitation of the other monastic establishments, obtained
from pious and charitable people all the advowsons within their reach,
and frequently retained the tithe and the glebe in their own hands,
deputing a priest of the order to perform divine service and administer
the sacraments. The manors of the Templars produced them rent either
in money, corn, or cattle, and the usual produce of the soil. By the
custom in some of these manors, the tenants were annually to mow
three days in harvest, one at the charge of the house, and to plough
three days, whereof one at the like charge; to reap one day, at which
time they should have a ram from the house, eight pence, twenty-four
loaves, and a cheese of the best in the house, together with a pailful
of drink. The tenants were not to sell their horse-colts if they were
foaled upon the land belonging to the Templars, without the consent of
the fraternity, nor marry their daughters without their licence. There
were also various regulations concerning the cocks and hens and young
chickens.
King Henry the Second, for the good of his soul and the welfare of
his kingdom, granted the Templars a place situate on the river Fleet,
near Bainard’s Castle, with the whole current of that river at London,
for erecting a mill; also a messuage near Fleet-street; the church of
St. Clement, “quæ dicitur Dacorum extra civitatem Londoniæ;” and the
churches of Elle, Swinderby and Skarle in Lincolnshire, Kingeswode
juxta Waltham in Kent, the manor of Stroder in the hundred of Skamele,
the vill of Kele in Staffordshire, the hermitage of Flikeamstede, and
all his lands at Lange Cureway, a house in Brosal, and the market
at Witham; lands at Berghotte, a mill at the bridge of Pembroke
Castle, the vill of Finchinfelde, the manor of Rotheley, with its
appurtenances, and the advowson of the church and its several chapels,
the manor of Blalcolvesley, the park of Halshall, and three _fat bucks_
annually, either from Essex or Windsor Forest. He likewise granted them
an annual fair at Temple Bruere, and superadded many rich benefactions
in Ireland.[44]
The Templars, in addition to their amazing wealth, enjoyed vast
privileges and immunities within this realm. They were freed from
all amerciaments in the Exchequer, and obtained the privilege of not
being compelled to plead except before the king or his chief justice.
By special grant from the kings of England, they enjoyed free warren
in all their demesne lands, also the power of holding courts to judge
their villains and vassals, and to try thieves and malefactors; they
were relieved from all the customary feudal suits and services, from
the works of parks, castles, bridges, the building of royal houses, and
all other works; and also from waste regard and view of foresters, and
from toll in all markets and fairs, and at all bridges, and upon all
highways throughout the kingdom. They had also the chattels of felons
and fugitives, and all waifs within their fee.[45] In addition to the
particular privileges conceded to them by the kings of England, the
Templars enjoyed, under the authority of divers Papal bulls, various
immunities and advantages, which gave great umbrage to the clergy. They
were freed, as before mentioned, from the obligation of paying tithes,
and might, with the consent of the bishop, receive them. No brother
of the Temple could be excommunicated by any bishop or priest, nor
could any of the churches of the order be laid under interdict except
by virtue of a special mandate from the holy see. When any brother of
the Temple, appointed to make charitable collections for the succour
of the Holy Land, should arrive at a city, castle, or village, which
had been laid under interdict, the churches, on their welcome coming,
were to be thrown open, (once within the year,) and divine service was
to be performed in honour of the Temple, and in reverence for the holy
soldiers thereof. The privilege of sanctuary was thrown around their
dwellings; and by various papal bulls it is solemnly enjoined that no
person shall lay violent hands either upon the persons or the property
of those flying for refuge to the Temple houses.[46]
Sir Edward Coke, in the second part of the Institute of the Laws of
England, observes, that “the Templars did so overspread throughout
Christendome, and so exceedingly increased in possessions, revenues,
and wealth, and specially in England, as you will wonder to reade in
approved histories, and withall obtained so great and large privileges,
liberties, and immunities for themselves, their tenants, and farmers,
&c., as no other order had the like.” He further observes, that the
Knights Templars were _cruce signati_, and as the cross was the ensign
of their profession, and their tenants enjoyed great privileges, they
did erect crosses upon their houses, to the end that those inhabiting
them might be known to be the tenants of the order, and thereby be
freed from many duties and services which other tenants were subject
unto; “and many tenants of other lords, perceiving the state and
greatnesse of the knights of the said order, and withall seeing the
great privileges their tenants enjoyed, did set up crosses upon their
houses, as their very tenants used to doe, to the prejudice of their
lords.”
This abuse led to the passing of the statute of Westminster, the
second, _chap. 33_, which recites, that many tenants did set up crosses
or cause them to be set up on their lands in prejudice of their lords,
that the tenants might defend themselves against the chief lord of
the fee by the privileges of TEMPLARS, and enacts that such lands
shall be forfeited to the chief lords or to the king. Sir Edward Coke
observes, that the Templars were freed from tenths and fifteenths to be
paid to the king; that they were discharged of purveyance; that they
could not be sued for any ecclesiastical cause before the ordinary,
_sed coram conservatoribus suorum privilegiorum_; and that of ancient
time they claimed that a felon might take to their houses, having
their crosses for his safety, as well as to any church. And concerning
these conservers or keepers of their privileges, he remarks, that the
Templars and Hospitallers “held an ecclesiasticall court before a
canonist, whom they termed _conservator privilegiorum suorum_, which
judge had indeed more authority than was convenient, and did dayly,
in respect to the height of these two orders, and at their instance
and direction, incroach upon and hold plea of matters determinable
by the common law, for _cui plus licet quam par est, plus vult quam
licet_; and this was one great mischiefe. Another mischiefe was,
that this judge likewise at their instance, in cases wherein he had
jurisdiction, would make general citations as _pro salute animæ_, and
the like, without expressing the matter whereupon the citation was
made, which also was against law, and tended to the grievous vexation
of the subject.”[47] To remedy these evils, another act of parliament
was passed, prohibiting the Templars from bringing any man in plea
before the keepers of their privileges, for any matter the knowledge
whereof belonged to the king’s court, and commanding such keepers of
their privileges thenceforth to grant no citation at the instance of
the Templars, before it be expressed upon what matter the citation
ought to be made.[48]
[Illustration: CHAPEL OF THE PRECEPTORY OF TEMPLE SWINGFIELD, DOVER.]
The Grand Master of the Temple ranked in Europe as a sovereign prince,
and had precedence of all ambassadors and peers in the general councils
of the church. He was elected to his high office by the chapter of the
kingdom of Jerusalem, which was composed of all the knights of the East
and of the West who could manage to attend. The western nations or
provinces of the order were presided over by the provincial Masters,
otherwise Grand Priors or Grand Preceptors, who were originally
appointed by the Chief Master at Jerusalem, and were in theory mere
trustees or bare administrators of the revenues of the fraternity,
accountable to the treasurer-general at Jerusalem, and removeable at
the pleasure of the Chief Master. The superior of the Temple at London
is always styled “Master of the Temple,” and holds his chapters and has
his officers corresponding to those of the Chief Master in Palestine.
The latter, consequently, came to be denominated _Magnus Magister_, or
Grand Master. The titles given indeed to the superiors of the different
nations or provinces into which the order of the Temple was divided,
are numerous and somewhat perplexing. In the East, these officers were
known only, in the first instance, by the title of Prior, as Prior
of England, Prior of France, Prior of Portugal, &c., and afterwards
Preceptor of England, Preceptor of France, &c.; but in Europe they were
called Grand Priors, and Grand Preceptors, to distinguish them from
the Sub-priors and Sub-preceptors, and also Masters of the Temple. The
Prior and Preceptor _of_ England, therefore, and the Grand Prior, Grand
Preceptor, and Master of the Temple _in_ England, were one and the same
person. There were also at the New Temple at London, in imitation
of the establishment at the chief house in Palestine, in addition to
the Master, the Preceptor of the Temple, the Prior of London, the
Treasurer, and the Guardian of the church, who had three chaplains
under him called readers.
The Master at London had his general and particular, or his ordinary
and extraordinary chapters. The first were composed of the grand
preceptors of Scotland and Ireland, and all the provincial priors
and preceptors of the three kingdoms, who were summoned once a year
to deliberate on the state of the Holy Land, to forward succour, to
give an account of their stewardship, and to frame new rules and
regulations for the management of the temporalities.[49] The ordinary
chapters were held at the different preceptories, which the Master
of the Temple visited in succession. In these chapters new members
were admitted into the order; lands were bought, sold, and exchanged;
and presentations were made by the Master to vacant benefices. Many
of the grants and other deeds of these chapters, with the seal of
the order of the Temple annexed to them, are to be met with in the
public and private collections of manuscripts in this country. One
of the most interesting and best preserved, is the Harleian charter,
(83, c. 39,) in the British Museum, which is a grant of land made by
Brother William de la More THE MARTYR, the last Master of the Temple
in England, to the Lord Milo de Stapleton. It is expressed to be made
by him, with the common consent and advice of his chapter, held at the
Preceptory of Dynneslee, on the feast of Saint Barnabas the Apostle,
and concludes, “In witness whereof, we have to this present indenture
placed the seal of our chapter.” A facsimile of this seal is given
at the head of the present chapter. On the reverse of it is a man’s
head, decorated with a long beard, and surmounted by a small cap, and
around it are the letters TESTIS SVM AGNI. The same seal is to be met
with on various other indentures made by the Master and Chapter of
the Temple.[50] The more early seals are surrounded with the words,
Sigillum _Militis_ Templi, “Seal of the _Knight_ of the Temple;” as in
the case of the deed of exchange of lands at Normanton in the parish of
Botisford, in Leicestershire, entered into between Brother Amadeus de
Morestello, Master of the chivalry of the Temple in England, and his
chapter, of the one part, and the Lord Henry de Coleville Knight, of
the other part. The seal annexed to this deed has the addition of the
word _Militis_, but in other respects it is similar to the one above
delineated.[51]
The Master of the Temple in England sat in parliament as first baron
of the realm, but that is to be understood among priors only. To the
parliament holden in the twenty-ninth year of King Henry the Third,
there was summoned sixty-five abbots, thirty-five priors, and the
Master of the Temple.[52] The oath taken by the grand priors, grand
preceptors, or provincial Masters in Europe, on their assumption of
the duties of their high administrative office, was drawn up in the
following terms:--“I _A. B._, Knight of the Order of the Temple,
just now appointed Master of the knights who are in ----, promise
to Jesus Christ my Saviour, and to his vicar the sovereign pontiff
and his successors, perpetual obedience and fidelity. I swear that I
will defend, not only with my lips, but by force of arms and with all
my strength, the mysteries of the faith; the seven sacraments, the
fourteen articles of the faith, the creed of the Apostles, and that
of Saint Athanasius; the books of the Old and the New Testament, with
the commentaries of the holy fathers, as received by the church; the
unity of God, the plurality of the persons of the holy Trinity; and
the doctrine that Mary, the daughter of Joachim and Anna, of the tribe
of Judah, and of the race of David, remained always a virgin before
her delivery, during and after her delivery. I promise likewise to
be submissive and obedient to the Master-general of the order, in
conformity with the statutes prescribed by our father Saint Bernard;
that I will at all times in case of need pass the seas to go and
fight; that I will always afford succour against the infidel kings and
princes; that in the presence of three enemies I will fly not, but cope
with them, if they are infidels; that I will not sell the property of
the order, nor consent that it be sold or alienated; that I will always
preserve chastity; that I will be faithful to the king of ----; that I
will never surrender to the enemy the towns and places belonging to the
order; and that I will never refuse to the religious any succour that
I am able to afford them; that I will aid and defend them by words, by
arms, and by all sorts of good offices; and in sincerity and of my own
free will I swear that I will observe all these things.”[53]
Among the earliest of the Masters, or Grand Priors, or Grand Preceptors
of England, whose names figure in history, is Richard de Hastings,
who was at the head of the order in this country on the accession of
King Henry the Second to the throne, (A. D. 1154,) and was employed
by that monarch in various important negotiations. He was the friend
and confidant of Thomas à Becket, and vainly endeavoured to terminate
the disputes between that haughty prelate and the king.[54] Richard
de Hastings was succeeded by Richard Mallebeench, who confirmed a
treaty of peace and concord which had been entered into between his
predecessor and the abbot of Kirkested; and the next Master of the
Temple appears to have been Geoffrey son of Stephen, who received the
patriarch Heraclius as his guest at the new Temple on the occasion of
the consecration of the Temple church. He styles himself “_Minister_ of
the soldiery of the Temple in England.”[55]
In consequence of the high estimation in which the Templars were held,
and the privilege of sanctuary enjoyed by them, the Temple at London
came to be made “a storehouse of treasure.” The wealth of the king,
the nobles, the bishops, and of the rich burghers of London, was
generally deposited therein, under the safeguard and protection of
the military friars. The money collected in the churches and chapels
for the succour of the Holy Land was also paid to the treasurer of
the Temple, to be forwarded to its destination: and the treasurer was
at different times authorised to receive the taxes imposed upon the
moveables of the ecclesiastics, also the large sums of money extorted
by the rapacious popes from the English clergy, and the annuities
granted by the king to the nobles of the kingdom.[56] The money and
jewels of Hubert de Burgh, earl of Kent, the chief justiciary, and at
one time governor of the king and kingdom of England, were deposited in
the Temple, and when that nobleman was disgraced and committed to the
Tower, the king attempted to lay hold of the treasure. Matthew Paris
gives the following curious account of the affair:--“It was suggested,”
says he, “to the king, that Hubert had no small amount of treasure
deposited in the New Temple, under the custody of the Templars. The
king accordingly, summoning to his presence the Master of the Temple,
briefly demanded of him if it was so. He indeed, not daring to deny
the truth to the king, confessed that he had money of the said Hubert,
which had been confidentially committed to the keeping of himself and
his brethren, but of the quantity and amount thereof he was altogether
ignorant. Then the king endeavoured with threats to obtain from the
brethren the surrender to him of the aforesaid money, asserting that it
had been fraudulently subtracted from his treasury. But they answered
to the king, that money confided to them in trust they would deliver
to no man without the permission of him who had intrusted it to be
kept in the Temple. And the king, since the above-mentioned money had
been placed under their protection, ventured not to take it by force.
He sent, therefore, the treasurer of his court, with his justices of
the Exchequer, to Hubert, who had already been placed in fetters in
the Tower of London, that they might exact from him an assignment of
the entire sum to the king. But when these messengers had explained
to Hubert the object of their coming, he immediately answered that he
would submit himself and all belonging to him to the good pleasure of
his sovereign. He therefore petitioned the brethren of the chivalry
of the Temple that they would, in his behalf, present all his keys to
his lord the king, that he might do what he pleased with the things
deposited in the Temple. This being done, the king ordered all that
money, faithfully counted, to be placed in his treasury, and the amount
of all the things found to be reduced into writing and exhibited before
him. The king’s clerks, indeed, and the treasurer acting with them,
found deposited in the Temple gold and silver vases of inestimable
price, and money and many precious gems, an enumeration whereof would
in truth astonish the hearers.”[57]
The kings of England frequently resided in the Temple, and so also did
the haughty legates of the Roman pontiffs, who there made contributions
in the name of the pope upon the English bishoprics. Matthew Paris
gives a lively account of the exactions of the nuncio Martin, who
resided for many years at the Temple, and came there armed by the pope
with powers such as no legate had ever before possessed. “He made,”
says he, “whilst residing at London in the New Temple, unheard of
extortions of money and valuables. He imperiously intimated to the
abbots and priors that they must send him rich presents, desirable
palfreys, sumptuous services for the table, and rich clothing; which
being done, that same Martin sent back word that the things sent were
insufficient, and he commanded the givers thereof to forward him
better things, on pain of suspension and excommunication.”[58]
The convocations of the clergy and the great ecclesiastical councils
were frequently held at the Temple, and laws were there made by the
bishops and abbots for the government of the church and monasteries in
England.[59]
CHAPTER IV.
The patriarch Heraclius quarrels with the king of England--He
returns to Palestine without succour--The disappointment 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.
“The foes of the Lord break into his holy city, even into that
glorious tomb where the virgin blossom of Mary was wrapt up in
linen and spices, and where the first and greatest flower on earth
rose up again.”--_S. Bernardi_, epist. cccxxii.
The Grand Master, Arnold de Torroge, who died on his journey to
England, as before mentioned, was succeeded by Brother Gerard de
Riderfort.[60]
On the 10th of the calends of April, a month after the consecration
by the patriarch Heraclius of the Temple church, the grand council or
parliament of England, composed of the bishops, earls, and barons,
assembled in the house of the Hospitallers at Clerkenwell in London.
It was attended by William king of Scotland and David his brother,
and many of the counts and barons of that distant land. The august
assembly was acquainted, in the king’s name, with the object of the
solemn embassy just sent to him from Jerusalem, and with the desire
of the royal penitent to fulfil his vow and perform his penance; but
the barons were at the same time reminded of the old age of their
sovereign, of the bad state of his health, and of the necessity for
his presence in England. They accordingly represented to King Henry
that the solemn oath taken by him on his coronation was an obligation
antecedent to the penance imposed on him by the pope; that by that oath
he was bound to stay at home and govern his dominions, and that, in
their opinion, it was more wholesome for the king’s soul to defend his
own country against the barbarous French, than to desert it for the
purpose of protecting the distant kingdom of Jerusalem.[61]
Fabian, in his chronicle, gives the following quaint account of the
king’s answer to the patriarch, taken from the Chron. Joan Bromton:
“Lasteley the kynge gaue answere, and sayde that he myghte not leue hys
lande wythoute kepynge, nor yet leue yt to the praye and robbery of
Frenchemen. But he wolde gyue largely of hys own to such as wolde take
upon theym that vyge. Wyth thys answere the patryarke was dyscontente,
and sayde, ‘We seke a man, and not money; welnere euery crysten regyon
sendyth unto us money, but no land sendyth to us a prince. Therefore
we aske a prynce that nedeth money, and not money that nedeth a
prynce.’ But the kynge layde for hym suche excuses, that the patryarke
departed from hym dyscontentyd and comforteless, whereof the kynge
beynge aduertysed, entendynge somwhat to recomforte hym with pleasaunte
words, folowed hym to the see syde. But the more the kynge thought
to satysfye hym with hys fayre speche, the more the patryarke was
dyscontentyd, in so myche that at the last he sayde unto hym, ‘Hytherto
thou haste reygned gloryously, but here after thou shalt be forsaken
of hym whom thou at thys tyme forsakeste. Thynke on hym what he hath
gyuen to thee, and what thou haste yelden to him agayne: howe fyrste
thou were false unto the kynge of Fraunce, and after slewe that holy
man Thomas of Caunterburye, and lastely thou forsakeste the proteccyon
of Crystes faith.’ The kynge was amoued wyth these wordes, and sayde
unto the patryarke, ‘Though all the men of my lande were one bodye, and
spake with one mouth, they durste not speke to me such wordys.’ ‘No
wonder,’ sayde the patryarke, ‘for they loue thyne and not the; that
ys to meane, they loue thy goodes temporall, and fere the for losse of
promocyon, but they loue not thy soule.’ And when he hadde so sayde,
he offeryd hys hedde to the kynge, sayenge, ‘Do by me ryghte as thou
dyddest by that blessed man Thomas of Caunterburye, for I had leur to
be slayne of the, then of the Sarasyns, for thou art worse than any
Sarasyn.’ But the kynge kepte hys paycence, and sayde, ‘I may not wende
oute of my lande, for myne own sonnes wyll aryse agayne me whan I were
absente.’ ‘No wonder,’ sayde the patryarke, ‘for of the deuyll they
come, and to the deuyll they shall go,’ and so departyd from the kynge
in great ire.”[62]
According to Roger de Hoveden, however, the patriarch, on the 17th
of the calends of May, accompanied King Henry into Normandy, where
a conference was held between the sovereigns of France and England
concerning the proposed succour to the Holy Land. Both monarchs were
liberal in promises and fair speeches; but as nothing short of the
presence of the king of England, or of one of his sons, in Palestine,
would satisfy the patriarch, that haughty ecclesiastic failed in his
negotiations and returned in disgust and disappointment to the Holy
Land. On his arrival at Jerusalem with intelligence of his ill success
the greatest consternation prevailed amongst the Latin Christians: and
it was generally observed that the true cross, which had been recovered
from the Persians by the Emperor Heraclius, was about to be lost under
the pontificate, and by the fault of a patriarch of the same name. A
cotemporary writer of Palestine tells us that the patriarch was a very
handsome person, and, in consequence of his beauty, the mother of the
king of Jerusalem fell in love with him, and made him archbishop of
Cæsarea. He then describes how he came to be made patriarch, and how
he was suspected to have poisoned the archbishop of Tyre. After his
return from Rome he fell in love with the wife of a haberdasher who
lived at Naplous, twelve miles from Jerusalem. He went to see her very
often, and, not long after the acquaintanceship commenced, the husband
died. Then the patriarch brought the lady to Jerusalem, clothed her in
rich apparel, bought her a house, and furnished her with an elegant
retinue.[63]
Baldwin the fourth, who was the reigning sovereign of the Latin
kingdom at the period of the departure of the patriarch Heraclius
and the Grand Master of the Temple for Europe, was afflicted with a
frightful leprosy, which rendered it unlawful for him to marry, and
he was consequently deprived of all hope of having an heir of his
body to inherit the crown. Sensible of the dangers and inconvenience
of a female succession, he selected William V. marquis of Montferrat,
surnamed “Long-sword,” as a husband for his eldest sister Sibylla.
Shortly after his marriage the marquis of Montferrat died, leaving
by Sibylla an infant son named Baldwin. Sibylla’s second husband was
Guy de Lusignan, a nobleman of a handsome person, and descended of an
ancient family of Poitou in France. Her choice was at first approved of
by the king, who received his new brother-in-law with favour, loaded
him with honours, and made him regent of the kingdom. Subsequently,
through the intrigues of the count of Tripoli, the king was induced to
deprive Guy de Lusignan of the regency, and to set aside the claims
of Sibylla to the throne, in favour of her son the young Baldwin, who
was then about five years of age. He gave orders for the coronation of
the young prince, and resigned his authority to the count of Tripoli,
who was appointed regent of the kingdom during the minority of the
sovereign, whilst all the fortresses and castles of the land were
committed to the safe keeping of the Templars and Hospitallers. The
youthful Baldwin was carried with vast pomp to the great church of the
Holy Sepulchre, and was there anointed and crowned by the patriarch
in the presence of the Grand Masters of the Temple and the Hospital.
According to ancient custom he was taken, wearing his crown, to the
Temple of the Lord, to make certain offerings, after which he went to
the Temple of Solomon, where the Templars resided, and was entertained
at dinner, together with his barons, by the Grand Master of the Temple
and the military friars. Shortly after the coronation (A. D. 1186)
the ex-king, Baldwin IV., died at Jerusalem, and was buried in the
church of the Resurrection, by the side of Godfrey de Bouillon, and the
other Christian kings. His death was followed, in the short space of
seven months, by that of the infant sovereign Baldwin V., and Sibylla
thus became the undoubted heiress to the throne. The count of Tripoli
refused, however, to surrender the regency, accusing Sibylla of the
horrible and improbable crime of poisoning her own child. But Gerard
de Riderfort, the Grand Master of the Temple, invited her to repair to
Jerusalem, and gave orders for the coronation. He sent letters, in the
queen’s name, to the count of Tripoli and the rebellious barons who
had assembled with their followers in arms at Naplous, (the ancient
Shechem,) requiring them to attend at the appointed time to do homage,
and take the oath of allegiance, but the barons sent back word that
they intended to remain where they were; and they despatched two
Cistercian abbots to the Grand Master of the Temple, and the patriarch
Heraclius, exhorting them for the love of God and his holy apostles
to refrain from crowning Isabella countess of Jaffa, as long as she
remained the wife of Guy de Lusignan. They represented that the latter
had already manifested his utter incapacity for command, both in the
field and in the cabinet; that the kingdom of Jerusalem required an
able general for its sovereign; and they insisted that Sibylla should
be immediately divorced from Guy de Lusignan, and should choose a
husband better fitted to protect the country and undertake the conduct
of the government.
As soon as this message had been received, the Grand Master of the
Temple directed the Templars to take possession of all the gates of
the city of Jerusalem, and issued strict orders that no person should
be allowed to enter or withdraw from the Holy City without an express
permission from himself. Sibylla and Guy de Lusignan were then taken,
guarded by the Templars, to the great church of the Resurrection, where
the patriarch Heraclius and all his clergy were in readiness to receive
them. The crowns of the Latin kingdom were kept in a large chest in the
treasury, fastened with two locks. The Grand Master of the Temple kept
the key of one of these locks, and the Grand Master of the Hospital
had the other. On their arrival at the church, the key of the Grand
Master of the Temple was produced, but the key of the Grand Master of
the Hospital was not forthcoming, nor could that illustrious chieftain
himself anywhere be found. Gerard de Riderfort and Heraclius at last
went in person to the Hospital, and after much hunting about they found
the Grand Master, and immediately demanded the key in the queen’s name.
The powerful Superior of the Hospitallers at first refused to produce
it, but being pressed by many arguments and entreaties, he at last
took out the key and flung it upon the ground, whereupon the patriarch
picked it up, and proceeding to the treasury, speedily produced the
two crowns, one of which he placed upon the high altar of the church
of the Resurrection, and the other by the side of the chair upon
which the countess of Jaffa was seated. Heraclius then performed the
solemn ceremony of the coronation, and when he had placed the crown
on the queen’s head, he reminded her that she was a frail and feeble
woman, but ill fitted to contend with the toil and strife in which
the beleaguered kingdom of Palestine was continually involved, and he
therefore exhorted her to make choice of some person to govern the
kingdom in conjunction with herself; whereupon her majesty, taking
up the crown which had been placed by her side, and calling for her
husband, Guy de Lusignan, thus addressed him:--“Those whom God hath
joined, let no man put asunder. Sire, receive this crown, for I know
none more worthy of it than yourself.” And immediately Guy de Lusignan
was crowned king of Jerusalem, and received the blessing of the
patriarch.
Great was the indignation of the count of Tripoli and the barons, when
they received intelligence of these events. They raised the standard
of revolt, and proclaimed the princess Isabella, the younger sister
of Sibylla, who had been married, at the early period of eight years,
to Humphrey de Thoron, queen of Jerusalem. As soon as Humphrey de
Thoron heard of the proceedings of the count of Tripoli and the barons,
he hurried with the princess to Jerusalem, and the two, throwing
themselves at the feet of the king and queen, respectfully tendered
to them their allegiance. This loyal and decisive conduct struck
terror and dismay into the hearts of the conspirators, most of whom
now proceeded to Jerusalem to do homage; whilst the count of Tripoli,
deserted by his adherents, retired to the strong citadel of Tiberias,
of which place he was the feudal lord, and there remained, proudly
defying the royal power.[64]
The king at first sought to avail himself of the assistance of the
Templars against his rebellious vassal, and exhorted them to besiege
Tiberias; but they refused, as it was contrary to their oaths, and
the spirit of their institution, for them to undertake an aggressive
warfare against any christian prince. The king then gave orders for the
concentration of an army at Nazareth; the count of Tripoli prepared to
defend Tiberias, and it appears unquestionable that he sent to Saladin
for assistance, and entered into a defensive and independent alliance
with that monarch. The citadel of Tiberias was a place of great
strength, the military power of the count was very considerable, and
the friends of the king, foreseeing that the infidels would not fail to
take advantage of a civil war, earnestly besought his majesty to offer
terms of reconciliation to his powerful vassal. It was accordingly
agreed that the Grand Masters of the Temple and the Hospital should
proceed with the archbishop of Tyre, the Lord Balian d’Ibelin, and
the Lord Reginald of Sidon, to Tiberias, and attempt to bring back
the count to his allegiance. These illustrious personages set out
from Jerusalem, and slept the first night at Naplous, of which town
Balian d’Ibelin was the feudal lord, and the next day they journeyed
on towards Nazareth. As they drew near that place, the Grand Master of
the Temple proceeded to pass the night at a neighbouring fortress of
the Knights Templars, called “the castle of La Feue,” and was eating
his supper with the brethren in the refectory of the convent, when
intelligence was brought to him that a strong corps of the Mussulman
cavalry, under the command of Malek al Afdal, one of Saladin’s sons,
had crossed the Jordan at sunrise, and was marching through the
territories of the count of Tripoli.
The chronicle of the Holy Land, written by Radolph, abbot of the
monastery of Coggleshale in Essex, forms the most important and
trustworthy account now in existence of the conquest of Jerusalem by
Saladin, for the writer was, as he tells us, an eye-witness of all
the remarkable events he relates. Radolph was an English monk of the
Cistercian order, and a man of vast learning and erudition. He went on
a pilgrimage to Palestine, and was there on the breaking out of the war
which immediately preceded the loss of the Holy City. He was present
at the siege of Jerusalem, and was wounded by an arrow, “which,” says
the worthy abbot, “pierced through the nose of the relator of these
circumstances; the wood was withdrawn, but a part of the iron barb
remains to this day.” His chronicle was published in 1729, by the
fathers Martene and Durand, in their valuable collection of ancient
chronicles and manuscripts. It commences in the year 1187, and finishes
in 1191.
As soon as the Grand Master of the Temple heard that the infidels had
crossed the Jordan and were ravaging the christian territories, he
sent messengers to a castle of the Templars called “The Convent of
Caco,” situate four miles distant from La Feue, commanding all the
knights that could be spared from the garrison at that place to mount
and come to him with speed. The knights had retired to rest when the
messengers arrived, but they arose from their beds, and at midnight
they were encamped with their horses around the walls of the castle of
La Feue. The next morning, as soon as it was light, the Grand Master,
at the head of ninety of his knights, rode over to Nazareth, and was
joined at that place by the Grand Master of the Hospital and forty
knights of the garrison of Nazareth. The Templars and Hospitallers
were accompanied by four hundred of their foot soldiers, and the
whole force, under the command of the two Grand Masters, amounted to
about six hundred men. With this small but valiant band, they set out
in quest of the infidels, and had proceeded about seven miles from
Nazareth in the direction of the Jordan, when they came suddenly upon a
strong column of Mussulman cavalry amounting to several thousand men,
who were watering their horses at the brook Kishon. Without waiting
to count the number of their enemies, the Templars raised their war
cry, unfolded the blood-red banner, and dashed into the midst of the
astonished and terrified Mussulmen, dealing around them, to use the
words of Abbot Coggleshale, “death and damnation.” The infidels, taken
by surprise, were at first thrown into confusion, discomfited, and
slaughtered; but when the smallness of the force opposed to them became
apparent, they closed in upon the Templars, overwhelmed them with
darts and missiles, and speedily thinned their ranks with a terrific
slaughter. An eye-witness tells us that the military friars were to be
seen bathed with blood and sweat; trembling with fatigue; with their
horses killed under them, and with their swords and lances broken,
closing with the Mussulman warriors, and rolling headlong with them in
the dust. Some tore the darts with which they had been transfixed from
their bodies, and hurled them back with a convulsive effort upon the
enemy; and others, having lost all their weapons in the affray, clung
around the necks of their opponents, dragged them from their horses,
and endeavoured to strangle them under the feet of the combatants.
Jacqueline de Mailly, Marshal of the Temple, performed prodigies of
valour. He was mounted on a white horse, and clothed in the white habit
of his order, with the blood-red cross, the symbol of martyrdom, on
his breast; he became, through his gallant bearing and demeanour, an
object of admiration, even to the Moslems. Radolph compares the fury
and the anger of this warlike monk, as he looked around him upon his
slaughtered brethren, to the wrath of the lioness who has lost her
whelps; and his position and demeanour in the midst of the throng of
infidels, he likens to that of the wild boar when surrounded by dogs
whom he is tearing with his tusks. Every blow of this furious man, says
the worthy abbot, “despatched an infidel to hell;” but with all his
valour Jacqueline de Mailly was slain.
In this bloody battle perished the Grand Master of the Hospital and
all the Templars excepting the Grand Master, Gerard de Riderford, and
two of his knights, who broke through the dense ranks of the Moslems,
and made their escape to Nazareth. The Mussulmen severed the heads of
the slaughtered Templars from their bodies, and attaching them with
cords to the points of their lances, they marched off in the direction
of Tiberias. This disastrous engagement was fought on Friday, the 1st
of May, the feast of St. James and St. Philip. “In that beautiful
season of the year,” says Abbot Coggleshale, “when the inhabitants of
Nazareth were wont to seek the rose and the violet in the fields, they
found only the sad traces of carnage, and the lifeless bodies of their
slaughtered brethren. With mourning and great lamentation they carried
them into the burial-ground of the blessed Virgin Mary at Nazareth,
crying aloud, ‘Daughters of Galilee, put on your mourning clothes, and
ye daughters of Zion, bewail the misfortunes that threaten the kings of
Judah.’”
Whilst this bloody battle was being fought, the Lord Balian d’Ibelin
was journeying with another party of Templars from Naplous to join the
Grand Master at Nazareth, and the following interesting account is
given of their march towards that place. “When they had travelled two
miles, they came to the city of Sebaste. It was a lovely morning, and
they determined to march no further until they had heard mass. They
accordingly turned towards the house of the bishop and awoke him up,
and informed him that the day was breaking. The bishop accordingly
ordered an old chaplain to put on his clothes and say mass, after which
they hastened forwards. Then they came to the castle of La Feue, (a
fortress of the Templars,) and there they found, outside the castle,
the tents of the convent of Caco pitched, and there was no one to
explain what it meant. A varlet was sent into the castle to inquire,
but he found no one within but two sick people who were unable to
speak. Then they marched towards Nazareth, and after they had proceeded
a short distance from the castle of La Feue, they met a brother of the
Temple on horseback, who galloped up to them at a furious rate, calling
out, ‘Bad news, bad news;’ and he informed them how that the Master of
the Hospital had had his head cut off, and how of all the brothers of
the Temple there had escaped but three, the Master of the Temple and
two others, and that the knights whom the king had placed in garrison
at Nazareth, were all taken and killed.” “If Balian d’Ibelin,” says
the chronicler, “had marched straight to Nazareth, with his knights,
instead of halting to hear mass at Sebaste, he would have been in time
to have saved his brethren from slaughter.” As it was, he arrived just
in time to hear the funeral service read over their dead bodies by
William, archbishop of Tyre.[65]
The Grand Master of the Temple, who was at Nazareth, suffering severely
from his wounds, hastened to collect together a small force at that
place to open the communications with Tiberias, which being done, the
Lord Balian d’Ibelin and the archbishop of Tyre proceeded to that place
to have their interview with the count of Tripoli. The Grand Master
accompanied them as far as the hill above the citadel, but not liking
to trust himself into the power of the count, he then retraced his
steps to Nazareth. Both the Moslem and the Christian writers agree in
asserting that the count of Tripoli had at this period entered into
an alliance with Saladin; nevertheless, either smitten with remorse
for his past conduct, or moved by the generous overtures of the king,
he consented to do homage and become reconciled to his sovereign, and
for this purpose immediately set out from Tiberias for Jerusalem. The
interview and reconciliation between the king and the count took place
at Joseph’s well, near Naplous, in the presence of the Templars and
Hospitallers, and the bishops and barons. The count knelt upon one knee
and did homage, whereupon the king raised him up and kissed him, and
they then both returned together to Naplous to take measures for the
protection of the country.
Saladin, on the other hand, was concentrating together a large
army and rapidly maturing his plans for the reconquest of the
Holy City--the long-cherished enterprise of the Mussulmen. Whilst
discord and dissensions had been gradually undermining the strength
of the Christian empire, Saladin had been carefully extending and
consolidating his power. He had reduced the various independent
chieftains of the north of Syria to submission to his throne and
government; he had conquered the cities of Mecca and Medina, and the
whole of Arabia Felix; and his vast empire now extended from Tripoli,
in Africa, to the Tigris, and from the Indian Ocean to the mountains
of Armenia. The Arabian writers enthusiastically recount his pious
exhortations to the true believers to arm in defence of Islam, and
describe with vast enthusiasm his glorious preparations for the holy
war. Bohadin, son of Sjeddadi, his friend and secretary, and great
biographer, before venturing upon the sublime task of describing his
famous and sacred actions, makes a solemn confession of faith, and
offers up praises to the one true God. “Praise be to GOD,” says he,
“who hath blessed us with _Islam_, and hath led us to the understanding
of the true faith beautifully put together, and hath befriended us;
and, through the intercession of our prophet, hath loaded us with every
blessing. I bear witness that there is no God but that one GREAT GOD
who hath _no partner_, (a testimony that will deliver our souls from
the smoky fire of hell,) that MOHAMMED is his _servant_ and _apostle_,
who hath opened unto us the gates of the right road to salvation. These
solemn duties being performed, I will begin to write concerning the
victorious DEFENDER _of the_ FAITH, the tamer of the followers of the
cross, the lifter up of the standard of justice and equity, the saviour
of the world and of religion, Saladin Aboolmodaffer Joseph, the son of
Job, the son of Schadi, Sultan of the Moslems, ay, and of Islam itself;
the deliverer of the holy house of God (the Temple) from the hands of
the idolaters, the servant of two holy cities, whose tomb may the Lord
moisten with the dew of his favour, affording to him the sweetness of
the fruits of the faith.”[66]
Crowds of Mussulmen from all parts of Asia crowded round the standard
of Saladin, and the caliph of Bagdad and all the imauns put up daily
prayers for the success of his arms. After protecting the return of the
caravan from Mecca, Saladin marched to Ashtara, probably the Ashtaroth
Karnain of scripture, belonging to the tribe of Manasseh, not far from
Damascus. He was there met by his son, _Al Malek al Afdal_, “Most
excellent Prince,” and _Moh-hafferoddin ibn Zinoddin_, with the army
under their command. Being afterwards joined by the forces of _Al
Mawsel_, commanded by _Màsûd al Zaf’arâni_, _Maredin_, and _Hamah_, he
reviewed his army, first on the hill called Tel Taisel, and afterwards
at Ashtara, the place of general rendezvous. Whilst completing his
preparations at this place, Saladin received intelligence of the
reconciliation of the count of Tripoli with the king of Jerusalem, and
he determined instantly to lay siege to Tiberias. For this purpose,
on Friday the 17th of the month Rabi, he advanced in three divisions
upon Al Soheira, a village situate at the northern end of the Lake of
Tiberias, where he encamped for the night. The next day he marched
round to the western shore of the lake, and proceeded towards Tiberias
in battle array. On the 21st Rabi, he took the town by storm, put all
who resisted to the sword, and made slaves of the survivors. The place
was then set on fire and reduced to ashes. The countess of Tripoli
retired with the garrison into the citadel, and from thence she
sent messengers to her husband and the king of Jerusalem, earnestly
imploring instant succour.
The king had pitched his tents at Sepphoris, and all the chivalry of
the Latin kingdom were hastening to join his standard and make a last
effort in defence of the tottering kingdom of Jerusalem. The Templars
and Hospitallers collected together a strong force from their different
castles and fortresses,[67] and came into the camp with the holy cross
which had been brought from the church of the Resurrection, to be
placed in the front of the christian array. The count of Tripoli joined
them with the men of Tripoli and Galilee. Prince Reginald of Mount
Royal, made his appearance at the head of a body of light cavalry.
The Lord Balian of Naplous came in with all his armed retainers, and
Reginald, Lord of Sidon, marched into the camp with the men from the
sea coast.
The Grand Master of the Temple had brought with him the treasure which
had been sent to the Templars by the king of England, to be employed
in the defence of the Holy Land, in expiation of the murder of St.
Thomas à Becket, and it was found very acceptable in the exhausted
condition of the Latin treasury. Whilst the christian forces were
assembling at Sepphoris, Saladin sent forward a strong corps of
cavalry, which ravaged and laid waste all the country around the
brook Kishon, from Tiberias to Bethoron, and from the mountains of
Gilboa and Jezreel to Nazareth. From all the eminences nought was to
be seen but the smoking ruins of the villages, hamlets, and scattered
dwellings of the christian population. The whole country, before the
very noses of the warriors of the cross, was enveloped in flame and
smoke, and the christian camp was filled with fugitives who had fled
with terror before the merciless swords of the Moslems. To complete
the misfortunes of the Latins, the king was irresolute and continually
giving contradictory commands, and the christian chieftains, having
lost all confidence in their leader, and despairing of being able to
contend with success against the vast power of Saladin, seemed to be
preparing for a retreat to the sea coast, rather than for a desperate
struggle with the infidels for the preservation of Jerusalem. Upon
this ground only can be explained the long delay of the christian army
at Sepphoris. This place, the ancient capital of Galilee, is situate
between Nazareth and Acre, and an army could at any time secure an easy
and safe retreat from it to the port of the last-named city. Here,
then, the Christians remained, quietly permitting Saladin to occupy a
strong position from whence he could pour his vast masses of cavalry
into the great plain of Esdraelon, and open for himself a direct road
to the Holy City, either through the valley of the Jordan, or through
the great plain along the bases of the mountains of Gilboa.
When the messengers from the countess of Tripoli arrived in the
christian camp, with intelligence that Saladin had burnt and stormed
the town of Tiberias, and that the countess had retired into the
citadel, the king called a council of war. This council assembled in
the royal tent, on the evening of the 2nd of July, A. D. 1187, and
there were present at it, Gerard de Riderfort, the Grand Master of the
Temple, the newly-elected Grand Master of the Hospital, the archbishop
of Tyre, the count of Tripoli, Balian d’Ibelin, lord of Naplous, and
nearly all the bishops and barons of Palestine. The count of Tripoli,
although his capital was in flames, his territories spoiled by the
enemy, and his countess closely besieged, advised the king to remain
inactive where he was; but the Grand Master of the Temple, hearing
this advice, rose up in the midst of the assembly, and stigmatized the
count as a traitor, urging the king instantly to march to the relief
of Tiberias. The barons, however, sided with the count of Tripoli,
and it was determined that the army should remain at Sepphoris. The
council broke up; each man retired to his tent, and the king went to
supper. But the Grand Master of the Temple, agitated by a thousand
conflicting emotions, could not rest. At midnight he arose and sought
the presence of the king. He reproached him for remaining in a state of
inaction at Sepphoris, whilst the enemy was ravaging and laying waste
all the surrounding country, and reducing the Christian population to
a state of hopeless bondage. “It will be an everlasting reproach to
you, sire,” said he, “if you quietly permit the infidels to take before
your face an important christian citadel, which you ought to feel it
your first duty to defend. Know that the Templars will sooner tear the
white mantle from their shoulders, and sell all that they possess, than
remain any longer quiet spectators of the injury and disgrace that have
been brought upon the christian arms.”
Moved by the discourse of the Grand Master, the king consented to
march to the relief of Tiberias, and at morning’s dawn the tents of
the Templars were struck, and the trumpets of the order sounded the
advance. In vain did the count of Tripoli and the barons oppose this
movement, the king and the Templars were resolute, and the host of
the cross soon covered, in full array, the winding road leading to
Tiberias. The count of Tripoli insisted upon leading the van of the
army, as the christian forces were marching through his territories,
and the Templars consequently brought up the rear. The patriarch
Heraclius, whose duty it was to bear the holy cross in front of the
christian array, had remained at Jerusalem, and had confided his sacred
charge to the bishops of Acre and Lidda, a circumstance which gave rise
to many gloomy forebodings amongst the superstitious soldiers of Christ.
As soon as Saladin heard of the advance of the christian army, he
turned the siege of the citadel of Tiberias into a blockade, called
in his detachments of cavalry, and hastened to occupy all the passes
and defiles of the mountains leading to Tiberias. The march of the
infidel host, which amounted to 80,000 horse and foot, over the hilly
country, is compared by an Arabian writer, an eye-witness, to mountains
in movement, or to the vast waves of an agitated sea. Saladin encamped
on the hills beyond Tiberias, resting his left wing upon the lake,
and planting his cavalry in the valleys. When the Latin forces had
arrived within three miles of Tiberias, they came in sight of the
Mussulman army, and were immediately assailed by the light cavalry
of the Arabs. During the afternoon of that day a bloody battle was
fought. The Christians attempted, but in vain, to penetrate the defiles
of the mountains; and when the evening came they found that they had
merely been able to hold their ground without advancing a single step.
Instead of fighting his way, at all hazards, to the lake of Tiberias,
or falling back upon some position where he could have secured a supply
of water, the king, following the advice of the count of Tripoli,
committed the fatal mistake of ordering the tents to be pitched. “When
the Saracens saw that the Christians had pitched their tents,” says the
chronicler, “they came and encamped so close to them that the soldiers
of the two armies could converse together, and not even a cat could
escape from the Christian lines without the knowledge of the Saracens.”
It was a sultry summer’s night, the army of the cross was hemmed in
amongst dry and barren rocks, and both the men and horses, after their
harassing and fatiguing march, threw themselves on the parched ground,
sighing in vain for water. During the livelong night, not a drop of
that precious element touched their lips, and the soldiers arose
exhausted and unrefreshed, for the toil, and labour, and fierce warfare
of the ensuing day.
At sunrise the Templars formed in battle array in the van of the
Christian army, and prepared to open a road through the dense ranks of
the infidels to the lake of Tiberias. An Arabian writer, who witnessed
the movement of their dense and compact columns at early dawn, speaks
of them as “terrible in arms, having their whole bodies cased with
triple mail.” He compares the noise made by their advancing squadrons
to the _loud humming of bees!_ and describes them as animated with
“a flaming desire of vengeance.”[68] Saladin had behind him the lake
of Tiberias, his infantry was in the centre, and the swift cavalry
of the desert was stationed on either wing, under the command of
_Faki-ed-deen_ (teacher of religion). The Templars rushed, we are told,
like lions upon the Moslem infidels, and nothing could withstand their
heavy and impetuous charge. “Never,” says an Arabian doctor of the law,
“have I seen bolder or more powerful soldiers; none more to be feared
by the believers in the true faith.” Saladin set fire to the dry grass
and dwarf shrubs which lay between both armies, and the wind blew the
smoke and the flames directly into the faces of the military friars
and their horses. The fire, the noise, the gleaming weapons, and all
the accompaniments of the horrid scene, have given full scope to the
descriptive powers of the oriental writers. They compare it to the last
judgment; the dust and the smoke obscured the face of the sun, and
the day was turned into night. Sometimes gleams of light darted like
the rapid lightning amid the throng of combatants; then you might see
the dense columns of armed warriors, now immoveable as mountains, and
now sweeping swiftly across the landscape like the rainy clouds over
the face of heaven. “The sons of paradise and the children of fire,”
say they, “then decided their terrible quarrel; the arrows rustled
through the air like the wings of innumerable sparrows, the sparks flew
from the coats of mail and the glancing sabres, and the blood spurting
forth from the bosom of the throng deluged the earth like the rains of
heaven.”... “The avenging sword of the true believers was drawn forth
against the infidels; the faith of the UNITY was opposed to the faith
of the TRINITY, and speedy ruin, desolation, and destruction, overtook
the miserable sons of baptism!”
The lake of Tiberias was two miles distant from the Templars, and ever
and anon its blue and placid waters were to be seen calmly reposing
in the bright sun-beams, or winding gracefully amid the bosom of the
distant mountains; but every inch of the road was fiercely contested;
the expert archers of the Mussulmen lined all the eminences, and the
thirsty soil was drenched with the blood of the best and bravest of the
christian warriors. After almost superhuman exertions, the Templars
and Hospitallers halted, and sent to the king for succour. At this
critical juncture the count of Tripoli, who had always insisted on
being in the van, and whose conduct, from first to last, had been most
suspicious, dashed with a few followers through a party of Mussulmen,
who opened their ranks to let him pass, and fled in safety to Tyre.
The flight of this distinguished nobleman gave rise to a sudden panic,
and the troops that were advancing to the support of the Templars were
driven in one confused mass upon the main body. The military friars,
who rarely turned their backs upon the enemy, maintained, alone and
unaided, a short, sharp, and bloody conflict, which ended in the death
or captivity of every one of them excepting the Grand Master of the
Hospital, who clove his way from the field of battle, and reached
Ascalon in safety, but died of his wounds the day after his arrival.
The Christian soldiers now gave themselves up to despair; the infantry,
which was composed principally of the native population of Palestine,
men taken from the plough and the pruning-hook, crowded together in
disorder and confusion, around the bishops and the holy cross. They
were so wedged together that they were unable to act against the enemy,
and they refused to obey their leaders. Brother Terric, Grand Preceptor
of the Temple, who had been attached to the person of the king, the
Lord Reginald of Sidon, Balian d’Ibelin, lord of Naplous, and many of
the lesser barons and knights, collected their followers together,
rushed over the rocks, down the mountain sides, pierced through the
enemies’ squadrons, and leaving the infantry to their fate, made their
escape to the sea coast. The Arab cavalry dashed on, and surrounding,
with terrific cries, the trembling and unresisting foot soldiers, they
mowed them down with a frightful carnage.
In vain did the bishops of Ptolemais and Lidda, who supported with
difficulty the Holy Cross in the midst of the disordered throng,
attempt to infuse into the base-born peasantry some of that daring
valour and fiery-religious enthusiasm which glowed so fiercely in the
breasts of the Moslems. The Christian fugitives were crowded together
like a flock of sheep when attacked by dogs, and their bitter cries
for mercy ever and anon rent the air, between the loud shouts of ALLAH
_acbar_--“GOD is victorious.” The Moslem chieftains pressed into the
heart of the throng, and cleft their way towards the Holy Cross; the
bishop of Ptolemais was slain, the bishop of Lidda was made captive,
and the cross itself fell into the hands of the infidels. The king of
Jerusalem, the Grand Master of the Temple, the Marquis of Montferrat,
the Lord Reginald de Chatillon, and many other nobles and knights,
were at the same time taken prisoners and led away into captivity.
“Alas, alas,” says Abbot Coggleshale, “that I should have lived to
have seen in my time these awful and terrible calamities.” When the
sun had sunk to rest, and darkness had put an end to the slaughter,
a crowd of Christian fugitives, who survived the long and frightful
carnage, attempted to gain the summit of Mount Hittin, in the vain hope
of escaping from the field of blood, under cover of the obscurity of
the night. But every pass and avenue were strictly watched, and when
morning came they were found cowering on the elevated summit of the
mountain. They were maddened with thirst and exhausted with watching,
but despair gave them some energy; they availed themselves with success
of the strength of their position, and in the first onslaught the
Moslems were repulsed. The sloping sides of Mount Hittin were covered
with dry grass and thistles, which had been scorched and killed by the
hot summer’s sun, and the Moslems again resorted to the expedient of
setting fire to the parched vegetation. The heat of a July sun, added
to that of the raging flames, soon told with fearful effect upon the
weakened frames of the poor Christian warriors, who were absolutely
dying with thirst; some threw away their arms and cast themselves
upon the ground; some cried for mercy, and others calmly awaited the
approach of death.
The Moslem appetite for blood had at this time been slaked; feelings
of compassion for the misfortunes of the fallen had arisen in their
breasts, and as resistance had now ceased in every quarter of the
field, the lives of the fugitives on Mount Hittin were mercifully
spared. Thus ended the memorable battle of Tiberias, which commenced on
the afternoon of the 3rd of July, and ended oh the morning of Saturday,
the 5th. The multitude of captives taken by the Moslems was enormous;
cords could not be found to bind them, the tent ropes were all used
for the purpose, but were insufficient, and the Arabian writers tell
us, that on seeing the dead, one would have thought that there could
have been no prisoners, and on seeing the prisoners, that there could
be no dead. “I saw,” says the secretary and companion of Saladin, who
was present at this terrible fight, and is unable to restrain himself
from pitying the disasters of the vanquished--“I saw the mountains and
the plains, the hills and the valleys, covered with their dead. I saw
their fallen and deserted banners sullied with dust and with blood. I
saw their heads broken and battered, their limbs scattered abroad, and
the blackened corpses piled one upon another like the stones of the
builders. I called to mind the words of the Koran, ‘The infidel shall
say, What am I but _dust_?’... I saw thirty or forty tied together by
one cord. I saw in one place, guarded by one Mussulman, two hundred of
these famous warriors gifted with amazing strength, who had but just
now walked forth amongst the mighty: their proud bearing was gone: they
stood naked with downcast eyes, wretched and miserable.... The lying
infidels were now in the power of the true believers. Their king and
their cross were captured, that cross before which they bow the head
and bend the knee; which they bear aloft and worship with their eyes;
they say that it is the identical wood to which the God whom they
adore was fastened. They had adorned it with fine gold and brilliant
stones; they carried it before their armies; they all bowed towards it
with respect. It was their first duty to defend it; and he who should
desert it would never enjoy peace of mind. The capture of this cross
was more grievous to them than the captivity of their king. Nothing can
compensate them for the loss of it. It was their God; they prostrated
themselves in the dust before it, and sang hymns when it was raised
aloft!”
As soon as all fighting had ceased on the field of battle, Saladin
proceeded to a tent, whither, in obedience to his commands, the king
of Jerusalem, Gerard de Riderfort, the Grand Master of the Temple,
and Reginald de Chatillon had been conducted. This last nobleman had
greatly distinguished himself in various daring expeditions against
the caravans of pilgrims travelling to Mecca, and had become on that
account particularly obnoxious to the pious Saladin. The sultan,
on entering the tent, ordered a bowl of sherbet, the sacred pledge
amongst the Arabs of hospitality and security, to be presented to the
fallen monarch of Jerusalem, and to the Grand Master of the Temple;
but when Reginald de Chatillon would have drunk thereof, Saladin
prevented him, and reproaching the christian nobleman with perfidy and
impiety, he commanded him instantly to acknowledge the prophet whom he
had blasphemed, or to be prepared to meet the death he had so often
deserved. On Reginald’s refusal, Saladin struck him with his scimitar,
and he was immediately despatched by the guards. Bohadin, Saladin’s
friend and secretary, an eye-witness of the scene, gives the following
account of it: “Then Saladin told the interpreter to say thus to the
king, ‘It is thou, not I, who givest drink to this man!’ Then the
sultan sat down at the entrance of the tent, and they brought Prince
Reginald before him, and after refreshing the man’s memory, Saladin
said to him, ‘Now then, I myself will act the part of the defender of
Mohammed!’ He then offered the man the Mohammedan faith, but he refused
it; then the king struck him on the shoulder with a drawn scimitar,
which was a hint to those that were present to do for him; so they sent
his soul to _hell_, and cast out his body before the tent door!”
The next day Saladin proceeded in cold blood to enact the grand
concluding tragedy. The warlike monks of the Temple and of the
Hospital, the bravest and most zealous defenders of the christian
faith, were, of all the warriors of the cross, the most obnoxious to
zealous Mussulmen, and it was determined that death or conversion to
Mahometanism should be the portion of every captive of either order,
excepting the Grand Master of the Temple, for whom it was expected a
heavy ransom would be given. Accordingly, on the christian Sabbath,
at the hour of sunset, the appointed time of prayer, the Moslems
were drawn up in battle array under their respective leaders. The
Mamlook emirs stood in two ranks clothed in yellow, and, at the sound
of the holy trumpet, all the captive knights of the Temple and of the
Hospital were led on to the eminence above Tiberias, in full view of
the beautiful lake of Gennesareth, whose bold and mountainous shores
had been the scene of so many of their Saviour’s miracles. There, as
the last rays of the sun were fading away from the mountain tops,
they were called upon to deny him who had been crucified, to choose
God for their Lord, Islam for their faith, Mecca for their temple,
the Moslems for their brethren, and Mahomet for their prophet. To a
man they refused, and were all decapitated in the presence of Saladin
by the devout zealots of his army, and the doctors and expounders of
the law. An oriental historian, who was present, says that Saladin
sat with a smiling countenance viewing the execution, and that some
of the executioners cut off the heads with a degree of dexterity that
excited great applause. “Oh,” say Omad’eddin Muhammed, “how beautiful
an ornament is the blood of the infidels sprinkled over the followers
of the faith and the true religion!”[69] If the Mussulmen displayed
a becoming zeal in the decapitation and annihilation of the infidel
Templars, these last manifested a no less praiseworthy eagerness for
martyrdom by the swords of the unbelieving Moslems. The Knight Templar,
Brother Nicolas, strove vigorously, we are told, with his companions
to be the first to suffer, and with great difficulty accomplished
his purpose. It was believed by the Christians, in accordance with
the superstitious ideas of those times, that heaven testified its
approbation by a visible sign, and that for three nights, during which
the bodies of the Templars remained unburied on the field, celestial
rays of light played around the corpses of those holy martyrs.
Immediately after this fatal battle, the citadel of Tiberias
surrendered to Saladin, and the countess of Tripoli was permitted to
depart in safety in search of her fugitive husband. There was now no
force in the Latin kingdom capable of offering the least opposition
to the victorious career of the infidels, and Saladin, in order that
he might overrun and subjugate the whole country with the greatest
possible rapidity, divided his army into several bodies, which were
to proceed in different directions, and assemble at last under the
walls of Jerusalem. One strong column, under the command of Malek
el Afdal, proceeded to attack La Feue or Faba, the castle of the
Knights Templars. Nearly all the garrison had perished in the battle
of Tiberias, and after a short conflict the infidels walked into
the fortress, over the dead bodies of the last of its defenders.
From thence they crossed the great plain to Sebaste, and entered the
magnificent church erected by the empress Helena, over the prison in
which St. John the Baptist was beheaded, and over the humble grave
where still repose the remains of St. John and of Zacharias and
Elizabeth his parents. The terrified bishop and clergy had removed all
the gold and silver vessels from the altars and the rich copes and
vestments of the priests, to conceal them from the cupidity of the
Moslems, whereupon these last caused the bishop to be stripped naked
and beaten with rods, and led away all his clergy into captivity. The
wild Turcoman and Bedouin cavalry then dashed up the beautiful valley
of Succoth to Naplous, the ancient Shechem; which they found deserted
and desolate; the inhabitants had abandoned their dwellings and fled
to Jerusalem, and the Mussulmen planted their banners upon the gray
battlements of the castle, and upon the lofty summit of Mount Gerizim.
They then pitched their tents around the interesting well where our
Saviour spoke with the woman of Samaria, and pastured their cavalry in
the valley where Joseph’s brethren were feeding their flocks when they
sold him to the wandering Ishmaelites. Here they remained to gather
some tidings of the operations of their fellow-soldiers on the other
side of the Jordan, and then proceeded to ravage and lay waste all
the country between Naplous and Jerusalem, “continuing,” says Abbot
Coggleshale, “both by night and by day to slaughter every living thing
that they met.”
The column which was to proceed through the valley of the Jordan,
entered the great plain of Esdraelon by Mount Thabor, and taking the
direction of Nain and Endor to Jezreel, they crossed the mountains of
Gilboa to Beisan, and descended the valley of the Jordan, as far as
Jericho. Thence they proceeded to lay siege to a solitary castle of
the Templars, seated upon that celebrated mountain where, according
to tradition, our Saviour was tempted by the Devil with the visionary
scene of “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.” In
this castle the Templars maintained a garrison, for the protection of
the pilgrims who came to bathe in the Jordan, and visit the holy places
in the neighbourhood of Jericho. From the toppling crag, whereon it
was seated, the eye commanded an extensive view of the course of the
Jordan, until it falls into the Dead Sea, also of the eastern frontier
of the Latin kingdom, and of the important passes communicating with
Jerusalem. The place was called _Maledoim_, or “the Red Mountain,” on
account of the blood that had been shed upon the spot. Fifty Tyrian
dinars had been offered by Saladin, for the head of every Knight
Templar that was brought him, and the blood-thirsty infidels surrounded
the doomed castle eager for the reward. The whole garrison was put
to the sword, and the place was left a shapeless ruin. The infidels
then marched off in the direction of Jerusalem, and laid waste all the
country between Jericho and the Holy City. They pitched their tents at
Bethany, upon the spot where stood the houses of Simon the leper, and
of Mary Magdalene and Martha, and they destroyed the church built over
the house and tomb of Lazarus. The wild Arab cavalry then swept over
the Mount of Olives; they took possession of the church constructed
upon the summit of that sacred edifice, and extended their ravages up
to the very gates of Jerusalem.
In the mean time Saladin’s valiant brother Saifeddin, “sword of
the faith,” had crossed the desert from Egypt, to participate in
the plunder and spoil of the christian territories. He laid waste
all the country from Daron and Gerar to Jerusalem. In front of his
fierce warriors were to be seen the long bands of mournful captives
tied together by the wrists, and behind them was a dreary desert,
soaked with christian blood. Saifeddin had besieged the strong town
of Mirabel, and placed his military engines in position, when the
terrified inhabitants sent a suppliant deputation to implore his
clemency. He agreed to spare their lives in return for the immediate
surrender of the place, and gave them an escort of four hundred
Mussulmen, to conduct them in safety to Jerusalem. Accompanied by their
wives and little ones, the miserable Christians cast a last look upon
their once happy homes, and proceeded on their toilsome journey to the
Holy City. On their arrival at an eminence, two miles from Jerusalem,
their Arabian escort left them, and immediately afterwards a party of
Templars dashed through the ravine, charged the retiring Moslems, and
put the greater part of them to the sword.
The great Saladin, on the other hand, immediately after the battle
of Tiberias, hastened with the main body of his forces to Acre, and
the terrified inhabitants threw open their gates at his approach.
From thence he swept the whole sea coast to Jaffa, reducing all the
maritime towns, excepting the city of Tyre, which manfully resisted
him. The savage Turcomans from the north, the predatory Bedouins,
the fanatical Arabians, and the swarthy Africans, hurried across the
frontiers, to share in the spoil and plunder of the Latin kingdom.
Radolph, our worthy abbot of Coggleshale, one of those who fled before
the ruthless swords of the infidels, gives a frightful picture of the
aspect of the country. He tells us that the whole land was covered
with dead bodies, rotting and putrifying in the scorching sun-beams.
At early morning you might see the rich and stately church, with the
bright and happy dwellings scattered around it, the blooming garden,
the silvery olive grove, and the rich vineyard; but the fading rays of
the evening sun would fall on smoking masses of shapeless ruins, and
on a dreary and solitary desert. The holy abbot mourns over the fall
of Nazareth, and the desecration by the infidels of the magnificent
church of the Holy Virgin at that place. Sidon, Caiphas, Sepphoris,
Nazareth, Cæserea, Jaffa, Lidda, and Rama, successively fell into the
hands of the Moslems; the inhabitants were led away into captivity, and
the garrisons were put to the sword. The infidels laid waste all the
country about Mount Carmel and Caiphas, and they burnt the celebrated
church of Elias, on the mountain above the port of Acre, which served
as a beacon for navigators.
The government of the order of the Temple, in consequence of the
captivity of the Grand Master Gerard de Riderfort, who was detained in
prison, with Guy, king of Jerusalem, at Damascus, devolved upon Brother
Terric, the Grand Preceptor of Jerusalem, who addressed letters to all
the brethren in the west, imploring aid and assistance. One of these
letters was duly received by Brother Geoffrey, Master of the Temple at
London, as follows:--“Brother Terric, Grand Preceptor of the poor house
of the Temple, and every poor brother, and the whole convent, now,
alas! almost annihilated, to all the preceptors and brothers of the
Temple, to whom these letters shall come, salvation through him to whom
our fervent aspirations are addressed, through him who causeth the sun
and the moon to reign marvellous.
“The many and great calamities wherewith the anger of God, excited
by our manifold sins, hath just now permitted us to be afflicted, we
cannot for grief unfold to you, neither by letters nor by our sobbing
speech. The infidel chiefs having collected together a vast number
of their people, fiercely invaded our Christian territories, and
we, assembling our battalions, hastened to Tiberias to arrest their
march. The enemy having hemmed us in among barren rocks, fiercely
attacked us; the holy cross and the king himself fell into the hands
of the infidels, the whole army was cut to pieces, two hundred and
thirty of our knights were beheaded, without reckoning the sixty who
were killed on the 1st of May. The Lord Reginald of Sidon, the Lord
Ballovius, and we ourselves, escaped with vast difficulty from that
miserable field. The pagans, drunk with the blood of our Christians,
then marched with their whole army against the city of Acre, and took
it by storm. The city of Tyre is at present fiercely besieged, and
neither by night nor by day do the infidels discontinue their furious
assaults. So great is the multitude of them, that they cover like ants
the whole face of the country from Tyre to Jerusalem, and even unto
Gaza. The holy city of Jerusalem, Ascalon, and Tyre, and Beyrout, are
yet left to us and to the christian cause, but the garrisons and the
chief inhabitants of these places, having perished in the battle of
Tiberias, we have no hope of retaining them without succour from heaven
and instant assistance from yourselves.”[70] Saladin, on the other
hand, sent triumphant letters to the caliph. “God and his ANGELS,” says
he, “have mercifully succoured ISLAM. The infidels have been sent to
feed the _fires_ of HELL! The cross is fallen into our hands, around
which they fluttered like the moth round a light; under whose shadow
they assembled, in which they boldly trusted as in a wall; the cross,
the centre and leader of their pride, their superstit
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