by S. J. Hodge
A view of the Port of Acre, used extensively by the Templars. It lay in the bay of Haifa and was protected on one side against the open sea by the city and by a strong dyke wall on the other two sides.
Banking
Traditionally, monasteries had provided safe deposit facilities for holding important documents and valuable belongings, but once the Templars had a large number of properties across various countries, they were in a unique position to do this and more. As they gained resources and achieved successes in their various ventures, they also invented new ways to manage their finances and to help others do so too. They began forming an institution that many regard as the origin of modern banking. Pilgrims were targets for bandits mainly for the gold and silver coins they carried, so, from about 1150, the Templars introduced arrangements for looking after the pilgrims’ money. This in effect was the introduction of bank accounts (although some bankers already existed in Italy, they looked after papal funds and other extremely wealthy patrons, not the finances of ordinary people). With so many preceptories throughout Europe and the Holy Land, the Templars were well placed to start a system of safety deposit boxes, whereby pilgrims could deposit their cash in one preceptory and receive coded receipts – or credit notes – to redeem their money for a modest fee at any other preceptory. These were, essentially, the first traveller’s cheques. Largely due to their meticulous banking transaction record-keeping, the money was reimbursed with few problems and they quickly developed the reputation of being dependable and safe. In general, it was far safer to deposit money with Templar bankers than to keep it almost anywhere else. The Templar bankers kept scrupulous accounts, enabling them to run an effective, reliable and accountable concern, where they were able to trace and keep watch over transactions with ease and remain completely transparent and trustworthy. As money could be handed in at one Templar preceptory and cashed at another, whether in the same country or abroad, it was exceptionally convenient, and the Templars soon offered many further financial services as well. These included current accounts; safe deposits for documents, money, gold, jewellery and other precious items; loans, credit and pensions; and they acted as tax collectors and receivers. Although initially they had started providing banking facilities just for pilgrims, within a short time, they had gained a broad range of customers. The Templar banking system grew rapidly, and later, their Paris preceptory became their main financial centre. As their wealth increased, the Templars also began lending money to European rulers – which augmented their own importance and perceived trustworthiness. For instance, in 1147 King Louis VII of France (1120–80) borrowed a large amount of money from them and repaid them with tracts of land in Paris (where they subsequently built their Paris preceptory). At the time of the Magna Carta in 1215, King John of England gave them his Crown jewels for safe-keeping and borrowed money from them; and, as soon as it was built, the Paris Temple came to be used as a stronghold for monarchs’ important jewels and money. The Templar bankers soon became involved in large and complex transactions that were usually only undertaken by merchants and bankers in Italy.
This fast-growing early system of international banking that soon became indispensable, arose mainly through several unique advantages held by the Templars. Firstly, their reputation as pure, determined, honest and restrained religious brothers seemed to be unshakeable. Secondly, their preceptories were as impregnable as forts, and as knights who were protecting the innocent in the Holy Land, they offered unparalleled security and protection, both when money was locked away safely and if it was being moved around for customer convenience. Thirdly, they used codes on their traveller’s cheques, based on Latin, so if any thief stole them, they would be exposed as soon as they tried to cash the cheque. Finally, the Templars were extremely parsimonious themselves as this was part of their Rule – and the financial burdens of the organization were huge. But this was open to certain corruptness, as some took advantage of the rights bestowed on them by popes and sold the right for ordinary people to be buried in Templar cemeteries.
But the banking system had a great and positive effect. Individuals felt confident leaving their money with Templar bankers, pilgrims in particular felt safer and when they no longer carried large bags of money on pilgrimages, they became less tempting to assailants. Consequently, over time, not only did pilgrimages become safer, but the Templars also became highly respected international financiers. In this way, they also helped to change the Church’s attitude towards money lending, which contributed to the rise of capitalism.
Paris and London preceptories
Based on the round plan that followed the Byzantine design of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with Arabic features styled on the Dome of the Rock, Temple Church in London was moved from its original location to its current site near Fleet Street when the Templars needed more space. The necessary enlargement was primarily because of the success of their banking activities, so by 1160 they began building a church closer to the River Thames along with various other buildings and facilities around it, including military training grounds and an impregnable preceptory. The church was consecrated by Heraclius, the Patriach of Jerusalem, on 10 February 1185, probably in the presence of King Henry II of England. At the time, the round church would have been colourfully decorated; even the gargoyles were painted in bright colours. The Templars’ Paris preceptory was built in a similar way to the London buildings, with a church, training grounds and living accommodation built adjacently. The Parisian structure was completed by 1147 and was a large complex, fortified like a castle with strong crenellated perimeter walls, towers and vast vaults, built on land the Knights Templar were given by Louis VII in what is now known as the Marais district. The Paris Temple became the headquarters of Europe’s finances. Today, only the London church remains and nothing is left of either the London or Paris preceptories.
The white slave trade
Before the Templars were established, one major fear of pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem was of being kidnapped and taken as slaves. While slavery did not occur in most of Europe, in parts of the Mediterranean and the East, the trade was rife. Coupled with their devout Christian beliefs (‘love thy neighbour as thyself’) it might seem incongruous that the Templars could be involved with the slave trade themselves, but while in the Holy Land, both the Templars and the Hospitallers often used slaves to help them build their preceptories and castles. It is even thought by some scholars that they used slaves to row their galleys and shipped others to places such as Sicily and Aragon, where they needed more workers. Although unverified, this is plausible, as it was an easy method of gaining free labour. The slave trade had existed for centuries among many different nationalities and was not suppressed either by the perpetrators or by the Crusaders. As it was such a huge concern, those who lived in Outremer seem to have overlooked the horrors and realities of the business.
By the time the Templars had achieved success, wealth and power during the 13th century, the white slave trade was a long-established and thriving business. Slaves were taken as spoils of war, or plucked from poor areas across Europe. This could occur in any country, but it happened particularly in Turkey, Greece and what later became Russia. In some countries where slavery was common, if not kidnapped, the poor and destitute often even sold their own family members as slaves. Slave traders made plenty of money by shipping men, women and children from their native countries to distant shores to be attached to wealthy households, work as prostitutes or be converted to Islam and trained to fight in Muslim armies. Without the indignation that later arose over this trade, it was not stopped, even though it was not condoned. Only one major uprising occurred and that was by the slaves themselves. In Egypt in the 1240s, slaves who had been converted to Islam rose up and killed their masters. They became the Mamluk rulers in Egypt and Syria. Mamluk slaves had become a powerful caste in some Muslim societies before their uprising, and they later fought and overcame the Crusaders at the end of the 13th century. They were an unusual caste
of slaves who were expensive to purchase originally and had never been allowed to carry weapons or perform certain tasks. In some places, Mamluks held a social status above freeborn Muslims.
An illustration from The Great Italian Navigators, by Tumiati and Fanciulli, 1931, depicting a group of Knights Templar sailing to the great trading port of Venice.
Life in the Order
Unlike other orders, Templar knights generally did not practise self-denial through fasting or abstaining from certain foods (although they were only allowed meat three times a week and never on Fridays), nor did they punish themselves with hair shirts or beatings for example. As their number was made up predominantly of knights, the Rule accepted that they needed to be strong and healthy and one of their main duties was to be ready to fight at any time. This was another reason why some Templars joined for short periods – the training and discipline was good for the body, while being in a religious environment and partaking in regular prayers was good for the soul. This kind of retreat became quite popular and both parties gained, as all the temporary Templars were expected to donate heavily for the privilege of joining the Order for a short time. Some married men joined briefly, but they did not undergo monastic training and, although their wives did not accompany them, as the Rule insisted on chastity, to prevent any bad influence, their sleeping quarters were kept separate from the permanent, celibate Templars. The Rule’s insistence on chastity was so strict that Templars were not even permitted to kiss their female relatives. Yet although the Templar knights did not fast or abstain, the ordinary monks in the Order did. Generally, for most of their existence, the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Jesus Christ were recognized by outsiders as being particularly devout and abstemious, true followers of Christ who adhered to the asceticism of the Cistercians.
Every item of clothing and equipment, even down to the cloth used, was specified for each member of the Order. Fabrics used for their habits were of poor-quality linen; only slightly better-quality fabric was used for knights’ habits than for the other Templars. Unusually for the standards of the time, every Templar was given changes of undergarments and outer-garments. This was because hygiene was important – even though they had to ask the Commander of their chapter for permission to have a bath. Too many baths were forbidden as this was believed to weaken the health and strength. While secular knights wore hose to show off their shapely calves, fashionably pointed shoes and short tunics, the Templars were not allowed to wear hose of any kind, nor pointed shoes, and their habits were longer than the popular short tunics worn by other knights – short enough to allow manoeuvrability, but not so short as to be immodest. Their clothes were checked regularly to make sure that everything was neat and clean; it was against the Rule to be unkempt or slovenly. For cold weather, they were each allowed a feather-lined cloak. Each knight was given a hauberk or chain-mail tunic, a chain-mail vest and leggings, a linen shirt, a helmet, a cassock and a surplice, and they had the use of a spear, a lance, a shield and a mace. Weapons had to be plain and not embellished, unless they were received as donations – but even then, only certain gifts were permitted to be used on the battlefield. Every Templar had a towel, a straw mattress, a sheet and blanket or a quilt stuffed with wool.
Each day, two meals were served and Templars were expected to attend seven services, although most of these were shorter prayer meetings, such as matins, prime, compline or vespers and not full-length Masses. In contrast with other orders, new Templars had a short probationary period, although there was no regular or official period of trial and training – recruits tended to be accepted into the Order at the discretion of the Master or Grand Master. Every new member was required to meet certain simple requirements: he should be of legitimate birth, free of debt, fit to fight, and unmarried. The initiation ceremony was undertaken in secrecy, and this caused a great deal of speculation outside the Order, leaving the Templars open to all kinds of accusations. It is believed that the ceremony usually occurred among few other members. Behind closed doors, in the presence of the Master, the postulant simply knelt with his hand on a Bible, declaring his obeisance to God, the Virgin Mary and the Templar Rule, but this has never been completely established, and it became a huge element in their later persecution. Often, the only training or period of instruction that new recruits received was a recitation of the Templar Rule. Brothers who could read were given a copy to read and in case anyone forgot, over many meals, the Rule would be read out as the monks ate in relative silence. It was a strict way of life, but whoever he was, whatever role he performed within the Order and from wherever he had come, once a man had joined the Knights Templar, solidarity, support and discipline were paramount. It was a cohesive, efficient and innovative confraternity, with everyone working towards its collective aims. Witnesses of battles claimed that of all the fighting forces, the Templars were always the most disciplined, brave and orderly in the face of danger and chaos. They were the first into battle and the last to retreat. Their courage, resolve and comradeship became legendary. As the Templar Rule declared:
No one must leave his position without the permission of the commander, not even if he is wounded; and if he finds himself unable to request leave, he must send a comrade to do it for him. And if by chance it should happen that the Christians are defeated – God save us! – no brother must leave the field of battle as long as the banner of the Temple is still flying, and anyone in violation will be expelled forever from the order.
For all their activities the Templars needed a huge workforce. Following the Council of Troyes, and almost unrelentingly for many years after, recruits joined in droves, partly due to religious fervour, partly because of the passion so many felt about reclaiming and defending the holy sites, and later perhaps because they wanted to be part of a successful and exciting international organization. While many young men of good family pledged themselves to be Templar knights, many more were needed to perform all kinds of jobs and help keep the vast concern running smoothly and efficiently. Men of all ages and abilities from across Europe joined, and everyone’s strengths were used to advantage. Unlike many religious orders of the period, however, the Knights Templar did not recruit children or young boys. They considered them to be too immature to be able to participate in the fighting and so could not be of any real assistance. Young boys were also seen to be unsure of their own minds and the Templars did not want to expend time and money on a boy’s education, only to be abandoned when he grew up and decided that he did not want to spend his future as a Templar. So young, healthy men were encouraged to join to train for combat and older men were also welcomed, as they added considerable benefits in the forms of experience, dedication and solemnity. Widowers who could leave their worldly goods to their heirs – or to the Order – and join with no attachments were often encouraged to do so. In the first few years of the Knights Templar, only knights were allowed to be fully committed brothers of the Order, while sergeants and servants were employed by the Templars, but not permitted to become brothers. After some years, however, this changed and sergeants were authorized to take their monastic vows alongside the knights, assuming the full responsibilities of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Jesus Christ, even though they did not fight. For the rest of their existence, Templar brothers were divided into four main categories:
knights, who fought, mainly as cavalry;
sergeants, who came from a lower social class than knights and were usually equipped as light cavalry;
chaplains, who were ordained priests and addressed the spiritual needs of the Order;
farmers, who managed the Templars’ property.
Then, of course, as they grew, many more Templars took up new positions to manage their vast financial infrastructure and others managed their building work and maintenance of land and property, while still others oversaw the production, upkeep, management and use of their fleet. After the early days, for most of their existence, there were approximately 300 knights and 1,000 sergeants based in the Kingdom of Jerusa
lem, and when Jerusalem was lost, this main contingent moved to their new headquarters in Acre and then Cyprus. In Europe, chapters were considerably smaller, although a fairly large number was based in the Iberian Peninsula, and from the time the huge preceptory was built in Paris, a large number of men lived and worked there.
Built by the Knights Templar and consecrated in 1185 by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Temple Church in London is in two parts: the Round Church and the Chancel. The Round Church was designed to model itself on the circular Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Diverse recruitment
As the Templars had so many diverse undertakings that did not apply to other monastic brotherhoods, new recruits were enlisted from all backgrounds and nationalities, even though from the start, the majority were French. Templars needed to be strong, committed, healthy and full of stamina. Piety was a bonus, but not as important as strength and energy. Thoughtful maturity was preferable to the impetuousness of youth, honesty was more favoured than cleverness, and dependability was more valued than zealousness.
If the concept of dealing with the enemy through political agreements and even friendship was incomprehensible to outsiders, then the idea of recruiting non-Christians or those from small, alternative Christian sects into a Catholic religious order was equally difficult to understand. Nonetheless, in their need for so many members, it soon became logical or even necessary for the Templars to look beyond their immediate circle and to recruit where they could. Languedoc in southwestern France had for many years developed as a fertile region, noted for its rich and abundant produce, its wealthy, powerful families, and its mix of religions. The name, Languedoc, evolves from ‘the language of Oc’ or ‘Occitan’, a name that was also used for the area. Many Templars were located in the region, and they built churches, forts, castles and villages there. They owned the villages of Théziers and La Couvertoirade and a farm at Orgnes du Rhône, for example, and they were given the church Saint-Martin-de-Tréveils near Ponteils, as well as a farm at Caissargues.