Untitled Essay Research Paper Title Militant Monks — страница 2

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cold Saint Hilary’s Day, for the primary purpose of considering the request of the Knights Templar. Despite the delays of written communications, Hugh de Payens, accompanied by several brother knights, arrived from the Holy Land in time to attend the meetings of the Council. [Howarth 51] William of Tyre wrote an account of the events: “Nine years after the founding of this order, the knights were still in secular garb. They wore such garments as the people, for salvation of their souls, bestowed upon them. During this ninth year, a council was held at Troyes in France. There were present the archbishops of Rheims and Sens, with their suffragans; the bishop of Albano, the Pope’s legate; the abbotts of Citeaux, Clairvaux, Potigny; and many others. At this council, by order of

Pope Honorious and of Stephen, patriarch of Jerusalem, a rule was drawn up for this order and a habit of white assigned them.” [qtd. in Burman/Templars 27] Although referred to in William’s account by the generic title Abbott of Clairvaux, Bernard, in actuality controlled the proceedings of the council. There was little doubt Bernard’s request would be met with approval; he was well known for his successes in reforming monastic life. He was held in the utmost respect by religious and lay leaders alike; in many circles he was referred to as the second pope. In fact, many of the popes were supplied by the mendicant orders. [Robinson 66-67] At a time when monks were more highly regarded than priests, and considered closer to God because of their ascetic life-styles, Benard

said, “The people cannot look up to the priests, because the people are better than priests.” [Robinson 67] Bernard’s offer to personally assist in the formulation of the Rules of the order was gratefully accepted by all. Bernard based his Rule of the Templars on that of his own Cistercian order, which was itself based on the older Benedictine Rule. [Robinson 67] The Rule of the Templars was a strict and complex system of 686 written laws, meant to cover every possible aspect of daily life. As an example, Rule 25, On Bowls and Drinking Vessels, states: Because of the shortage of bowls, the brothers will eat in pairs, so that one may study the other more closely, and so that neither austerity nor secret abstinence is introduced into the communal meal. And it seems just to us

that each brother should have the same ration of wine in his cup. [qtd. in Upton-Ward 26] In 1139, Pope Innocent II issued a Bull, titled Omne Datum Optimum, declaring that the Knights Templar were under the direct and sole control of the Pope. This freed the Knights to operate throughout Christendom and the Levant unencumbered by local ecclesiastical and secular rulers. This unprecedented autonomy was due, in no small part, to the personal petitions of the new Grand Master, Robert the Burgundian. While Hugh had been an excellent warrior, Robert was an ideal administrator who understood politics. [Howarth 80] The Order was authorized to have chaplain brothers, who were authorized to hear the confessions of their fellow brothers, and thereby absolve them of their sins. There were,

however, five specific crimes for which granting of absolution was reserved by the Pope. These were: “the killing of a Christian man or woman,; violently attacking another brother; attacking a member of another order or a priest; renouncing holy orders in order to be received as a brother; and entering the order by simony.” [Upton-Ward 5] It was also during the mastership of Robert that the Rules were translated from Latin into French. Church documents were normally in Latin only, but since most of the Knights were soldiers rather than educated clerics, they were unable to read Latin. In 1147, the Knights were authorized to wear a red cross upon their white mantles, despite rule 18, which forbade any decorations on their clothing. [Upton-Ward 12] As the Knights Templar gained

political and economic strength, they found themselves involved in many aspects of secular life. They established the first truly international banking service; travelers not wanting to travel with large sums could deposit their monies at any Temple and collect a like amount at their destination. [Burman/Templars 85] The Templars were the primary bankers for the Holy See. Since the order was a papal creation which was administered directly by the Pope himself, their significance as papal bankers is understandable. Less obvious is the Templars’ function as royal bankers for several of Europe’s royal houses. The two greatest Temples outside the Levant were located in Paris and London. These two Temples offered a full range of financial services to the royal houses, including