by James Andrew

Created on: June 16, 2008

Why would a secular group such as the Freemasons wish to associate their heritage with the Knights Templar, a Catholic Military Order whose alleged heresy brought about their dissolution by the Pope? I believe the simple answer to be because the Templars were the outcasts of Christendom who are perpetually shrouded in mystery.

I should perhaps clarify at the outset that there is disagreement within the Masonic community as to their own origins, but the belief in their Templar heritage has been gaining momentum over the past few decades, and is certainly the most exciting theory to be promulgated by them.

In order to examine the relationship between the Templars and the Masons, we need to examine the historical evidence and see what it can tell us.

Much of mainstream academia along with a veritable glut of new age' alternative historians feed us the inclination of the Knights Templar as being either heroes or villains in equal measure. Most commonly known for being a military monastic Order, the Knights Templar amassed land and great wealth as the greatest bankers of medieval Christendom. They were builders of cathedrals, preceptories and castles. Their wealth and power granted them prestige as diplomats and royal counsellors, albeit their lack of accountability to royal households would ultimately result in their downfall in a cloud of heresy claims.

Their full title was Pauperes Commilitones Christi Templique Salomonis' (The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon), which is commonly abridged to the Knights Templar or the Templars. As a holy Order of warrior monks, the Templars were answerable only to the Pope himself, not to any of the kings and rulers throughout Christendom. In such a position, the Templars permanently engraved their mark on western civilization and almost single-handedly invented modern capitalism. To fully appreciate the basis for such an Order's existence, we need to examine the socio-political climate in which they were founded.
Foundation
In twelfth century Northern Europe, Warrior Cults of the Norsemen were prevalent and feared for their ferocity in battle. Many of these were based on the Viking heathen religious order of the Jomsburg, which was restricted to only the bravest of warriors. They submitted to a harsh discipline that included celibacy, and they achieved great physical prowess and mastery of combat. Their joys were to be found in plunder and the duty of revenge'. Death in battle was their ultimate goal, as they

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