The Knights Templar was a Christian monastic order formed after the first Crusade. Our fascination with this order in modern times is largely to do with their fall, which involved charges heresy and a falling away from their Christian beliefs.
This essay will be written in three sections. Section one will provide a documented account of the history of the Knights Templar. Section two will illustrate this author's belief that the Templar Knights did in fact develop a heretic understanding of divinity, providing support for this argument based on the established history. Section three will discuss the mythology surrounding the Templars, and its relevance to the modern Occultist.
SECTION 1: HISTORY
After the success of the First Crusade, pilgrims began migrating to the Holy Land. Around 1099AD, nine knights of the Crusade presented themselves to the European governors of Jerusalem as an Order dedicated to the protection of these pilgrims, the Virgin Mary, and all of Christendom. They took residence on Mt. Moriah around 1118AD, which is the historical site of the Temple of Solomon. Thus, they were known as the Templar Knights, or Knights Templar.
The Knights Templar were not unlike any order before them in that they took monistic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, literally becoming warrior monks. Their distinction was the level of power, wealth, and influence they would develop, rivaled only by the Knights Hospitalar. Bernard of Clairvaux, a noble who would later become sainted and a Christian authority rivaling the Pope, supported the Templars financially and politically. Bernard was obsessed with the Virgin Mary, seeing her as a representation of the feminine side of divinity. It was Clairvaux who financed the original Order and mission to Jerusalem, and may have given the Knights special orders in exchange for his support.
The Templars became renowned for their fierceness and courage, and began to acquire wealth through gifts of charity from noble lords and through the holdings of the nobility that joined the order. So impressive was their service that Pope Innocent II exempted them from all authority except the Pope himself. They fought alongside King Richard the Lion Hearted, eventually acquiring so much wealth that they developed a system of banking which was the forefather of modern banking. As usury (loaning money) was against the law and a violation of Christian morals, the Templars found a way to skirt around the system. By the 1300's they were a power in Europe in there own right, with wealth that rivaled that of any country, and a dedicated and well-trained militia. At one point in there history, the Knights Templar claimed to have possession of the True Cross, and sought the Holy Grail, which they may have also possessed.
King Phillip of France, his kingdom weak with debt, had won a political and financial victory against the Cathars in Southern France by claiming they were heretics, having them executed for their crimes, and seizing their property. He then turned his attention to the Templars. Unlike the Cathars, the Templars where admired for their charity, morality, and strength, and a direct assault would mean taking on an enemy that matched France in military numbers, and bested them in skill. So, Phillip began persecuting local chapters of the Order, eventually inviting the then Grand Master of the Templars, Jaques DeMolay, to France to discuss these matters and to celebrate the Templars value in Europe. DeMolay and his lieutenants met with Phillip and Pope Clement, who was also part of the conspiracy. They arrested the Templars, and tried them for heresy.
The Templars faced the following nine accusations:
1. Denial of Christ and the Virgin
2. Sacrilege against the Cross and Christ
3. The Osculum Infame (the unholy kiss, part of some witch covens' initiation practices)
4. Denying the Sacraments and the Host
5. Idolatry
6. Sodomy
7. Grand Masters gave Absolution of Sins
8. Meeting at Night for Secret Rituals
9. Abused Their Authority to Acquire Wealth
Of theses charges, there is concrete evidence of 6-9. The other charges were based on rumor and supported by confessions under torture. I will discuss these further in Section 2.
DeMolay and the Templars that were captured were burned at the stake on March 19th, 1314, and the order disbanded, possibly to go underground. Today, a Masonic version of the Templar Knights exists, but has no concrete connection to the original order. Most testimony supporting the Templars as a Christian order and denying any truth to the charges of heresy are originated by the Masons.
SECTION 2: THEORY
The greatest rumor plaguing (or illuminating) the Templars was their fall from the Church and their worship of another God. While on paper they have always claimed to be a Christian order, a number of glaring circumstances in their history suggest otherwise.
It is clear that the Templars adopted foreign practices, if not religious philosophy. For example, the Templars grew long beards, a Muslim practice which was a show of masculinity and fierceness. The Templars were well versed in Muslim religion and philosophy, and held great respect for their Muslim enemies. The Muslims documented the religious practices of others extensively, and were great historians. The Templars would have access to this information from their vanquished foes and extensive travel.
Their situation at the sight of the Temple of Solomon could be more than mere reverence for its history. The mythology of the Temple of Solomon suggests that it was built with magick, as Solomon was able to command angels and demons. The knowledge to command such energies was said to be stored in that temple. No doubt, the Knights sought that knowledge, and possibly the Ark of the Covenant.
Their possession of the True Cross, and possibly the Holy Grail is also an interesting note. Like the Ark, these items are thought to possess miraculous power, but are specific to the Christian faith, unlike the Jewish Ark. These relics were part of a trinity, and if the Templars had these two items, they would have sought the third; the Spear of Power (the spear which pierced Jesus' side as he hung on the cross).
All of this suggests a strong interest in occult teachings outside the regular doctrine of the Church. However, it is the nine accusations against the Templars and their confessions which provide the strongest historical support for their separation:
1. Denial of Christ and the Virgin:
If the Templars had discovered a new perspective on divinity from their research, it would have conflicted with the standard image of Christ and Mary, suggesting that they represented the male and female aspects of God.
2. Sacrilege against the Cross and Christ:
The symbols of Christ presented by the Church would therefore be deemed false by those who understand them. The True Cross derives its power from Christ's blood upon it, all other symbols of his death would be akin to worshipping the gun that murdered your father. Even without the occult angle, it was likely that the Templars denied the relevance of the Cross in their beliefs, if only based on worship of the cross being Idolatry and hypocrisy.
3. The Osculum Infame (the unholy kiss, part of some witch covens' initiation practices):
If the Templars engaged in their new understanding of divinity, this practice could have been adopted as a secondary initiation into the greater secrets of the Order. Other rumored practices in initiation included sleeping with a corpse. This has been suggested to symbolize death as a companion and lover (and thus nothing to fear).
4. Denying the Sacraments and the Host:
Like the symbols of the Church, the Templars would see these items as dead and useless, and more symbols of subservience to earthly authorities rather than anything divine.
5. Idolatry:
While they may have denied the idols of the Church, the Tempalrs would then create new symbols to represent their understanding of the divine. Baphomet is one such symbol. Another is the skull and crossbones, which is mythology was the result of a Templar's necrophiliac relationship with the corpse of a resently deceased woman (chastity was a vow against sex with the living). In the myth, after the act, the Knight was instructed to return in nine months for his child. When he did, he found a skull and cross bones, and was told that these would protect him if he kept them. They were passed to the Order and symbolically incorporated into their decorations.
6. Sodomy:
A common practice in these times amongst all orders, the Templars had such a problem with it that they enacted safe-guards to protect against it, such as never bathing in fear of another Knight seeing you and lusting after you.
7. Grand Masters gave Absolution of Sins:
As no authority other than the Pope was above them, Grand Masters would have the right to absolve sins as a priest would.
8. Meeting at Night for Secret Rituals:
The Templars were well known for their secret night rituals. Nocturnal rituals were a part of the practice of many faiths, including the Church itself.
9. Abused Their Authority to Acquire Wealth:
The Templars did eventually enforce tariffs in lands they protected. For example, they charged a toll to cross a bridge in Spain, and made certain that no other bridge could be used over that waterway.
This illustrates the liklihood that the Templars did indeed seek to understand occult knowledge. However, I believe that the strongest evidence is within the confessions of the Knights. Inquisitors were excellent at getting false confessions from their victims, but in this case, instead of claiming to worship the Devil, the Templars introduced a whole new being; Baphomet. They described Baphomet in a limited manner, as well as the practices and meaning associated with the deity. How would such confessions spring from the minds of the tortured if there were no basis in truth, and not confessions of Devil worship?
It is clear to most historians that Baphomet is not a random set of meaningless syllables. While some suggest it is a corruption of the name of Muhammad, this is unlikely. The Muslims, despite being a source of information, where still the enemy and Islam was just as corrupt an institution as Catholicism. It is more likely to be a combination of the Greek terms for baptism, wisdom, and fertility. One theory even suggests that Baphomet is in fact the Greek Goddess of wisdom Sophia, although this requires a variety of steps between Hebrew and Greek to reach, and is less likely than the simple, direct translation.
Further support can be found in what would become a prevalent practice during the centuries to come, distrust in the methods and motivation of the Church. The fall of the Templars was at the cusp of the loss of the Church's unquestioned authority of Europe. The King's of Europe were chaffing under the rule of the Church, and the people were chaffing under rulership in total. The Witch Trials of the Inquisition were coming to their height, Galileo would soon be tried for his heretical scientific discoveries, Columbus would be making his famous voyage, and the Age of Reason was about to begin. Educated people all over Europe were questioning the total authority of the Church, both in their spiritual and political lives. They began exploring other avenues of worship. Luther brought to the world's attention the hypocritical focus on wealth in the Church, while other individuals began to resist the idea that the Church was the sole conduit between people and the divine. Other monastic orders, such as the Knights Hospitaler, would also choose to define divinity for themselves. In this light, the Templars seeking a purer means of worship becomes more probable.
A final evidence of the Templars experimentation with magick and the occult happened at the death of DeMolay. Demolay cursed the King of France and the Pope, inviting them to join him in Hell within the year. While there is no historical evidence of this, the Pope died one month after DeMolay, the King took seven months to fulfill the curse.
SECTION THREE: MYTHOLOGY
Missing Vast Wealth
The Templars amassed wealth in a number of fashions; through the spoils of conquest, the collection of tariffs, donations from pilgrims, and the estates of its members left to the Order. Though there has been some argument about the size of this fortune, it was enough to attract the envy and greed of the King of France. Phillip's prosecution of the Templars was meant to leave their fortune in his hands; however, it is unlikely that Phillip actually gained control of the entirety of this wealth, as not all members of the Templars were executed, and no doubt some of the most important artifacts were spirited away before they could be seized.
One possible destination of this fortune was the Hospitaler Knights, a rival monastic order with closer ties to the Catholic Church. Although rivals and allies of their enemies, the Templars knew that the Hospitalers union with the Church was not perfect, and that their remote fortresses in the Mediterranean would offer a safe haven for the remaining Templars.
Another possible direction was the English and Scottish coast. The Freemasons maintain that their branch of the Templar Knights was founded when the descendents of the original Templar refugees joined Freemasonry from exile in Scotland. The Freemasons thus added the Templar wealth and artifacts, as well as their knowledge, to their expansive monopoly of occult power prior to the reformation of European powers in the 1700's.
This second theory has another interesting twist. The Templars, like many other occult orders, may have had an interest in the Merrovingian line, the mythical line of kings which supposedly descended from the union of Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene. Supposedly, a priest in the 1600's was struggling to found a Church, when he discovered a treasure trove in Northern France. This discovery was coupled with a mystical experience, during which the priest was given specific instruction on how best to use the wealth. The result was the founding of a number of Churches in France and Belgium which still exist today. The Churches are for all purposes Catholic, but feature a number of unusual touches. The Stations of the Cross depict some unusual art, including images of kilt wearing Scotsman witnessing the events of Christ's execution, and a number of Scots carrying the body of Jesus away from the tomb. It is believed that this wealth was left by the Templars, and the Scots represent the Templar descendents.
Holy Artifacts
The Templars set up there initial fortress at what was supposed to be the site of the Temple of Solomon. If this were fact, then the Templars could not avoid excavating the site, if only to establish fortifications. The Templars most likely acquired several holy relics.
Mythology maintains that they Templars discovered not any holy relic, but the fabled Ark of the Covenant, the Hebrew relic in which the Ten Commandments was housed. According to the myth, any army which held the Ark could not be defeated. The Templars did enjoy an extraordinary string of successes in combat, unlike the majority of their peers. It is thought that the possession of the Ark, coupled with their need to discover the truth behind their Catholic doctrines, led them to seek out other holy relics of equal magnitude.
Further Templar myth suggests that they also discovered the True Cross, and may have came into possession of the Holy Grail. These mystic items would give the Templars a unique perspective on divinity and its nature. They would also prompt them to seek to complete the Holy trinity of Christian relics by seeking the Spear of Power, a key item in the Merrovingian line myth.
A final holy relic is more specific to the Templars themselves. Supposedly they worshiped a skull and crossbones, possibly representing Baphomet. These bones were said to speak to the Templars during rituals, and predict the future as well as guide the Templars to hidden treasure. It is believed that as a part of their initiation, the Templars were instructed to sleep with the corpse of a deceased woman, and to return a year later for the child, which would be a skull and crossbones. The Knight would be instructed that he would be safe as long as he kept the bones safe. This symbol has been adopted by a variety of groups, including pirates, the Third Reich Totenkampf, and the Yale Skull and Bones Fraternity, a testimony to the continued power of the symbol beyond even the relic itself.
The Merrovingian Line
The Templar connection to the Merrovingian mythology lies in their exploration of the Christian mythology and purported discoveries. The key points of the myth state that a matriarchal cult was a part of early Hebrew religion, a priestess-hood which was suppressed by the patriarchal side of the faith. This cult existed hand and hand with the faith throughout its existence, coming fully into flower with the advent of Christianity. Supposedly, Mary Magdalene was a member of this cult, her life as a prostitute being an aspect of the cult's sexual-spirituality. Jesus of Nazareth, as a part of his attempt to resurrect the original Hebrew beliefs, made Mary Magdalene a 13th disciple, as well as his wife. The child resulting from their union fled to Western Europe with his mother during the persecution of Christianity after the execution of Jesus, and founded the Merrovingian Line (The myth varies as to when this union occurred, either before his death, after his faked death and resurrection, or after his actual death and ascension).
The Merrovingian Line intermingled with the royal lines of Europe, and a Merrovingian dynasty supposedly existed for a time before it was betrayed from within. The myth maintains that all rulers of Europe are either a part of the Merrovingian Line, or have attempted to adopt its symbols, most prevalent that of the honey bee.
The Templars are rumored to have discovered this Line, along with the Churches effort to suppress the truth of its existence. They sought to protect the line, to see a true Merrovingian crowned as Emporer of Europe, and to establish the true faith based on the matriarchal Christian faith.
Continued Existence
Despite Inquistion records stating that all members of the Templars were executed, it is most likely that many survived the purge. It is possible that they were absorbed by other orders, in particular the Knights Hospitaler, who had there own split from the Mother Church and the powers of Europe, and who continue to thrive today.
Just as likely is the possibility that these survivors left the continent for Scotland, and continued their practices in secret. In this case, it is possible that the Templars became absorbed by Freemasonry after the Illuminati purge of the 1700's. The modern Freemasons maintain a Brotherhood of the Knights Templar, although they claim no direct connection to the original Order beyond ideology. Other organizations have adopted the Templars ideology and symbolism, both factual and mythical. The Church of Satan, along with a number of other occult schools, support and maintain the darker aspects of the Templar mythos, while other groups attempt to resurrect the order as a Christian Fraternal organization. Of course, the Templars themselves could have simply continued to practice in secret, using a number of these organizations as foils for the furthering of their agendas. One such possibility is the Priory of Sion.
CONCLUSIONS
In the destruction of the Templars and their records, the Catholic Church did more to spur the heretical aspect of the Templars and flame the imaginations of future occultists than to suppress them. The truth of the Templar organization probably lays somewhere between the known facts and the mythology. No doubt, this secretive brotherhood probably went to extremes to impress upon its initiates the seriousness of its sanctity and the penalties for failing to uphold those practices. Superstition was a readily available tool, and was most likely used to its fullest. Furthermore, the occult, in particular alchemy, was a prevalent practice amongst the educated, seen as a means to guide ones fate in a world were war, plague, or famine was often more frequent than good fortune and prosperity. No doubt, members and perhaps groups within the Order turned to these methods for their own benefit and that of the Order. In the end, the Templars highest ambition was also its gravest crime to its peers, attempting to pierce the veil of mystery surrounding their world.