One of the ironies surrounding the story of the Knights
Templar – the Warrior Monks as they came to be known, is that they were
formed in Jerusalem around the year 1118 as the
"Order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon", to maintain the security of the newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem, and protect pilgrims visiting the Holy Land at the end of
the First Crusade of 1096. However, it is speculated that their end which was first
initiated in the year 1307 and completed by 1312, was brought about by the fact
that they had amassed extreme wealth and influence. They were brought down in a
rather spectacular fashion by King Philip IV (Philip the Fair of France - who
was heavily indebted to the Knights Templar), and Pope Clement V who had established
the Popes in Avignon in the year 1309.
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| Jacques de Molay, the last leader of the Knights Templar - from a 19th Century color lithograph by Chevauchet |
The disbanding of this Order began on Friday 13th of October
1307, when Philip ordered all of the Templars in France to be arrested and imprisoned for “Satanism and
other unnatural acts and practices.”
Many were found guilty after torture-encouraged confessions and others
for refusing to confess. In March 1314,
Jacques de Molay, the leader of the Knights Templar, who had spent the previous several years in
prison for being a relapsed heretic was burned at the stake on the Ile-des-Javiaux
in the River Seine.
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| Two Templars burned at the stake, from a French 15th century manuscript |
During the nearly two hundred years that the Knights
Templars operated between Western Europe and Palestine, the “Templars” as their
official title was abbreviated to, not only set up secure routes for pilgrims
traveling from Europe to the Holy Land, but also established the first “Banking
System”.
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| 12th century stone marking Hugo de Bolboton founder of the Templars of Richeranches in 1136 - in the Church at Richeranches |
When men joined the Order,
they took an oath of poverty and donated all their wealth and lands to the Knights
Templar, and in 1127 when they received
their first large donation of land, it began a flood of many such donations and special privileges granted to the Order by
various Monarchs and Popes. This together with the spoils of battles, lead
to the amassing of a true fortune, and a great deal of power, having received
an edict from the Pope which gave them authority to operate across the borders
of many countries, but made them
answerable only to Pope himself.
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| This placque at the Commanderie in Richeranches tells of the Arrest and trial of the leaders of the Templars |
The Order was the first bankers who set up the basis of the system that is still in use today. Their banking activities included, loans to Monarchs of both
England and France to finance the Crusades, transporting money and valuables
between Palestine and Europe, lending
money to pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land and setting up a system whereby a
landowner leaving to travel to the Crusades or on a Pilgrimage, could deposit
their assets with the Knights Templar in their home country, and travel with a
form of a Letter of Credit, which enabled them to make withdrawals from their
account at other locations.
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| Courtyard of the Commanderie des Templiers - Richeranches |
The Knights Templar set up an extensive network of Commanderies from Europe to Palestine. These Commanderies were support bases for the
Knights and Pilgrims whilst on their journey. They also served as training
centers for young knights in training and retirement centers for older knights. The support systems included not only the
knights who were the heavy cavalry, but assistants to these knights, known as
sergeants who were equipped as light cavalry and drawn from a lower social
class than the knights. There were
farmers who worked the land for the
production of food, and other agricultural products such as corn, wool, oil and
cattle that were used locally as well as to supply the Holy Land – they cared for and administered the
properties. The spiritual life of the
Order was seen to by the Chaplains of the Commanderie, who were all ordained priests.
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| Templar Artifacts at the Office de Tourisme in Richeranches, housed in the old Commanderie |
Provence has a number of towns that were home to
Commanderies of the Knights Templar. Close
to Sablet and our vacation rental homes there is a particularly good example
of such a main Commanderie in the town of Richeranches. Here, the Commanderie was erected on land
donated by Hugo de Bolboton, a local land owner who was committed to the cause
of the crusades. The fortified structure followed a common
square courtyard layout with a Chapel and a refectory at opposite ends of the structure. Although many of the original buildings of
this Commanderie have been destroyed or incorporated into other structures of the village, the Refectory
building, the Dining and Meeting Halls of the original Commanderie is still
intact and perhaps one of the best preserved in Europe. The Commanderie in Richeranches became an
important center for horse breeding. The
constant need for horses during this time of warfare required a steady supply
of sturdy animals and Richeranches horses became known as the best breed to carry
the burden and heavy armor of the knights during battle.
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| The Templar Cross on the roundabout leading to Richeranches, reminds visitors of the Village's history as a commanderie |
The Commanderie at Richeranches
carried a high designation on the same level as those of Aix-en-Provence and
Arles, and therefore had subsidiary Commanderies in Orange, Roaix, Villedieu
and Montélimar, with other support centers for the Templars in Cairanne and
Vacqueyras.
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| Cave Cooperative at Richeranches - known as the Caveau des Templiers |
Despite the uncertainty associated with this group of Warrior-Monks, certain aspects of their legacy appear to be remarkable. Their temporal contribution to the safe transit of the pilgrims was direct and real, but their ongoing contribution to the modern facility of international banking may be their real legacy.
Since the official disbanding of the Knights Templar, many
myths have persisted including stories of - treasure found at the Temple
Mount in Jerusalem and hidden by the Templars;
the Knights possession of the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant; Recent authors in books of historical fiction
have linked them to them to the Rosicrucians, the Priory of Sion, the Rex Deus,
the Cathars, the Hermetics, the Gnostics, the Essenes, and, ultimately, lost
relics or teachings of Jesus such as the Shroud of Turin or a "Judas
Testament." Interest in some of these claims has been sparked by The Da
Vinci Code by Dan Brown.
