The Spiritual Heritage of the Knights Templar - Essay Example

The Spiritual Heritage of the Knights Templar What many people understand as spiritual heritage falls into the category of idea, social organizations and material objects that we inherited both in our culture and in global aspect. The evolutionary circumstances taught us that we have to master and improve our knowledge about the heritage in order to understand and evaluate its true meaning. The spiritual realization that we keep in ourselves is often mediated through strong religious personalities likes Buddha, Jesus, Moses or Mohammad. The awareness that he have about these religious leaders shapes our cultural beliefs. The true spiritual heritage, though, is not contained only in the books, history, monuments of stone or culture, but also in the love and sympathy we share for each other. The Brotherhood of the Knights Templars was precisely a self-conscious group of people who attained spiritual immortality through their great human expressions and protections of the heritage. Their story is so powerful that transformed their order into admirable human temple. The order of the Knights Templar is surrounded by mysteries and legendary stories. The religious crusades in the Middle Ages caused turmoil among the successors to the throne in Europeans countries and created a battlefield of faith too. The order is synonymous with the crusades of the Middle Ages and the emergence of the Religious knights. What most people remember about the Knights Templar are not their achievements and accomplishments but their tragic decline on Friday the 13th, in October 1307. The Knights Templars were a military order which was established to defend Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem in 1118. Two decades after the victory of the First Crusade which took place between 1095 and 1099 a group of knights commanded by Hugues de Payens proposed the Patriarch of Jerusalem to serve as a military force (Dafoe 2009). The original group was said to consist of nine people who had to protect Christian pilgrims who were travelling to the Holy Land to visit the temples sacred to their faith. Between 1118 and 1120 King Baldwin II granted the military formation quarters in a wing of the Royal Palace on the Temple Mount (Dafoe 2009). This place was among the holy structures which were presented by the priests of Jerusalem as the Temple of Solomon. "The Poor fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ" became "The Knights as the Temple of Solomon" and subsequently known as the Knights Templars. Cistercian abbot was the first greatest contributor, who in 1127 issued rules and promoted the Templars. By rule, the Templars were not allowed to own properties personally, however this restriction did not apply to the Order as whole. So, those who were not able to participate in the order gifted land and other valuables as a sign of respect and honor to the group. Over the decades the Templars converted their humble start into the wealthiest of the Crusading Orders. Eventually, they gained the favour of the Church and the majority of the European monarchs (Dafoe 2009). Although the Templars were considered as the most powerful medieval military force the warrior-monks faced their tragic demise in 1307 when King Philip IV of France had the knights arrested and their assets seized. This controversial and unexpected destruction of the order ensured that the history of the Templars would be enveloped in mythical speculations. The legendary group was said to be arrested under the motivation of blasphemy, heresy, and sodomy (Dafoe 2009). Jacques de Molay - the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and 60 of his senior knights were captured in Paris. After recanting the confession he made while being tortured, Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake in 1314. Generally, historians agree that the primary motivation of King Philip was greed rather than the genuine belief that the Templars were corrupt. Recent rediscovered Vatican archives showed that the Templars were innocent of the charges they were accused (Dafoe 2009). Over the centuries, the mystique around the Templar not only proved irresistible, but also generated interests and hypotheses. Various groups have sought to fabricate non existing links to the order. During the Enlightenment freemasons, occultists and Gnostic sects all rivaled to list their names as Templars successors. The imperishable myth about the Knights Templars is still noticeable in the numerous spiritual groups preaching the concepts of the order. The concepts adopted are evidence of the immortal spiritual heritage that the Templars conveyed. The modern Masonic Templarism is such a social organization that claims to have direct connection with the Knights Templar order (Warner). Four centuries after the death of Jacques de Molay little is known about the order and no historical evidence suggests about the existence of the Masonic Templarism. It was said that the Masons met in not organized manner and it was only in 1717 that the Masonic Fraternity officially proclaimed its existence. Encampments of the order were reported to take place in London, York, Bristol and Salisbury in the middle of the 18th century. During the centuries Freemasonry revived the philosophical doctrine of the Knights Templars and its wiser religious creed. Freemasonry symbolized the vigilance on despotism and the purified ideals of humanity. The spiritual legacy of the Knights Templar represents the unlimited possibilities of the human spirit embodied in the brotherhood on the Freemasonry. Those who wish to become candidates of the Freemasonry need not follow any particular faith. However, the orders of Masonry require that the candidates believe in the Holy Trinity doctrine, thus they must profess a faith in Christianity. Many world heritage sites are associated with the Knights Templar. The Convent of Christ in Tomar is a combination between a castle and a convent utilized by the Knights Templar. The castle of Tomas was erected in 1168 as part of the defence system organized by the Templars to protect the Portuguese border. The land was given by the Portuguese king in return to the military support against the Moors. The convent was reconstructed later, as an extension to the castle. Although the order of the Knights Templar was disbanded its property in Portugal was transferred to "The Order of Christ" formed in 1319 and Tomar sheltered its Headquarters. The new military order undertook immense role in Portuguese expansion overseas during the 15th and 16th centuries (World Heritage Site) The Old City of Jerusalem is another cultural heritage site associated with the Knights Templars. The Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls are of profound religious importance as a holy place for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In 637 Jerusalem was subdued to the Saracens. The caliph of the Saracens guaranteed to protect the Christian population and the city continued to increase the number of the pilgrimages coming there. In 1065 Jerusalem was surrendered to the Turks. Christians were treated with such atrocity that the Europe's Christian people incited crusades. Particularly, the Knights Templar were formation that had it as its purpose to ensure the safety of the pilgrims to Jerusalem and to the Holy Land. The Old City of Jerusalem was founded in 1199 by two veterans of the first Crusade. The order utilized the Al Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount as their Headquarters. Known as the "Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon" the order took the name "Templar Knights". In the beginning the Order has little financial support and the total number of knights accounted to 9. The emblem emphasized the Order's poverty depicting two knights riding one horse. With the decades the Order rapidly gained popularity and by 1129 was the most favoured charity Order throughout the Christian world. Due to the wealth, power and fame it accumulated after it was dissolved its assets were divided between the monarchs across Europe. The Old City of Jerusalem and its city walls contain 226 monuments from all three major religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The most important site for the Jews in the Western Wall, for the Christians - the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and for the Muslins - the Dome of the Rock (World Heritage Site). The proposal to include Jerusalem in the list of UNESCO World Heritage was made by Jordan, because Israel was not a member at that time. Jordan claimed that it is not addressing the Committee as a political vehicle, but on the grounds that Jerusalem represents three religions. Eventually the Old City of Jerusalem was put on the List of World Heritages in Danger in 1982. The site is also threatened by the growing level of urbanization and the daily visits of thousands of tourists interested to take a glimpse on the various historical storylines that mingle in the city of Jerusalem. Legends link the Rosslyn Chapel, originally called the Collegiate Chapel of St. Matthew to the Knights Templar. This is a 15th century church located in the Scottish village of Roslin. Oxbrow and Robertson (2005) theorized that the west wall of the Chapel uses as a model the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. In September 2005 the Scottish composer Stuart Michell unraveled mystic, musical symbols carved into the ceiling of the Rosslyn Chapel. The coded sounds were believed to carry great spiritual meaning to the people who constructed the chapel. The Rosslyn Chapel earned unparalleled success after Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" film was shot there. The chapel was connected with Freemasonry and Knights Templars for a long time (Oxbrow and Robertson 2005). It is known with certainty that the Chapel is used by modern Knights Templar attendants to perform rituals. The modern Knights Templar is a Masonic group which organizes ceremonies there due to the Masonic architecture and featured symbolism. The Chapel is also rumored to be the final resting place of The Holy Grail. The Knights Templar were believed to be guardians of many secrets including the Holy Grail. In Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, vessel, or plate where the blood of Jesus was gathered after the crucifixion. The Holy Grail was identified as the cup of the Last Supper, however historians argue on the etymology of the word (Oxbrow and Robertson 2005). In Old French "san grial" means "Holy Grail", but "sang rial" means "royal blood". The connection with royal blood bore fruit to many speculations. Writers played with this pun and the notion of the Holy Grail obtained special resonance in modern secular culture, for instance "The Da Vinci Code". Using sacred geometry and symbols in their rituals and ceremonies the Knights Templar were considered to keep the location of the Holy Grail. Only dedicated members from the fraternal organizations were devoted the secret (Oxbrow and Robertson 2005). Other stories claim that the Grail might have been buried beneath Rosslyn Chapel. Central to the accusations brought against the Knight Templars was that they worship an idol called Baphomet. The truth behind the myth is argued by different scholars. Common sense make us suppose that the disclosure that the Knight Templars had worshipped an idol was taken under torture and that Jacques de Molay confessed the untrue nature of the charges while burning at the stake. The opinions on the Baphomet vary from author to author. Hancock (1993) suggests that Baphomet was the Templar symbol of Gnostic rites. These rites of passage were based on the phallic worship and the power of positive will. Hancock (1993) continues that Baphomet has an androgynous figure with beard of a goat and cloven hooves. This picture is linked to the goat of Mendes - an antiquity horned god. Robinson (1992) expresses the idea that "Baphomet" etymologically comes from the same word in Old French that means "Mohammed". He substantiates this referring to witnesses at the trial against the Knight Templars mentioning the form "Mahomet". Later, he shows some doubt that this was indeed the fact, because no one in the East worshipped an idol bearing the name of the Prophet Mohammad. Partner (1982) exposed a more exhaustive research made by Western scholars which shows no direct connection between "Bafomet" and Mohammed. The Arabic word "abufihamat" pronounced wrongly in Spanish was discovered to be a possible explanation. In Arabic the word means "father of understanding". Much is written and spoken about the Knights Templars. Extensive researches are done and theories delivered. This military order was inspirational for numberless secret societies and carried not only wisdom but bestowed Christian faith and brotherhood. Their success attracted the envy of both the nobility and monarchs of Europe and of other orders. The Templars' involvement in controversial rituals will remain disguised in mythical suppositions. The zenith of their prosperity is an example of the calculated interests of different political and religious groups. The spiritual heritage that the Knights Templars left us is more about the everlasting crusading, human spirit. Their responsible attitude and exceptional bravery are illustrative example for the power of faith. Admittedly, the Knight Templars must be praised for their dignity and for the spiritual and cultural contribution they left behind throughout Europe and in the East. Works Cited: Dafoe, Stephen, A history and mythos of the Knights templar. N.d, 30 October 2009 Hancock, Graham, Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant Touchstone, 1993. Oxbrow, M, and Robertson, I. Rosslyn and the Grail. Mainstream Publishing, 2005. Partner, Peter, Murdered Magicians: The Templars and Their Myths, Oxford University Press, 1982 Robinson, John, Dungeon, Fire and Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades 1992 M. Evans and Company, Inc., 1992 Warner, Stanley, A Short History Of The Early Days Of Templarism, n.d. 30 October 2009 Read More