Order of the Knights Templar and St Bernard of Clairvaux - Essay Example

The Order of the Knights Templar and St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The second half of theeleventh century was a period of upheaval in the Roman Catholic Church, characterized by the interference of Western European Christian monarchs in church affairs, confrontations between the Church and the State and a politically undermined papacy. Emperor Henri III of Germany widened the papal schism of 1050 between Benoit IX, Sylvester III and Gregory VI; 1075 witnessed the Investiture Quarrel between Pope Gregory VII and the German Emperor Henri IV; Pope Urban II excommunicated King Philippe I of France in 1094. Despite the success of the First Crusade (1096 – 1099), the Kingdom of Jerusalem was far from secure (Cobbold, 2007). In this age of turmoil, Bernard de Fontaine, or St. Bernard of Clairvaux, emerged as a man of religious fervor and political acumen who devoted his considerable talents to advance the cause of the Church. Motivated by his perception of the Church’s need in the prevalent political and ecclesiastical climate, St. Bernard used the Order of the Knights Templar to further his vision of an independent, secure Church. St. Bernard of Clairvaux was the embodiment of religious devotion coupled with political astuteness. Bernard was born at Fontaine, near Dijon, France, to Champagne nobility. Even in his formative years, “Piety was his all” (Bousset, qtd. by Gildas, Catholic Encyclopedia). In 1113, Bernard joined the Benedictine Order at Citeaux. He founded a new House in June, 1115 at Clairvaux, the ‘Valley of Light,’ and served as its’ Abbot for the rest of his life. Bernard practiced a rigid austerity and advocated the revival of the original regularity and devotion of monasticism. Under his charismatic influence, men flocked to his Order. Bernard founded 163 monasteries in different parts of Europe (Gildas, Catholic Encyclopedia). He spurned all opportunities to attain high ecclesiastical office and lived a life characterized by holiness and reputed miracles. His mystical theology deeply influenced Catholic spirituality. He authored about 330 sermons, 500 existing letters and thirteen treatises, whose commendable style secured for him the title, ‘Mellifluous Doctor.’ Bernard’s erudition, eloquence and devotion made him “the most powerful religious influence in France, and, in time, in all Western Europe” (Questia, Encyclopedia). Bernard died in August 1153 and was canonized in 1174 as St. Bernard of Clairvaux. In addition to his piety, Bernard was a consummate politician, as evidenced by the innumerable occasions on which he played the role of emissary of Popes. His eloquence and example brought many clergymen back to the path of spirituality. He was a staunch adherent of the Church’s right to independence from the secular state. He was the leading light in healing the schism in the Church precipitated by the election of two Popes, Innocent II (who Bernard maneuvered into the Papacy) and Anacletus II. He was respected by the Catholic sovereigns of Western Europe and served as a mediator between the Church and the State and between monarchs. Bernard’s ‘Book of Consideration’ still serves as a guide to Popes, advocating sanctity and the rejection of temporal interests. He was an orator par excellence, whose arguments demolished the theological heresies of Peter Abelard in 1139 and Gilbert de la Poiree in 1148 (Gildas, Catholic Encyclopedia). The Order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem, or the Knights Templar, originated with the French knights Hughes de Payns and Geoffrey de Saint-Omer who, with seven others, voluntarily provided protection from brigands to pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem after the First Crusade. In 1118, they were rewarded for their services by King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, with premises inside the Temple of Solomon: hence, the Knights Templar. The Order stagnated, lacking recruits and financial resources, until the convening of the Council of Troyes by Pope Honorius II in 1128. Here, through the intervention of that man of formidable talents, Bernard of Clairvaux, the Knights Templar received the ‘Primitive Rule’ of their Order and official sanction. In 1147, Pope Eugenius III sanctioned their adoption of the distinctive red cross as part of their attire. The next century and a half witnessed the rapid growth in power and influence of the Knights Templar and a shift from spiritual to temporal affairs. The Order accumulated wealth on a scale which made them “Bankers to European nobility” (Cobbold, 2007). The financial stranglehold exerted by them was a major cause of their arrest and inquisition by Philip IV of France in October 1307. Pope Clement V, due to political exigency, suppressed their rights and, with the execution of Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Order, in 1314, the Order of the Knights Templar came to an end. The Order of the Knights Templar was linked to St. Bernard of Clairvaux from its’ inception, as Hughes de Payns, like Bernard, belonged to the Champagne nobility and Andre de Monbard, one of the original knights of the Order, was Bernard’s uncle. This connection suggests that Bernard was involved in the formation of the Templars. The fledgling Order, plagued by financial constraints and a dearth of recruits, was in dire straits until Bernard, at the request of Hughes de Payns, lent his capable hands to its’ growth. Bernard adapted the Rule of St. Benedict to the needs of the Knights Templar and gave the Order its’ ‘Primitive Rule.’ This Rule, with 72 clauses, prescribed the rituals of prayer, the dress code, frequency and composition of meals, silence, communal life, feast days and all manner of conduct (Upton-Ward, 1992). In addition to this, Bernard wrote the ‘De Laude Novae Militae,’ or ‘In Praise of the New Knighthood,’ which, though crouched in the form of an exhortation to the Knights Templar, was more of a propaganda manifesto aimed at publicizing the Order and securing for it official recognition and sanction and a flow of new recruits. In it, Bernard gave the Order a raison d’etre and justified the existence of a group of men dedicated to both spirituality and the conduct of arms. He characterized a Knight Templar as a man who “lacks neither monastic meekness nor military might” (Greenia, 1996) and, in their particular case, erased the hitherto existing dichotomy between monks and soldiers. While the Pope had convened the Council of Troyes to settle disputes between the bishops of Paris, and Bernard’s official brief was to draft the legislations concerning the synod, Bernard, master of political machinations, used the Rule and his paean to the knights, coupled with his close proximity to the Champagne nobility (Troynes being the capital city of Champagne!), to champion the cause of the Order of the Knights Templar. Pope Honorius II, perhaps enticed by the prospect of a ‘private army’ dedicated to the Holy See and answerable only to the papacy, gave the Order his seal of approval. Papal approval and the attendant publicity opened the floodgates to new recruits (Butler, 2007). By the Papal Bull of 1139, the Order could retain possession of all its’ spoils of war, was exempted from paying tithes and could own oratories. This was followed by the Papal Bulls of 1144 and 1145, both issued by Bernard’s friend and confidante, Eugenius III. By these, the Knights Templar could make annual collections, accept tithes and burial fees and have their own cemeteries. They were made independent of the local clergy (Barber, 2007). Thus, it can validly be argued that Bernard fathered the Order of the Knights Templar, promoted its’ growth and consolidated its’ strength. “The Council of Troyes of 1128 was the turning point of early Templar Fortunes and could be considered amongst St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s greatest victories” (Butler, 2007). However, St. Bernard of Clarivaux’s vision of the Knight’s asceticism and militarism, as Christian Soldiers, or ‘Milites Christi,’ proved too Utopian to endure. Their vast military and financial resources made them headstrong in their policies and intractable to both papal and secular authority and bankers rather than knights. This led to their ultimate downfall. St. Bernard was undoubtedly motivated by his ardent religiosity and desire to protect the Church from the secular state by giving it a Military Order answerable only to God, and in temporal terms, to the Pope. He unequivocally asserts this standing of the Knights Templar both in his treatise, in which he refers to Jesus as “their leader” and “their King” (Greenia, chapter 5) and in the Primitive Rule, in which the knight is to “serve the sovereign King” as “a knight of Christ” (Upton-Ward, clause 2). By clearly differentiating between the Knights Templar and secular knights, Bernard definitively removed the Knights from the ambit of secular kings and succeeded in establishing an independent military arm for the Church’s defense and consolidation of power. If this laudable goal could be achieved by the simultaneous advancement of the interests of Bernard’s own kinsmen, who were the leaders of this Order, Bernard, the consummate politician and ‘Pope Maker,’ was pragmatic enough to seize the opportunity! At one stroke, Bernard strengthened the Order of the Knights Templar and, through them, the Church to which he remained devoted throughout his life. Works Cited. Butler, Alan. 2007. A History and Mythos of the Knights Templar: The Council of Troyes. 5 March 2007. < http://www.templarhistory.com/troyes.html > Barber, Malcolm. 1997. Military Orders: The Templars. AOL.Hometown. 5 March 2007. < http://www.hometown.aol.com/vonmeer/page12.html > Cobbold, David. 2007. The Order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem – The Knights Templar. Projet Beauceant. 5 March 2007. < http://www.templiers.org/templiers-eng.php > Gildas, M. 2007. St. Bernard of Clairvaux. New Advent. Catholic Encyclopedia. 5 March 2007. < http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02498d.htm > Greenia, Conrad (translator). 1996. Military Orders. In Praise of the New Knighthood. St. Bernard of Clairvaux. ORB Online Encyclopedia. 5 March 2007. < http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/religion/monastic/bernard.html > Questia: Encyclopedia. Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2004 5 March 2007. < http://www.questia.com/library/encyclopedia/bernare_of_clairvaux_saint.jsp > Upton-Ward, Judith (translator). 1992. The Templar Rule of Order. AOL.Hometown. 5 March 2007. < http://www.hometown.aol.com/vonmeer/page10.html > Read More