Occult circles and secret societies are formed on the principles of equality of all those who have passed the initiation. There are, of course, various "degrees" (or "degrees") of initiation, however, any member of society without restrictions and in the process of "self-improvement" can claim a higher status - up to the status of the head of society or order.
It was on this principle that one of the most ancient occult societies known to us was built - the Order of the Templars.
THE ORDER OF TEMPLERS ("Templars", from the Latin "templum" - "temple") - Templarii sive fratres militiae templi - a spiritual knightly order that arose during the Crusades, was founded at the beginning of 1118 by Hugo de Paynes "to protect the pilgrims following to the Holy Places."
Nine brave and pious knights made up a society based on the traditions of monasticism and chivalry. They chose the Meek Mother of God (La douce mere de Dieu) as their patroness and vowed to live according to the rules of St. Augustine, to devote their swords, strength, life to the protection of the mysteries of the Christian faith. They also took vows of chastity and poverty. This was also symbolized by the seal of the Order - two riders on one horse.
The first information about the Templars is given to us by the historiographer Guillaume of Tire, whose voluminous work dedicated to this Order was created between 1169 and 1184, that is, at the time when the crusades reached their apogee. When Guillaume began writing his book, the kingdoms of the crusaders in the Holy Land, which the Templars called Outremer (the country on the other side of the sea), had existed for a long time, and the Order of the Templars celebrated its half-century anniversary. Therefore, information about all the events associated with the formation of the Order, Europeans received from the second, if not from third parties. We know almost nothing about what sources Guillaume of Tire used, so many of his statements should be questioned. And yet his book provides certain information on which all later information about the Templars is built. According to Guillaume,These warrior-monks got their name - the Templars - because their main headquarters at first served as a room located on the southern side of the palace of King Baldwin I of Jerusalem and adjacent to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. At one time, it was the al-Aqsa mosque, the shrine of Muslims - a huge structure of the 11th century, supported by 280 massive columns. At the same place, according to legend, was the temple of King Solomon.
More than strange is the fact that the chroniclers of that time did not write about Hugo de Paynes or about his knightly friends. The silence surrounding the initial period of the Templars' activity also raises questions.
There is also no evidence that the Templars fulfilled their mission - they guarded the pilgrims. And how could a group of nine knights really cope with such a task, which for nine years did not accept anyone else into the Order?
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Nevertheless, the news of the "poor knights of Christ" soon came to Europe, where their popularity began to grow. Church dignitaries lavished praise on them, and Saint Bernard himself, a monk of the monastery from Clairvaux, in 1128 wrote in their honor a treatise entitled "Praise to the New Chivalry", in which he welcomed the appearance of "monks in spirit, warriors in arms," heaven, the virtues of the Templars, their love for their neighbor, and declared the goals of the order the ideal and embodiment of all Christian values. In this eulogy, Saint Bernard contrasted the sleek and lazy secular knight with a simple templar monk who does not care about his appearance and manners, but who leads a righteous life, fights for Christ's ideals, prioritizing his service to God.
Particularly emphasized in the treatise is the solidarity and discipline of the knights of the Order, where "everyone does not follow his own will at all, but is more concerned about obeying the ordering one."
In 1127, all nine Knights of the Temple returned to Europe, where they were met with triumph.
In January of the following year, a council was convened in Troyes, in the possession of the Count of Champagne, owner of the Hugo de Paynes fiefdom, which, on Bernard's proposal, officially approved the Order of the Templars, recognizing its goals as military-religious. Hugo de Paynes received the title of Grand Master. Together with his knights, he had to develop the status of a military monastic order, which would combine the strict discipline of the monastery with a constant readiness for military action for the glory of God.
Saint Bernard emphasized that the vow of poverty is the main one for the Templars. Paragraph II of the Order's charter even instructs two templar brothers to eat from the same bowl. Bernard also took care that nothing would distract the Templars from serving Christ, namely: any secular entertainment (visiting shows, dice, falconry, and the like) were forbidden, laughter, singing, and quibbling were forbidden. A detailed list of all kinds of fines for various violations of the charter is more than 40 paragraphs.
A kind of symbol of the Order was a white cloak worn over the rest of the clothes of the same color. On this occasion, the Order's charter says:
“We issue to all professors both for winter and for summer, since it is possible, white vestments, by which they can be recognized by all who have spent their lives in darkness, since their duty is to devote their souls to the Creator, leading a clean and bright life."
However, if you carefully read the testimonies of contemporaries, you can come to the conclusion that the life and work of the Templars did not correspond to those lofty ideals and goals that were proclaimed during the formation of the Order. Created shortly after the First Crusade, the Order of the Knights Templar was viewed by both the pope and the kings of Jerusalem as a strike force designed not only to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land, but also to expand the crusader states in Palestine and Syria.
Despite the fact that the Templars, along with the Johannites, became the most organized military-political force of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, they not only did not in any way contribute to the expansion of the crusading possessions in the Holy Land, but in fact did not provide any significant help to the Frankish feudal lords in keeping the Eastern Mediterranean.
Already in the first decades after its formation, the Order suffered defeats from Muslims - for example, in 1153 near Ascalon, where all forty templars who participated in it were killed in battle.
Since their founding, the Templars have been more concerned with consolidating their influence in Europe than in the Middle East. When at the end of 1128 Hugo de Paynes arrived in England, he was received by King Henry I with great honor. Many young aristocrats from Western European countries willingly joined the Order, generous donations went to the Templars' treasury from all over the Christian world, land, castles and estates were transferred to the Order.
By 1130, the Order already had vast land holdings in France, England, Scotland, Flanders, Spain and Portugal. And ten years later, he became a major landowner in other countries: Italy, Austria, Germany, Hungary and the Holy Land.
Despite the vow of poverty, the Templars accumulated untold wealth. At the same time, they did not disdain trade, speculation, or even outright robbery. According to the testimony of the same Guillaume of Tire, the knights of the Temple attacked Arab caravans and robbed merchants.
When it came to enrichment, the "pure and bright soul" Templars also went to the direct betrayal of Christ's interests. An example of this is the siege of Damascus in 1142 during the Second Crusade. The Chronicler of Würzberg testifies: the besieged bribed the Knights of the Temple, who supported them, which was one of the main reasons for the failure of the enterprise carefully prepared by the crusaders.
By hook or by crook, having concentrated colossal wealth in their hands, the Templars took up banking and lending money at interest, turning into bankers of almost all European royal houses and even some Muslim rulers. Branches of the Order throughout Europe and the Middle East provided money on credit to merchants, who gradually fell into dependence on the templars. Thus, the "poor knights of Christ" became the largest usurers of their era, and the Parisian order house turned into the center of European finance.
The Templars maintained a complex system of financial office work: accounting books, documents of income and expense reports, and the like. It was the Templars who invented bills of exchange and bank checks.
Concluding the topic of the wealth of the Templars, I will also say that during the Third Crusade, the English king Richard the Lionheart, as always in dire need of money, sold the knights of the Temple the island of Cyprus, which he had seized from Byzantium, for which in 1191 the Templars paid an advance of 40 thousand bezants, and 60 thousand were given later.
With enormous financial resources at that time, the Order became an influential force of international importance. In Europe, Palestine and Syria, the Templars sometimes acted as intermediaries between princes and monarchs. For example, in England, the grand masters were regularly invited to sittings of parliament and were regarded as heads of all Catholic orders. As a result, virtually all the priors and abbots of the country obeyed them.
The political activities of the knights of the Catholic Church were not limited only to the West - and the Order established the closest business relations with the Islamic world.
At almost all political levels, the templars acted as official arbitrators, and often kings recognized their authority.
In 1252, the English king Henry III dared to threaten the Order with the confiscation of land holdings.
“You, the Templars, enjoy great freedoms and privileges and possess such large possessions that your arrogance and pride cannot be restrained,” said the king. - What was once so ill-considered given to you can be wise and taken away. That which was surrendered too quickly can be returned back."
The Grand Master of the Order replied:
“What did you say, O king? It would be better if your lips did not utter such unfriendly and unwise words. As long as you do justice, you will rule. If you violate our rights, you are unlikely to remain king."
In fairness, it must be said that the knights of the Temple contributed to the development of science and technology with their activities. The chroniclers of that time emphasize that due to their rather close contacts with Muslim and Jewish cultures, the Templars possessed a monopoly on the most advanced technology.
The Order was generous, allocating funds for the development of geodesy, cartography, road construction and navigation. It had its own ports and shipyards, as well as its own fleet, the ships of which were equipped with an unprecedented wonder - a magnetic compass. Having several dozen cargo ships and ships for transporting people, the templars transported pilgrims from Europe to the Holy Land and in the opposite direction, receiving a decent bribe for their pious deeds.
Along with military service, many Templars had to have the appropriate knowledge in the field of medicine, since caring for the sick and wounded was one of the components of the templar activity. The Knights of the Order made herbal medicines and used other traditional folk remedies.
At the same time, the arrogance and far from the monastic lifestyle of the templars were not a secret. The saying "drinks like a Templar" was known throughout Europe.
In March 1185, King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem died. In the struggle for his inheritance, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Gerard de Ridefort, broke the oath given to the late king, and thus brought the Christian community in Palestine almost to the brink of internecine war. And this was not the only dishonorable act of Gerard. The arrogance with which he dealt with the Saracens actually led to the end of the long-term truce - fighting broke out again. In July 1187, Ridefor sent his knights, along with the remnants of the crusader army, to a battle that ended in a disastrous defeat at Hattin. The Christian troops were utterly defeated by Salah ad-Din, and two months later, Jerusalem, conquered a hundred years earlier, was again in the hands of the Saracens. And four years later, the Egyptian sultan captured the last "free" city of Palestine, Saint-Jean-d'Acr, or Acre.
With the loss of the Holy Land, the very stay of the Templars in this region actually became meaningless. After the fall of Acre, the Templars established their residence in Cyprus, and then finally moved to Europe.
Pervushin Anton
