Resting in calm repose,
The fiercest blast that blows
And bows yon sturdy oaks on Bashan's height,
Can yield no influence here; —
For many and many a year
Hath slept in Jesus this our stalwart Knight.
While rust corrodes his great cross-hilted sword,
The toil-spent Templar rests before the Lord.
He heard an inward call, —
Leave home, leave country, all
That love you or are loved, — leave wealth and fame,
And with this ruddy Cross,
Cou... moreThe Knight Templar at Rest
by Robert Morris
Resting in calm repose,
The fiercest blast that blows
And bows yon sturdy oaks on Bashan's height,
Can yield no influence here; —
For many and many a year
Hath slept in Jesus this our stalwart Knight.
While rust corrodes his great cross-hilted sword,
The toil-spent Templar rests before the Lord.
He heard an inward call, —
Leave home, leave country, all
That love you or are loved, — leave wealth and fame,
And with this ruddy Cross,
Count other things but dross,
To go and battle in your Master's name!
There, where I walked in early days with men,
Go, I will meet you, striving there, again!
Meekly he rose and went;
His hard-earned tortune spent
In the high cause for which he took the sword;
He chose the lowliest place;
For nothing can abase
The servant when he imitates his Lord.
Yet where the strokes fell thickest midst the din
He listened, yearning for that voice again.
And here the Templar fell;
Battling full long and well;
He fell beneath the point of Paynim spear;
But to his dying eve
The Master's form drew nigh,
The Master's whisper blest his dying ear; —
Well done, true Knight, inherit thy reward!
The servant is not greater than his Lord!
Its Successes
In 1129, the Order of the Temple received official papal recognition at the Council of Troyes.
Louis VII granted the town of Sevigny in to the Templars in 1149 out of gratitude for their financial and military aid.
Saint Augustine accepted that under certain conditions, a Christian may use force.
Omne datum optimum recognized the Order of the Temple as defenders of the Catholic Church and attackers of the enemies of Christ, thus putting them under the papal umbrella.
Milites temple allowed the Templars to collect contributions on behalf of the church and to grant a partial substitution for crusading as well as a limited indulgence.
Militia dei gave the Order permission to take tithes, obligations, and burial fees where they had oratories and to bury members of their own familia there.
According to William of Tyre, it was under Pope Eugenius III that the Templars received the right to wear the red cross upon their tunics.
On May 1, 1187, Grand Master Girard of Rideford of the Templars led a mixed force of Templar, Hospitaller and secular forces to defeat at the Springs of Cresson.
The Templars arrange to purchase from King Richard I was Cyprus
Louis IX endorsed Reginald of Vichiers as Master of the Temple to replace William of Sonnac.
Turcopoles are the light mounted troops, often recruited by Templars from the local population.
The Order of Mountjoy was absorbed into the Temple in 1196, due to its inability to survive.
Templar Houses were used to provide loans, hold mortgage pledges and store precious documents.
The Sword of a Templar:
It's not just any weapon. It's not for cutting and killing only. She was not blessed to take the life of another mortal. It's the warrior's soul that melts with her. It is our cross in our hands. It is the death of evil that wants to lose or ambush us. A Templar does not adorn his sword with diamonds and precious stones. Don't bleed her with silver and gold. It's the tempered steel for a warrior of Faith. It's the other half and complement of the knight.. A Templar witho... moreThe Sword of a Templar:
It's not just any weapon. It's not for cutting and killing only. She was not blessed to take the life of another mortal. It's the warrior's soul that melts with her. It is our cross in our hands. It is the death of evil that wants to lose or ambush us. A Templar does not adorn his sword with diamonds and precious stones. Don't bleed her with silver and gold. It's the tempered steel for a warrior of Faith. It's the other half and complement of the knight.. A Templar without a sword has his life force and virtue that makes him unstoppable, while he lives, but with his sword he is much more. She is blessed and ordained, to do good and to defend the oppressed. It is the noble weapon of so many battles and heroic acts. A templar sword is not just any sword. It's not the one of a king or a crusader that wields it. It's not the katana of a samurai. But they both know what it means to be a true Templar (not a circus clown) and what their sword represents. They will not fear who walk straight and do good works, helping and respecting others. Do not fear the poor and the humble, to the sword of a Templar. Fear not the pure in heart and those who seek truth. My weapon will not be the simple tool of which it does not merge with its spirit. The temple of the Templar sword is greater than that of a mortal warrior, who went to battle alone with his strength and was not clothed with the armor of his Faith.
Ref. 1. De laude novae militiae ad milites templi.
Ref. 2. Memoirs of a Master.
KLT Amanda Moreno
Seneschal, Priory of Saint Helena