History of Andalucia

On The Trail Of The Knights Templar

May 2006: Part 1
June 2006: Part 2
July 2006: Part 3
August 2006: Part 4

On The Trail Of The Knights Templar (Part 1)

Tomar, in Portugal, may not be the most obvious place to start looking for the Knights Templar, but it was here that I first heard of their involvement in European affairs during the Moorish occupation of Spain and Portugal, a period and series of events totally ignored by history as taught at school during the 1960's. Intrigued, I learnt more, and found a fascinating tale. Historical note: The seven crusades were a multi national effort originally to eject the Turks from the Holy Land, and then against Muslims generally. They first started in 1096, and lasted about 250 years. The crusades were seen by the various Popes as a way to increase the power of the Catholic Church and the Papacy in particular, and by European monarchs as a way to reduce the power of Barons, minor royals and other nobles, together with their private armies, by sending them off to the Holy Land, in many cases, hopefully, never to return. Following the first crusade three military orders were established ostensibly to protect pilgrims and holy sites, Hospitallers, Teutonic Knights and Templars. Amongst the noble born knights it was the 'done thing' to belong to one such order and each considered the others as rivals.

In 1119 or 1120, eight or nine French knights, led by Hugues de Payens established the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. The Templars took vows of chastity and poverty although the rules did not prevent the organisation itself from owning property. The Templars had originally vowed obedience to the patriarch of Jerusalem, but Pope Innocent II in 1139 placed the Templars directly under the pope's authority: the Templars were thus exempted from the jurisdiction of any bishop in whose diocese they might hold property. Thenceforth the Templars rapidly diversified their activities. They soon became a vital element in the defence of the Christian crusader states of the Holy Land, and they garrisoned every town of any size there. At their height the Templars numbered about 20,000 knights. In addition monarchs and nobles of England, Spain, Portugal and France gave lordships, castles, and estates to the order, so that by the mid-12th century the Templars owned properties scattered throughout Western Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Holy Land. The Templars' military strength enabled them to safely collect, store, and transport bullion to and from Europe and the Holy Land, and their network of treasure storehouses and their efficient transport organization caused them to be used as bankers both by kings and by pilgrims to the Holy Land. In this way the order, with its vast resources spread throughout every country in Christendom, grew to wield great financial power.

In 1128 Teresa of Portugal gave the newly formed knights, at a loose end 'between crusades', the town of Fonte Arcada in return for help to win back territories previously occupied by the Moors since the 8th Century. This the brethren did with the zeal and military skill that has become synonymous with the warrior monks. The reconquest was achieved by 1249, two hundred years or so before the Moors were driven from Spain.

From the period of 1143-1190, the Knights Templar presence in Portugal became stronger by the year. Fernao Mendes and his wife the Infanta Sancha Henrique, who was the sister of King Henrique, and with whom Templars had worked in previous times, donated the castle of Langrovia. Later in 1159, the order was granted Castle Ceras, which was, at the time, little more than a ruin. The Portuguese Templar Master, Gualdim Pais decided to construct a new fortress in the area, which he commenced one year later in 1160. This fortress was to be built in nearby Tomar. This particular piece of Templar architecture survives to this day and is not only a principle tourist attraction in Portugal, but is considered by many to be both a mystical and spiritual place.

The castle itself is known by the name, "Convento de Cristo" and remains an impressive epitaph to Templar abilities in architecture. Within its ancient fortifications lies an eight sided chapel, which was a standard style of Templar architecture. This octagonal form of building which the Templars are believed to have developed from the Muslim's "Dome of the Rock" in Jerusalem, served a threefold objective to the Templar masons. Firstly its eight walls formed a superior edifice of structural stability. Secondly it called to mind the overall shape of the Templar Cross Patee, which can be easily formed within the confines of the octagon. Finally, the octagon, especially when combined within the circle, formed a sacred geometry associated with Gnostic beliefs, for which the Knights Templar were said to share an affinity. It is rumoured that within this octagonal chapel, called a "Charola", Templar knights were initiated on horseback. The impressive wall paintings, carved columns and decorated roof spaces depict a curious and intriguing mixture of religious and military themes that illustrate the ethos of the Templars.

The Templars survived in Portugal after they were driven out of other countries, including Spain. The Convento de Cristo, in its architecture and style, are a permanent record of their achievements. How they survived and what happened to them in Spain is the subject of the next article.

On The Trail Of The Knights Templar (Part 2)

In the first article we looked at how the Templars were formed in 1119 and developed in Europe using the very visible architectural remains, the Convento de Cristo at Tomar in Portugal, as a visible record and example of their achievements. Whilst consolidating their position in Portugal they were also active in Spain, various groups helping to remove the Moors and in return being given land and titles. Meanwhile, events elsewhere were to influence their existence.

The Templars had always been engaged in a bitter rivalry with the other great military order of Europe, the Hospitalers also known as the Knights of St John, and by the late 13th century proposals were being made to merge the two contentious orders into one. The fall to the Muslims in 1291 of Acre, the last remaining crusader stronghold in the Holy Land, removed much of the Templars' reason for being, apart from in Spain where the reconquest was not complete.

Moreover, by 1304 rumours of irreligious practices and blasphemies committed by the Templars during their secret rites of initiation had begun to circulate through Europe. At this juncture, King Philip IV the Fair of France had every Templar in France arrested on Oct. 13, 1307, and sequestered all the Templars' property in France. The reasons why Philip sought to destroy the Templars are unclear; he may have genuinely feared their power, or he may have simply seen an opportunity to seize their immense wealth, being chronically short of money himself and in debt to the Templars. At any rate, Philip accused the Templars of heresy and immorality and had many of them tortured to secure false confessions to these charges. Pope Clement V, himself a Frenchman, came under strong pressure from Philip at this time, and in response the pope ordered the arrest of the Templars in every country in November 1307. In 1312 the Templars' property throughout Europe, apart from Spain and Portugal, was transferred to the Hospitalers or confiscated by the state. Many Templars were executed or imprisoned, and in 1314 the order's last grand master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake in Paris. However, at the final tally it was found that only a very small proportion of the Knights and an even smaller portion of their wealth had fallen into Philip's hands, most slipped through the net.

It is at this period in history that the trail of the Templars becomes blurred as the Knights found a pressing need for secrecy. There are theories that some were responsible for the foundation of Switzerland, entirely likely given their undoubted experience in the banking field. Another theory relates how the Templar treasure from Paris was loaded onto ships at La Rochelle and never seen again. In Portugal many of the French Templars found sanctuary, King Dinas I did not believe the stories being circulated and no doubt appreciated the strong financial and political grip the Templars had on Portugal, so, under increasing pressure from the Pope to eradicate the Templars he dissolved the organisation in 1312 and then created the 'Order of Christ' which was given papal sanction in 1319; the Templars exchanged their standard for one very similar and carried on as before. Like the Cross Patee of the Templar Knights, it was a blood red cross of equal arms, each of which flared out forming an octagon shape. In addition the cross of the Order of Christ contained a twist of silver in the middle of its body. It is this cross that many will remember from their history lessons as being emblazoned on the mainsails of ships on the expeditions of Vasco de Gama (Portugal) and Columbus (Spain). Soon after the papal sanction, the order expanded its activities into Spain, Italy, Germany and its former home France.

This continued Templar activity is shown beautifully at the Convento de Cristo in Tomar in an architectural style known as 'Manueline'. Rich, fantastical ornamentation and carvings on columns and windows depict imagery of the seas and the newly discovered lands including sea snails, anemones, cables and anchors, and the spices, fruits and vegetables brought back from all over the New World.

In Spain much the same happened as in Portugal. Many of the Templars joined three pre-existing Orders, the Knights of Santiago, formed in 1162, the Knights of Calatrava formed in 1147 and the Knights of Alcantara formed in 1213. All three Orders were fanatical in their enthusiasm to throw the Moors out of Spain and rapidly extended their land and wealth through the gifts of successive grateful Spanish monarchs, particularly Ferdinand and Isabella. All three orders fought throughout the war including at the siege of Malaga and the final siege of Granada in 1492 after which the Knights of Santiago were the first to ride through the city. Some also formed the Order of Montesa in Aragon.

Although ostensibly dissolved after the Moors left Spain all four orders survive to this day despite the efforts of Napolean, the Popular Front and latterly, Franco, to dispossess them. So, in Spain at least, the Templars live on and in the next article we will look at the later history of the five Orders in the Iberian peninsula who can claim to be direct descendants of those first Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon.

On The Trail Of The Knights Templar (Part 3)

The first two articles looked at the founding of the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon or Knights Templar and how they disappeared, along with most of their wealth and influence into five Orders after they were dispossessed in 1307. Those Orders were, the Order of Christ in Portugal, and the Knights of Montesa, Santiago, Calatrava and Alcantara in Spain. Here we take up the story of the Order of Christ as they prepare to fund the Portuguese explorations of Africa and the Far East. One of those explorers was the famous Prince Henry the Navigator. At the age of twenty, in 1414, Prince Henry, persuaded his father to embark on a Crusade against the Muslim port of Ceuta, on the northern coast of Africa. The purpose of this Crusade was to bring the faith of Jesus Christ to all the Muslim souls wishing salvation. Legend has it that Henry was actually hoping to find the legendary Christian king, Prester John, who was believed to hold court in Africa.

After two years of preparation, the Portuguese fleet attacked Ceuta and had little difficulty in taking the port. A series of mystical portents were said to have marked the journey, amongst which were a solar eclipse and a vision by a monk wherein he saw the Virgin Mary present King Joao with a sword. It was in the port of Ceuta that young Henry first saw the vast wealth of the traders. Spices, precious metals, jewels and fine carpets from the Orient were changing hands at significant profit. A pivotal point in the life of Prince Henry the Navigator. Five years after the victory at Ceuta Prince Henry was named the administrator of the Order of Christ. Prince Henry was only twenty six years of age. Henry's appointment was not thanks to his own merits, but rather at the request of his father, the King of Portugal, who asked the Pope to give the position to his young son. Two years earlier and due to another similar request, Henry's brother was given the helm of the Order of Santiago, which King Dinis had brought under Portuguese rule a century before.

As an administrator of the Order of Christ, Prince Henry had not only manpower at his disposal but also a fleet and the financial resources to finance his explorations of discovery. It is these discoveries for which he is most known, but few are aware of the actual source of the money that financed the trips. Within the first five years of Mastership, Henry and his order were able to colonize the Canaries and Madeira and within another two decades, the Azores. These later profitable expeditions offered Portugal's markets new and exotic goods from Africa, while at the same time filling the coffers of the order to near bursting point. As this new found wealth continued to grow, so too did the order's power base. In 1456, Pope Calixtus III granted to the order spiritual jurisdiction over all lands from the Capes of Bojador to Guinea and on south to the Indies. This meant that the Grand Prior of the order could levy penalties in these areas.

Prince Henry died on November 13th, 1460 and his son Fernao became the Governor of the order. This leadership would continue in the family until the reign of King Manuel I, who coveted the position for himself. After Henry's son Fernao came Fernao's son, Dom Diogo. Diogo was murdered by King Joao II for trying to overthrow the monarchy. This left the Mastership of the Order of Christ without a logical dynastic heir. Dom Manuel who would extend his influence from that of Grand Master to King of Portugal in 1495 filled the opening. Manuel sought the Mastery of three orders; Christ, Santiago and Avis and refused to allow Dom Jorge, the illegitimate son of Joao II to rule the Order of Christ after Manuel had taken the throne for himself. Instead he acted in both capacities, as king of his country and also as master of his order. After twenty one years Manuel eventually came to hold the helm of the remaining two orders. However, by 1492 and the expelling of the last Muslim's from Granada, the military orders began to fail. Despite this, in Portugal the Order of Christ continued to be strong and Manuel I did much to support it, aided by Pope Alexander VI, who issued a bull allowing knights of the order to marry.

By the end of Manuel's reign in 1521, the Order of Christ was represented in Portugal, Africa and the Indies. Manuel's successor was King Joao III, who like his predecessor did a great deal to expand the Order of Christ. This expansion may have been more to do with Pope Alexander VI's bull allowing knights of the order to marry than any action taken by King Joao III.

From the time of Manuel I, the Mastership remained in the hands of the Portuguese Monarchy. During this period the Knights of Christ remained essentially a religious and military order, very similar to the order of the Temple that had been its inspiration and mentor. This state of affairs continued up until the reign of Queen Maria, who secularized the order in 1789. This once strong military order, which financed and supported so many new discoveries, ultimately became nothing more important, in public at least, than an order of merit for the Catholic Church.

Today the order is known as 'The Supreme Order of Christ' and as such sits at the top of five Pontifical orders granted by the Holy See. Membership in the 'Supreme Order of Christ' is reserved for Christian heads of state who give evidence of spectacular service. The last time the award of merit was issued was in 1987, when the Pontifical Order was presented to the late Fra. Angelo de Mojana, the 77th Grand Master of the Knights of Malta. The award was presented to him to commemorate a quarter century as Master of his order. There are presently no living Knights of Christ, since the last living member, Belgian King Baudin passed away on July 31st, 1993. Since it appears that the Church has no immediate plans to knight new members it appears that this particular thread of the Templar web is irrevocably broken. Yet as broken as the Order of Christ would seem to be in Europe, those early Portuguese explorations may have led the Templars elsewhere to new lands.

On The Trail Of The Knights Templar (Part 4)

The first three articles have traced the history of the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon or Templars from 1119 through to their disappearance, together with their wealth and influence, in 1312, into primarily five Orders, the Order of Christ in Portugal, and the Knights of Montesa, Santiago, Calatrava and Alcantara in Spain. We have traced them via the Order of Christ to Africa and the Indies and placed others at the final expulsion of the Moors from Spain in 1492 which is where we take up the story of the Knights of Montesa, Santiago, Calatrava and Alcantara in this final part.

The Order of Montesa was a small Order territorially limited to the Kingdom of Aragón and was a regroup of Templar properties in Aragón and Valencia. It was only marginally involved in the war against the Moors, as by this late date they had been largely confined to the Kingdom of Granada and seldom threatened the security of Valencia or Aragón but continued to maintain an autonomous existence under the Crown, until its Council was united with that of the other three Orders on 22 May 1739. In 1931 there were nearly fifty knights when the Spanish monarchy fell. When the Order was revived there were five knights surviving from the pre-1931 Order, of whom the Baron de Llauri, Grandee of Spain had been appointed Clavero-Mayor in 1960. Today there are twenty-three professed and nineteen novice knights (one Grandee of Spain), the Lieutenant-General is D. Miguel Peman y Medina, the substitute Lieutenant-General, is D. Rafael de la Brena y Sanchiz (also Secretary), and the Commander of Alcalá de Gisbert is the Marquess of Bajamar.

The Knights of the Order of Santiago include the Prince of the Asturias, heir to the Spanish Throne and thirty five other nobles whilst the Order of Alcantara has thirty-one professed and seventeen novice knights (including three Grandees, and also the Duke of Calabria's heir, Prince D. Pedro de Borbón-Dos Sicilias, Duke of Noto). The Order of Calatrava as of 1998 has forty-nine professed knights and twenty-four novices, including five Grandees of Spain, and two royal princes, the Duke of Braganza, head of the Royal House of Portugal, and Archduke Andres Salvador.