III. The SEHviNo-BftETHREN. The order, con-

sisting at first of only knights and men of noble birth, had no serving-brethren in it. The knights probably lound esquires for a limited time among those who fought under their banner and received their pay. The Hospitallers seem to have set the example of introduc- ing into theonler the chiss of serving-brethren, which is noLlobefound with theTemplars till some time after the council of Troyes. The advantage of this alteration was very apparent. Hitherto only knights and nobles were interested in the fate of the society to which their relatives belonged ; Ihe regards of burghers and
•
S36 SECRET SOCIBTms.
traders would now be obtained by the formation of this class, to admission into which their sons and bro- thers were eligible. They felt themselves honoured b; their relatives coming into contact with kiught^ and were Iherefore libernl in the admission-fee and in other contributions to the quHei of the order.
We should be wrong in supposing the serving-bre- thren to have been all persons of mean birth. The high consideration in which the order stood induced many men of wealth, talent, and valour, but who were not of noble birth, to join it. We thus find among the serving-brethren William of Arteblay, almoner to the king of France ; Radulf de Gisi, collector of the taxes in Champagne ; John de Folkay, an emi- nent lawyer. Bartholomew Bartholet gave property to tlie amount of 1,000 livre.i 7'ournoi« to be admitted; William of Liege gave 2(i^ iivrea Tournoin a. yeax. The serving-brother, indeed, could never arrive at the dignity of knight (for which he was disqualified by birth), and consequently never exercise any of the higher offices of the order, but in other respects he enjoyed the same advantages and privileges as the knights and priests.
The reception of the serving -brethren was the same as that of the two higher classes, the necessary differ- enee being made in the questions which were asked. As the order would receive no slave into their body, the candidate was required to aver that he was a free-bora man : he was moreover obliged to declare that he was not a knight. This last condition may cause surprise, but it was probably justified by experience, as it is not unlikely that evil may have been felt or apprehended from men of noble birth, out of humility, or by way of atoning for the sins of their youth, or from some other of the causes which might operate on the minds of superstitious men, or even from po- verlj, if, as is likely, the admission-fee was lower for
THE TEMPLARS,
a serving^- brother thun for » knight, concealing their birth, and entering the order as serving-brethren. Aa Ihe more disagreeable duties of the order pro- bably fell to their share, the general duties and obli- gatiouB were laid before them in stronger and more explicit terms than were thought necessary in the case of knights and priests.
In the times of the poverty of the order, the clothing of the serving- brethren was the ca-st-ofT gar- ments of the knights. But this custom did not long continue, and as some abuses arose from all the members of the order being clad in white, the serving- brethren were appointed to wear black or brown kirtles, with the red cross upon them, to indicate that they belonged to the order. In battle, their arms were nearly the same as tho=e of the knights, but of a lighter kind, as they had frequently to jump down from their horses, and fight on foot. A serving- brother was allowed but one horse by the order, but the Master was empowei'ed to lend him another if he thought it expedient, whicli horse was to be after- wards returned.
The serving-brethren were originally all of one kind; they fought in the field; they performed the menial offices in the houses of the order; but, in after-times, we find them divided into two classes — the breihren-in-arms (Freres servons des armes), and the handicrail-brethren (_Freres »ervon» dea mestiera). These last, who were the least esteemed of the two, dwelt in the houses and nn the lands of the order, esercising their various trades, or looking afler the property of the society. We read in the statutes of the smiths and bakej s of the order, and we hear of preceptors (as was the phrase) of the mares, cows, swine, &c. of the order. These handicraft-brethren practised the usual religioiiB duties of the order, and were even allowed to be present at ch^ters. The
furrier, who was &lsn armourur, enjoyed a much higher degree of consideration thnn the other handi* craft-brethren, for ihis profession was highly prized by the martial generation of the middle ages*.
The other class were more liighly regarded. The knights associated with them on afootingof equality. Tliey ate in the same refectory with the knights and priests, although at separate tables, und with always one dish less than the higher claflses. They were, however, strictly subordinate to the knights: the masler and all the gjeatoflieersof the order hod each aeveral serving-brethren to attend him, and each knight had some of the serving-brethren among his esquires. The statutes provided carefully against their being tyrannised over or otherwise iil-treated by the knights.
The statutes make a distinction between the serving-brethren who were armed with iron and those who were not. The former were the proper light-horse of the order; they were chiefly intended to Btipport the knights in the action, and were usually placed in the second rank. The place of the nn- armed was with the baggage; and as they were exposed to little danger, thi-y wore only linen corslets. The others were enjoined to fight, without flinching', as long as a Chrislaan banner flew on the field: it was matter of praise to these Inst if they managed to come safe out of tlie fight. When the troops of the Temple were on their march, the esquires rode before the knights with their baggage. When the knights were going to action, one esquire rode before each with his lance, another behind with his war-horse.
There were various offices in the society, hereafter to be noticed, which were appropriated to the serving- brethren, or to which they were eligible.
• Sir W. Scolt is poifectly corrert in making the imith 80 importaat a chatutei in tus St, VaUollae's Evbi
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THE TEMPLfBS. 239
The kniglils, the chaplains, and Ihe serving- brelhren, were the proper members of the order, and it is to them alone that Ibe name Templars applies. * But both the Templars and the Hospitallers devised a mode of nttaching Eecular persons to their interest, and of deriving advantages from their connexion with them, in whicti they were afterwards imitated by the mendicant orders of the Franciscans and Do- minicansi the Jeiiiiils also, who were always bo keen at discerning what might be for the advantage of their society, adopted it; and it is, we believe, stilt practised in Cattiolio countries. This system ia styled affiUation.
The affiliated were persons of various ranks in sDciety,aiul of bath sexeit, who, without giviug up their secular mode of life, or wearing any peculiar habit, joined the order, with a view to the advantages, both spiritual and temporal, which they expected to derive from it. These advantages will appear to have been ^ery considerable when we recnIJect that all who joined the order were admitted lo a share in the merits of its good works, which were what those times esteemed of the highest order. Nothing could have more contributed lo the extent of alEliation than t!ie exemption which the Templars enjoyed from the elTects of interdict. At a time when it was in the ]xiwer of every bishop to lay entire towns under this formidable sentence it must have been highly consolatory to pious or superstitious minds (o belong to a society who disregarded this spiritual thunder, and whn could afford them an oppurtunity of utieast occasionally hearing mass and receiving the sacra- ments, and secured them, if they should die while the interdict continued, the advantage of Christian burial. In those day^ also, when club-law prevailed so uni- versally, and a man's safety depended not so much on hia innocence or the justice of bis cause aa on the
strength of his part;, it was a mailer of no small consequence lo bulonc: to so powerful a body as the Tcniplurs, and il must have been highly gratiljin^ | to both the secular and spiritual pride of a lawyer or a burgher to be n member of the same body with the high-born soldier-monks of the Temple.
These important adyantafres were not concedeil by the Templars without equivalent considerations. This ambitious and covetous order required that he who sought the honour of aliiliation with them should^ besides taking the three vosvs, pledge himself to lead a reputable life, to turtber the interests of the order to tlie best of his power, and leave it the entire of his property at his death. If he was married, and died before his wife, he might leave her a competent pro- vision for life ; but from the day of his admiasiiin into the order he was to abstain from her bed, though he might continue to reside in the same house with her; for were he lo have children, lie might provide for them to the disadvantage of the order, or ou hia death they might give trouble lo it by claiming his property. For a similar reason the affiliated were Ibrbidden to be sponsors, lest they might covertly or openly give some of their property to their god- children. They were not even permitted to give olferingsto the clergy. If they dared to violate these injunctions, a severe punishment — in general, confine' ment for life — awaited them.
All orders of men were ambitious of a union with this Iionourable and powerful society. We find among the alhliaied both sovereign princes and dignified prelates; even the great Pope Innocent III., in one of his bulls, declares himself to stand in this relation to the order. Many of the knights who dwelt with tile Templars, and fought under their banner, were also affiliated, and the hisiory of the order more than oace niAkes mention of the siskrs — that i^, women
THB TEMPLtks. 841
who were affiliated to it, for there were no nuns of the Temple similar to thoi^ of the order of Malta in later times.
In less intimate connexion with the order than the affiliated stood those who were stvled Donates and Oblates. These were persons who, as their titles denote, were given or presented to the order. They were either children whom their parents or relations destined to the ser\'ice of the order when they should have attained a sufficient age, or they were full-grown persons who pledged themselves to serve the order as long as they lived without reward, purely out of reverence to it, and with a view to enjoying its pro- tection, and sharing in its good works. Persons of all ranks, princes and priests, as well ns others, were to be found among the oblates of the Temple.
I
SECitT 80CIETIBS.