Chapter VII.

OflRcers of the Order — ^The Master— Mode of Election— His Rights and Privileges — Restraints on, him — ^The Seneschal —The Marshal— The Treasurer— The Draper— The Tur- copilar — Great-Priors — Commanders — Visitors — Sub-Mar- shal — Standard-bearer.
An order consisting of so many members, and whose wealth and possessions were of such extent, must necessarily have had numerous officers and various ranks and dignities. The elucidation of this branch of their constitution is now to engage our attention.
At the head of the order stood the' Master, or, as he was sometimes called, the GreatrM aster * of the Temple. This personage was always a knight, and had generally held one of the higher dignities of the order. Though, like the Doge of Venice, his power was greatly controlled by the chapter, he enjoyed very great consideration, and was always regarded as the representative of the order. In the councils, the Masters of the Temple and the Hospital took prece- dence of all ambassadors, and sat next the prelates. All monarchs conceded princely rank and place to the Master of the Temple.
A situation which offered so much state and consi-
* Magtster, MaistrCf is the almost invariable expression in the historians, the statutes of the order, and most documents. Magnus Magister was, however, early employed. Terricus, the Master of the order, thus styles himself when writing to Henry II. of England. The term Grand-Master is apt to convey erroneous ideas of pomp and magnificence to the minds of many readers.
Q
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deration miisl, of neceasily, have been an abject of ambition ; but the scitiity records remaining of the society do not enable iislu point out any specific cases nf intiigue employed for the attainment of it. That of the last Master, hereafter to be meationcd, is some- what prolilematic.
The election of a Master of the Temple was as follows : —
When the Masler was dead, bd event which always occurred in the East, as he was bound to reside there, if it took place in the kingdom of Jerusalem, and the marshal of the order was on the spot, he took upon him the exercise of the vacant dignity till, with the aid of the chapter and of all the bailiffs on this side ' of the sea (i.e. iu tlie East), he had appointed a great- prior to represent the Master. But this election did not take place till afler the funeral. Should the death of the Master ha\e occurred in (lie province of Tri- polis, or that of Antiocli, the prior of the province took the direction of the order till the great-prior was appointed.
Owing to the constant state of war which pre- vailed in the East, and to other causes, a considerable space of time occasionally intervened between the death of one Master and the appointment of his successor. During the mierregmim the society was directed by the great-prior who bore the seal of the Masler.
When the day appointed for the election was ar- rived, the great officers of the order and all the bailif& who were invited to be present assembled in the place selected lor holding the eleclion — generally the cha- pel of the order. The great-prior, taking several of the knighla aside, consulted with them ; and they then made two or three or more of the knights who were most highly-esteemed retire, 'i'he great- prior took the voices oi t.\vose ^rcseut on the merits
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of Ihe absent knighfs ; and he who bad moat in his favour was declared the electing- prior. The knights were then called in, and the chtiice of the assembly natilied to them. A knight, ]>0Esesfiing the same virtues of piety, love of peace, and impartiality with himself, was then assigned for an assistant to the electing-prior : and the whole assemblage withdrew, leaving the two alone in the cliapel, where tliey passed the eutiie night in prayer.
Early next morning, afler performing their usual devotions and hearing the mass of tlie Holy Ghost, the chapter re-assembled. The great-prior then ex- horted the two electing bretliren to perTorm tiieir duty truly and honestly. These, then retiring, those two other brethren ; these four choiie two more, and so on, till the number amounted to twelve, in lionour of the apostles. The twelve then chose a brother- chaplain to represent the person of Jesus Christ, and maintain jieace and concord. It was necessary that these thiiteeu should be of different provinces — eight of them knights, four serving- brethren, and one priest. The thirteen electors then returned to the chapter, and the electing-prior besought all present to pray for them, as a great task had been laid on them. All then fell on their knees and prayed ; and the great-prior solemnly reminded the electors of their duty, and conjured them to perform it truly and uprightly. Having again implored the prayers of the assembly, the electing-prior and his companions retired to tlie place appointed for their deliberations. If the electors, or the majority of them, declared for any knight oil this or the other side of the sea, he was appointed J if they were divided into parties, the electing-prior came with one of the knights, and, in- forming the assembly of the circumstance, asked their prayers. All fell on their knees, and the two
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electors returned to their companions; if they now agreed, the person whom they chose was declared Master.
Should the object of their choice be, as was not unfrequently the case, actually present in the chapter, the thirteen came in ; and the electing-prior speak- ing in their name, said, " Beloved sirs, give praise and thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to our dear Lady, and to all the saints, that we are agreed, •and have, according to your command, chosen, in the name of God, a Master of the Temple. Are ye content with what we have done?" All then re- plied, " In the name of God !" " Do ye promise to yield him obedience as long as he lives?" " Yea, with the help of God!'* The electing-prior then turned to the great-prior, and said, " Prior, if God and we have chosen thee for the Master, wilt thou promise to obey the chapter as long as thou live, and to maintain the good morals and good usages of the order?*' and he answered, " Yea, with the aid of God !" The same question was then put to some of the most distinguished knights ; and if the person elected was present, the electing-prior went up to him, and said, " In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, we have chosen you bro- ther, N. N., for Master, and do choose you !'' He then said, " Beloved sirs and brethren, give thanks unto God ; behold our Master/' The chaplains then chanted aloud the Te Deum laudamus^ the brethren arose, and, with the utmost reverence and joy, taking the new Master in their arms, carried him into the chapel, and placed him before the altar, where he continued kneeling while the brethren prayed, the chaplains repeating Kyrie Eleison, Pater nosteVy and other devotional forms.
The election of the Master of the Temple required
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DO papal confirmation : the choice of the chapter was conclusive. Two knights were assigned to him as his companions.
The aJlowances and train of the Master were suit- able to the rank which he was to support in the world, and to the dignity of the order which !ie repre- sented. He was allowed four horses, and an esquire of noble birth. He had a chaplain and two secre- taries i one for managing liis Latin correspondence, whom he might, after a, time, admit to become a knight of the order ; the other, who was called his Saracenic secretary, and who was probably an eastern Christian, for canning on his Arabic correspondence with the Infidels. He had, moreover, a farrier, a cook, and a Tnrcopole*, two footmen, and a Turcoman % to serve as guide. On a inarch, the Turcoman rode on a horse behind an esquire : during the lime of war he was led by a cord, to prevent his escape. On any ordinary journey, the Master miy;ht take two beasts of burden with him ; but in war-time, or in case of his going beyond the Jordan, or the Dog's Passt, he mig^ht extend the number to four, which the statutes thriftily direct to be put into the stable when he arrives at the house where he is going to stop, and to be eoiployed in the service of the house. The Master was finally commander-in-chief
• The Tutcopolea wbm the offspring of a Turkish father, by a Christiuu muther; ur also thuse who hail been rented umoii); thu Turks, aai hod learned their modu of iij^htiag. The Chriglianiieinpluyed them as light cavoJty; and UwTem- pliira had alwaya a number of them in their pay.
f The TurconUinE were, a> their name denotes, born Turks. The Cllristiana used them as guides ou their expeditions.
I Le pai lie cAten. Miiater (p. TiG^ declares his iguoiBUee of where it lg.y. It WM evideolly the dangeiouii pass at the Mahi-el-Kelb, (_Dvg'i River), near the tea, on the wKf to
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of the order in the field ; and then, like the Spartan king^s, he could act in some degree unfettered by the chapter. When he died, he was buried with great solemnity and pomp, by the light of torches and wax tapers — an honour bestowed by the order on no other of its members. All the knights were required to attend the funeral ; and the prelates were invited to give their presence at it Each brother who was present was to repeat 200 Pater nosters within seven days, for the repose of the soul of the deceased ; and 100 poor persons were fed at home in the evening, with the same design.
On the other hand, the Master was bound to obey the chapter ; and he could do nothing without con- sultins: some of the brethren. He could not nominate to any of the higher dignities of the order; but he might, with the advice and consent of some of the most reputable knights, appoint to the inferior priories and preceptories. He could not sell, or in any other way dispose of, any of the lands of the order, without the consent of the chapter ; neither could he make peace or truce without their approbation. Their con- sent was also required to enable him to make any alteration in the laws of the society, to receive any person into it, or to send a brother beyond sea. He could take no money out of the treasury without the consent of the prior of Jerusalem, who was the treasurer of the society. In fact, the Master of the Temple was so curbed and restrained in every way, and his office made so much an honorary one, that his dignity may best be compared with that of a Spartan king or a Venetian doge. It is rather curious that the Master of the Temple should be thus limited in authority, when the abbot of the Benedictines, whose rules the Templars in a great measure adopted, enjoyed monarchical power.
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Next in rank to Ihe Master stood the Fenescliiil, ivlio, Bs his name deiioles*, was tlie Muster's reiircsonla- live and lieutenant. He had ii right to be ]iresent at all chapters of [he orders and to be acquainled with all Imnsactions of consequence. He was allowed the same number of horses as the Master ; but, in- steail of « mu\e, he wiis to have o pallrey : he bad two esquin^s, and was assigned a knight us his com- paniim ; ai deacon acted as bis chapluin and Lutin secretary; he had also a Saracenic secretary and a Turcopole, with two footmen. Lilie the Muster, lie bore the seal of ibe order.
The marshal was the general of the order; he had charge of the banner, and led the brethren (o battle. All the arms, equipments, and stables of the order were under his superintendence. It was he who nominated the sub-marshal anil the standard- bearer. Like all the other great ofiicers, he was apptiinled by the Master and the chapter. As we have seen, when the Master died in the kingdom of Jerusalem, the marshal occupied his place till a great- prior wus chosen. Tiie marshal whs allowed four horses, two esquires, a sening- brother, and a Tur- copole.
The office of treasnrer of the order was always united with the dignity of preceptor of the kingdom of Jerusalem. This officer had the charge of all the receipts and expenditure of the order, of which he was hound to give an account, when reqnired, to the Master and the chapter. The wardrobe of the order was also under him ; and the draper was as- signed as his companion, without whose knowledge he could not dispose of any of the clothes. As the ships, though few in number, which theTemplurs possessed, were under him, he may be regarded as,
* Bencichal U one qui aUeriui rici-m geril. Charpcnlier Supplem, od Dufreane Ulosi. iii. p. 759.
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also, in some sort, the admiral of the order ; and on this account the preceptor of Acre was subordinate to him. The treasurer had the same allowance of horses, &c. as the seneschal.
The draper had charge of the clothing of the order : he was to see that each brother was decently and properly dressed. His allowance was four horses, two esquires, and a pack-servant.
The Turcopilar was the commander of the light horse. All the armed serving-brethren and the Tur- copoles were under his command. He was himself subordinate to the marshal. When he was going into action, some of the knights were sent with him. These were under his orders ; but if their number amounted to ten, and they had with them a banner and a knight-preceptor, the Turcopilar became sub- ordinate to this officer ; which proves that the office of Turcopilar was not one of the higher dignitaries of the order. The Turcopilar was allowed four horses.
Besides these offices of the order in the East, there were the great-priors, great-preceptors, or pro- vincial-masters (for the terms are synonimous) of the three provinces of Jerusalem, Tripolis, and An- tiochj and the preceptors, who were subordinate to them.
The great-prior of the kingdom of Jerusalem was also treasurer. His office has been already noticed. The great-priors of Tripolis and Antioch had the superintendence over the brethren and the possessions of the order in these provinces. They had the same allowances of attendants and horses as the seneschal. The prior of Antioch, when on a journey to Arme- nia, which bordered on his province, and in which the order had possessions, was allowed to take with him a chaplain and a portable chapel, as the Armenisais were monoph^svt^ heretics^ with whom
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the orthodox brethren of ihe Temple could not join in worship.
The prior of the town of Jerusalem had peculiar duties to perform. It was his office, with ten koights who stood under liis command, to escort the pilgrims on their way to and from the Jordan— one of the principal objects of the institution of the order. On this occasion he had with him the banner of the order and a round tent, into which he might take any per- sons whom he should Rod sick when he encamped ; he was alsn to take with him provisions, and beasts of burden on which to place such of the pilgrims as might be fatigued on the return.
When the true cross was brought forth on any ex- pedition, it was the duty of the prior of Jerusalem to keep by it, with his len knighls, night and day, and to guard it ; he was to encamp close to it ; and two brethren were to watch it every nighl.
All the secular knights who associated themselves to the urder in Jerusalem were under his orders, and fought beueulh his banner. All the brethren of the order who were in Jerusalem were, in the absence of the marshal, under his command. One half of the booty captured beyond the Jordan fell to him, the other h^' to the prior of the kingdom.
As we have seen above, the West was, like the East, divided into provinces of the order. Each of these provinces was presided over by a lieutenant of the master, named the provincial-master, great-prior, or great-preceplof, with bis chapter and officers cor- responding to those of Ihe kingdom of Jerusalem. He was appninted, ss it would appear, by the Master and chapter; and when entering on his office, he bound himself by oath to defend the Catholic reli- gion, not only with his iips, but with arms aud all his strength ; to follow the rules drawn up by St. Ber- nard ; to obey the Master; to come over the sea to his
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aiJ whenever it was necessary ; to defend him n^inat all unbelieving kings and princes; not to fly before these unbelieving foes; not to [ilienate the goods of the order; to be loyal lo ttie prince of the country; to be chaste ; and to aid all spiritual persons, espe~ cially the Cistercians, by wordii and by deeds.
Under the provincial-maslers stood the priors, bttililfs, «■ masters, who governed larjre districta of the provinces, and had under their inspection several of ihe houses of the order snd their preceptors. They dwelt in large temple -houses, with a good number of knights ; they had the power of holding chapters, and of receiving members into the order.
The preceptors were subordinate to the priors ; they presided over one or more houses. They were generally knights, but they were sometimes priests. They were of two kinds — ho use -preceptors and knight-preceptors ; the former, as their name deiioles, merely presided over the houses, and mightbe priests or serving-brethren; the latter, who were probably only to be found in the East or in Spwn, led each ten knights in ihe battle.
Another office to be fotuid among the 'Templars was that of visitors. These were knights, who, aa the representatives of the Master, visited the different provinces of the order, especially in the West, to re- form abuses, make new regulations, end terminate such disputes and law-suits as were usually reserved for the deeiKion of the Master and the chapter. All the provincial officers, even tlie great- priors, were sub- ject to the visitors, as the representatives of the Mas- ter. The powers of the visitors ceased as soon aa the business ended for which they were sent, or when they were recalled.
Besides the foregoing olTices, which were almost exclusively confined to the kiiighls, there were some inferior ones appropriated lo the serving-brethren.
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These oflBoM were five in number — namely, those of sub-matehfti) lilandard-bearer, farrier, cook, and pre- ceptor of tbfe coast of Acre. Each of diese was allowed two horaes.
The isub-marshai had the charge of all the inferior sort of accoutrements {Je petit harnbU) of the order, in which the horse-furnitute s^ifettiB to halm heisk in- cluded. All the handlcraflsiheti df the ordeih #^re under him, and were dbli^d to actSount to him for their work. He supplied them with the needful tools and materials; could send them where he pleased on the service of the house ; and on holidays give them permission to go from one house to another to amuse themselves. The sdb-marshal and the stan- dard-bearer were eaeh the representative of the other in his absence.
The standard-bearer hud the command over all the esquires of the house ; that is, those who were en- gaged for a limited time in the service of the order, whom he was bound to make acquainted with the rules to which they were subject, and the punishments to which they were liable in case of disobedience ; he was also to pay them their wages. Whenever the esquires took the horses out to graze, he was bound to precede them with a standard of the order. He always presided at the table of the serving- brethren and esquires. When the order was marching to battle, it was his task to ride before the standard, which was borne afler him by an esquire, or carried on a wain*; he was to lead whithersoever the mar- shal directed him. When the battle commenced, those esquires who led the horses of the knights were to combat behind their masters ; the others were to take the mules on which their masters rode, and remain with the standard-bearer, who was to
* The Carroccio ol tVie Italiaa republics.
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have a banner rolled about his lance, which, when he saw the marshal engaged in action, he was to unfurl, and draw up the esquires in as handsome order as possible behind the combatants, in order to support them.
The serving-brethren were eligible td the office of house-preceptor; but there was this distinction made between them and knights who held that office, that, the serving-brethren being allowed but one horse, their esquire was a serving-brother. As Acre was the sea-port at which all the shipments of the order to and from Europe took place, the preceptory there was necessarily an office which entailed a good deal of toil and business on the person who held that situation, and required a knowledge of commerce and of the affairs of the world. It was therefore not considered suitable to a knight, and was always given to a serving-brother. The serving-brethren were also set over the various farms and estates of the order. These were named the brother-stewards, — in Latin, grangiarii and precepiores grangiaruTriy — and were probably selected from the craftsmen of the order. They were allowed two horses and an esquire.
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Such as we have described ihem were ihe members, tlie possessions, and the various tiffiucs of tiie power- lul society of the Temple.' In order to complete nilr view, it only remains to trncc its internal g^ovemment and most important regulalinus. We shall therelore commeace with ati account of the chapters, from which all the acts nnd rules of the society emanated.
It is frequently declared in the statnles, that the Master was in Ihe place of God; and that all his commands were to be obeyed as those of God. But these expressions, which were borrowed from the rule of the Benedictines, are, as we have already seen, not to be understood too literully; for Ihe constitution of the order of the Templars was aris- tocratic, and not monarchic; and the Master was anything hot absolute. In every matter he was to be guided by the opinion of the majority of the chapter.
The general chapter, or hi^h legislative assembly of the order, consisted of all the g'reat officers, of the (ireiit-priors of the provinces, and the most distin- ftiiished of the koighlB who could atieiid. Every brother, even the lowest of the serving-brethren, was at liberty to be present as a spectator ; but only the proper members of the chapter had the privilege of speaking. The place of holding (he chojiler was un- determiued, and was left to the choice of the Master. All laws and regulations were made or confirmed in
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the general chapter : there brethren were received — the fiireai officers appointed — visitors chosen to be sent to the different provinces. It is remarkable, that a papal legate never seems to have been present at a chapter of the Templars ; though the legates fre- quently assisted at those of the other orders. This is, most probably, to be ascribed to the secrecy in which the Templars were pleased fo envelope their eouneilfi and proceedings; and as they rarely held general chapters, a suitable pretest could not well be wanting for freeing themselves from the presence of the legate when they desired it. Those who impute to the Templars the holding of a secret doctrine naturally regard this as the cause oF their not admit- ting lo their chapters those who were not initiated in it.
A general chapter was not often assembled — a cir- cumstance easily to be accounted for. Though the order was wealthy, it might not be well able lo bear, without inconvenience, the expense of deputies from all the provinces journeying to the kingdom of Jeru- salem, where the chapters were in general held ; and further, it was obviously the interest of the Master and the great oificers to avoid assembling a body which would at once assume the powers which they were in the habit of eTiercising.
In the intervals between the meetings of general chapters, the powers of the. order "ere exercised by the chapter of the Temple at Jerusalem. This was composed of the Master, the dignitaries of the order, such of the provincial masters a.s happened lo be present, the two assistants of the Mpster, and such knights as he chose lo invite to it. This last provi- " ' aa the great source of the Master's power ;
ind, when he was a man of talent aud address, he [ould, by managing to get his friends and those n he could depend ou into the difTercnt offices,
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and by summoning to the chapter such knights as were attached or looked up to him, contrive to carry any matters that he desired. The laws, however, by way of check upon him, made it imperative that the high officers of the order should have seats in the chapter; and as these were not appointed by the Master, and were independent of him, it was supn posed that they would not be his creatures. This