FIRST INSTALLMENT OF THE COLUMN “TEMPLAR TRACES”

BETWEEN HOLY LAND AND UMBRIAN LAND

WHO WERE THE TEMPLARS: THE HOLY WAR OF THE WARRIOR MONKS

It may appear as an act of lese majesty but today the Knights Templar resemble, mutatis mutandis, arugula. Many storytellers, even well-known ones, play hard to get them to appear, even fleetingly, in their writings just as starred chefs cannot imagine recipes that do not contemplate the nice, bitter-tasting little plant.
How do we explain that a prosaic and relativistic society such as ours, where the sense of the sacred seems to be fading irreparably, shows so much interest, with even paroxysmal heights, in an order of chivalry that has now disappeared into the mists of time?

Perhaps the answer lies precisely in the fact that, living in an age seemingly headed toward irreversible de-Christianization, we are strongly attracted to everything that appears abnormal, mysterious and inexplicable.
And nothing is as anomalous, mysterious and inexplicable as the “Templar” phenomenon, an institution that combined behaviors and modus vivendi that were strongly antithetical to each other, such as prayer and violence, meditation and adventurous life, fidelity to the one God and tolerance toward other confessions, in an explosion of contradictions that since its appearance has caused discussion and still intrigues and intrigues today.

WHO THE TEMPLARS WERE: THE BIRTH OF A WINNING BRAND

When Hugh de Payns and eight other knights founded the Templar order in 1118, they had only one thing in mind: to protect by the sword the Crusader state of Jerusalem, of which Baldwin IV of Anjou was then king. To do this they had developed the conviction that a monastic community composed of perfectly trained fighters was necessary. He also added to the classical vows of poverty, chastity and obedience the armed defense of pilgrims, impersonating the ideal model of the “soldiers of Christ” or, more correctly, the Pauperes Commilitones Christi Templique Salomonis.
The formalization of the Order took place in 1129 with the adoption of the monastic rule drafted by what we might call a leading figure in the Church at the time, the doctor and Church father Bernard de Clairavaux. Better known to us by the Italianized name Bernard of Clairvaux, a rule that institutionalized the unprecedented dual role of monk and fighter.
Those nine men were largely cadets from noble families and were imbued with the sacred fire of faith and chivalric ideals. By their courageous life choice and especially by identifying a series of iconic symbols they had created what is now referred to as a brand. First and foremost is the famous red patented cross on the white robe, that is, an aesthetic element that not only makes the wearer recognizable at first glance, but also enhances his reliability and reputation.

WHO THE TEMPLARS WERE: THE BIRTH OF A WINNING BRAND

From that year until 1314, when at the behest of King Philip the Fair of France the Order was dissolved and the last Grand Master Jacques de Molay burned at the stake in Paris, the path of the Knights Templar was decidedly bumpy and multifaceted, punctuated in the Holy Land by shining triumphs and searing defeats. Although the knights on repeated occasions provided evidence of great valor and displayed undoubted gifts of warrior wisdom, they nevertheless saw the living space around Jerusalem shrinking more and more. Until the tragic débâcle of 1291 at Acre, which, with the victory of the Saracens, sanctioned the final ouster of the Crusaders from the Holy Land.

WHO WERE THE TEMPLARS: MONKS OR BROKERS? THIS IS THE DILEMMA

If the Order’s presence in the Near East had been dense with lights and shadows, equally if not more interesting and fruitful of consequences for us Europeans was the Order’s presence on the old continent. The knights, thanks to a large harvest of hereditary bequests and donations, acquired considerable wealth that enabled them to give rise to an economic-productive network of enormous proportions, the basic unit of which was the commandery. Also called a preceptory, the commendam was a complex architectural complex governed by a monk commendatore that included the monks’ residences, stables for their horses, the chapel, and especially the rural buildings to which vast land holdings were attached.

This network of commanderies was so dense and extensive that it covered most of the territories bordering the Mediterranean, with the result that, thanks to the initiative and insight of the knights, what we might call ante litteram banking took off. The ingenious monks invented the letter of credit, also known as a bank note, to prevent pilgrims bound for the Holy Land from being robbed of their belongings by the many marauders who lurked along the route. It worked a bit like our credit card, in the sense that the pilgrim would deposit his cash in the commenda closest to home and then collect the same amount once he reached his destination. Addressing the target Templar headquarters and paying, of course, a price for the service rendered.

WHO WERE THE TEMPLARS: MONKS OR BROKERS? THIS IS THE DILEMMA

But it didn’t end there! Our enterprising monks, between battles against the “infidels,” also found time to lay the groundwork for another brand-new trade, what is now referred to as a broker. Given the large supply of cash, they granted loans to kings and dignitaries from halfway across Europe whenever they needed ample means to acquire territories or fortified building complexes to increase their domains. They also provided installment payments to vendors, which were well accepted by them given the Order’s known financial strength. In short, a fine real estate brokerage business that was eight hundred years ahead of modern banking dynamics.

In the next appointments we will look at the Umbrian places where the Knights Templar had put down their roots and try to identify the traces that still remind us of their presence today.

By Stephen Vicarelli