The Templars' Last Days (2 page)

Behind the desk stood two large floor candlesticks, one on each side; they each had a circular mount for seven candles, which flickered and darted their light onto the desk and into the room.

We three lined up between the fireplace and the desk and awaited our fate.

After what seemed many minutes, but in reality was only a matter of a few seconds, the door closed, and the Master's squire moved quietly past my left shoulder and approached the right side of the Master. The squire leaned forward and in a low and polite voice announced our presence.

Without lifting his head, the eyes of the Master rose from the desk and pierced through the dim light, taking in each of us in turn. Then he stood, his height being taller than his reputation, and broader than any man I had ever seen, and he came from behind his desk to greet each of us personally.

My assumption about the first and second young men proved to be correct, as he welcomed them as Jon Sinclair and his squire Frederick. Then the Master was directly in front of me, his arm outstretched and offering his massive right hand to me in a token of friendship.

In return I offered my hand which seemed to disappear into his as I shook his hand and I dared a look up into the face of the Master. His face was deeply tanned, clearly from the time spent in the heat of Palestine, and showed the scars of a warrior. His hair and full beard were dark brown, with just the hint of grey starting to colour the edges.

I felt his gaze drill into my every fibre, and although it was only a quick look into his eyes I could see from them, not the look of death as I was expecting, but one of friendship and warmth.

He greeted me by name, turned and returned to behind his desk and asked us to take the Knight Templar oath. The Master led, and we followed:

In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

I pledge myself, from now and forever, to the holy Militia of the Order of the Temple. I declare to take freely and solemnly this oath of obedience, poverty and chastity, as well as fraternity, hospitality and preliation.

With this oath I state my strong and irrevocable intent

To pledge my sword, my forces, my life and everything that I own to the cause, defence, honour and further knowledge of the Christian religion, of the Order of the Temple and of my companions in arms; to the rescue of the Temple of the Holy Sepulchre of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Land of Palestine and the East and of the domains of our forefathers.

To submit to the Rule of our Holy Father Bernard, to the Transmission Chart, the Rules, Law and Decrees and all other statements issued in conformity to the Statutes of the Order; not to invest any knight or divulgate title, grade, ritual or other custom of the Order unless authorised by the Statutes; to obey unconditionally and always, within the Establishments of the Order and without, and in all walks of life, the Grand Master and the high Officers of the Order, collectively and singularly.

To love my brothers the Knight and my Sisters the Dames and help them, their children and their widows with my sword, my advice, means and wealth, my credit and everything in my power, and will favour them, with no exception, over those who are not members of the Order.

To defend the pious pilgrims, to aid and comfort those who are persecuted for the Cause of the Cross, the sick and the poor.

To fight the infidels and the non-believers with my example, virtue, charity and convincing arguments; and to fight with the sword the infidels and non-believers who attack the Cross with their own sword.

To abhor all immodesty, and not to indulge in illegitimate pleasures of the flesh and then only with my legitimate spouse.

Finally, barring rules dictated by Religion and the Order, to conform to the Laws and Customs of the countries in which I may reside, to fulfil my duties of citizen, and to be loyal knight in those countries which entertain relations with the Order.

This oath I pronounce loudly before the Master

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Amen.

The Master had clearly delivered this solemn oath many times before, for he never took his eyes from the three of us as he recited the words. After a few moments of silence and deliberation, he finally gave a nod of his approval and, with a gesture of his hand, the squire led all three of us out of the room. There was no turning back now, even if we had wanted to.

I was jolted out of my daydreaming by a heavy shudder as the wheels of the carriage hit yet another pothole on the road to Avignon. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I quickly tried to gather my senses and establish our current location.

We had been on the road from Paris now for six days and we could not be far from our destination. The journey as always had been uneventful, no doubt due to the Beauseant of the Knight Templar being carried by the six knights who formed the vanguard to the entourage and the further six knight outriders.

Somewhat sandwiched between the two sets of Knights was the coach carrying our Master and Jon Sinclair, followed by my small carriage which was being driven by Frederick.

The years, as well as our Temple Master, had been very good to all three of us and we had become firm friends and companions. Jon Sinclair had become not only the confidant of the Master, but his Seneschal and, as such, the next in line to that exalted and honoured position. As for myself, I now wore the garments and regalia of the Bishop of the Parisian Temple.

This familiar good company helped to make the discomfort of the journey more bearable; however, this summons from the Pope being the third in as many months, although not unexpected, did not bode well. I prayed that the disquiet that was being stirred up by the King of France could be resolved amicably, if not this time, then at some point in the very near future.

We approached the town of Avignon from the North, and the view was as always dominated by the mighty river Rhone which was crawling its way through the countryside on its journey to the Mediterranean.

Ever since the Roman Empire this town had held an enormous military and trading strategic position, from which it both dominated and controlled all activity in that area. The remains of the defensive walls built by the Romans still stood and did their job well. As too did the port facilities, which both the trade and military Templar vessels made full use of.

As we got nearer, the white of the walls shone brightly out against the background of the river, and the terracotta coloured roofs of the buildings provided a spectacular contrast of colour to that of the dust that we had endured for so many days.

In the port we could clearly make out the loading and unloading of the merchants’ ships. The various different traders rushing around the quay resembled bees around its hive of honey. Carts were moving in all directions around the quayside in a seemingly chaotic manner. Here and there were mounds of crates and boxes. Some waiting to be loaded onto the ships, whilst others had just been unloaded and were now waiting to be claimed by their owner.

How could everything be so normal, when my world was in such chaos?

This town of Avignon was home to a well established Templar preceptory. Because of its military and commercial importance, Avignon had seen the original small hamlet grow exponentially over the years, and had led to the development of the town as it now was. With its dwellings sprawling over both sides of the river Rhone, the town was connected by the Saint Bénezet bridge.

The overlord of Avignon, Count Angevin of Provence, being a member of the family that was both powerful and politically well connected to the House of Anjou, had proven to be an important ally of the Templars and over time had become a close friend of our Master.

Count Angevin's powerful empire included the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which became part of their holdings following the success of the First Crusade, when Fulk the Younger married the daughter of the Templar Knight Baldwin II.

Both the sight and sounds of Avignon lifted the mood of Frederick and myself, for we knew that every step our horses took would bring our small caravan ever closer to our journey's end, and the promise of our reunion with our Brethren within the town.

The sun had passed its highest point on its daily journey to the West, when we entered Avignon through the old Roman gates which, despite their age, still offered a substantial defensive barrier against any unwelcome attack. As we weaved our way through the small streets of the town, we enjoyed the shade cast by the high dwelling houses on both sides, until we finally burst into the light of the wide expanse of open ground that announced our arrival into the town square.

As always it was a hub of activity and colour. The various market stalls with their multicoloured canvas roofs reflected the variety of merchandise one could buy here. It ranged from fresh local vegetables and bread to the exotic spices and linens brought in from the Middle East.

Compared to the humdrum noise of the horses who had provided the only sounds to break the silence of our journey for the last six days, the noise of the traders and their customers, haggling and exchanging news, created a much welcome caldron of sounds.

All of this colour and noise served as a welcome foreground to the majestic building of the Church of Saint-Pierre, behind which the preceptory of the Knight Templars was to be found. As we circled the marketplace, we were greeted by the Master of the Garrison, Walter du Menils, who led the party into the sanctuary of the Templar grounds.

Passing through the guarded entrance, we came into the large square courtyard which was the very heart of the Preceptory, being surrounded on all sides by the various dwelling houses and workplaces of the Templars. The noise of the marketplace was now replaced with a respectful tranquility which was only broken by the rhythm of the blacksmith’s hammer, whose smithy was to be found at the back of the courtyard.

Our Master and Jon entered into the main residence whilst I made my way across to the other side of the courtyard to join my fellow Monks in their residence. I was greeted by Father Gilbert Pavet who, over the many years, had become a good friend and companion to me.

As we climbed the stairs to my room, Gilbert informed me of the news and events since my last visit. Nothing untoward had occurred which pleased me, as I could do without any internal issues to interfere with the real concerns that had brought me to Avignon.

My room was as all Cistercian rooms, sparse but practicable. There was a single bed, a chair and desk from which I could work. The large window provided ample light into the room, which was supplemented by a single candlestick by which I could see in the evening. The only decoration on the wall was a cross of our Lord and behind the door was a large hook upon which I could hang my habit.

Leaving my small bag on the table, I left my room and made my way to the Chapel to give thanks to the Lord for our safe journey and to ask for his strength, wisdom and sound judgement to guide us all safely through the coming days and trials.

This beautiful simple Chapel was built to hold the small Templar population of Avignon, having only ten pews in total – five either side of the passage that led to the Altar where, sat on top of a table covered with a crisp white cloth were placed two candles and a magnificent Cross.

I became lost in thought, as being in God's presence always brought a peace and tranquility within myself and transposed me into His beautiful world. His strength and goodness, which were now all around me, served to renew my own resolve and determination to carry out our work in His name. My prayers were interrupted by the distant ringing of the bell which called the Brethren from their toil, to their evening meal.

As the tones of the bell became more distinct, I slowly rose and made my way to the dining room which was found in the middle chamber of the Hall. Being such a small community, the practice here was for the Knights and the Monks to eat together.

When I reached the dining room, there was the unusual yet welcoming low noise of old friends and companions reuniting and catching up on the news. Entering through the large wooden doors, the room swallowed me into its bosom. A single table stretched the length of the room with plain functional wooden chairs laid out on either side – one side for the Knights and the other for the Monks. At the head of the table were two very large chairs reserved for the use of visiting dignitaries.

As my eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight within the dining room, which streamed in through the three large windows dominating the West wall of the room, I noticed that our Master and Jon were already in the room and in deep conversation with the Master of Avignon. As I took in the whole of the dining room, a warm sense of satisfaction overcame my body, as the decision to lift our vows of silence for this visit appeared to be more than justified. Finally, the last of the congregation arrived and we all took our respective places.

My Master and myself sat at the head of the table and to the right of the Master the knights were seated in order of seniority. In a like manner to my left were sat my Brother Monks. After saying the Lord’s prayer for Grace, the food was served.

As at all Templar enclaves, Avignon was self sufficient, for although the Templar Knights would never demean themselves to any sort of manual labour, as Cistercian Monks we had pledged ourselves to a life of poverty and self sufficiency. The vegetables were picked from our gardens at the back of our property, and the bread freshly baked in our kitchens. The chicken had come from our large collection of animals we maintained on our granges just outside of the City walls. Likewise, our wine was from our vineyards found on the hills to the South of the City.

Conversation during the meal was light in its subject matter and distinctly different on each side of the table. My Brother Monks, in between discussing the success of the current crops, listened with great interest and intensity to the Knights sitting on the other side. They were clearly growing in excitement, being aroused by the rumour of another Crusade to retake the Holy Land that was in the air. The combined attraction of fighting in the name of the Lord and to deliver Jerusalem once more to the Pope and Christianity, was more than the Knights could contain quietly.