The Origins of the Knights Templar

The First Crusade

The Templar's Architectural Skills

"On the other side of the palace [i.e., the Al-Aqsa Mosque] the Templars have built a new house, whose height, length and breadth, and all its cellars and refectories, staircase and roof, are far beyond the custom of this land. Indeed its roof is so high that, if I were to mention how high it is, those who listen would hardly believe me." - Theoderic (1174)

"Clearly he had regarded the Templars' architectural skills as almost supernaturally advanced and had been particularly impressed by the soaring roofs and arches that they had built....Soaring roofs and arches had also been the distinguishing features of the Gothic architectural formula as expressed at Chartres and other French cathedrals in the twelfth century - cathedrals that...were regarded by some observers as 'scientifically...far beyond what can be allowed for in the knowledge of the epoch' [Louis Charpentier, The Mysteries of Chartres Cathedral]." "...What if, in their excavations on the Temple Mount, they had unearthed scrolls, manuscripts, theorems or blueprints relating to Solomon's Temple itself? What if these discoveries had included the lost architectural secrets of geometry, proportion, balance and harmony that had been known to the builders of the pyramids and other great monuments of antiquity? And what if the Templars had shared these secrets with Saint Bernard in return for his enthusiastic backing of their order?" - Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal

St. Bernard, the patron of the Templars, "played a formative role in the evolution and dissemination of the Gothic architectural formula in its early days (he had been at the height of his powers in 1134 when the soaring north tower of Chartres cathedral had been built, and he had constantly stressed the principles of sacred geometry that had been put into practice in that tower and throughout the whole wonderful building)." "Gothic architecture...had been born at Chartres cathedral with the start of construction work on the north tower in 1134....In the years immediately prior to 1134 Bernard had cultivated a particularly close friendship with Geoffrey the Bishop of Chartres, inspiring his with an 'uncommon enthusiasm' for the Gothic formula and holding 'almost daily negotiations with the builders themselves'." When asked "What is God?", Bernard replied "He is length, width, height and depth." "The entire edifice had been carefully and explicitly designed as a key to the deeper religious mysteries. Thus, for example, the architects and masons had made use of gematria (an ancient Hebrew cipher that substitutes numbers for the letters of the alphabet) to 'spell out' obscure liturgical phrases in many of the key dimensions of the great building. Similarly the sculptors and glaziers - working usually to the instructions of the higher clergy - had carefully concealed complex messages about human nature, about the past, and about the prophetic meaning of the Scriptures in the thousands of different devices and designs that they had created." (For example a tableau in the north porch depicts the removal, to some unstated destination, of the Ark of the Covenant - which is shown placed upon an ox-cart. The damaged and eroded description, "HIC AMICITUR ARCHA CEDERIS" which could be "Here is hidden the Ark of the Covenant".)

"In 1139, Pope Innocent II (whose candidacy, incidentally, had also been enthusiastically backed by Saint Bernard), granted the order a unique privilege - the right to build their own churches. This was a privilege that they subsequently exercised to the full: beautiful places of worship, often circular in plan like the Temple Church in London, became a hallmark of Templar activities." - Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal

"The great effort of the Order was the transfer of funds and men to the east. They erected numerous building in the west - preceptories, churches, granges - for training and administration, but these were humble and utilitarian in nature, with a few exceptions. There was no standard form of Templar church: a very few, curricular or polygonal, recalled the shape either of the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem (the 'Temple of God' of the Templar seal) or of the octagon of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem. But most Templar churches were orthodox apsidal structures." - Peter Partner, The Murdered Magicians

What we do know is that the Templar knights completed some excavations beneath Solomon’s Temple. During the excavations of 1867 (by Lieutenant Warren of the Royal Engineers) various discoveries were recorded, including that of a spur, remnants of a lance, a Templar cross, and the major part of a Templar sword.  -  from the Templar Papers

Members of the Order of the Temple lived in closed and segregated communities separated from the outside world by the very strict rules of the order
The highly detailed Rule of the Military Order of the Templars does not distinguish between an unfortified ‘house’ where brethren lived and administered the Order’s estates and a proper castle. Both were known as a 'commandery' or 'preceptory' under a commander or preceptor

Both were under a commander in charge of all supplies and of the sergeants who guarded their gates. In fact the Rule of the Templars makes few references to castle or their role in warfare. By the second half of the 12th century most Templar castles were concentrated in the northern part of the Principality of Antioch and in the south of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, In the north these templar castles formed a frontier march based upon Gaston (Baghras), Roche Guillaume, Roche de Roissel and Darbsak. In the south, some were close to Ascalon, which was held by the Fatimids until 1153. However, most templar castles in the Kingdom of Jerusalem guarded pilgrim routes. They ensured that pilgrims had food, tents, animal transport and protection.  From Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097 - 1192
The Templars lived in a community called either a 'commandery' or a 'preceptory'. Broadly the commandery, usually fortified, had a military function and was run by a Commander, the preceptory an economic/civil one - anything from the centre of a sizeable estate to a single building, the Templar in charge titled a Preceptor.


"On the other side of the palace [i.e., the Al-Aqsa Mosque] the Templars have built a new house, whose height, length and breadth, and all its cellars and refectories, staircase and roof, are far beyond the custom of this land. Indeed its roof is so high that, if I were to mention how high it is, those who listen would hardly believe me." - Theorderic (1174)

"Clearly he had regarded the Templars' architectural skills as almost supernaturally advanced and had been particularly impressed by the soaring roofs and arches that they had built....Soaring roofs and arches had also been the distinguishing features of the Gothic architectural formula as expressed at Chartres and other French cathedrals in the twelfth century - cathedrals that...were regarded by some observers as 'scientifically...far beyond what can be allowed for in the knowledge of the epoch' [Louis Charpentier, The Mysteries of Chartres Cathedral]." "...What if, in their excavations on the Temple Mount, they had unearthed scrolls, manuscripts, theorems or blueprints relating to Solomon's Temple itself? What if these discoveries had included the lost architectural secrets of geometry, proportion, balance and harmony that had been known to the builders of the pyramids and other great monuments of antiquity? And what if the Templars had shared these secrets with Saint Bernard in return for his enthusiastic backing of their order?" - Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal

St. Bernard, the patron of the Templars, "played a formative role in the evolution and dissemination of the Gothic architectural formula in its early days (he had been at the height of his powers in 1134 when the soaring north tower of Chartres cathedral had been built, and he had constantly stressed the principles of sacred geometry that had been put into practice in that tower and throughout the whole wonderful building)." "Gothic architecture...had been born at Chartres cathedral with the start of construction work on the north tower in 1134....In the years immediately prior to 1134 Bernard had cultivated a particularly close friendship with Geoffrey the Bishop of Chartres, inspiring his with an 'uncommon enthusiasm' for the Gothic formula and holding 'almost daily negotiations with the builders themselves'." When asked "What is God?", Bernard replied "He is length, width, height and depth." "The entire edifice had been carefully and explicitly designed as a key to the deeper religious mysteries. Thus, for example, the architects and masons had made use of gematria (an ancient Hebrew cipher that substitutes numbers for the letters of the alphabet) to 'spell out' obscure liturgical phrases in many of the key dimensions of the great building. Similarly the sculptors and glaziers - working usually to the instructions of the higher clergy - had carefully concealed complex messages about human nature, about the past, and about the prophetic meaning of the Scriptures in the thousands of different devices and designs that they had created." (For example a tableau in the north porch depicts the removal, to some unstated destination, of the Ark of the Covenant - which is shown placed upon an ox-cart. The damaged and eroded description, "HIC AMICITUR ARCHA CEDERIS" which could be "Here is hidden the Ark of the Covenant".)

"In 1139, Pope Innocent II (whose candidacy, incidentally, had also been enthusiastically backed by Saint Bernard), granted the order a unique privilege - the right to build their own churches. This was a privilege that they subsequently exercised to the full: beautiful places of worship, often circular in plan like the Temple Church in London, became a hallmark of Templar activities." - Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal

"The great effort of the Order was the transfer of funds and men to the east. They erected numerous building in the west - preceptories, churches, granges - for training and administration, but these were humble and utilitarian in nature, with a few exceptions. There was no standard form of Templar church: a very few, curricular or polygonal, recalled the shape either of the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem (the 'Temple of God' of the Templar seal) or of the octagon of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem. But most Templar churches were orthodox apsidal structures." - Peter Partner, The Murdered Magicians

The signature round churches
Not every Templar church was round like the one that survives today in
London, but many were. The distinctive round Templar churches were
designed to pay homage to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem,
and they had a definite Eastern influence. Templar commanderies from
Hungary to Portugal to the South of France feature these gorgeous medieval
curiosities of construction. The Templars were enthusiastic builders and
developed much of their architecture from Byzantine examples. They were
unlike anything the Europeans were constructing.
It’s simply a matter of good luck that one of the loveliest and best-preserved
of them is not, like so many other Templar sites, in a difficult place for a typical
tourist to find. It is easily situated in the heart of downtown London.
The area where the Templar Church (see Figure 4-1) is located is still called
Temple Hill, in recognition of the fact that the 5 square miles around it were
once Temple property. After the dissolution of the Templar Order in 1307, the
area became a magnet for attorneys. It is now the odd and unique area of
London called the Inns of Court, a huge, labyrinth complex of brownstones
that is office and home for the city’s lawyers and law students. But be careful
when you go to take a look — the Inns of Court are considered private property,
and the huge doors set in the brick walls surrounding it are only open
during certain hours of the day. ------------ From The Templar Code for Dummies