On Templar links to the cult of Mary Magdalene

An earlier blog on the medieval cult of Mary Magdalene concluded that this cult in the 11th to 14th century seems to have been more coinciding with the development of the Cistercian Order than being a product of the latter, both resonating on the same principles of penitence, devotion and contemplation. The Knights Templar held the same core values, which inspired them in their religious, socio-economic and military roles. Is there proof of a special Templar relationship with the Mary Magdalene cult?

According to the common popular story, the Templars had a special relationship with Saint Mary Magdalene. Interestingly, The Magdalene does not appear explicitly in the Primitive or French Rules of the Templars other than briefly mentioning her Feast Day (July 22, Primitive Rule 75) and as example of a fogiven sinner (French Rule 539). The document is structured to focus strictly on the values and practical as well as religious conduct (such as fasting) expected of the convent (knights and sergeants), with reference to specific saints or figures outside of Christ and the Virgin Mary (usually calles Our Lady) limited to mentioning their feast days.

Mary Magdalene’s near absence in the Rule contrasts with her later association with the Templars in legend and popular lore. Some medieval sources and, more notably, later esoteric and apocryphal writings, associated Mary Magdalene with the Templars, often casting her as a symbol of esoteric knowledge or sacred femininity. However, these associations developed much later, after the Templar period, and are not confirmed in the Templars' official Rules.

Neither has there been found a special role for Mary Magdalene in their religious practises and liturgie. An exception seems to be a book for the office of the Magdalene (unum librum officii Sancte Marie Magdalene) found in the trial inventories in Bologna, which obviously the Templars would have used to celebrate the patron of their church: the Sancta Maria Magdalena in Bologna.¹⁾ The dedication of this Templar church to Mary Magdalene is an exception. Templars dedicated their churches mainly to the Virgin Mary. Her cult was passionately widespread by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who contributed to the rule of the Templars and ‘invented’ the term ‘Notre Dame' (Our Lady), commonly used in the Templar Rule. 

What about other Magdalene churches?

Sometimes the Église Sainte-Madelaine at Rennes-le-Château, France, is mentioned as proof of a special Magdalene-Templar link.  The earliest church of which there is evidence on the site may date to the 8th century. However, this original church was almost certainly in ruins by the 10th or 11th century, when another church was built upon the site—remnants of which can be seen in Romanesque pillared arcades on the north side of the apse. A church did exist in the 12th century: it was mentioned in an inventory by the Hospitallers in 1185.²⁾ So, although the Templars had properties in the region, it is more probable that the church of Rennes-le-Château fell under the jurisdiction of the Hospitallers.

Similarly, the Église Sainte-Madelaine at Troyes, France, is sometimes considered proof of a special Templar-Magdalene linkage. This church's first construction dates back to 1120, which is a bit too early to be a Templar church, because the Order had only just come into existencein the Holy Land, and their ecognition in the West came about a decade later. It was rebuilt around 1200 in the Gothic style just emerging in France, with major alterations following around 1500, the 17th and the the 19th century.³⁾ There is no evidence either of Templar involvement in the first rebuilding phase, the other reconstruction phases being after Templar times. So, again, the coincidence in Troyes of a proven 12th and 13th century Templar stronghold and a local church dedicated to Saint Magdalene is no proof for a direct connection.

To conclude, there is no direct historical evidence of a special relationship between the Templars and Mary Magdalene, not in their Rule nor in their churches, exceptions aside. Mary Magdalene was revered as a penitent saint rather than a figure with the mystical or legendary associations she later gained. As such, she wasn't central to the Templars’ religious life, which was centered on Christ and the Virgin Mary, more in line with the Church’s orthodox positions. Only in later centuries did legends begin to link Mary Magdalene more closely with the Templars. These were often based on speculative interpretations rather than on the original monastic-military rule or practices of the order.

At the same time: the Templars were mostly French and the tradition of Mary Magdalene who would have landed in Provence, southern France, became fixed in the tenth century, spreading all over France. Therefore at least a number of French Templars, like many compatriots and especially those in the south, would certainly have been personally devoted to Saint Mary Magdalene. But probably in the same way they were to other saints and not because of a special Magdalene devotion of their Order.⁴⁾

This blog is original work by TemplarsNow, holding information and/or -sometimes adapted- quotes from sources 1) Schenk, J. (2017) The documentary evidence for Templar religion. Bologna,  footnoot 37; 2) culture.gouv.fr; 3) troyeslachampagne.com; 4) skepticalinquirer.org. The illustration shows the southwest side of the Église Sainte-Madelaine at Troyes, picture by GO69, CCO, source Wikipedia.

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