Economic and religious independence of the Knights Templar

"Independent and permanent, (made so by the papal bulls Omne datum optimum (1139), Milites Templi (1144) and Militia Dei (1145), TN)  the Templars needed the means to sustain themselves. As defenders of the goods of the Church it was appropriate to exempt them from the payment of tithes, while at the same time giving them the right to acquire them, provided that they had the assent of the bishops and their clergy.

The militarisation of the Hospitallers, mid 12th century

"Gerard, a native of Provence, was at this period (start of the 12th century; TN) at the head of the society (of the Hospital of St. John; TN), with the title of “Guardian of the Poor.” He was succeeded (A.D. 1118) by Raymond Dupuy, a knight of Dauphiné, who drew up a series of rules for the direction and government of his brethren. In these rules *) no traces are discoverable of the military spirit which afterwards animated the order of the Hospital of St. John. That changed.

Foundation of the Hospitallers of Saint John at the end of the 11th century

In the eleventh century, when pilgrimages to Jerusalem had greatly increased, some Italian merchants of Amalfi, who carried on a lucrative trade with Palestine, purchased of the Caliph Monstasser-billah, a piece of ground in the christian quarter of the Holy City, near the Church of the Resurrection, whereon two hospitals were constructed, the one being appropriated for the reception of male pilgrims, and the other for females.

Papel bulls and the Knights Templar summarized

There are many important dates in the history the Middle Ages, but some notable ones were the issuance of the Papal Bulls and, in this instance, those issued for and against the medieval Knights Templar. A Papal Bull is a formal proclamation or order issued by the Pope and the use of "bull" is derived from the lead seal or "bulla" that is appended to the end of the order to authenticate it. Originally a Papal Bull was used for normal communications, but would evolve and used for formal and important occasions.

Great Priory Knights Templar International, Paris, 2012

Video of the Great Priory of the Knights Templar International Chapter of France held in Paris, 16-18 March 2012 "Remembering the Grand Prior of Jacques de Molay".

Souce YouTube.

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The Templar Seal

The first seal that we are aware of is one of Grand Master Everard de Barres, a small wax seal from 1147 with the inscription “TUBE: TEMPLI: XPI. ....  Seals were used to validate letters, edicts and documents. With these seals, the authenticity of the document was validated.

Promo-video OSMTH Knights Templar Belgium

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Knights Templar and Papal bulls: Militea Dei (1145)

Militea Dei’, the third of the papal bulls, issued by Pope Eugenius III in 1145, is very similar in both content and style to the one year older earlier ‘Milites templi’ (1144). The bull begins with praise for the knights’ efforts for the eastern church, drawing attention yet again to important military task the Order was saddled with. The bull moves on, much like the bull before it, to compel the clergy again to gather resources for the Templars.  

The Templar force counted

The number of Knights Templar during the 200 years of their existence remains open for debate. TemplarsNow collects information on this issue.