Following Orders

[SirMichael]

Brothers,

May you all have a great Thanksgiving from my household to yours!

Dues Lo Vult!


Sir Michael of Mentor

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your Princess as well, and to all the thread readers!

BTW- Sir Michael, I saw on Medieval Mayhem where you talked with a Lucas de Beaumanoir of the GLMF, if by chance you have the opportunity, please send him my way on Facebook (Search: de Beaumanoir- you'll find me).

Pax vobiscum.

[Lord Clisto of York]

Yes, a Grand Thanksgiving Holiday to you all Brothers...

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

[Brother J. Heaton]

May all the Brothers and others have a Merry Christmas and Happy Nude Year.

[Lord Clisto of York]

Nude Year??? Well then, where is castle Anthrax by the way?

[Lady Christina de Pond]

Nude what? i didn't think monks went around nude even if they were warrior Monk

[Lord Clisto of York]

Well then... there still is a lot to learn grasshopper.

[amy]

Ok..    With that said this lurker is back on the Monk Train.

[Lord Clisto of York]

Hey, No liftin the sircoats....

[amy]

    Who me?   Never...

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Ok..    With that said this lurker is back on the Monk Train.

M'Lady, is there anything you would like to see discussed in this thread? I've done a complete crusading history of the day for one year, covered the various major and some minor Military Orders. Discussed the various Crusades and thier locations.

I'm now brain cramping for ideas....

I guess I could try doing book reviews, that would give me nearly 100 new posts, and possibly some movie reviews, but then again we've done a few of each of these as well..............

Help please.....as a dedicated and interested "thread lurker"....your input is important to us! 

[amy]

How very kind to be considered in the subject for this thread.  You know I always enjoy your historical backgrounds and "on this day" subjects.  they always fascinate.   But I'll admit that I, for a lack of a better phrase,  get in touch with my guy side when I see the pictures.   I would love to see and hear more about the Crusading art that you post, as well as reviews of the day to day life of these noble warriors.   I find it fascinating the vast miles they traveled and were away from family for years.   If any of those ideas give you pause to post, then I would surely enjoy continuing to learn and read.  thank you again!

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Thank you Lady Amy!

Well this does open a door to a portion of Templar history that I feel hasn't been given enough attention. Regarding their secret "initiation" ceremony, it was mentioned that applicants were asked to deny Christ and/or spit on the Crucifix. Both charges amount to heresy in the eyes of the devout. The great news is since Dr. Barbra Frale's  (Vatican Historian) find in the Vatican archives of the misplaced minutes of the Templar trial, a new look can be provided into Christendom's premier Military Order.

First of all, any organization that holds secret induction ceremonies is a target for the questioning masses. It's too easy to label them with unproven charges. To prove the charges false would be to open the doors of the Organization's activities (The first double edged sword). Why would the Templars have to do things secretly? For several reasons: firstly it's a policy known as operational security. You don't want the Saracen or any other possible adversary/competitor (other Orders or Royal figures) to know what you're doing (tactical movements, financial aid/grant, income sources), going to do, or possible deficient statuses (troop dispositions, strengths, leadership weaknesses)- these can be exploited, both on the battlefield and in the business world.

Secondly, the Grand Master was given a great deal of slack with regards to governing his organization. The method of initiation would seem questionable to some of the devout Church figures who felt threatened by the growth and power of the Order. This all finally makes sense, when Dr Frale points out that there was a special entrance ritual, but it was used much in the same fashion as a "selection process" is used in certain military organizations. It helps to select the best fitting candidates for future assignments.

Here it was pointed out that applicants were asked to spit on the crucifix or deny Christ (events thoughts heretical by the main stream church). Those that did, although not denied entrance from the Order, were assigned/relegated to support and logistics roles at the Order's houses and holdings in Europe. They would spend their time in a more menial setting with the mandated prayer times throughout the day, serving the Order by farming, sewing, etc. An environment not too threatening to say the least. Remember not all applicants were warriors, so some may have been less "stalwart in faith". Being part of an Order would guarantee they were taken care of and provided for.

For those that refused to do either, well here are your rocks of Christendom. They are assigned to the remote posts in the Outremer. Here the Master has a set of faithful Warrior Monks that he doesn't have to worry over. They know their duty, and most have battlefield experience.

It was guys like these that gave their lives after the Battle of Hattin in July of 1187. Almost 300 Warrior Monks were given the option to convert to Islam or die by the sword. They chose the blade.

Confessions were extracted by torture in France. Once the pain stopped though, confessions were recanted. Something to think about. Countries who participated in the "Templar Roundup" but didn't use torture, received none of the confessions. In Germany, the Marshal of the Order strode into the cathedral where the trial was being held against the Order, and announced that he and his Brothers would meet any of their accusers in Trail by Combat. They were pronounced innocent.

It was little ceremonies like this that helped weed out those not up to the task from those destined to strike fear in the hearts of the infidel. You don't have to look too far........it's still happening today, behind closed doors. For those that have been in uniform, the simplest example is the "issuing" of blood wings to those who graduate from Airborne School.

Although frowned upon by the services as a whole, and labeled as "hazing", it's treated as a rite of passage for paratroopers. I have other events for those of us that were Infantry and the like, but see, most don't even know of them.

What people don't know, doesn't always hurt them, but allows them to sleep safer at night.

And for the Record: most of the charges that Philip IV used against the Templars, he'd used against the Jews a year prior. A rehearsal maybe?