Following Orders

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

[Sir William Marcus]

I must also make note of the long sleeved robe in which the brother of the temple is sporting.

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Back to the Spanish Association of the Sovereign Order of the Temple of Christ, that is suing the Pope for the restitution of the good name of the Templars; I find it funny that historically they were only answerable to the Pontiff, and during the trial they had stated several times that only the Pope could cast judgement on them and the trial was illegal. Now this "historically" tied Spanish Order uses the very format, a national court, to do their bidding with the Vicar of Christ.

Personally I believe the name and honor of the Temple was restored with the release of the Vatican documents back in October 2007. And in keeping with the Rule, if the Pope hasn't said anything on the reinstatement, they just have to suck it up. Unlike the other Orders, theirs was a purely military function, where as the others that survived started as healers and gained a military role in order to compete with the Templars. (don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind seeing a purely Military Order fired back up to deal a mental blow to the radical enemies in this global war on terror, but knowing how things go, they'd be handicapped by the same ROEs that current forces have to operate under, so their physical impact would be negligible)

[Sir William Marcus]

Personally I believe the name and honor of the Temple was restored with the release of the Vatican documents back in October 2007. And in keeping with the Rule, if the Pope hasn't said anything on the reinstatement, they just have to suck it up.

ABSOLUTELY!

[Femme Falchion]

"Professor?"

*again, the effervescent woman in the back, who you now clearly know lied about taking the necessary prerequisite coursework for this class, raises her hand*

"could you please define a few terms such as Pontiff, Vicar and ROEs?"

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

"*the effervescent woman *

You're bubbly, gay, and give off gas.......?  ;)

"could you please define a few terms such as Pontiff, Vicar and ROEs?"

Pontiff- a title of certain religious leaders, now used principally to refer to leaders such as the Pope of the Catholic Church and of the Coptic Orthodox Church

Vicar- (from the Latin vicarius) is anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious").As in Vicar of Christ

ROEs- In military or police operations, the rules of engagement (ROE) determine when, where, and how force shall be used (for example, a submarine of country A cannot open fire on the shipping vessels of country B without an official declaration of war). Such rules are both general and specific, and there have been large variations between cultures throughout history. The rules may be made public, as in a martial law or curfew situation, but are typically only fully known to the force that intends to use them.

[Femme Falchion]

Nice. 

Since we are clarifying, I was thinking more along the lines of vivacious, lively and sparkling.....but with an edge.  Let's not bring sexual preferences into this.   

My other question is why was the the Spanish Order only "historically" involved?

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

 

[Lady Christina de Pond]

I'm bubbly when i get enough sleep but i don't give off gas

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

My other question is why was the the Spanish Order only "historically" involved?

For one, they did business differently than your main stream Templar Order. They took an oath to the King.
Secondly, since the Order was disbanded, from what I can pull from the records, the Templar Order morphed into the Order of the Knights of Christ (Ordem dos Cavaleiros de Cristo). With a heavy presence in Portugal and overlap into Spain.

From this, none of the records shows the current organization's ties to any of these Orders. An apparent disconnect in lineage, causing reasonable doubt to heritage other than word of mouth.

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

I'm bubbly when i get enough sleep but i don't give off gas

*open door ALERT!* 

[Lady Christina de Pond]

don't make me toss a coal at you

[Femme Falchion]

Lady de Pond, I have some accelerant if you need some 

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Historical safety note:


Templars not fire resistant!

[Monsignor de Beaumanoir]

Continuing on the theme of getting to know the Order, since the downfall of the previous Forums site, I give our viewers:

The Grand Master

The Grand Master was the supreme authority of the Templar Order and answered to none save the pope. Once elected to the office, the Grand Master served for the remainder of his life. In several cases that lifetime was cut short. Several Grand Masters were killed in battle, showing that the position was far more than an administrative one.
While each province had its own Master, the Grand Master was above each of them. In addition to overseeing military operations, the Grand Master was also responsible for the business dealings of the Order.


Seneschal

The Seneschal was the right hand man to the Grand Master and in modern terms would be similar to a vice president of a corporation. The Seneschal also acted as a consigliore or advisor to the Grand Master and looked after a great deal of the administrative duties.
Along with the Grand Master, the Seneschal ruled over eight Templar provincial Masters. These provinces were chiefly Aragon, Apulia, England, France, Hungary, Poitiers, Portugal and Scotland.

The Seneschal is selected by the Grand Master, confirmed with a majority vote of the Commanders of the Lands.


Marshal

The Marshal of the Order was the Templar in charge of war and anything that was related to it. In this sense the Marshal could be viewed as the second most important member of the Order after the Grand Master.

The Marshal of the Order is selected by the Grand Master, based on seniority and experience from the Marshals of the provinces. 


Under Marshal

The Under Marshal was in charge of the footmen and the equipment.

The Under Marshal is selected by the Marshal of the Order.


Standard Bearer

The Standard Bearer was one of the sergeants and charged with carrying the Order's banner (Beausant).

The Standard Bearer is selected from the hosting province of the Grand Master.


Draper

The Draper was in charge of the Templar garments and linens and while this may seem like a menial task, the Templar Rule of Order states that after the Master and Marshal, the Draper was superior to all brethren.

The Templar Rule of Order said of the Draper's responsibilities regarding the robe of the order, "and the Draper or the one who is in his place should studiously reflect and take care to have the reward of God in all the above-mentioned things, so that the eyes of the envious and evil-tongued cannot observe that the robes are too long or too short; but he should distribute them so that they fit those who must wear them, according to the size of each one."

The Draper should be selected from a Templar that has experience in uniforms and clothing, can be elected by vote, or selected by the majority vote of the Grand Master, Seneschal, and the Marshal of the Order.


Commanders of the Lands: Jerusalem, Antioch and Tripoli.

These Templar officers operated much like a Baillie (a municipal officer or magistrate) and operated under the Masters. Commanders were responsible for all Templar houses, castles and farms in their jurisdiction.


Provincial Masters

Provincial Masters, who governed the smaller districts, were similar to the Commanders of Lands, but seem to have largely been responsible for managing revenue and recruiting new men to the Order.


Knights and Sergeants

The bulk of the Templar's military might was comprised of knights and sergeants. Although both classes of Templars were as likely to die in battle, the knight had a higher ranking within the Order.

Knights had to be men of noble birth and wore the white mantle that is the most familiar garment of the Order.

They also maintained the dedicated Renaissance Festival Forums thread: Following Orders. This was to help spread the word of the Order's charities and contributions, and to act as an outlet for online recruiting of like minded historians and enthusiasts.

Sergeants did not have to be of noble birth and to show their lower rank, sergeants wore a black or brown mantle.