THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR IN SCOTLAND
IT is said the first link the Knights Templar had with Scotland was in 1128 when Huges de Payens included Scotland in his tour of European countries to spread the word of the Order and attract recruits, endowments and donations. No evidence for this being the date and the circumstances surrounding the Order's obtaining lands in Scotland is known of and, given that Chronicles such as that of Henry of Huntingdon tell of Payen's visit to England and from there being called back to Holy Land on business, it is doubtful that the date was so early. But that this did occur during the reign of King David I. of Scots - who reigned from 25th April, 1124, to 24th May, 1153 - is confirmed in charters by his great-grandson and successor King Alexander II who confirms those grants by his predecessors thus ;
Charter of Alexander II confirming to the brethren of the Temple of Solomon of Jerusalem all the rights and liberties which Kings David, Malcolm, and his own father William had granted them, as their authentic writs testify, to wit that all the men of the brethren should have the King's peace, and intercourse with all his subjects in buying and selling their merchandise free of bane and toll and duties of passage; that none inflict or consent to the infliction of injury on them, that their cause be first heard in judgment, and that they first receive their right; that no one bring a man of these brethren to judgment, if his masters are unwilling to stand pledge for him, unless he be a convicted thief etc. that they have all the liberties in all parts of Scotland which they have in other countries; that none take a pledge from them or their men unless for his lord's fine; and that if any one of them ignorantly take money out of their own land it shall be restored to them immediately without any fine. 20 March, 1236.
From the later statements of Knights Templar based in Scotland it is clear that the Preceptory of Balantrodach, now Temple, in Mildlothian, was their principal seat and that they were under the jurisdiction of the Master of the Temple in England who, we are informed, summoned Chapters General annually at which the Preceptors of Ireland and of Scotland were present.
We also find that far from the Scottish Templars controlling all the Order's lands in Scotland, there were those which fell under the direct jurisdiction of England no doubt as a consequence of their having previously been endowed upon them directly such as the following ;
Charter by Robert of Turvil, Master of the Knights Templar of England, with consent of chapter held on feast of St Barnabas the Apostle at Temple Dinsley, to Christian de Insula of Perth, of four particates of land in the Insula of Perth, adjacent to land of deceased Simon of Lenna on west, formerly the gift of Earl David, brother of King William, under reddendo of 2s 8d of silver, and a payment of 2 silver merks on death of him or his son Witnesses: Brother Thomas de Bray and Brother William de Mere, chaplains, Brother Thomas de la Ferme, Brother Thomas of Tulus, Brother Henry of Emory, Brother Robert le Squoi, Brother Robert of Bonington, Brother Roger de Akiny, then Preceptor of Scotland 1278x1290.
Over the years of its existence the Order acquired significant lands in various parts of Scotland where they established presences including their principal seat of Balantrodach, in Mid-Lothian, Culter, in Aberdeenshire, Aboyne, also in Aberdeenshire, Tulloch, in Aberdeenshire, St. Germains, in East Lothian, Ogerstoun, in Stirlingshire, Inchinnan, in Renfrewshire, and many more in almost every shire of the land.
Of the Preceptors of Balantrodach we know of the following;
- Robert, 1160.
- Randulph Corbet 1174-99
- Hugh de Conyers 1233
- Roger de Akeny circa 1278
- Brian le Jay - 1291 - 1296 when appointed Master of the Temple in England. He was killed at the battle of Falkirk in 1298.
- John de Soutre 1296 till his death at the battle of Falkirk in 1298.
- John de Heuthfete (Eviot) last Preceptor who, we are informed by one of his colleagues, threw of his habit and ran off, upon hearing of the warrant for the arrest of the Templars.
During the Wars of Independence which raged in Scotland following the untimely death of King Alexander III. in 1286, we find the head of the Order in Scotland giving fealty to King Edward I. of England;
1291. Friar Brian preceptor of the soldiery of the Temple in Scotland, thereafter, in the King's chamber in the castle. Edinburgh.
then immediately gaining the King's protection for the Order in Scotland ;
1291/2 Dec. 12. Friar Brian le Jay master of the soldiery of the Temple in Scotland, has a protection without limit by order of the King.
By August of 1296 Brian le Jay had been appointed Master of the Temple in England with his successor north of the border being John de Soutre who also gave homage to Edward I ;
28th August, 1296. At Berwick-on-Tweed. Friar Johan de Sautre master of the chivalry of the Temple in Scotland.
The extent of the control Edward I. of England exercised over the Order in England, Scotland and Ireland cannot be underestimated. This, however, was in direct contravention of previous Papal Bulls in their favour as the Order had no business recognising the authority of any temporal Prince or body when they were under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope and, therefore, free from such interference, but, nevertheless, they did and le Jay even seeks confirmation from Edward for a simple mandate extending authority to his officers in Scotland ;
1296. September 1. Friar Brian le Jay master of the soldiery of the Temple in England, has leave to appoint Friar John de Sautre and Robert de Sautre his attorneys in Scotland for a year from Michaelmas. Berwick-on-Tweed.
From the following excerpt citing English Chronicles which tell of the bravery of their actions, the fate of these two Preceptors is given ;
As the enthusiasm, too, in favour of the holy war diminished, large numbers of the Templars remained at home in their western preceptories, and took an active part in the politics of Europe. They interfered in the quarrels of Christian princes, and even drew their swords against their fellow-Christians. Thus we find the members of the order taking part in the war between the houses of Anjou and Aragon, and aiding the king of England in his warfare against the king of Scotland. In the battle of Falkirk, fought on the 22nd of July, A. D. 1298, seven years after the fall of Acre, perished both the Master of the Temple at London, and his vicegerent the Preceptor of Scotland. All these circumstances, together with the loss of the Holy Land, and the extinction of the enthusiasm of the crusades, diminished the popularity of the Templars in Europe.
Unlike the brutal treatment those of the Order received in France, although imprisoned and brought to trial, the Knights Templar in Scotland as well as England and Ireland were treated far less harshly. The following extract is from the trials of the only two Knights Templar in Scotland to have been arrested. It sheds a good deal of light on the status of Scotland within the wider international Order and also the movements as well as what became of their fellows at the time of the order for the their arrest ;
On the 17th of November, Brother Walter de Clifton being examined in the parish church of the Holy Cross at Edinburgh, before the bishop of St. Andrews and John de Solerio, the pope's chaplain, states that the brethren of the order of the Temple in the kingdom of Scotland received their orders, rules, and observances from the Master of the Temple in England, and that the Master in England received the rules and observances of the order from the Grand Master and the chief convent in the East ; that the Grand Master or his deputy was in the habit of visiting the order in England and elsewhere ; of summoning chapters, and making regulations for the conduct of the brethren and the administration of their property.
Being asked as to the mode of his reception, he states that when William de la More, the Master, held his chapter at the preceptory of Temple Bruere in the county of Lincoln, he sought of the assembled brethren the habit and the fellowship of the order; that they told him that he little knew what it was he asked, in seeking to be admitted to their fellowship ; that it would be a very hard matter for him, who was then his own master, to become the servant of another, and to have no will of his own ; but notwithstanding their representations of the rigour of their rules and observances, he still continued earnestly to seek their habit and fellowship. He states that they then led him to the chamber of the Master, where they held their chapter, and that there, on his bended knees, and with his hands clasped, he again prayed for the habit and the fellowship of the Temple ; that the Master and the brethren then required him to answer questions to the following effect : Whether he had a dispute with any man, or owed any debts ? whether he was betrothed to any woman ? and whether he had any secret infirmity of body? or knew of anything to prevent him from remaining within the bosom of the fraternity ? And having answered all those questions satisfactorily, the Master then asked of the surrounding brethren, "Do ye give your consent to the reception of brother Walter?" who unanimously answered that they did ; and the Master and the brethren then standing up, received him the said Walter in this manner. On his bended knees, and with his hands joined, he solemnly promised that he would be the perpetual servant of the Master, and of the order, and of the brethren, for the purpose of defending the Holy Land. Having done this, the Master took out of the hands of a brother chaplain of the order the book of the holy gospels, upon which was depicted a cross, and laying his hands upon the book and upon the cross, he swore to God and the blessed Virgin Mary to be for ever thereafter chaste, obedient, and to live without property. And then the Master gave to him the white mantle, and placed the coif on his head, and admitted him to the kiss on the mouth, after which he made him sit down on the ground, and admonished him to the following effect : that from thenceforth he was to sleep in his shirt, drawers, and stockings, girded with a small cord over his shirt ; that he was never to tarry in a house where there was a woman in the family way ; never to be present at a marriage, nor at the purification of women ; and likewise instructed and informed him upon several other particulars. Being asked where he had passed his time since his reception, he replied that he had dwelt three years at the preceptory of Blancradok in Scotland ; three years at Temple Newsom in England ; one year at the Temple at London, and three years at Aslakeby. Being asked concerning the other brothers in Scotland, he stated that John de Huefiete was Preceptor of Blancradok, the chief house of the order in that country, and that he and the other brethren, having heard of the arrest of the Templars, threw off their habits and fled, and that he had not since heard aught concerning them.
Brother William de Middleton, being examined, gave the same account of his reception, and added that he remembered that brother William de la More, the Master in England, went, in obedience to a summons, to the Grand Master beyond sea, as the superior of the whole order, and that in his absence Brother Hugh de Peraut, the visitor, removed several preceptors from their preceptories in England, and put others in their places.
He further states, that he swore he would never receive any service at the hands of a woman, not even water to wash his hands with.
After the examination of the above two Templars, forty-one witnesses, chiefly abbots, priors, monks, priests, and serving men, and retainers of the order in Scotland, were examined upon various interrogatories, but nothing of a criminatory nature was elicited. The monks observed that the receptions of other orders were public, and were celebrated as great religious solemnities, and the friends, parents, and neighbours of the party about to take the vows were invited to attend ; that the Templars, on the other hand, shrouded their proceedings in mystery and secrecy, and therefore they suspected the worst. The priests thought them guilty, because they were always against the church! Others condemned them because (as they say) the Templars closed their doors against the poor and the humble, and extended hospitality only to the rich and the powerful. The abbot of the monastery of the Holy Cross at Edinburgh declared that they appropriated to themselves the property of their neighbours, right or wrong.
The abbot of Dumferlyn knew nothing of his own knowledge against them, but had heard much, and suspected more. The serving men and the tillers of the lands of the order stated that the chapters were held sometimes by night and sometimes by day, with extraordinary secrecy ; and some of the witnesses had heard old men say that the Templars would never have lost the Holy Land, if they had been good Christians.
Et ad evidentius premissorum testimonium reverend us in Christo pater dominus Willielmus, providentia divina S. Andreae episcopus, et magister Johannes de Solerio prsedicti sigilla sua praesenti inquisition! appenderunt, et eisdem sigillis post subscriptionem meam eandem inquisitioncm clauserunt. In quorum etiam firming testimonium ego
As with those of the Order in Ireland and England, upon the completion of their trials which were without execution, when the Order was finally disolved by the Pope, all simply melded back into society in one way or another.
The Order’s lands in Scotland, as elsewhere, passed by Papal decree to the Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem and that they immediately took possession and control of the Templar lands in Scotland is confirmed by the following charter ;
Precept by the Master of the house of Torphicen and of all the temple lands of St. John of Jerusalem in Scotland, directed to Adam Marsel, his serjeant of Blantrodach, narrating that by an inquest held on the vigil of SS. Philip and James, Apostles, in 1344 it was found that Alexander Sempil of Hakerstoun was infeft in a land and tenement in Esperstoun, and that Robert, his son, was his heir.
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Non Nobis Domine, Non Nobis, Sed Nomini Tuo Da Gloriam !
Copyright: The Grand Priory of Scotland OSMTH/SMOTJ 2011
