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Article THE ORDER OF THE TEMPLE . ← Page 2 of 5 →
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The Order Of The Temple .
T The Order then consisted , and ought again to consist , o ! three classes , not degrees : the distinction being , that a person from one decree may rise to a higher , but a person in erne class does not ( ordinarily ) leave that class for any other ; I say ordinarily , for there is an exception whicli I shall notice presently . The three classes are the Knights , the Chaplains , and the Serving Brethren . 1 The —Into this class are admissible all persons who
. K NIGHTS . would have been capable of the honour of knig hthood in the days ot chivalry ; in different countries the qualification varied as regarded the number of armorial quarterings to which the aspirant was entitled . In England it was sufficient to have four quarterings , that is to say , that one ' s father and mother should each have been of a family entitled to bear arms ; and I should consider that now , any gentleman using armorial bearings , by rig ht ivould be admissible to the class of Knights is whatever for the
in the Order of the Temple . There no authority Scottish arrangement which I consider a decided innovation on the simplicity of the Order , of making three degrees of knighthood , Knights Companions , Commanders , and Grand Crosses . These three degrees have been borrowed from the modernized Order of the Bath , togctner with the " tight white pantaloons , buff'boots with red tassels , and gilt with red leathers" which form part of the " Costume ; and the
spurs , object for which ( I understand ) this novel distinction has been introduced into the Oreler in Scotland might have been as well attained by observing , that no person , whatever he may claim , can really be a Knight Templar , unless he be by birth and position in society a gentleman . The fact was , that the " Knights of the Temple , " so long as history mentions them , were all of one grade , the only distinction being that of " Knights Preceptors , " which was a distinction of authority and
poiver , not ot oreler or degree . 2 . The C HAPLAINS . —Into this class were admissible any clergymen in priest ' s orders who desired to belong to the Order of the Temple . Their vows , and the mode of their admission were the same as those of the Knights , excepting only such parts as referred to military service . As the first class were either knights or entitled to be knights before they joined the Order ; so generally the priests were priests before they become Chaplains of the lealthough in old times persons were
Temp , sometimes ordained for the office . The exception ivhich I noticed just now to the rule that a member of one class does not leave that class for any other , applies to this of the Chaplains ; when a person who had been admitted as a layman to the Order as a Knight afterwards is ordained , he should then lie considered as belonging to the class of Chaplains , his knighthood notwithstanding . The title given frequently to Chaplains of the now existing bodies of Templars , namely , Prelate , is an
exceedingly incorrect one ; and I am sorry to remark that the Scottish Temp lars as well as the English and Irish , denominate the Chaplain of their Grand Conclave , the "Grancl Prelate . " The title Prelate means a Bishop , and is applicable to no clergyman of inferior order ; the clergymen of the Temple never had any higher title than Chaplains , and even if one of them became a Bishop , which sometimes occurred , he did not assume any title of Prelate of the Order of the Temple . The fact is , this also lias been borrowed from the Order of the Bath , and other similar orders of courtly knighthood , which have an officer called Prelate , who is actually a Bishop . It is even more remarkable that the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Order Of The Temple .
T The Order then consisted , and ought again to consist , o ! three classes , not degrees : the distinction being , that a person from one decree may rise to a higher , but a person in erne class does not ( ordinarily ) leave that class for any other ; I say ordinarily , for there is an exception whicli I shall notice presently . The three classes are the Knights , the Chaplains , and the Serving Brethren . 1 The —Into this class are admissible all persons who
. K NIGHTS . would have been capable of the honour of knig hthood in the days ot chivalry ; in different countries the qualification varied as regarded the number of armorial quarterings to which the aspirant was entitled . In England it was sufficient to have four quarterings , that is to say , that one ' s father and mother should each have been of a family entitled to bear arms ; and I should consider that now , any gentleman using armorial bearings , by rig ht ivould be admissible to the class of Knights is whatever for the
in the Order of the Temple . There no authority Scottish arrangement which I consider a decided innovation on the simplicity of the Order , of making three degrees of knighthood , Knights Companions , Commanders , and Grand Crosses . These three degrees have been borrowed from the modernized Order of the Bath , togctner with the " tight white pantaloons , buff'boots with red tassels , and gilt with red leathers" which form part of the " Costume ; and the
spurs , object for which ( I understand ) this novel distinction has been introduced into the Oreler in Scotland might have been as well attained by observing , that no person , whatever he may claim , can really be a Knight Templar , unless he be by birth and position in society a gentleman . The fact was , that the " Knights of the Temple , " so long as history mentions them , were all of one grade , the only distinction being that of " Knights Preceptors , " which was a distinction of authority and
poiver , not ot oreler or degree . 2 . The C HAPLAINS . —Into this class were admissible any clergymen in priest ' s orders who desired to belong to the Order of the Temple . Their vows , and the mode of their admission were the same as those of the Knights , excepting only such parts as referred to military service . As the first class were either knights or entitled to be knights before they joined the Order ; so generally the priests were priests before they become Chaplains of the lealthough in old times persons were
Temp , sometimes ordained for the office . The exception ivhich I noticed just now to the rule that a member of one class does not leave that class for any other , applies to this of the Chaplains ; when a person who had been admitted as a layman to the Order as a Knight afterwards is ordained , he should then lie considered as belonging to the class of Chaplains , his knighthood notwithstanding . The title given frequently to Chaplains of the now existing bodies of Templars , namely , Prelate , is an
exceedingly incorrect one ; and I am sorry to remark that the Scottish Temp lars as well as the English and Irish , denominate the Chaplain of their Grand Conclave , the "Grancl Prelate . " The title Prelate means a Bishop , and is applicable to no clergyman of inferior order ; the clergymen of the Temple never had any higher title than Chaplains , and even if one of them became a Bishop , which sometimes occurred , he did not assume any title of Prelate of the Order of the Temple . The fact is , this also lias been borrowed from the Order of the Bath , and other similar orders of courtly knighthood , which have an officer called Prelate , who is actually a Bishop . It is even more remarkable that the