Notes On The " United Orders Of The Temple And Hospital"

two Commanders and . five Knights , fled , disguised as Masons , to one of the Scottish isles , where they found the Grand Commander , Hampton Court , and other members of their Order ;

and they resolved to preserve the institution , if possible , although in secret , and adopted many of the forms of the Freemasons to conceal their real designs . They held a chapter on St . John ' s

Day , 1313 , when D'Aumont was chosen Grand Master , and in 1361 , their seat was removed to Aberdeen , and by degrees the Order spread , under the veil of Freemasonry , over great part

of the continent , though its rank ancl power were at an end . " Hypercritical brethren have objected to this writer ' s statement , because there was no such

title as Provincial Grand Master , or Grand Commander at the time alluded to , and because the names of D'Aumont and Hampton Court cannot now be traced with accuracy .

But as a writer 111 the freemasons Magazine * very pertinently says , in repl y to one of these captious critics , — " Much confusion existed at the time of the suppression of the Order with

regard to titles . I am perfectly well aware that Grand Prior or Preceptor were those most in use ; but I gather from my small reading on the subject , that Great Priors , Great Preceptors , or

Provincial Masters , were synonymous terms ; under these were Priors , Bailiffs , and under these Preceptors . " De Molay , in urging his objections to the union of the

Temp lars and Hospitallers , admitted that one good result would probably follow , inasmuch as many Commanders might be suppressed , and some saving affected thereby . It would appear ,

therefore , that the writer in the " Encyclopedia Metropolitana " spoke erroneously of the Grand Prior of Auvergne as Grand Master . Signor Rosetti also strongly asserts that the Knig hts Templar were a branch of the

Freemasons . . It is only fair to state that at the time of the inquisition into the Order , amongst the Knights who were imprisoned in England were ,

according to Addison , Bro . Himbert Blanke , Knight Grand Precejitor of Auvergne . How he came to be imprisoned in England wc do not know , and it is still not impossible that Pierre D'Aumont

may have preceded or succeeded him in office , as Himbert Blanke was imprisoned for some years in England . Addison elsewhere describes Bro . Himbert

Blanke ( page 250 ) as ono of the veteran warriors who had fought to the last in defence of Palestine , had escaped the slaughter at Acre , and had accompanied the Grand Master from Cyprus

to France , whence he crossed over to England , and was rewarded for his meritorious and memorable services in defence of the Christian faith with a dungeon in the Tower . Here ,

Addison says , Blanke was confined in the Tower with William de la More , the Master of the Temple , and Grand Preceptor of England , and in another part of the book ( page 280 ) , he says

he was not confined in the Tower , but was confined in Newgate . It may be that Bro . Blanke himself escaped , and that Pierre D'Aumont may have been the name of one of the companions of his fli ght .

Notes On The " United Orders Of The Temple And Hospital"

At all events , he could better have escaped into Scotland from England than from France , and the story is not so improbable after all . As to the difference of titles , Addison speaks

in one p lace of the Grand Prior or Preceptor of Rome , and in another , of the Grand Preceptor of England . I have read somewhere that there are traces

of a Masonic lodge meeting in Aberdeen so far back , at least , as about the year 1500 , and we know that some Scotch lodges claim to have existed hundreds of years before that .

Our learned and highly-esteemed Bro . Hughan , in his analysis of ancient and modern Masonry , * makes mention of a Charter granted by David I . to a lodge in Stirling in 1147 , in which

the following occurs : — " And that you mack , instruck , and teach the Masonry of St . John in all its pairts and sccrets , and as ilk belted knights and cross-legged knights with armour , for the

cause and keeping of our holy religion , and all times of meeting so there be no scurrility or banning among you in the Iodge , and such offending shall forfeit and pay five pound Scotts ,

the one-half to the lodge , the other half to the altar of St . Mary ' s , to say mass for their souls . " Bro . Hughan thinks , however , that too much stress is laid on this Charter , and thinks that the term belted kni g hts is used only as an illustration .

Addison says , t " The Grand Master of the Temple ranked in Europe as a Sovereign Prince , and had precedence of all ambassadors and peers in the general councils of the church . He

was elected to his high office by the chapter of the kingdom of Jerusalem , which was composed of all the Knights of the East and of the West , J who could manage

to attend . The western nations or provinces of the Order were presided over by the Provincial Masters , otherwise Grand Priors , or Grand Preceptors , who were originally appointed bv the

Chief Master at Jerusalem , and were , in theory , mere trustees , or bare administrators of the revenues of the fraternity , accountable to the Treasurer-General at Jerusalem , and removeable at

the pleasure of the Chief Master . The superior at the Temple at London is always styled Master of the Temple , and holds his chapters , and has his ofiicers corresponding to those of the chief

Master in Palestine . The latter , consequently , came to be denominated Magnus Magister , or Grand Master . The titles given , indeed , to the superiors of the different nations or provinces

into which the Order ofthe Temple was divided , are numerous , and somewhat perplexing . In the east , these ofiicers were known only in the first instance by the title of Prior , as Prior of

England , Prior of France , Prior of Portugal , Sec , and afterwards Preceptor of England , Precejitor of France ; but in Europe they were called Grand Priors and Grand Preceptors , to distinguish them

from the Sub-Priors and Sub-Preceptors , and also Masters of the Temple . The Prior and Precejitor of England , therefore , and the Grand Prior , Grand Precejitor , and Master of the Tcm-

Notes On The " United Orders Of The Temple And Hospital"

jile in England , were one and the same person . There were also at the new Temjile at London > in imitation of the establishment at the chief house in Palestine , in addition to the Master , the

Preceptor of the 1 emple , the Prior of Londo n , the Treasurer , and the Guardian of the Church , who had three Chaplains under him called Readers . The Master at London had his

General and Particular , or his ordinary and extraordinary chapters . The first were composed of the Grand Preceptors of Scotland and Ireland , and all the Provincial Priors and Preceptors of

the three kingdoms , who were summoned once a year to deliberate on the state of the Hol y Land , to forward succour , to give an account of

their stewardship , and to frame new rules and regulations for the management of the temporalities *

The ordinary chapters were held at the different jireceptories , which the Master of the Temple visited in succession . In these chapters new members were admitted into the Order ;

lands were bought , sold , and exchanged ; and presentations were made b y the Master to vacant benefices . 1 have quoted a statement from the "

EncyclojM-dia Metropolitana , " to the effect that the Knights Templar were sujijiosed to have been initiated into the Masonic mysteries whilst in the east . Laurie , in his admirable " History of

Freemasonry in Scotland , ! distinctl y states that the principal reason for suppressing the Order was its connection with Freemasonry . " It was the discovery , indeed , of their being Freemasons , "

he says , " of their assembling secretly , and per forming ceremonies to which no stranger was admitted , that occasioned those calamities that befel them . "

He goes on to say , " it may be interesting to some readers , and necessary for the satisfaction of others , to show in what manner the Knights Templar became depositaries of the

Masonic mysteries . We have already seen that almost all the secret associations of the ancients either flourished or originated in Syria and the adjacent countries . It was here that the Dionysian artists , the Essencs , and the Kassideans ,

arose . From this country , also , came several members of the trading community of Masons , which ajipeared in Europe during the dark ages ; and

we are assured that , notwithstanding the unfavourable condition of that province , there exists , at this day , one of these Syriac fraternities on Mount Libanus . } ' As the order of the Knights

Templar , therefore , was originally formed in Syria , and existed there for a considerable time , it is no imjirobable supposition that they received their Masonic knowledge from the lodges in

that quarter . But in this case we are fortunately not left to conjecture , as we are exjiressly informed by a foreign author , § who was well acquainted with the history and customs of Syria ,

that they were actually members of the Syriac fraternities . In my lecture , " Random Notes on Freemasonry , " I called attention to the fact that my learned and valued friend , Canon Tris-