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Article MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. ← Page 4 of 5 →
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Masonic Notes And Queries.
to take with him a chaplain and a portable chapel , as the Armenians were monophysite heretics , with whom the orthodox brethren of the Temple could not join iu worship . " The prior of the town of Jerusalem had peculiar duties to perform . It was his office , with ten knights
who stood under his command , to escort the pilgrims on their way to and from the Jordan—one of the principal objects of the institution of the Order . On this occasion he had with him the banner of the Order and a round tent , into which he might take any persons whom he should find sick when he
encamped ; he was also to take with him provisions , and beasts of burden on which to place such of the pilgrims as might be fatigued on the return . " When the true cross was brought forth on any expedition , it was the duty of the prior of Jerusalem to keep bitwith histeu knihtsniht and dayand
y , g , g , to guard it ; ho was to encamp close to it ; and two brethren were to watch it every night . " All the secular knights who associated themselves to the Order in Jerusalem , were under his orders , and fought beneath his banner . All the brethren of the
Order who were in Jerusalem were , in the absence of the marshal , under his command . One half of the booty captured beyoud the Jordan fell to him , the other half to the prior of the kingdom . " As we have seen above , the West was , like the East , divided into provinces of the Order . Each of
these provinces was presided over by a lieutenant of the Master , named the Provincial Master , Great Prior , or Great Preceptor , with his Chapter and Officers corresponding to those of the fdngdom of Jerusalem . He was appointed , as it would appear , by the Master and Chapter ; andwhen entering on
, his office , he bouud himself by oath to defend the Catholic religion , not only with his lips , but with arms and all his strength ; to follow the rules drawn up by St . Bernard ; to obey the Master ; to come over the sea to his aid whenever it was necessary ; to defend him against all unbelieving kings and princes ; uot to
fly before these unbelieving foes ; not to alienate the goods of the Order ; to be loyal to the prince of the country -, to be chaste -, aud to aid all spiritual persons , especially the Cistercians , by words aud by deeds .
" Hnder the Provincial Masters stood the Priors , Bailiffs , or Masters , who governed large districts of the provinces , aud had under their inspection several of the houses of the Order and their preceptors . They dwelt in large temple-houses . with a good number of knights ; they had the power of holding Chapters ,
and of receiving members mto the Order . " The preceptors were subordinate to the priors ; they presided over one or more houses . They were generally knights , but they were sometimes priests . They were of two kinds—House Preceptors and Knight Preceptors ; the former , as their name
denotes , merely presided over the . houses , and might be priests or serving brethren ; the latter , who were probably only to be found in the Bast or in Spain , led each ten knights in the battle . " Another office to be found among the Templars was that of Visitors . These were knights , who , as the representatives of the Master , visited the different provinces of the Order , especially in the West , to
reform abuses , make new regulations , and terminate such disputes and law-suits as were usually reserved for the decision of the Master and the Chapter . All the Provincial Officers , even the Great Priors , were subject to the Visitors , as the representatives of the Master . The powers of the Visitors ceased as soon as the business ended for which they were sentor
, when they were recalled . " Besides the foregoing offices , which were almost exclusively confined to the knights , there were some inferior ones appropriated to the serving-brethren . These offices were five in number—namely , those of sub-marshal , standard-bearer , farrier , cook , and
preceptor of the coast of Acre . Each of these was allowed two horses . " The sub-marshal had the charge of all the inferior sort of accoutrements ( le petit harnois ) of the Order ^ in which the horse-furniture seems to have been included . All the handicraftsmen of the Order were
under him , and were obliged to account to him for their work . He supplied them with the needful tools and materials ; could send them where he pleased on the service of the house ; and on holidays give them permission to go from one house to another to amuse themselves . The sub-marshal and the
standard-bearer were each the representative of the other iu his absence . " The standard-bearer had the command over all the esquires of the house ; that is , those who were engaged for a limited time iu the service of the Order , whom he was bound to make acquainted with the rules to which they were subjectaud the
punish-, ments to which were liable iu ease of disobedience ; he was also to pay them their wages . Whenever the esquires took the horses out to graze , he was bound to precede them with a standard of the Order . He always presided at the table of the serving-brethren aud esquires . When the Order was marching to
battle , it was his task to ride before tha standard , which was borne after him by an esquire , or carried on a wain ;* he was to lead whithersoever the marshal directed him . TV hen the battle commenced , those esquires who led the horses of the kuights were to combat behind their masters ; the others were to take
the mules on which their masters rode , and remain with the standard-bearer , who was to have a banner rolled about his lance , which , when he saw the marshal engaged in action , he was to unfurl , and draw up the esquires in as handsome order as possible behind the combatants , in order to support them .
" The serving-brethren were eligible to the office of house-preceptor ; but there was this distinction made between them aud knights who held that office , that , the serving-brethren being allowed but one horse , their esquire was a serving-brother . As Acre was the seaport at which all the shipments of the Order to and from Europe took place , the preceptory there
was necessarily an office which entailed a good deal of toil and business on the person who held that situation , aud required a knowledge of commerce and of the affairs of the world . It was , therefore , not considered suitable to a knight , aud was always given to a serving-brother . The serving-brethren were also set over the various farm 3 aud estates of the Order . These were named the brother-stewards , —in Latin ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Notes And Queries.
to take with him a chaplain and a portable chapel , as the Armenians were monophysite heretics , with whom the orthodox brethren of the Temple could not join iu worship . " The prior of the town of Jerusalem had peculiar duties to perform . It was his office , with ten knights
who stood under his command , to escort the pilgrims on their way to and from the Jordan—one of the principal objects of the institution of the Order . On this occasion he had with him the banner of the Order and a round tent , into which he might take any persons whom he should find sick when he
encamped ; he was also to take with him provisions , and beasts of burden on which to place such of the pilgrims as might be fatigued on the return . " When the true cross was brought forth on any expedition , it was the duty of the prior of Jerusalem to keep bitwith histeu knihtsniht and dayand
y , g , g , to guard it ; ho was to encamp close to it ; and two brethren were to watch it every night . " All the secular knights who associated themselves to the Order in Jerusalem , were under his orders , and fought beneath his banner . All the brethren of the
Order who were in Jerusalem were , in the absence of the marshal , under his command . One half of the booty captured beyoud the Jordan fell to him , the other half to the prior of the kingdom . " As we have seen above , the West was , like the East , divided into provinces of the Order . Each of
these provinces was presided over by a lieutenant of the Master , named the Provincial Master , Great Prior , or Great Preceptor , with his Chapter and Officers corresponding to those of the fdngdom of Jerusalem . He was appointed , as it would appear , by the Master and Chapter ; andwhen entering on
, his office , he bouud himself by oath to defend the Catholic religion , not only with his lips , but with arms and all his strength ; to follow the rules drawn up by St . Bernard ; to obey the Master ; to come over the sea to his aid whenever it was necessary ; to defend him against all unbelieving kings and princes ; uot to
fly before these unbelieving foes ; not to alienate the goods of the Order ; to be loyal to the prince of the country -, to be chaste -, aud to aid all spiritual persons , especially the Cistercians , by words aud by deeds .
" Hnder the Provincial Masters stood the Priors , Bailiffs , or Masters , who governed large districts of the provinces , aud had under their inspection several of the houses of the Order and their preceptors . They dwelt in large temple-houses . with a good number of knights ; they had the power of holding Chapters ,
and of receiving members mto the Order . " The preceptors were subordinate to the priors ; they presided over one or more houses . They were generally knights , but they were sometimes priests . They were of two kinds—House Preceptors and Knight Preceptors ; the former , as their name
denotes , merely presided over the . houses , and might be priests or serving brethren ; the latter , who were probably only to be found in the Bast or in Spain , led each ten knights in the battle . " Another office to be found among the Templars was that of Visitors . These were knights , who , as the representatives of the Master , visited the different provinces of the Order , especially in the West , to
reform abuses , make new regulations , and terminate such disputes and law-suits as were usually reserved for the decision of the Master and the Chapter . All the Provincial Officers , even the Great Priors , were subject to the Visitors , as the representatives of the Master . The powers of the Visitors ceased as soon as the business ended for which they were sentor
, when they were recalled . " Besides the foregoing offices , which were almost exclusively confined to the knights , there were some inferior ones appropriated to the serving-brethren . These offices were five in number—namely , those of sub-marshal , standard-bearer , farrier , cook , and
preceptor of the coast of Acre . Each of these was allowed two horses . " The sub-marshal had the charge of all the inferior sort of accoutrements ( le petit harnois ) of the Order ^ in which the horse-furniture seems to have been included . All the handicraftsmen of the Order were
under him , and were obliged to account to him for their work . He supplied them with the needful tools and materials ; could send them where he pleased on the service of the house ; and on holidays give them permission to go from one house to another to amuse themselves . The sub-marshal and the
standard-bearer were each the representative of the other iu his absence . " The standard-bearer had the command over all the esquires of the house ; that is , those who were engaged for a limited time iu the service of the Order , whom he was bound to make acquainted with the rules to which they were subjectaud the
punish-, ments to which were liable iu ease of disobedience ; he was also to pay them their wages . Whenever the esquires took the horses out to graze , he was bound to precede them with a standard of the Order . He always presided at the table of the serving-brethren aud esquires . When the Order was marching to
battle , it was his task to ride before tha standard , which was borne after him by an esquire , or carried on a wain ;* he was to lead whithersoever the marshal directed him . TV hen the battle commenced , those esquires who led the horses of the kuights were to combat behind their masters ; the others were to take
the mules on which their masters rode , and remain with the standard-bearer , who was to have a banner rolled about his lance , which , when he saw the marshal engaged in action , he was to unfurl , and draw up the esquires in as handsome order as possible behind the combatants , in order to support them .
" The serving-brethren were eligible to the office of house-preceptor ; but there was this distinction made between them aud knights who held that office , that , the serving-brethren being allowed but one horse , their esquire was a serving-brother . As Acre was the seaport at which all the shipments of the Order to and from Europe took place , the preceptory there
was necessarily an office which entailed a good deal of toil and business on the person who held that situation , aud required a knowledge of commerce and of the affairs of the world . It was , therefore , not considered suitable to a knight , aud was always given to a serving-brother . The serving-brethren were also set over the various farm 3 aud estates of the Order . These were named the brother-stewards , —in Latin ,