The Knights Templars.

THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS .

By ANTHONY ONEAI HAYE . ' ( Contiimed from page 384 ) . "BOOK III . —CHAPTER II . GRAND MASTER—GILBERT GRALIUS .

The Order of the Knights Teutons . The Fourth Crusade . Arrival of the First Division of the Germans . Their rashness , and slaughter at Joppa . Death of the King of Jerusalem . Isabella again married . Arrival of the second division of the Germans . War renewed . Musselmen defeated . Siege of Thoron . Disputes . TSnd of

Orusade . Wars between Templars and Hospitallers . ' Templars' privileges confirmed bij the Dope . Worn out with wounds received in many a desperate battle , Robert de Sablaus died in 1194 , and was succeeded by Gilbert Gralius . Gralius

had previously held the important office of Grand Preceptor of France . * Another military Order had about this time arisen in the Holy Land , that of the Teutonic Knights , a body of men who have left behind them

a fame , not a whit behind that of the Templars and Hospitallers . A pious German who , along with his wife , lived in Jerusalem , with the

permission of the Patriarch , built and endowed an hospital for such sick pilgrims as were his countrymen , and also a chapel to the honour of the mother of our Saviour . Soon after several German gentlemen , from Bremen and Lubeck ,

contributed to the funds , and in 1191 the Duke Frederick of Saubia , with the sanction of Pope Clement III . and the Emperor Henry YL , enrolled the members in an Order of Knighthood , as the Teutonic Knights of St . Mary of Jerusalem . The

Pope permitted them to elect a chief from their own number , and thereupon they unanimously nominated Henry de AVallpott , a person descended from a very ancient and noble family , who in the year 1191 , had become a professed monk of the

Order of St Augustine . The lineal descendants of the family of de Wallpott , were , during the last century , the reigning counts of Passenheim , the chief of which house was always a Knight of the Order . t

Only Germans of noble birth were made admissible to the Order , the original members in all probability , having been enobled before being

enrolled . The members at first were all laymen , but priests were soon admitted as Chaplains , and there was also added about 1221 , a class of half brothers , similar to the serving brethren of the Temple .

The Knights wore a white mantle with a black cross , " ] : and had for their badge , which they wore at their breast , a cross potent sable , charged with another cross double potent , or surcharged with an escutcheon of the Empire , the principal cross

surmounted by a chief azure seme of France . The original badge which was assigned them by the Emperor Henry VI ., was a cross potent black . John , King of Jerusalem , added a cross double potent gold . The Emperor Frederick II . gave

them the Imperial Eagle , and St . Louis to mark his sense of the services rendered him by the Knights , augmented the badge with seme of fleursde-lis , on a chief blue . Clark , writing in 1784 , says § that it was then divided into two branches

, the first for Roman Catholics who took the oath of celibacy , and had a house at Mergenheim in Germany , wherein to transact their affairs . The ensign worn by this branch was , a cross potence black ,

thereon a cross fleury gold over all , on the centre an escutcheon gold charged with the imperial eagle black . This ensign was worn round the neck , pendent to a gold chain . The second branch was for Protestants who had a house at

Utrecht , wherein to transact their business , and in which the Secretary resided . The nobles of Holland if they wished a son to be a Knight , went to Utrecht , and entered his name iu the Register , and paid a large sum of money for the use of the

poor maintained by the Order , and the person whose name was entered succeeded in rotation . When a Knight died , he that was first on the list was summoned to attend the chapter , and bring with him proof of his nobility for four generations

both on the father ' s and mother ' s side ; if he could nofc produce this proof he was struck out of the list . The ensign of this branch was a cross pafctee , enamelled white , surmounted with another black above the cross was a ball twisted white

and black . It was wore pendant to a broad black watered ribbon roundfche neck . The same cross was embroidered on the left breast of the upper garment of each Knight . ( To be continued ?)