Mysteries and Secrets of Freemasonry: Part IV

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The Tragic Fall of the Knights Templar

Why did the grand Order of the Knights Templar finally collapse? Who conspired against them? Did Freemasonry actually develop from the Templars? And why do the Freemasons maintain these elaborate origin stories that can be traced back thousands of years? Are they based on facts, theories, or erroneous fabrications?

In the beginning of the 14th century, King Philippe IV of France inspired the downfall of the Templars. It had nothing to do with its esoteric teachings, which would be deemed to radical by the Church, because the Order kept them concealed. However, the King desperately needed money and decided to get it from the Templars who were extremely wealthy, so with the help of Pope Clement V and the Holy Office of the Inquisition, the members of the Order were accused of various heinous crimes, which were totally fabricated. Therefore, the Order of the Knights Templar was soon successfully suppressed by Papal law.

"A study of the evidence reveals the entire innocence of the Templar and the diabolical ingenuity of the familiars of the Holy Office, who kept them separated without adequate defense or proper consultation, and circulated among them lying rumors that the Grand Master had confessed to the Pope that there were evils in the Order. The brethren were cajoled, bribed and tortured into confessing crimes they had never committed, and they were treated with the most fiendish cruelty." (Ancient Mystic Rites by C. W. Leadbeater) Clearly a grave injustice was accomplished by the joint effort of the Catholic Church, particularly the Pope, and King Philippe IV, motivated by selfish reasons.

There is the theory that, although many of them were imprisoned or executed, any remaining Templars scattered and disappeared, or fled to various regions throughout Europe or elsewhere. However, many of them hid within the guilds of Craftmasons across Europe, whereby their secret teachings influenced them, and in this way Freemasonry was soon developed. This likewise complements the idea of Freemasonic development in Scotland too, as it is recorded that many Templars fled here and thrived. In fact, one Templar family, the St. Clairs, who flourished in Scotland, built the famous Roslyn Chapel, where their sacred symbolism was engraved into the structure of this famous building. Incidentally, the St. Clairs were also members of the mysterious Rex Deus families, secret instigators of secret societies, such as the Knights Templar and the Freemasons, or so legend has it.

However, there are those who say Freemasonry did not come directly from the Knights Templar, but that Templar symbolism and philosophy merely inspired and influenced modern Freemasonry. More likely, Freemasonry sprung from the particular Craftmason guilds across Europe who held esoteric teachings, but from where they acquired such teachings is still debatable. As stated earlier, the only real link between the beginnings of the Freemasons and the Templars is that supposedly the Rex Deus families were behind the founding of both organizations, but more or less three centuries apart.

It is generally accepted that throughout Europe and Great Britain the medieval guilds of operative Craftmasons were eventually and gradually transformed into speculative "free masons." The operative masons were the actual architectural builders, whereas the "free masons" held the symbolism and rituals and initiations of the evolving esoteric guilds. However, there is the conflicting theory that modern Freemasonry did not develop out of the medieval craft guilds of masons, that these were separate factions altogether, that essentially Freemasonry, or "free masons," with their esoteric teachings and rituals thrived in earlier times before the guilds of stonemasons were formed. Nevertheless, this is not a popular view. The old origin legends prefer to maintain that for thousands of years esoteric Craftmason guilds existed, especially when they built the Temple of Solomon, and eventually became what we now know as the Freemasons, as many theorists claim.

Although these origin stories place the forming of the first Freemasons with their alleged building of with the Temple of Solomon, some stories go back to the builders of the Tower of Babel. Some theorists claim Freemasonry started with the Druids, partly because some vague legends claim they built Stonehenge, so they were allegedly stonemasons of a sort. By some accounts, the Essenes also became founders of the Craft. Others claim this school sprung from the Sufi tradition. Other origin stories claims that building guilds of the Roman Empire, and even earlier, were the predecessors of medieval stonemason guilds that eventually evolved into Freemasonry.

Why do the proponents and members of Freemasonry maintain these origin tales of their ancient roots? Why would they fabricate such stories of their past, especially if it makes them appear dishonest?

In his book The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies, John Michael Greer explains, "Secret societies, like many other organizations, benefit from making themselves look larger and more important than they actually are, and claims of a glorious history are one proven way to do this. The manufacture of origin stories combines with the equally common practice of retrospective recruitment to provide secret societies with a borrowed history more glamorous than their actual origins." Therefore, it seems very appealing for such an august Fraternity to appear thousands of years old - when in fact it really isn't.

On the other hand, some researchers of Freemasonry seem to think that Freemasons themselves are rather hazy regarding their own origin and chronological development, so they needed to fill in the gaps with possible scenarios that made sense to them, and hence they created their origin stories from these, if not only from whole cloth. Quite possibly, some of them believe their own stories, because they seem to be plausible theories and make acceptable connections throughout history. So it makes sense that they should circulate such stories to the public, who just might be gullible enough to believe them too, if not join this grand fraternal club.

However, historians, researchers, conspiracy theorists, and Freemasons still argue as to which of the many origin stories is the true one; however, others suggest that perhaps they are all true simultaneously, that they are all pieces of the whole puzzle, like the string that connects all the pearls of a necklace. If that doesn't add to the confusion, one can simply assert that none of them are true, if not the whole thing.

But since various storytellers, particularly Freemasons themselves, went ahead and wove separate histories together and connected all these dots that were strewn across several thousands of years, they contrived the whole mess in order to make some kind of sense. If you can believe it -- or not.

Quite often theorists claim the continuous passing on of the specialized form of esoteric symbolism and teachings throughout time justifies that all these secret societies and guilds and such are all connected to Freemasonry, but this is a week supposition. In his book, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry, Manly P. Hall emphasizes that much of the ancient esoteric tradition may not have been well maintained by the operative masons between the times of the Pagan Mysteries and the rise of the 17th Century Freemasonry, nor was it directly transmitted from these ancient times to modern Freemasonry as many will profess. Hall says, "There must be more than shows on the surface, but unless the Masonic historian is aware of the essential substance of the adept tradition, he will find the facts extremely elusive. The deficiencies of history have resulted in the popular belief that Freemasonry is a modern Society, tied to antiquity only by the fortuitous adoption of certain ancient signs and symbols."

This is why these imaginative storytellers have to fill in the gaps, so that the actual elusive connections will appear coherent and intact -- when in fact, they most likely are not. Such mystery schools as Freemasonry prefer to have a cohesive, chronological history without gaps, even if it seems to span back through the distant depths of time itself. However, each individual who researchers or merely reads such material must decide for themselves what they believe the truth of the matter is.

References:
Ancient Mystic Rites by C. W. Leadbeater
The Lost Keys of Freemasonry by Manly P. Hall
The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies by John Michael Greer

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