Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1996 07:18:35 +1000 (EST) To: Peter Corless Subject: Crusading Orders in "Pendragon", Part One, the Templars of Solomon. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Crusading Orders in 'Pendragon'" is Copyright (c) Timothy Ferguson 1996-1997. Excerpted from the work in progress "The Courts of King Arthur", Peter Corless, Editor. (Written for future publication by the Chaosium) The research for this work was aided tremendously by the Templar Preceptory, whose internet address is: http://www.trantex.fi/staff/heikkih/knights/portcull.htm The details found there have been modified in this article to suit the "Pendragon" setting; details herein are ahistorical or anachronistic. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Crusading Orders in "Pendragon" Although Crusading is rare in "Pendragon" the orders of monastic knights which were founded in the Holy Land have some presence in Britain, and player characters may join them if they wish. The two main orderes are described below, coupled with some minor orders to demonstrate how a gamesmaster might design alternate groups of monastic knights. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SIDEBAR: Bernard of Claviraux, author of the Cistercian and Latin Templar Rules, on the Knights of his time.: You bedeck your horses with silk, you overlay your armour with flowing overcoats. Your lances are painted; so are your shields and your saddles. You stud your bridles and stirrups with gold, silver and precious stones. And with all that pomp, moved by a shameful fury and impudent stupidity, you go to battle. Are these the emblems appropriate to a knight, or are they rather ornaments suitable for a woman? Do you really think that the enemy's sword respects gold, saves precious stones and does not penetrate silken garments? I learned from experience that a fighter needs three things: he should be a brave knight, alert, careful to protect himself; he should be swift; and he should be always ready to strike. But you, on the contrary, you let your hair grow long like women, so that it obstructs your sight; you hamper your movements because of the long, floating tunics; you bury your delicate and tender hands in over-ample sleeves, which float around you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SIDEBAR: Bernard of Claviraux in Praise of the New Chivalry. First of all, there is discipline and unqualified obedience. Everybody comes and goes according to the will of the commander. Everybody wears the dresses given to him, and no one goes about searching for food or garments according to his whims. In food and vestments, one is content with the most necessary, avoiding anything superfluous. They live in a community, soberly and in joy, without wife and children. And to reach evangelical perfection, they live in the same house, in the same manner, without calling anything their own, solicitous to preserve the unity of spirit in the bonds of peace. Impudent words, senseless occupations, inmoderate laughter, whispering or even suppressed giggling are unknown. They have a horror of chess and dice; they hate hunting; they don't even enjoy the flight of the falcon. They despise mimes, jugglers, story-tellers, dirty songs, performances of buffoons - all these they regard as vanities and inane follies. They cut their hair short because they know that it is shameful for a man to wear it long. Never overdressed, they bathe rarely and are dirty and hirsute, tanned by the coat of mail and the sun. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Templars: The Arthurian history of the Templars. The Templar presence in England develops only slowly. The Crusading Order of the Temple of Solomon form during the First Crusade, which in "Pendragon" is in the first phase. As Crusading is unpopular in Arthur's Britain, this fraternity does not flourish there, its Western base being first in Champagane, then Burgundy, in France. The White Knight founds a rival British Order during 522, the Knights of the Grail Temple, which draws support away from the foreign Orders among the Celtic Christians and some British Catholics. Arthur, unlike many foreign nobles, has magical sources of wealth such as the Stone of King Bladud, and so does not need to borrow money from the Temple's usurers. Although they gain some concessions from his nobles, many Britons find it easier, cheaper, and less morally-repugnant, to take out loans with the substantial Jewish communities of England, the largest being in Winchester, where Arthur builds Camelot. When Anguish of Leinster requests aid against his Ui Niall neighbours at Arthur's court in 521, the Templars give him some assistance. Soon afterwards they found the Dublin Preceptory, from which a cluster of Houses were established. As the British lands in Ireland increase, so do those of the Templars, but the warm feelins between the Ganis refugees, the Order of Knights Hospitallier and Queen Isolt of Leinster prevents them from truly flourishing. The Templars finally found a proper London Preceptory, the New Temple, in 526, gaining a concession of land from Arthur in exchange for the use of their ships to transport part of his force to France. A network of about sixty Templar houses springs up in England and Scotland, although most of these have only a single knight, as only about 1 in ten Templars were actually cavaliers, many other beiong mere functionaries. Some of these might also be misattributed Grail Templar sites, especially those in Cambria and the North. Claudans, never a man to forget a slight, supresses the Order, with Papal assistance, at the beginning of Phase Four of Phase Three (about 540). Templar lands in England are relatively safe, as Arthur does not condone the use of torture in trials, until the Pope sends Legates to Britain to take over the questioning. The use of torture is legal under Roman law, and confessions gained under it are binding, so long as the participants agree, after the torture is finished, that what they said under torture was true. Many Templars in London are abused horribly, and flee to the wilds of Wales and Scotland. After the Legates are gone, they tend to join the Grail Temple, the Hospital or one of the orders of friars. Player characters joining the Templars should not be burned at the stake without the player's agreement. Joining the Templars: Although there are any number of stories concerning obscene rituals undergone to join the Templars, the real ceremony was apparently quite a pious event. There were no oblates, that is, child-monks, in this order. The reception is presided over by a priest and by the Preceptor of the House that the initiate wishes to join. Before the Brothers of the House the initiate is asked if they understand that the lifestyle of the order is austere and inglorious and wether they are able to endure the trials of Templar life for the greater glory of God. The initiate affirms their understanding and endurance and are the presented with a series of questions (which have been quoted from the source mentioned above, himself quoting an accuount supposedly by Gerard de Caux (found according to the Preceptory Pages in Appendix B of Malcolm Barber, The Trial of the Templars. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978.) " did they believe in Christ as taught by the Catholic Church? were they members of any monastic order or another military order? were they bound by matrimony? were they born into the knightly class and in proper wedlock? were they excommunicate either by their own deeds or those of another? were they entering the Order without having paid kickbacks to someone already in the Order? were they free of any infirmity that would hinder their use of weapons and wage war? were they free of such debts they could not pay themselves but would require the Order to pay them? " Recruits then went through a process similar to being knighted, where they went into a chapel to pray for mental fortiude and honourable conduct. They then kneeled before the Preceptor, were invested, rose and were kissed on the mouth. The ritual was completed with a lengthy explanation of the rules of the Order and the Preceptory and the phrase "Go, God make ye worthy men." Characters who become Templars gain 100 glory and the contacts implied by the Order. As Templars exemplify the medieval virture of unswerving obedience, they may generate a Loyalty (Order) passion of d6+12. Additionally they may generate a Love (God) score of 2d6+6). Templars cease to be answerable to secular authorities and must live as a monastic warrior. This entails a promise never to retreat in battle, "not to seek glory but victory", and to kill as many infidels as possible. To the Templar mind, killing infidels is malicide, since they aren't really human. This makes them quite unpopular with the Pagan knights of Arthur's court. For each year spent in the monastic lifestyle, Templars may have an experience check in all Christian traits -except- Mercy, if those traits are below 16. They may also take a check in Piety if it is below 16. Daily Life as a Templar: Templars lived by a modified version of the Cistercian rule. In Arthur's Britain this makes them less than popular with the Benedictine Saint David, as the Cistercians desire to reform his order. The rule is commissioned in 1128, but for "Pendragon" purposes it was formulated in the middle of the First Phase. Under the Latin rule, brothers awake at matins, dressed in silence and went to prayers. Each said 28 Pater Nosters. This was repeated at each of the services through the day (prime, tierce, midday and mass) although when on expedition these devotions were often abbreviated or omitted. A bell was rung at midday, to call the brothers to breakfast. After 60 Pater Nosters were said, the Preceptor sat, followed by the knights and other brothers. Unlike some monastic institutions members of the Order ate well, so as to maintain their strength. Knights, priests and servants ate separated and communicated as little as possible. Eating alone was a form of penance. After eating a fresh prayer was said, then the knights checked the care of their horses and gear. As they prepared to sleep the Templars would light a small candle, fire or lamp, so that enemies could stalk them in darkness. They shed their robe, which was coloured, according to their rank, either white, black or brown, but continued to wear a slim cord, whose purpose was to continually remind them of their oath of jastity, and a set of lambskin underpants. The Latin rule contained other provisions related, however vaugely, to chasity. No Templar could be married, although this was possible for some monks. They could not become godfathers, nor enter a house of a woman in confinement, nor have female servants, nor kiss any woman on the mouth, even if she was a member of their immediate family. The rule on servants was waived in cases where the Templar required nursing and no men were available for the task. Married men could be associated with the Templars, fighting on their behalf, but could not be received into the order. Although the wives of these men were given pensions once widowed, it was forbidden that they should live on premises owned by the Order. Slightly later, by the Third Phase in "Pendragon", the Templars adopt a French translation of the rule, with which they continually tinkered. The rule was still heavily based on the Cistercian rule, but had two periods of fasting (Lent and before Christmas), although either of these could be wauived by the Grand Master or ignored if there were battles ahead. The French rule contains more detail concerning punishments for infractions. Essentially punishments were in three levels; loss of habit; loss of House; forfeiture of life. One's habit was lost for disobedience, fighting one's brothers, wounding another Christian, or giving alms to lay members of the house. Templars always wore their habits, save when ill, and were forbidden to eat or drink without them. Loss of House was the punishment for simony, that is, selling divine power, reveling one's Chapter, killing a Christian, larceny and heresy. Loss of life was not an official part of the rule, but was practiced upon those who had harmed the Order greviously. The Grand Preceptor of Ireland was starved to death for embezzelment in the English Preceptory, for example. Ranks of Templars: Initally the Templars had two types of brothers, knights and servants. Later a second type of servant was added, the armed servant, or "fratres servienti armigeri". During the Third phase a fourth type of brother, the sergant, was added. The Order has a complicated structure of ranks by the time the proper London Preceptory is established. For the sake of simplicity, in "Pendragon" these are: * Grand Master: Almost always a Frenchman, and during the Arthurian Era he is living in the Middle East. * Visitor and Seneschal: The seneschal is the Grand Master's deputy, while the later post of "visitor", which emerges during the Third phase, is the Grandmaster's deputy in the West. * Master/Grand Prior/Grand Preceptor: In England, Scotland and Wales the next highest rank is held by whomever is running the London Preceptory. If the appointment was temporary this official was called the "Master", if it was life-long, they were called the "Grand Prior" or "Grand Preceptor". It is common for a Master to become a Prior, altough that title was never used for their equivalent in Dublin. * Commander: The Master's second-in-command. * Priors (holders of large estates on behald of the Order) * Preceptors (holders of a section of a large estate, called a Preceptory * Members of Houses (Brothers) * Sergants, who are basically trainee Templars. There are some special sergant ranks, like Undermarshal and Standard Bearer, but these are still lower than Brothers. * Rural Brothers (brothers who are not part of a house). * Elderly or infirm brothers The Templars in Battle: The French rule describes the gear of a Templar Knight. In battle they, and the armed servants, wore a white mantle with a red cross. Other brothers wore black or brown habits. They were permitted three horses, although some had a fourth. The Templars initally had light armour which lacked, for example, leg-greaves. As time progressed their armament improved. Each knight had a sword as his primary weapon, but also carried a Turkish mace (which is an anachronism for "Pendragon", but they may have a mace with the gamesmaster's permission). Additionally he carries a long dagger and a pair of utility knives. The Armigeri and sergants were non-combatants, unless the situation was sufficently dire. As the knights travelled to battle one servant would walk before each holding his lance and a second walked behind, leading a spare horse. When battle was joined the spare horses were coralled behind the battle line and the servants left the field. They do not seem to have had a similar knight-saving role to squires, as Templars were expected to fight with the last of their strength. Large numbers, of course, died. There's a tradition that Templar gravestones have no detail on them save the carved impression of a sword.