Were the Templars masons? In other words, did they actually engage in the activity of cathedral and church building? Aside from their own distinctively round churches, were the knights instrumental in building great structures like Notre Dame in Paris?
The Order of the Temple existed at the same time as a massive boom in cathedral building. In their book The Hiram Key, Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas estimate that in the hundred years from 1170, more stone was cut by masons than in the entire history of ancient Egypt.
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Templars as masons
Throughout the twelfth and thirteenth century, Europe resounded to the striking of chisel against stone and yet, it all seems to have been the work of Benedictines and Cistercians. The holy warriors of the Temple were too busy channeling all that bullion to the crusades in the east.
So – does that mean no Templars were masons? Well, section 325 of the Templar Rule intriguingly mentions masons being members of the Temple, but not as full knights.
Karen Ralls, a great Templar scholar, points out that mason brothers were the only Templars allowed to wear leather gloves apart from chaplains. And it seems they were restricted to a kind of “associate” status.
But it seems hard to believe that if a cathedral was springing up near a Templar preceptory and it was all on hands on deck to get the thing built that the Templars would have just ignored and refused to get involved. I’ve seen churches in Europe and the Middle East which almost certainly bear imagery one associates with the Templars.
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Could it possibly be that these Templar masons lent a helping hand? And left their mark?
