Latin Rule

The Latin Rule was a document with 72 clauses attributed to Bernard de Clairvaux (1090–1153) and Hugues de Payens. It is also known as the "Specific Behavior for the Templar Order". It outlines the ideal behavior of a Templar knight.

The rule borrowed from the rule of Saint Augustine, but was mostly inspired by the rule of Saint Benedict. It was, however, adapted for use by active, primarily military, knights, rather than cloistered monks. For example, the fasts were less severe so that they did not interfere with combat.

The original rule was written in 1128 and added to the minutes of the Council of Troyes in 1129. However, in about 1138 under the direction of Robert de Craon, second grand master of the order (1136–1149), the rule was translated into French and modified. Later, it was expanded to include 609 articles, notably covering such things as hierarchy and justice within the order.

This translation of the original, or primitive, Rule of the Templars is based on the 1886 edition of Henri de Curzon, La Régle du Temple as a Military Manual, or How to Deliver a Cavalry Charge. It represents the Rule given to the fledgling Knights of the Temple by the Council of Troyes, 1129, although "it must not be forgotten that the Order had been in existence for several years and had built up its own traditions and customs before Hugues de Payens' appearance at the Council of Troyes. To a considerable extent, then, the Primitive Rule is based upon existing practices." (Upton-Ward, p. 11)

This translation is excerpted from Judith Upton-Ward's The Rule of the Templars, Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1992, and is reprinted here with permission. The Rule of the Templars includes an introduction by Upton-Ward; it also contains the Templars' Primitive Rule and the Hierarchical Statutes; regulations governing penances, conventual life, the holding of ordinary chapters, and reception into the Order; and an appendix by Matthew Bennett, "La Régle du Temple as a Military Manual, or How to Deliver a Cavalry Charge." The book is highly recommended to those interested in the Templars or any other military order. It is now available in paperback.

The notes to the Primitive Rule, supplied by Mrs. Upton-Ward in The Rule of the Templars, are not included below. They are of considerable interest and should be consulted by those wishing to study the Rule in more detail, however.

...
Wikipedia