Free Apocalypsis 1.04 Baphomet by Mario Giordano Page B

Maria.
    »Founded between 1118 and 1121 by Hugues de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer, the Templars were at first just some kind of militia for the protection of the pilgrims and merchants who were streaming into the Holy Land after the First Crusade. They were probably a band of stinking mercenaries and no less dangerous than the highwaymen themselves. They received their name in memory of the Temple of King Solomon in Jerusalem. Until Hugues de Payens returns to France and talks to Bernard of Clairvaux. Some assume that Hugues de Payens discovered a great secret in Jerusalem, hidden there somewhere, and that Bernard desperately wanted to bring it into the Church’s possession. But whatever the reason, it’s at this stage that Bernard becomes the head marketing honcho of the Templars.«
    Maria grimaced in disapproval.
    »No kidding,« Peter continued, »the Templars as we know them from legends and books are an invention of Bernard of Clairvaux. He was a strict taskmaster. He reformed the Cistercian Order and showed no mercy in removing all ornaments and relics from the churches. Back to basics, so to speak. He was a hardliner, a heretics hunter, ordering the burning of books and instigating inquisition trials against anyone who rubbed him up the wrong way. In any case, Bernard devised 72 clauses to define the ideal behavior for these adventurers in the Holy Land, and these were strict rules. The Templar knights were to be monk-soldiers and had to wear white mantles without fur, and when they ate, two knights had to share one bowl. When they slept, two knights had to share one mattress and one blanket and they had to sleep dressed in shirt, breeches, shoes and belts. Meat, only three times a week. Ornate bridles or embellishments on the clothes were forbidden. No frippery, back to basics. But their weapons had to be in good shape at all times. Not for hunting, because that was also forbidden. A Templar was supposed to fight. But above all, these new knights had to be chaste. Stay away from women because women were deemed dangerous. A life in battle and repentance. How does that sound?«
    »Like a horde of stinking slaughterers,« Maria said.
    »And that’s exactly what they were. But under a strict leadership. Look at the seal of the Templars. It depicts two knights riding on one horse. The image was probably supposed to symbolize brotherly solidarity. But it might also be the reason for the rumors that later followed that the Templars were engaging in sodomite practices. It is said that they worshipped a fabled idol by the name of Baphomet and that they had obscure rituals, during which they kissed each other on the ass cheeks.«
    Maria did not comment on that. Peter showed her different illustrations of Baphomet from the Late Middle Ages.
    »Doesn’t look too Christian, does it? Later he was even equated with Satan. Anyway, it’s a hard life. There you are, a good Knight Templar devoting your entire workday to slaughtering Saracens and pagans, always with a Hail Mary on your lips, and come night you’re not even allowed to get hammered or look at a woman. While your crusader colleagues in the next-door tent get royally pissed and fuck until they drop. What a shitty life. But nobody cares because the Templars are growing, even though their first battle during the Siege of Damascus ends in a fiasco. Most of the Templars die. They say that the superstition of Friday the 13 th has its roots in this event. Still, they continue to grow. Why? Because Bernard takes donations that were made to the Benedictine monasteries and simply passes them along to the Templars. Amazingly enough, the Templars stop fighting soon afterwards. They make themselves at home in the Temple of Jerusalem and they even strike up friendships with Muslims. A band of mercenaries who are so bored that they gradually begin to make their own laws and rituals, which are only mildly reminiscent of the strict Rule of the Knights. They invent the check. It’s