Knights Templar History: Templar Cross

Anyone familiar with history of Christianity knows that the symbol of the cross was used in a variety of different ways. And even prior to the time of Crusades thee were stories about crosses showing up on garments. There could have been nothing more suitable for Crusading armies than implementing crosses as a visual distinction. Abbot Guibert in his History of Jerusalem (1.5) says that Pope Urban II instituted this sign both as a sign of military distinction and a symbol that would help Christian knights fight better for God's cause. The Abbot clarifies that the pope ordered the figure of the cross out of any material (ex cujuslibet materia) sown onto tunics and cloaks of the members of the expedition.

Fulcher of Chartres says: "O, how fitting and how pleasing it was for us all to see those crosses, stitched in silk or in gold, or made out of any kind of material, which the Pilgrims, following the order of the Pope, fashioned on their shoulders after pledging to set out on this march".

It is quite evident that there was no color or design required of the Crusaders. If any of the original nine members of the Knights Templar Order came to Palestine during the first crusade they would have worn crosses on their garments, but there is nothing to be said about how exactly those crosses looked.

In 1128 Pope Honorius II granted the Knights Templar the right to use white cloaks for distinction and as a symbol of innocence, but without any crosses ("absque aliqua cruce", says Jacques de Vitry). Only Eugene III (1145-1153) instituted that the Templars wear red crosses as a sign of martyrdom.

It would seem that the specific shape of the cross was not that crucial (sorry for the pun). Considering the Knights Templar humility and their desire to avoid ostentation, a simple cross of two equal beams would have been the most likely to be used at the time. Even a cross with a longer vertical line requires additional measuring in order "to make it look good", right?



I believe that only later the cross that is typically seen as the Templar cross because widely used by the Knights:



The Maltese cross is very similar. It is possible that the Templars did not at all feel that this design is all that different. In addition, the eight points of the Maltese cross have their own special significance as the eight beatitudes of Christianity proclaimed by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount (Mathew 5-7).


The main reason why I would advise modern Templar enthusiasts, writers etc. to use the second design (i.e. the Templar cross proper, the cross patee) is that the Maltese cross is too recognizable and has a longer history as a distinct symbol of the Knights Hospitaller, the order which still exists today under a different name.