Not a chronicle but the constitution of the Temple as it stood in 1200: the hierarchical statutes describe the master, seneschal, marshal and the commanders of Jerusalem, Tripoli and Antioch, the drawing up of the line of battle, the convent's discipline and the horses, squires and tents allowed to each rank. This is how the order's military power in Outremer was organised when Gilbert Erail was master (1194 to 1200) and Philip of Plessis succeeded him (1201). Undated by nature; it prescribes rather than describes.
About this source
- Title
- La Regle du Temple
- Author
- Anonymous (the Council of Troyes and the order's chapter)
- Written
- Latin rule 1129; French translation about 1140; hierarchical statutes (retrais) about 1165; further statutes to about 1260
- Language
- Latin and Old French
- Covers
- 1129 to about 1260
- Kind
- Law
Curzon's 1886 edition is public domain and the standard text. Upton-Ward's English is in copyright. The dating of the statutes is approximate and layered.
Where to read it
Editions
Translations
- J. M. Upton-Ward, The Rule of the Templars (Woodbridge, 1992), English (not freely online)