One legend has it that the Jolly Roger obtained its appellation
from the French name for the red flag, the "Jolie Rouge." And so it
may be, for the flag was first used by a French order of militant
monks known as the "Poor Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of
Solomon" - commonly known as the Knights Templar.
The Templars, were pious men. They gave up all their worldly
possessions when they entered the Order, only carrying money on
special occasions when they traveled alone, turning over whatever
money that remained upon reaching their destination. They were
ferocious warriors; pitching themselves into the midst of their
enemies, astride charging warhorses, against incredible odds.
Contemporaries had this to say of Templars:
The Templars are most excellent soldiers. They wear white mantles
with a red cross, and when they go to war a standard of two colors
called balzaus is borne before them. They go in silence. Their
first attack is the most terrible. In going, they are the first. In
returning, the last. They await the orders of their Master. When
they think fit to make war and the trumpet has sounded, they sing
in chorus the Psalm of David, "Not unto us, O Lord" kneeling on the
blood and necks of the enemy, unless they have forced the troops of
the enemy to retire altogether, or utterly broken them to pieces.
Should any of them for any reason turn his back to the enemy, or
come forth alive [from a defeat], or bear arms against the
Christians, he is severely punished; the white mantle with the red
cross, which is the sign of his knighthood, is taken away with
ignominy, he is cast from the society of brethren, and eats his
food on the floor without a napkin for the space of one year. If
the dogs molest him, he does not dare to drive them away. But at
the end of the year, if the Master and brethren think his penance
to have been sufficient, they restore him the belt of his former
knighthood. These Templars live under a strict religious rule,
obeying humbly, having no private property, eating sparingly,
dressing meanly, and dwelling in tents.
"The warriors are gentler than lambs and fiercer than lions,
wedding the mildness of the monk with the valor of the knight, so
that it is difficult to decide which to call them: men to adorn the
Temple of Solomon with weapons instead of gems, with shields
instead of crowns of gold, with saddles and bridles instead of
candelabra: eager for victory -- not fame; for battle not for pomp;
who abhor wasteful speech, unnecessary action, unmeasured laughter,
gossip and chatter, as they despise all vain things: who, in spite
of their being many, live in one house according to one rule, with
one soul and one heart." -- St. Bernard of Clairvaux
"in turn lions of war and lambs at the hearth; rough knights on the
battlefield, pious monks in the chapel; formidable to the enemies
of Christ, gentleness itself towards His friends." -Jacques de
Vitry
Being men of principle; their rules of conduct were strict. They
were willing to die for their beliefs, and so were feared on the
battlefield and respected in life. Such was their reputation, that
in battle, there were instances where the enemy would turn and run
at the very sight of Templars entering the field. Their Rule of
Order stated that breaking rank was worthy of losing ones habit.
They neither asked nor gave quarter; the were expected to fight
until death stayed their sword arm. Retreat from an enemy would not
be countenanced unless the odds were greater than three to one
against them and they were forbidden to ransom themselves if
captured. They fought like men possessed, either prevailing in
their cause, or suffering death under the banner of Gol'gotha - the
place of the skull - where their Christ died.
Templars were not to succumb to the temptation of thinking that
they killed in a spirit of hate and fury, nor that they seized
booty in a spirit of greed. For the Templars did not hate men, but
men's wrongdoing.
They were dedicated to the protection of travelers and pilgrims of
all religions, though they themselves were Christians, in fact many
Templars were of Palestinian birth, spoke perfect Arabic, and were
familiar with every religious sect, cult, and magical doctrine,
including that of the Islamic Assassins. The Grand Master Philip of
Nablus (1167 A.D.) was a Syrian.2 They were great statesmen,
politically adept economic traders, and they were allied with the
great sailor-fraternity that had created a worldwide trading empire
in Phoenician times. They became immensely powerful - had the
largest fleet and the most successful banking system in Europe. But
they could not sustain their grip on the Holy Land. Their losses3
were too great, and they were eventually driven off the Levant by
Saladin, their Moslem adversary, in 1291. They continued to fight
for their cause in the only manner they could - on the high
seas.
The best known Templar pirate ship was the Falcon, "the greatest
that had been built at that time."4 She was in the harbor when the
fortress of Acre fell "and rescued many 'ladies and damsels and
great treasure and many important people'4 by evacuating them to
'Atlit."
After the orderly navel evacuation of 'Atlit, the Templars
retreated to their Mediterranean island bases on Cyprus, Rhodes and
Sicily. Until their dissolution, they, together with the Order of
St. John, continued as the foremost maritime powers in the
Mediterranean, continuing to effectively wage war on Moslem
shipping.
The Templars were still very powerful but in the eyes of European
monarchs and the Church, the Templars raison d'tre had ceased with
the loss of the Holy Lands. Jealousy and covetousness reigned.
Phillip IV, who was deeply in dept to the Order, had seen their
treasures stored in Paris, and designed to make it his own.
On Friday morning October 13th 1307 - and the reason for which
Friday the 13th has become known as an unlucky day - King Phillip
IV together with Avignonese Pope Clement V, ruthlessly suppressed
the Order throughout Europe, with false accusations, arrests,
torture and executions. (Timeline) Though they were offered
communted sentences and comfortable lives if they would renounce
their Order and plead guilty to the charges, for some mysterious
reason, they preferred to remain true to their principles5 and
received their punishment.
A large number of Templars escaped that day to an uncertain future,
and found refuge abroad. On the eve of the arrests, the entire
Templar fleet mysteriously vanished from the port of La Rochelle
carrying with it a vast fortune, the fate of which remains a
mystery down to this day.
Just as a terrorist to one is a freedom fighter to another, so it
was with the Templars and their fleet. Wanted by the Pope and all
the crowns of Europe, they came to be viewed, by the "comfortable
folks" on the mainland, as pirates.
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