Knights Templar in Brittany

Knights Templar in Brittany, also known locally as the red monks.

Background

In 1127, the Order of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ started fund-raising efforts throughout Western Europe so as to fund their crusading ambitions in the Holy Land.^[1]

By 1129, these efforts enabled the Order to receive significant donations and political backing and secured the Church's official approval at the Council of Troyes.

Local context

It was during this time that the Order received donations from the Sovereign Duchy of Brittany, mainly related to lands around Retz. Duke Conan III, ceded property on the outskirts of the commercial city of Nantes and the capital, Rennes awarding market rights in Nantes. ^[2]

By 1139, Pope Innocent II had also granted the Order special privileges such as:

Allowing the Order to build their own chapels and were not required to pay tithes;
Exempting the Order from episcopal jurisdiction, except from the pope alone.

The subsequent Duke, Conan IV further donated property. This enabled the Order to construct castles, farms and even whole villages like Vildé-Guingalan. They cleared expanses of land in northern Brittany for crops and animal husbandry, cultivated vineyards, producing wine^[3] and operating ovens and mills. They also promoted, fairs and public markets at Pléboulle and Les Bias.^[4]

Map of Confirmed and Assumed Possessions of the Knights Templar in Brittany

Some well known sites

Friction with land owners

The increased competition triggered by the Orders commercial activities caused friction with local Breton leaders, required continual intervention, for example:

In 1213, the Bishop of Nantes ordered the Lord of Clisson to compensate the Order for damages caused and for a murder committed;
In 1222, the excommunication of the Lord of Assérac for denying to release detained Templars.

With the fall of Acre, in 1291 and loss of the Holy Land, much of the Orders’ rationale for existence was lost. The Church therefore wanted the Order to merge with the Knights Hospitallers. This proposal was rejected by the Order increasing its perceived arrogance.^[5]

Intrigue across the Border in France

On 13 October 1307, King Philip IV of France had every Templar in his realms arrested and their properties confiscated. News of the charges levied against the Order was greeted with incredulity outside France, particularly in Brittany, England, Portugal and Aragon.^[6]^[7]

A tradition from the 15th century states that the French sent men to Nantes on 10 August 1308 to take possession of the Orders properties there, but were driven out of the city by a mob who declared that these properties did not belong to the King of France but to the Duke of Brittany.^[8]

By March 1312, the Pope finally suppressed the Order completely and its remaining properties was transferred to the Hospitallers or confiscated by local rulers.

The reaction in Brittany

Allegations were used against the Order in Brittany as a pretext to seize property such as:

In Nantes, a story was spread that wheat from the Orders' warehouse was given to pigs rather than the poor.
At Guingamp, monks were alleged to have been involved in kidnapping.
At Ploubalay, the Order had such a bad reputation, that the rectors of neighbouring parishes would ring bells to warn people to guard their livestock and their daughters when they were about.

By May 1313, the Breton assets of the Order were eventually transferred to the Hospitallers; another religious military order.^[9]

Later Impressions of the Order in Brittany

Many local legends exist surrounding the Order in Brittany but it is unlikely that they date from 12th Century. The traditions from the 17th century seem to have been ambivalent but by the 18th and 19th centuries, the Order became portrayed in a more negative light.^[10]

The Order had become known as the red monks; a title not connected with the colour of their tunic but more with the devil, traditions depicting them as ungodly, arrogant or debauched such as:

In Belle-Isle-en-Terre, local legend mention a mounted red monk, with fire spewing from the horse's nostrils, that descends from an outcrop outside the village and riding into the river: whosoever saw this apparition was thought to die within the year.

In Monbran, another legend has it that a secret tunnel runs from a tower to a chapel and in it, treasure. Apparently a templar lives in the tower, so old that he prowls the countryside at night with his beard flung over his shoulder.

References

^ Valerie Alaniece (1995). Les Templiers et leurs commanderies: L'exemple d'Avalleur en Champagne. D. Gueniot. ISBN 978-2-87825-117-3
^ Josserand, P. The Templars in Brittany in the middle ages: Myths and realities, Research gate December 2012
^ Bagni, Giampiero (2020)"A multidisciplinary approach to the production of wine on Templar estates: The Bologna commandery". In Morton, Nicholas(ed.), The Military Orders Volume VII: Piety, Pugnacity and Property. Routledge
^ "Church Of Brelevenez Built By The Knights Templar In The 12th Century Brittany France Europe High-Res Stock Photo". Getty Images. 2 September 2005. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
^ Abbé Ledain (1859). "Sur l'oratoire de Templiers de Metz". Bulletin de la Société d'archéologie et d'histoire de la Moselle (in French). metz: Société d'archéologie et d'histoire de la Moselle
^ Malcolm Barber, The Trial of the Templars, Second Edition (Cambridge University Press, 2006)
^ Julien Théry, "Philip the Fair, the Trial of the 'Perfidious Templars' and the Pontificalization of the French Monarchy", in Journal of Medieval Religious Culture, 39/2 (2013), pp. 117-148
^ "The Red Monks of Brittany". Bonjour From Brittany. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
^ DELLUC Gilles, DELLUX Brigitte (2005). "Les ruines de la préceptorerie des templiers à Labattut (Sergeac)". Bulletin de la Société historique et archéologique du Périgord. 132 (2): 261–272. ISSN 1141-135X.
^ "The Ghost of Montbran". Knights Templar Vault. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 2022-01-14.

[1] Valerie Alaniece (1995). Les Templiers et leurs commanderies: L'exemple d'Avalleur en Champagne. D. Gueniot. ISBN 978-2-87825-117-3

[2] Josserand, P. The Templars in Brittany in the middle ages: Myths and realities, Research gate December 2012

[3] Bagni, Giampiero (2020)"A multidisciplinary approach to the production of wine on Templar estates: The Bologna commandery". In Morton, Nicholas(ed.), The Military Orders Volume VII: Piety, Pugnacity and Property. Routledge

[gettyimages-4] "Church Of Brelevenez Built By The Knights Templar In The 12th Century Brittany France Europe High-Res Stock Photo". Getty Images. 2 September 2005. Retrieved 2022-01-14.

[5] Abbé Ledain (1859). "Sur l'oratoire de Templiers de Metz". Bulletin de la Société d'archéologie et d'histoire de la Moselle (in French). metz: Société d'archéologie et d'histoire de la Moselle

[6] Malcolm Barber, The Trial of the Templars, Second Edition (Cambridge University Press, 2006)

[7] Julien Théry, "Philip the Fair, the Trial of the 'Perfidious Templars' and the Pontificalization of the French Monarchy", in Journal of Medieval Religious Culture, 39/2 (2013), pp. 117-148

[wordpress-8] "The Red Monks of Brittany". Bonjour From Brittany. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-14.

[9] DELLUC Gilles, DELLUX Brigitte (2005). "Les ruines de la préceptorerie des templiers à Labattut (Sergeac)". Bulletin de la Société historique et archéologique du Périgord. 132 (2): 261–272. ISSN 1141-135X.

[knightstemplarvault-10] "The Ghost of Montbran". Knights Templar Vault. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 2022-01-14.

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