The Beauceant was the war flag of The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Knights Templar). It was not a red cross on a white field as is often shown in film, though the Templars did wear a red cross on a white surcoat. The flag consisted of a black section above a white one. The real meaning of the standard is lost to history but it could be that the black section depicted the sins of the world and the white symbolized the purity that the Templar Order offered the knights.
Whatever the symbolism, the Beauceant held a lot of power to the Templars – while it flew, knights were not allowed to retreat or stop fighting. Over time, during the crusading period, the rules of who rallied to the flag as well as rules on the battlefield, became more complicated.
There’s a lot more to the Templars, of course. They became the greatest bankers in the world, they did not cut their beards or hair (nor did they bathe, based on reports from that period). And in the end, the King of France plotted their demise by colluding with His Holiness, the Pope.
Some say that The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (Knights Hospitaler) copied the black and white of the Beauceant and incorporated it into the white cross on the black field that they wore on their surcoats (also called a herigaut or gardecorps) and shields. Sometimes this order are also referred to as the Knights of Malta, in which case, the cross is referred to as the Maltese Cross. There’s a lot of complex history here and I’m not going to delve further, except to say that the Germans adopted this iconography during the First World War.
Excellent bit of history. The Beauceant – let it fly and strike fear into the heart to the Musselman.
There is an interesting history and MANY legends surrounding the Knights Templar… 🙂
Never ever end up with kings owing you. It's a quick way to die or get kicked out.
The thing that dreams are made of.
The things I learn reading your blog!
That made for a welcome diversion from looking at viral infection graphs from N. Italy.
Defend the Greek border.
We could use some Knights to beat back the muslim hordes; but it's probably much too late for that.
Interesting post. I enjoy historical snapshots.
We need to fly it again, just on a matter of principle, at every US port of entry.
Liberal heads would explode.
Holy Blood Holy Grail is a book worth reading.
Agree or disagree, it's an interesting book.
France owed the most, but all of the crowned heads owed the Templars.
They also owed the Jews from time to time and did the same to them. Most politically correct…
Will it ever fly again, Ed?
I learn from researching as well.
I was just reading about how a Roman governor in Spain found out that a person in his province (acting like a jerk) was masquerading as a Roman citizen. The penalty, of course, was crucifixion. It would be interesting if the Southern Border was lined with crosses.
We're ALL going to get COVID-19 or a mutation of same. It's that contagious Don't worry, be happy.
And don't fear the reaper, LSP.
They held them back for a while. Just not enough of them to overwhelm the Muslim birthrate.
England also kicked the Jews out, because English royalty and many of the other nobles owed Jewish bankers way too much money.
Though, well, I kinda wished to be able to do the same thing to Wells Fargo and Bank of America.
England kicked the Jews out more than once. Or rather, they raided their wealth and the Jews left. The same thing happened in Romanov Russia.
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