By Sir Raymond J de Souza, KHS
The Seventh Commandment of Chivalry was, “Thou shalt perform thy feudal duties if they be not contrary to the law of God”. To clarify the concept of medieval feudal duties in Catholic terms, it may be defined as a contractual system by which the nation, as represented by the king, lets its lands out to individuals who pay rent by doing governmental work, including military service, but also of suit to the king’s court.
In chivalry, it was a simple and honorable contract between the king and the knight: The king protected the knight, and the knight, in his turn, served the king. It was symbolized by the investiture of a knight by the king, when the latter touched the shoulders of the former with his sword. Also, in the Church, by praying with the hands together: The knight offered his jointed hands to the king, meaning his service, and the king covered the knight’s hands with his own, signifying his protection.
One of the greatest dishonors to a knight was to be known as unfaithful to his king, and a king who did not honor the feudal agreement was seen as an untrustworthy and shameful king.
When St. Louis went to fight in Egypt, his armies suffered a terrible defeat, worse still, an epidemic decimated the army as it was taking a retreat, and the king fell sick and became almost unable to ride his horse. Finally, as he was approaching death, he took refuge in the town of Minyeh while one knight, Gauthier de Chatillon, kept guard in the street by himself.
When the Muslim infidels approached, galloping against him, he attacked them with such an incredible fury, that it put them to flight. Chatillon would then go to the front of the house of the king and would pull out the arrows that were stuck in his suit of armour or in his body.
As the Arabs as they came to fight again, he would shout, “A Chatillon, my knights! A Chatillon! Where are my valiant knights, my brave ones?” But he was alone, and no one came. Only Muslims came, and not Christians. But Chatillon did not run away. He defended his king to the end, which came soon, and he fell dead, covered with arrows, torn with blows.
One Muslim warrior said that he had killed the bravest of Christians, and he showed the sword of the dead hero as proof of his prowess. In those days, even the enemy had a sense of admiration for the courage and fidelity of a knight to his feudal sovereign.
“My soul to God, my life to the king, my honor to myself was the motto of many knights, especially among the Portuguese Knights of Christ.
The Knights Templar, or the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici) were officially endorsed by the Church by the decrees of the papal bull Omne datum optimum of Pope Innocent II. The Templars became a favored charity throughout Christendom and grew rapidly in membership and power. Templar Knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were amongst the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. They built a network of nearly 1,000 commanderies and fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land.
They were dissolved by Pope Clement V, who was pressured by the false accusations of King Phillip IV, known as Phillip the Fair. The French king was heavily in debt to the knights and used the accusations to eliminate his debts. The pope gave in to the king, and many of the order’s members in France were arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake.
The Grand Master, Jacques de Mollay, called out from the flames that both Pope Clement and King Philip would soon meet him before God. His actual words were recorded on the parchment as follows: “Dieu sait qui a tort et a péché. Il va bientot arriver malheur à ceux qui nous ont condamnés à mort” (“God knows who is wrong and has sinned. Soon a calamity will occur to those who have condemned us to death”). Pope Clement died only a month later, and King Philip died while hunting before the end of the year.
Always faithful to the king, the Knights Templar performed their feudal duties to the end, even when the king was unfaithful to his pledge.
In only one country the Knights Templar were not dissolved: The king of Portugal changed its name to the Order of the Knights of Christ. It was that Order that sent ships under the command of Pedro Alvares Cabral, who discovered the lands of Brazil, where the author of this article was proudly born a country discovered and founded by the Templar Knights.
Fidelity to the king was also seen in the valiant Knight William of Pratelle. One day, the English King, Richard the Lionhearted, had only a small group of men and was surprised by a much larger Moslem force, when he was almost about to fall prisoner, this William of Pratelle, who was a Knight of the following of the King, shouted in Arabic that he was the King, to attract the enemies to him, giving his sovereign a chance to escape.
Such was the fidelity to the King and to the feudal duties lived by the Knights. It was seen as a sacred duty, as exemplified in Richard the Lionhearted. On another occasion, it was the same English king that gave proof of the same loyalty that united the lords to the vassals. Knowing one day that a Knight Templar with the Count of Leicester had fallen in an ambush, he ran to support with such a small number of men that they tried to stop him, saying he was going to his death. But the King replied:
“When all those Knights enlisted in the army of which I am the chief, I promised never to abandon them. If they find death because they were not helped, will I then be worthy to command them and still have the title of King? No, I would not be worthy to be King if I did not know how to despise death to defend those who followed me in War.”
Would that Catholic leaders of our days, including bishops, were worthy of such fidelity!
How do we, Catholic men, fulfill the seventh commandment – Fulfill your civil duties if they are not contrary to the law of God? By fulfilling our duties as citizens, whether in elections, civil defense, promoting Catholic social teaching everywhere. By obeying all legitimate laws and not obeying those laws that are contrary to God’s law. By raising a RESISTANCE against unworthy political and religious leaders. And that demands… courage!
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