Temple and Contemplation brings together for the first ... - ImagoMundi

THE IMAGO TEMPLI IN CONFRONTATION
Essenes. The appeal to a distant Celto-Scottish filiation parallels the
appeal made to affiliation with the builders of the Temple of Solomon and
the community of Jerusalem. It is as if the double line of descent, Hierosolymitan
and Scottish, linked, ab origine symboli, the Church of James and
the Celtic Church in the trials and misfortunes from which the Temple
knighthood had to rescue them.
The Coli Dei are also included in the spiritual line of descent from the
builders of the Temple of Solomon, the line of the Essenes, the gnostics,
even the Manichaeans and the Ismailis. 216 They were established at York
in England, at Iona in Scotland, in Wales, and in Ireland; their favourite
symbol was the dove, the feminine symbol of the Holy Spirit. In this
context, it is not surprising to find Druidism intermingled with their
tradition and the poems of Taliesin integrated to their corpus217 The epic
of the Round Table and the Quest of the Holy Grail have likewise been
interpreted as referring to the rites of the Coli Dei. It was, moreover, to the
time of the Coli Dei that is assigned the formation of the Scottish knighthood
whose seat is typified by the mysterious sanctuary of Kilwinning,
under the shadow of Mount Heredom in the extreme north of Scotland. 218
In order to understand the significance of this, we must call to mind the
three mystical mountains: Mount Moriah, Mount Sinai and this Mount
Heredom. We will not find Heredom on our maps, just as Corbenik must be
sought elsewhere than on the rugged slopes of Wales. The word Heredom
has been explained by reading it as Hierodom, a transcription of
the Holy House—an allusion to the Temple of Jerusalem or to the
Order of the Temple. But it is equally possible to see it as a deformation of
the Hebrew word Harodim that designates the officers, the foremen of
works in the building of the Temple. 219 The Order of the Temple was first
introduced into Scotland by King David I in the middle of the twelfth
century. 220 The royal Order of Heredom of Kilwinning, or "Royal Order
of Scotland", was revived in 1314 by King Robert I, the Bruce, and this
216 Waite, Encyclopaedia, I, pp. 161-165; Emblematic, p. 66.
217 Waite, Encyclopaedia, I, pp. 198—201.
218 Ibid., I, pp. 347-348.
219 Ibid., I, pp. 344-345. Cf. I Kgs. 5:15-16; II Chr. 8:10. It has also been suggested
that the word Heredom consists of a suffix, "dom" (= hood, ship) appended to the
word "Here" (or "Her"), derived from the Latin herus (master, chief, guide). If this
were so, "Heredom of Kilwinning" would mean "knighthood of Kilwinning". Cf.
R. S. Lindsay, The Royal Order of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1972), p. 10.
220 Waite, Encyclopaedia, II, p. 230.
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THE IMAGO TEMPLI IN CONFRONTATION
revival, as we shall see, is closely linked to the survival of the Order of the
Temple. 221
Bearing these facts in mind, we will proceed to outline, very briefly, the
schema of the tradition concerning the perpetuation of the Order of the
Temple a parte post, remembering only that if, in the nature of things,
counter-history is not history in the ordinary sense of the word, it is not
therefore "myth". As was the case with the filiation a parte ante, there are
several versions of the Templar filiation a parte post.222
A. The provincial Grand Master of Auvergne, Pierre d'Aumont, succeeded
in taking refuge in Scotland with a few of his knights. They helped
King Robert the Bruce win the victory of Bannockburn in 1314, which
made Scotland independent of England. In gratitude, the King restored
the Royal Order of Scotland and affiliated the Templars to it. The Order
continues to exist today.
B. After putting up a valiant defence in some castles of the Order,
Pierre d'Aumont had to flee his Province in the company of two commanders
and seven knights, ten people in all. In order to escape recognition,
they disguised themselves as masons. They finally found refuge in the
island of Mull to the north of Scotland, where they met George Harris,
grand commander of Hampton Court. Aumont was elected Grand Master
in 1312 by the brothers who had taken refuge on the island. 223
C. The version of filiation through the count of Beaujeu, nephew of
Jacques de Molay, differs from the preceding versions, maintained in the
eighteenth century by the "Strict Templar Observance". It forms the
Swedish version of the Templar filiation, substituting Sweden for Scotland
as the place where the secrets of the Temple were guarded. However, a
variant of it exists which is interesting in that it links the names of
Beaujeu and Aumont. On the instructions of his uncle, Jacques de
Molay, Beaujeu—together with nine knights (making ten people in all, as
above)—managed to save the secrets of the Order: the annals and secret
papers, the crown of the kings of Jerusalem, the seven-branched gold
candlestick, the exalted knowledge. These treasures were deposited in
Cyprus, in the care of the canons of the Holy Sepulchre (see above, § 6,
version A), who were still living there in the greatest secrecy. The knights
221 Le Korestier, op. cit., p. 781.
222 Waite, Encyclopaedia, II, pp. 219-220; Emblematic, pp. 173-179.
223 Le Forestier, op. cit., pp. 115, 160-163.
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