96 THE ORIGINS OF FREEMASONRY FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO THE MIDDLE AGES
own emancipation. Thus as far as the Templar commanderies were con-
cerned, their privileges and exemptions remained unchanged after the
abolition of the Order. In fact, a bull issued by Clement V on May 2,
1312, decreed that all the properties, rights, and privileges of the
Templars would pass into the hands of the Hospitallers of Saint John of
Jerusalem (who went on to become the Knights of Rhodes and the still-
existing Order of the Knights of Malta). This bull was applicable in all
Christian countries and ratified by many kings, including Philip the Fair.
The privileges the Hospitallers inherited from the Templars were subse-
quently and over the course of the centuries often confirmed by the
popes,* and the Hospitallers continued to widely apply the right to asy-
lum and the right of franchise so thoroughly that the francs metiers were
assured of their survival after the dissolution of the Templar Order.
We have iconographic proof of this protection provided by the
Knights Hospitallers to construction workers in a miniature from the
end of the fifteenth century depicting the ritual reception of journeymen
carpenters by the grand master of the Hospitaller Order of Rhodes on
the worksite of fortifications of the city that the Turks besieged in
1480.+ While workers are busy on the ramparts, the grand master,
attended by his officers, is preparing to give the collee to a carpenter
who stands with hands clasped at the knees and a large ax on his shoul-
der, followed by other journeymen carrying their respective tools: com-
pass, square, hammer, and chisel. All are wearing ritual ribbons tied
around their heads.
Moissac, connected to both the Benedictines and the Templars, pro-
vides a characteristic example of how things remained in the communal
context of the presence of freemasons. Very ancient in origin, Moissac
was erected by Charlemagne as a Benedictine abbey endowed with all
the rights to administer justice, which were subsequently transferred to
the "Consuls and Leaders of City Hall."^17 Today we can still admire the
church of this important abbey, a masterpiece of early Romanesque art
adorned handsomely with symbolic sculpture.
- H. de Curzon, in La maison du Temple de Paris, cites fifteen bulls of confirmation that
were issued from the time the Hospitallers assumed + the Templar's position until 1629.
This miniature is reproduced in Pierre du Colombier's book Les Chantiers des
Cathedrales.