The Secret History of Freemasonry

82 THE ORIGINS OF FREEMASONRY FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO THE MIDDLE AGES

taught laborers working for the Order the art of building and geome-
try. Whether they were brother servants or lay workers, everyone con-
tributed to the construction of Templar buildings; in short, they labored
for the Temple. While remaining under Templar tutelage, however,
these associations soon became more independent of the Order. They
expanded their field of activity by working not only for the Templars
but also for the inhabitants of their domains, which continued to
develop in both population and wealth. The bond that tied operatives
to the Temple was now simply one of a manorial order. In this insecure
time, tradesmen flocked to the commanderies, where, in addition to its
powerful protection, the Temple offered to operatives considerable
advantages, including the right of asylum, the right of franchise, and fis-
cal privileges.

The Privileges of the Temple: Asylum and Franchise

Like the majority of religious orders, the Templars had the privilege of
asylum, meaning that they could protect those individuals who sought
refuge in their domains from any legal proceedings against them. One
of the oldest legal documents that offers evidence of this is a papal bull
from Innocent III dating from 1200 and stating that those who used
violence against the colleagues and liegemen of the Temple who had
entered into an area under God's truce as preached by the Church
would be excommunicated.
"The Bible of the Lord of Berze," a poem composed during the
early years of the thirteenth century, expresses it as follows:

Dare not strike one of its knights

Its Sargents nor its squires

Threaten not to slay them

or to the Hospital he shall flee

Or to the Temple, if he can manage to do so.

The right of franchise was much more exceptional than the right of
asylum. It is certain that the Benedictines, Cistercians, and Hospitallers
of Saint John of Jerusalem offered an equal measure, at least originally-