The Templars and the Parisian Builders 139was established in 1476 in Saint Blaise Chapel, which was also placed
under the patronage of Saint Louis and Saint Roch.^59 During the sev-
enteenth century, the brotherhood gathered in this chapel once a year
on February 3.^60
The ownership of this chapel was the object of a lawsuit between
the masons and carpenters association and the General Hospital that
lasted from 1473 to 1713! As the result of some highly complex legal
maneuvering, the General Hospital's claim was dismissed, but because
it strongly desired ownership of Saint Blaise Chapel as well as the two
houses adjacent to it, it purchased this property from the master
masons and carpenters in 1764. At that time the chapel was threaten-
ing to collapse and it was totally demolished around 1770.^61 The serv-
ice of the Brotherhood of Masons and Carpenters was then temporarily
transferred to Saint Yves Chapel on the rue Saint Jacques before being
installed once and for all at the old Haudriettes Chapel on rue de la
Mortellerie.
It also seems that around 1760, a brotherhood of masons and car-
penters met in the Chapel of the Nation of Picardy on the rue de
Fouarre (rue Lagrange) and that their corporation kept an office on rue
de la Harpe at this time.^62
The Temple's domain ended south of the rue des Mathurins, which
formed part of their district. The area beyond this point fell under the
jurisdiction of Saint Jean de Latran—that is, the Knights Hospitallers.
This street owed its name to the Hospital of the Mathurins or the
Trinity, which had been created around 1206. This facility was admin-
istered by the Mathurin Order, the donkey driver brothers founded by
Saint Jean de Matha with an eye to ransoming prisoners held captive by
the Muslims. This indicates that it had a relationship with the
Templars, although it was a direct dependency of the chapter of the
Paris Cathedral. The Templars, who were not priests, were affiliated
furthermore with several religious orders, such as the Mathurins or the
Carmelites, from whom they recruited their chaplains. Following the
abandonment of the Holy Land and the end of the Crusades, it is quite
Probable that the Mathurins' Trinity Hospital, just like its namesake on
the rue Saint Denis, would have given shelter to the poor "walkers,"
meaning both pilgrims and journeymen.