The Secret History of Freemasonry

6

The Templars, the

Francs Metiers, and

Freemasonry^

The Templars and

the Master Builders

When the Templars extended their commanderies into
Europe with the help of their Christian worker assistants, they brought
with them the traditional rites and secrets of the Byzantine collegia and
the Muslim turuq, which had much in common. It is not rash to assert
that the forms and ideas of these associations inspired and penetrated
the "master associations" that were forming then and which the
Templars used or guided for their constructions. These rites and cus-
toms combined with the remnants and symbols passed down by the
brotherhoods of the early Middle Ages in regions where memories of
Roman and ancient times had never entirely disappeared.
Given the number and importance of their building projects, it is
most likely that the Templars played a prominent role in the formation
of European "master associations." We know that the Templars, just
like the Benedictines, employed many workers in their service in addi-
tion to their servant brothers, notably masons and carpenters. In each
commandery, these builders were under the direction of an officer of the
Temple, the magister carpentarius. This individual, a veritable architect,