Knights Templar     

 During the Crusades the city of Jerusalem was captured by European knights in 1099 and was for a time a Christian kingdom. Until the fall of Jerusalem, the city itself was relatively safe for Christian pilgrims but attacks on travelers by Islamic forces were common in the approaches to the holy land .The original 300 Knights Templar were a small band of knights who bound themselves together in a brotherhood of arms in order to provide safe passage to travelers to Jerusalem. In addition to their military function, the knights became an order of monks, taking vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, thus combining two of the great emphases of the middle ages: religious fervor and military prowess. By 1118 AD, the knights were officially recognized and were given for their headquarters, the El Aqsa Mosque, in Jerusalem, which stood on the site of the ancient Hebrew temple of Solomon. Consequently, they become known as "the Knights of the Temple", or Knights Templar. In this era of chivalric ideals, the fame of the Knights spread as they were celebrated throughout Europe. Rulers hastened to be identified with Knights Templar and to present gold and property to the order .According to legend, they were custodians of the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail and the Shroud of Turin. Over time, their wealth and power became a temptation to financially strapped kings and the ever acquisitive medieval Catholic Church. A conspiracy hatched between King Philip the Fair of France and Pope Clement accused the secretive Knights of blasphemy, the only crime for which the assets of the accused could be seized by the Church. The Knights were arrested and executed, concluding with the burning at the stake of the Knight’s last Grand Master, Jacques DeMolay, in 1314, for heresy. All Knights Templar wealth was seized and Templary went "underground". When Knights Templar re-emerged in the 1700's, it did so as a part of Freemasonry. Though many theories exist, it is difficult to prove a direct connection between the ancient order and the modern order known today as Knights Templar.

Apparently originating in England in the 18^th century, the modern incarnation of the Knights Templar emerged as the top ranking Masonic organization in the York Rite of Freemasonry. The Knights Templar became a Christian oriented fraternal organization based on the ancient organization founded in the 12^th Century. All Knights Templar are members of the world’s oldest fraternal organization known as "The Ancient Free and Accepted Masons", however, not all Masons are Knights Templars. Freemasonry in the 21^st Century does not hold the dominant social position it once held in America. It would be no exaggeration to maintain that virtually every national and local leader in American business and government throughout the 18^th and 19^th Centuries and the first half of the Twentieth were affiliated with the Masons. Opelika and Auburn, Alabama were no exception. The uniforms and regalia exhibited in this collection were worn by men who were unquestionably leaders in the local society of the late 19^th and early 20^th Centuries. An examination of the names of the individuals in the group photograph will reveal representatives from most of Lee County’s most prominent citizens.