The Devil in Green (9 page)

Winchester, the decision was taken to re-establish the Knights Templar.
Do you know of them?'

'A bit,' Miller said uncertainly.

'According to historical sources, most notably the Frankish historian
Guillaume de Tyre, the Knights Templar were formed by nine knights
under the leadership of Hugues de Payen in
1118,'
James began. 'After
Jerusalem fell to the Crusaders in 1099, it became a Christian city and the
nine, under the name of the Poor Knights of Christ and die Temple of
Solomon, vowed to devote themselves to the protection of all pilgrims
travelling along the dangerous roads to the Christian shrines. They took
quarters next to the temple and from then on became known as the
Knights Templar.'

James led them from the Trinity Chapel into the presbytery and then
into the quire, the 'church within a church' where the canons' stalls faced
each other beneath the shining pipes of the organ.

'Ten years after their establishment, their fame had spread,' James
continued. 'No lesser an authority than Saint Bernard, the abbot of
Clairvaux, wrote a tract declaring the Templars to be the epitome and
apotheosis of Christian values. They were soon officially recognised and
incorporated as a religious-military order, Christ's militia, if you will,
soldier-mystics, warrior-monks, combining the spirituality of the Church
with a fighting ability that struck terror into Christianity's enemies.'

'Until the God-fearing royals of Europe had the Church brand them
heretics,' Mallory noted wryly, 'because they had the misfortune to
become too successful, right? Too rich and
powerful
...
a challenge to
the established order. Had their leader slowly roasted alive in the square
of some French city
. .
. nice . . . had the knights hunted down and
slaughtered, launched a propaganda assault to completely destroy their
reputation.'

'You're obviously an educated man. But don't confuse the Church with
the people who claim to administer God's Word,' James cautioned.
'Humans are fallible.'

'Pardon me for pointing it out, but you seem to have had your fair share
of the fallible in your history,' Mallory countered, unmoved.

'We are all fallible.' James turned his attention to the high altar at the
focal point of the cathedral. 'The decision to re-establish the Knights
Templar was taken for practical reasons, and for symbolic ones. The new
Knights Templar will protect our missionaries as they move out across the
country. It's a dangerous land out there . . . worldly threats, supernatural
threats, spiritual threats . . .'

'That's a tough job,' Mallory said. 'You'll need tough men.'

'Tough, yes. Not just physically or psychologically, but spiritually. It
will be demanding, with little reward in this world.' There was pity in his
smile. 'Many who wish to join will not be suitable. You need to understand
that. But there will always be a role here for people willing to carry out
God's Word.'

'Not many perks, though,' Mallory said.

James laughed. 'Sorry, no company cars! On the plus side, the Council
decided not to continue with the strict rules under which the original
Templars existed - shaven heads, beards, poverty, chastity and obedience
- though we have adopted a distinctive dress for our knights so that
everyone will know them when they see them coming.'

Mallory pointed to James' habit. 'You've got your own strict dress code
as well.'

'Indeed. It was felt, with the various . . .
strands ...
of the Church
coming together, that a uniformity was necessary to bind everyone here
into a single community.' He was choosing his words carefully, Mallory
noted.

'You had some friction, then? A little local rivalry?'

'There was a danger of that, yes. So it was decided that we adopt
elements of the Rule of Saint Benedict, which was written in the sixth
century as a guide to the spiritual and administrative life of a monastery.
Although we are not a monastic order - we are a chapter of canons - it was
agreed that a certain level of . . . discipline was necessary.' He didn't
appear wholly to agree with this, although he attempted to mask it with a
smile. 'But you'll find out all about that later.'

As they turned to leave the quire, they were confronted by two men who
had been making their way towards the altar. One of them was very old,
possibly in his eighties, Mallory estimated. Hunched over his walking
stick, he resembled a crane, both awkward and frail; he didn't appear to
have the strength to walk any distance at all. Helping him along was a man
in his late twenties with shoulder-length black hair and a long, pointed
nose that reminded Mallory of some forest animal.

James knelt and formally kissed the hand of the old man. 'Our bishop,'
he said, when he rose.

The old man smiled; his eyes were uncannily bright and sharp.
'Cornelius,' he amended in a rural Scottish accent. 'New arrivals?'

'More recruits for the knights,' James said. 'They're growing fast. It
shouldn't be long before we have a full complement.'

'Then our community here owes you our gratitude,' Cornelius said
to Mallory and Miller. 'You are our future. Your bravery will not go
unrewarded.'

He began his slow progress along the aisle, but his companion held
back. With a surreptitious glance at the bishop, he caught James' arm and
said, 'The dogs have started to gather.'

James' expression darkened. 'Surely they won't make their move yet.'
He, too, glanced after the bishop. 'Surely not yet.'

'They're driven by ideology. Common sense doesn't come into it.' He
moved off quickly to catch the bishop's arm.

'Who was that?' Mallory asked.

'Julian. A good man. He's the precentor, responsible for the choir, the
music and a few other recently added duties, mainly to do with the services
and spiritual life of the cathedral. He's one of the four Principal Persons
who oversee the Chapter of Canons, our guiding body.'

James appeared briefly distracted, then, sensing Mallory's interest,
shepherded them quickly away before they could ask any more questions.

James took them throughout the main body of the cathedral and its
ancillary buildings; it was important, he said, for every new arrival to
understand both the facts and the symbolism of their new home. 'This will
be our Jerusalem,' he said. 'In England's green and pleasant land.' He
detailed the history of the cathedral from its construction between 1220
and
1258
following the decision to move it from its original location at Old
Sarum, through to modern times, so that by the end Mallory thought he
was going to go insane if he heard another date.

'The new cathedral was entrusted to Nicholas of Ely, a master mason,
who encoded many mysteries in the sacred geometry of the building,
utilising the vast secret knowledge of numbers, angles and harmonics
passed down through the masonic guilds of medieval times,' James
commented as they stood in the south quire aisle. 'They say the great
secrets of our religion were locked in the stone, but much of the knowledge
has since been lost. Who knows what the length of this column, or the
angle of that beam, was meant to imply? What we do know is that the
building itself was seen as an act of worship. Here, God is in the detail and
in the greater design.'