Ustawodawstwo wewnętrzne w zakonie templariuszy wobec przestępstw i naruszeń dyscypliny zakonnej
Internal Legislation In The Order Of Knights Templar And Its Attitude Towards Criminal Offences Abd Violations Of Monastic Discipline

Summary/Abstract: The paper sheds light on a rather narrow aspect of the history of Knights Templar, analyzing it from the point of view of its internal disciplinary legislation. As an order grouping knights, in its statute, the Order made numerous references to discipline and the penal system. In the paper, the author characterized the various preserved copies of the Order’s Statute, out of which as many as 15 have survived until the present times; subsequently, he referred to the so called hierarchical statutes of the Order; among others, the latter defined in detail the disciplinary responsibility of Order members. On the basis of the above sources, the author divided the disciplinary measures into groups, beginning with the most restrictive ones and ending with the penitential and expiatory ones. He showed the types of offences which, when committed, threatened the wrongdoer with a loss of a home or tunic, as well as minor offences for which one could adjudicate penance or else abandon the idea of punishing the culprit altogether. The author described the procedure which initiated disciplinary proceedings as well as the penitential practices of the penitent. He also provided pertinent examples of violations of the Statute by the Templar Brothers, relying on source materials.

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