Templar Cross and Shield: History, Colours and Meaning

The Templar cross is the red cross worn by the Knights Templar, the military religious order founded in Jerusalem around 1119–1120. Set against the white mantle of a Templar knight, it became one of the most recognisable emblems of the crusading era, and later one of the most romanticised.

The white mantle and the red cross

When the order received its rule at the Council of Troyes in 1129, its knights were given white mantles, a sign of the purity expected of monks who fought. According to the twelfth-century chronicler William of Tyre, the red cross was added to the mantle in the time of Pope Eugenius III, who reigned from 1145 to 1153. White for the knight's vows and red for the blood of Christ and of martyrdom are the usual explanations for the colours.

Which shape of cross?

Modern Templar imagery almost always uses the cross pattée, with arms that flare at the ends. Medieval evidence is less uniform: seals, frescoes and manuscripts show several forms of red cross, and the order did not use a single standardised shape in the way modern emblems suggest.

The Beauséant banner

The Templars' war banner was the baucent or Beauséant, a flag of plain white with a black upper section. The thirteenth-century churchman Jacques de Vitry explained its colours as ferocity towards enemies and kindness towards friends, and a late thirteenth-century fresco in the Templar church of San Bevignate at Perugia shows the banner with a red cross added. "Beauséant" also served as a battle cry.

Templar shields

Modern reconstructions often show a white shield with a red cross, and the San Bevignate fresco shows shields in the order's colours. In practice the evidence for a uniform Templar shield design is limited, and many popular images are modern heraldic reconstructions.

The Templars and the Grail

The Templars had no known connection with the Holy Grail in their own records; the legend was built later from medieval romance. Our article on the Templars and the Holy Grail explains how.

Templar symbols in jewellery

A Templar cross or shield design references the crusading orders, medieval chivalry and the long afterlife of the Templar legend. You can see the AURYN Templar Shield charm, or read our guide to Christian cross types. For another flag with a fearsome reputation, see the Jolly Roger.