A Templar seal pressed into hot wax in 1244 shows two knights riding a single horse. The image is not a mistake. It is a deliberate statement of poverty, community, and the paradox of the warrior monk. The Knight Templar symbols are a set of emblems used by the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, most famously the red cross pattée on a white field, the seal of two knights on one horse, and the black-and-white Beauseant banner. Their meanings reach from martyrdom and poverty to the public display of a sacred vow.
The Red Cross on the White Mantle
The most visible Templar symbol was the red cross sewn over the left breast of the white mantle. Pope Eugenius III granted this right at the Council of Paris in 1147, just before the Second Crusade. The cross was not a choice. It was an official mark of the Order, worn by every brother from the Grand Master to the lowliest sergeant.
The white mantle had been part of the Templar habit since the Council of Troyes in 1129. Bernard of Clairvaux, who wrote the Order’s rule, described the white as a sign of purity and chastity. The white wool was a deliberate contrast to the dark habits of other monks. The Templar was a new kind of religious: a soldier who lived in the world but kept his soul unspotted.
Adding the red cross turned the mantle into a battle flag. The cross was the color of blood and fire. For the Templar, it meant a vow of martyrdom. To die in battle wearing the cross was to die in the service of Christ, a death that counted as a second baptism. The cross also marked the wearer as a target. A captured Templar could be identified instantly and tortured for information. The Order accepted this risk as part of the vow.
The shape of the cross varied. Early seals show a simple cross pattée, with arms that widen at the ends. Later medieval depictions show a cross potent, with small crossbars at each tip. The version we call the “Templar cross” today — a red cross with flared, splayed arms, was standardized in the 19th century by historians and revivalists. The original was likely a plain red cross on white, with no special flourish.
The Seal: Two Knights on One Horse
The most discussed Templar symbol is not a cross but a seal. The obverse of the Order’s official seal, used from the 1140s onward, shows two knights riding a single horse. Above them is the Latin legend SIGILLUM MILITUM CHRISTI (Seal of the Soldiers of Christ). The reverse often shows the Dome of the Rock, the building the Templars called the Temple of the Lord.
The two knights on one horse has been read as a pledge of poverty. The Order’s rule required knights to own nothing, and the seal supposedly showed that they could not even afford a horse each. But that reading is too literal. The Templars were among the wealthiest organizations in Europe. The seal’s meaning is more complex.
Bernard of Clairvaux, in his treatise In Praise of the New Knighthood (c. 1130), wrote that the Templars were “one mind in one body.” The two knights on one horse represent this unity. The warrior and the monk were a single entity. The image also pointed to the communal nature of the Order: no knight acted alone. In battle, Templars fought in pairs, covering each other’s backs.
Later occult traditions, especially in 18th-century Freemasonry, read the seal as a cipher for dualities: spirit and matter, male and female, the active and the contemplative. Those interpretations are post-Templar inventions. The historical Templars did not use the seal as a mystical emblem. It was a legal mark on charters, deeds, and correspondence.
The Beauseant: The Black and White Banner
The Templar battle standard was called the Beauseant. The name comes from the Old French beau séant, meaning “fair and well” or “beautiful and worthy.” The banner was a rectangular field of black above white. The white half represented the Templar’s kindness to Christian friends. The black half represented his fierceness toward enemies of the faith.
The Beauseant was never surrendered. The rule forbade any brother to abandon the banner, even if the battle was lost. To lose the Beauseant was to lose the Order’s honor. The standard was carried by the Marshal of the Order and guarded by twenty knights. When the banner was lowered, the knights were to rally to it.
The black and white of the Beauseant also carried a moral meaning. The white stood for the purity of the Templar’s vow. The black stood for the world he had renounced. The banner was a daily reminder of the two natures inside every brother: the old man of sin and the new man of grace.
Other Signs and Emblems
The Templars used a number of smaller symbols. The cross on the mantle was not the only cross they carried. The Grand Master’s seal sometimes showed a cross potent, and some Templar churches were built in the shape of a cross. The Order also used the image of the Temple of Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock, as a symbol of their identity as the guardians of the Temple.
The Templars did not use the skull and crossbones, the inverted cross, or the pentagram. Those symbols appear in later Masonic and occult traditions that borrowed the Templar name. The skull and crossbones, for example, was a symbol of Golgotha in medieval art, but it was not a Templar emblem. The charge that the Templars worshipped Baphomet came from the Inquisition in 1307. The name Baphomet may have been a corruption of “Mahomet,” but the Templars never used it as a symbol.
The Symbols After the Fall
When King Philip IV of France arrested the Templars on October 13, 1307, the symbols of the Order became evidence of heresy. The seal of two knights was interpreted by inquisitors as a sign of homosexual acts. The white mantle was read as a sign of pride. The red cross was dismissed as a false badge of piety.
After the Order was dissolved by Pope Clement V in 1312, the symbols faded from public use. They reappeared in the 18th century, when Freemasons created “Templar degrees” and adopted the red cross, the seal, and the Beauseant as part of their rituals. The Scottish Rite’s Knight Templar degree uses the red cross on a white mantle, now with a sword and a crown of thorns. The Order of the Temple, a neo-Templar organization founded in 1805, revived the symbols with a Christian esoteric twist.
In modern occultism, the Templar symbols are often mixed with alchemical and hermetic imagery. The two knights on one horse are read as the union of opposites. The red cross becomes the alchemical sulphur. The white mantle becomes the philosopher’s stone. These interpretations have no historical basis but are firmly established in the esoteric literature.
Common Misconceptions
“The Templars used the inverted cross.” No. The inverted cross is the cross of Saint Peter, not a Templar symbol. It does not appear in any Templar seal, document, or fresco.
“The Templar cross is the same as the Maltese cross.” No. The Maltese cross has eight points and is the symbol of the Knights Hospitaller. The Templar cross is a simple pattée or potent, with four arms.
“The seal of two knights proves the Templars were gay.” The seal was a symbol of poverty and unity. No credible historian supports the claim of institutionalized homosexuality.
“The Templars worshipped Baphomet.” The charge was made under torture. No Templar symbol or text shows worship of Baphomet. The Baphomet of modern occultism is a 19th-century creation by Eliphas Levi.
FAQ
Did the Templars have secret symbols? Their official symbols were public. No evidence exists of a secret symbol system separate from the cross, the seal, and the banner.
What is the meaning of the two knights on one horse? It represents the Order’s poverty and the unity of the knights. It also shows that no Templar fought alone.
Is the Templar cross the same as the Crusader cross? The Crusader cross is a generic term. The Templar cross is specifically red on white, while other crusading orders used different colors.
What does the Beauseant banner mean? Beau séant means “fair and well.” The black and white halves signify the Templar’s kindness to friends and severity to enemies.
The Knight Templar symbols continue to appear in Christian esotericism, fraternal orders, and occult literature. They are a reminder that symbols outlive the institutions that created them. For a deeper look at the Order’s history, see our guide to the Knights Templar. For the role of seals in medieval magic, visit the glossary entry on seals. And for the broader context of Christian esoteric tradition, explore the vertical hub on Christian esotericism.