The beard was more than just facial hair for the Knights Templar; it held deep symbolic and practical meaning. Many Templar knights grew beards as a sign of maturity, wisdom, and religious devotion. In a time when grooming customs varied, the beard also reflected their commitment to monastic discipline and warrior identity, setting them apart on and off the battlefield.
Historically, growing a beard was not an absolute requirement to join the Knights Templar. The Templars were a religious military order, so many followed monastic grooming customs, which often included keeping a beard as a sign of maturity and devotion. However, beard growth wasn’t a strict membership rule.
Also, becoming a Templar knight usually required you to be a proven warrior or nobleman, so established knighthood or military experience was important.
In short:
- Beard = symbol of maturity & devotion but not a strict requirement
- Established knighthood or warrior status was a more critical factor for entry
Becoming A ‘Templar Knight’
The Knights Templar‘ did not have a traditional dubbing ceremony ‘Ceremony where Squire’s are Knighted’, there was no apprenticeship to become a Templar Knight either!
To become a Templar knight you had to be an established knight already – and a pretty good one at that if you were going to have any chance of staying alive!
Rules, Rules, and More Rules!
The Templars’ organization was a very militaristic order and there were a lot and lots of rules, although growing a beard was not one of them! Growing a beard did however become something of a trend, rather than a rigid rule.
Growing a big bushy beard became something of a custom for Templar Knights.
Maybe they thought it made them look even tougher than they already were – or it was just simply the ‘Templar Style’! In any case, you wouldn’t want to look out of place if everyone else had a manly Beard!
So many Templars adopted the ‘Templar Beard Style’.
Templar Beards and the Facts!
In fact, Templar Knights were described by ‘Alberic of Trois-Fontaines’ in around the Year 1240 as looking like an ‘order of bearded brethren’!
Also, no less than 76 Templar knights are described as sporting a beard during an interrogation by papal commissioners in the early 14th Century.
End of the Templar Beard
Just as the Knights Templar themselves went into decline and eventually ended (or did they?) records confirm that 133 Templars shaved off their beards!
There were a few good reasons for ‘the shaving off one’s beard
- To Escape the order and go incognito.
- To show one’s renunciation of the order.
