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BROTHERLY RIVALS: TEMPLARS, HOSPITALLERS AND THE ARCHITECTURAL EXPANSION OF THE TEMPLE CHURCH IN LONDON

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2020

Zachary Stewart
Zachary Stewart*
Affiliation:
Department of Architecture, Texas A&M University, TAMU 3137, College Station, TX77843, USA. Email: zstewart@arch.tamu.edu
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Abstract

The Temple Church, founded as the chapel of the motherhouse of the English Templars around 1160, is among the most intriguing medieval churches in London. Utilising a wide range of textual, archaeological and architectural evidence, this paper provides a new account of the evolution of the ecclesiastical complex from the mid-twelfth century to the mid-thirteenth century, focusing in particular on the form and the function of a series of now largely obliterated auxiliary structures. It argues that one of the driving forces for the construction of these buildings was a competition for both patrons and prestige that existed between the two preeminent military orders of the period: the Templars and the Hospitallers.

Keywords

Knights TemplarLondon Temple Churchecclesiastical architecture
Type
Research paper
Information
The Antiquaries Journal , Volume 101 , September 2021 , pp. 235 - 268
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society of Antiquaries of London

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