Seal of the Knights Templar

Characteristic of the first seals of the masters of the Order of the Templars, this seal was that of Renaud ou Regnaud de Vichier, one of the grand masters of the Order of the Temple.  On it is engraved: "Sigillum: Militum: Xristi", which means "Seal of the militia of the Temple (of Salomon) and of Christ".  It represents two men in arms mounted on the same horse.  It is supposed to symbolise different aspects of the Templar ideal: poverty, humility, fraternity.  From a more mystical angle, it is a reference to the real detachment that the Templar was supposed to show, in harmony with the motto: "Non nobis, Domine, non nobis...", which could only be done through seeking to master the ego to achieve communion with the Divine.  "Poverty" thus takes on a initiatory sense.