he figure below depicts the Seal of
the Order. This design was inaugurated in conjunction of the adoption of
the Rule of the Order at the Council of Troyes,
1128. It is to be seen as an important milestone in the development of the
Order into a coherent body with a significant influece on the matters in
Europe and the Holy Land.
n the Seal we see two knights riding
one horse, and the text "Sigillum Militum Christi" surrounding
the image. The image stems from two sources; firstly the poverty vow of the
knights, with two knights economically riding one horse, and secondly, from
the knight carrying his wounded comrade from battle. Later the seal also
was taken to mean the alleged homosexual practices of the Order. We rest
the case and let each reader take the meaning he or she prefers.
