The Cult of « Notre Dame »

In order to know why the Templars specifically chose the Rue du Temple as the site for a commandery, we need to understand the importance of the cult of the virgin Mary and the astrological sign of Virgo in Templar history.

In early Christian times, the site of the present cathedral at Chartres was one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in France, but even before then it was of great religious importance to the Celts. The destination of the pilgrims was « Notre-Dame-De-Dessous-Terre » or the statue of the black Virgin in the cave underneath the cathedral. This ancient statue of a woman sitting down with a child on her knees was presented with the inscription in Latin « Virgini Pariturae » meaning « the virgin will have child ».

This prophetic statue dates from before the Christians, possibly even before the Celts.

The cave which contains the statue is the site of the druid wells and dolmen, and above these is where the Templars chose to construct their masterpiece of Gothic architecture, the cathedral Notre Dame.

If we examine the position of the major cathedrals from the XIIth and XIIIth centuries dedicated to Notre Dame in the ancient provinces of Champagne, Picardie, Ile de France and Neustrie, we find that they trace out on the ground the celestial constellation of Virgo.

In 1310 AD, at the time of the persecution of the Templars in France, the following defence, in form of a prayer, was offered to the pontifical prosecutors :

(to GOD) « Your order, that of the temple, has been founded by the general council in the honour of the saint and glorious Virgin Mary, your mother ».

(To the Virgin Mary) « Saint Mary, Mother of GOD...defend your religion (or order)... »

The Auxerre Landscape Zodiac

The Rue du Temple is our introduction to the landscape zodiac that surrounds the centre of Auxerre (Fig 14). By following it out from the centre we find that it forms part of the outline of the figure of a woman on the ground; the astrological sign of Virgo.

The rest of her shape is formed by the relief of the landscape, paths and other roads. The present roads are relatively modern in construction, but often their paths follow the original routes chosen by our ancestors. Of the oldest tracks and pathways there was always the necessity for the route which naturally followed the shape of the hills rather than go over them. Of course, many routes have been added and changed course , but in general, the original routes remain and along with the natural features of rivers etc. they allow us to see the forms of the landscape zodiac. To fully appreciate the figures we need to investigate large scale maps, as issued, for example, by the French IGN to the scale of 1:25 000.