Templar Rite
- Manuel: "I should have been Constantine's successor. I had so many plans."
- Ezio: "Your dream dies with you, Manuel. Your empire is gone."
- Manuel: "Ah, but I am not the only one with this vision, Assassin. The dream of our Order is universal. Ottoman, Byzantine... these are only labels. Costumes and facades. Beneath these trappings, all Templars are part of the same family."
- —Manuel Palaiologos talking to Ezio Auditore about the universality of Templars, 1512.[src]-[m]
A Templar Rite, otherwise known as a Rite of the Templar Order and collectively known as the Outer Temple of the Templar Order, is a regional, usually country-specific branch of the Templars and collectively a separate governing structure from the Inner Sanctum. As the Order spread across the globe, Rites were established in virtually every country. All Rites are led by a single Grand Master or, in the absence of one, a Master Templar.[1]
The regional administration of a Rite mirrors that of its counterpart in the Assassin Order, with Rite leaders being the supreme authority of the branch and overseeing all of the Rite's activities from a main headquarters, while their subodrinates typically operate in an assigned district or administritative division. These subodrinates are directly answerable to the Rite's leader and oversee the Templar facilities in their assigned district to ensure the Order can efficiently maintain control over the local population. Over the centuries, these facilities have varied from towers, dens taken from the Assassins, gang headquarters, and even public and military offices.
Since at least the late 17th century, following the creation of the Inner Sanctum and the Council of Elders, the entire collective of Rites became the Outer Temple and were not given access to the complete plans of the Templar Order going forward.[1] With the creation of the Black Cross, their service in the Outer Temple shifted to combating corruption and searching for Pieces of Eden while securing the Inner Sanctum's plans and maintaining the Order's integrity[2] by enforcing the Templar principles within the various Rites' governing structures.[1]
Structure
Founding
In the the Thirteen Colonies, James Wardrop followed in his father's footsteps, he was inducted into the Templar Order in 1720. Wardrop's main role in the Order was to secure land and wealth, slowly and surely building up the foundation for the Colonial Rite. By 1744, Wardrop began to build a trade network for the Order that ran from the American colonies to the West Indies. By 1750, he worked with Christopher Gist to acquire North American land for the Order.[3]
Authority
- Main article: Grand Master of the Templar Order
- Main article: Master Templar
A Grand Master controls a specific geographic region and their Rite is named after it.[1] Under their leadership was the ability to appoint a Lieutenant as their second-in-command.[4][5] Despite holding the highest attainable rank within their Rite, a Grand Master is not all-powerful and is dependent on the support of their fellow Templars and other Rites around the world. Nevertheless, their duties are essential to the proper functioning of the Templar Order as a whole, so Grand Masters may elect to have bodyguards to protect them at all times, as were the cases with Frederick Weatherall for the de la Serre family,[6] and El Tiburón for Laureano de Torres y Ayala.[7] With the Grand Master themselves being the ruling authority for their own Rite's plans, all members required their superior's approval to enact any changes.[8][9][10]
Known Rites
- Algerian Rite[11]
- American Rite (formerly known as the Colonial Rite)[12]
- Austrian Rite[13]
- British Rite[12]
- Canadian Rite[14]
- Chinese Rite (also known as the Shanghai Rite)[15][16]
- Egyptian Rite[17]
- German Rite[18]
- Greek Rite[11]
- Japanese Rite[19]
- Levantine Rite (also known as the Knights Templar)[20]
- Libyian Rite[11]
- Mexican Rite[21]
- Mongolian Rite[22]
- Parisian Rite[23]
- Portuguese Rite[11]
- Roman Rite[24]
- Russian Rite[25]
- Spanish Rite[26]
- Swedish Rite[27]
- Tunisian Rite[11]
- West Indies Rite (also known as the Caribbean Rite)[28]
Former Rites
Trivia
- Although the Templars' predecessors, the Order of the Ancients, also maintained multiple regional branches, it is unknown if these branches were called Rites or if another term was used.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide - Chapter 5
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Templars
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – Database: James Wardrop
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity (novel) – 5 October 1789
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – A Cautious Alliance
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity (novel)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
- ↑ Assassin's Creed III – The Braddock Expedition (memory)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Mister Walpole, I Presume?
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Mediterranean Defense
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Assassin's Creed III
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Discover Your Legacy
- ↑ Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Templars
- ↑ Assassin's Creed – The Hawk Trilogy
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Conspiracies
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Memories
- ↑ Assassin's Creed
- ↑ Assassin's Creed comic
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Tomb of the Khan
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Fall
- ↑ Assassin's Creed film
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods
- ↑ Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Revelations
- ↑ Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
