The Knights Templars.

have been styled indiscriminately Preceptors or Commanders ; and their castles or estates Preceptories or Commanderies . These were ( according to Ware and Archdall ) at Clontarf , in the county of Dublin , founded in Henry II . ' s reign ,

as it is supposed by the Nettervilles ; St . Sepulchre , in the city of Dublin or its suburbs , near the place where the Archbishop's palace stands ; Kilsaran , in the county of Louth , founded iu the 12 th century by Maud de Lacie ; Kilbarry and Killure ,

the one about a mile and a half from Waterford , and the other two miles east of that city , in the county of the same name , both founded in the 12 th century , the founders unknown ; Crooke , in the harbonr of Waterford , four miles east of the city ,

founded in the 13 th century , by the Baron of Curragmore ; Clonaul , in Tipperary , as also one at Thurles , in the same county , where a castle now standing was , according to the tradition of the country , for no record exists , the castle of the

Knights Templars ; Teach Temple , or Temple-House , in the county of Sligo , founded in the time of Henry HI . ; Mourne , in the county of Cork , founded in the reign of King John , by Alexander de Sancta Helena ; Killergy , or Killarge , in the

county of Carlow , " founded in the- reign of King John , by Gilbert de Borard , for Knights Templars , under the invocation of St . John the Baptist ; Kilclogan , in the county of Wexford , founded in the 13 th century by the family of O'More , which

appears to have had a lage estate attached to it , from the report made in the thirty-second year of King Henry VIII ., quoted by Archdall p . 748 ; and Dundrum , in the county of Down , where is a strong castle now in ruins , said to have been built by Sir

John de Courcy . All these Commanderies and Preceptories were , together with the Grand Priory of Kilmainham , granted , on the abolition of the Order , to the Knights of St . John of Jerusalem , in whose possession-they continued till the dissolution of monasteries in the reign of Kino- Henry VIII .

From the foregoing it will be seen how exceedingly powerful the Order was arising from the nobility of its members , the determined valour of the Knights , and their inordinate wealth . It is scarcely to ba wondered at that , when they

determined to settle in Europe on the abandonment of the Holy Land by the Christians , they became objects of dislike and suspicion to all classes of the community , and that finally they were suppressed by the intrigues of a king who

The Knights Templars.

desired to possess himself of a portion of their wealth , as well as to destroy a power which cast a shadow upon his crown , and mig ht in time have even engulphed his throne . END OP BOOK SECOND .

History Of Mother Kilwinning.

HISTORY OF MOTHER KILWINNING .

We have much pleasure m presenting to our readers the following translation of Bro . J . G . Findel ' s editorial notice in the " Bauhutte , ' ' of the 4 th inst ., of Bro . Dr . Merzdorf ' s German translation of the papers on Mother Kilwinning which have from time to time appeared in these columns : —

"The 'Mother Kilwinning , ' Scotland ' s principal Lodge . By Murray Lyon ; freely translated by Bro . Dr . Merzdorf . Oldenburg , 1 S 6 S . Schulze , bookseller . —The above little work does not only form an explanation of Laurie ' s History of the Freemasons in

Scotland , but is besides an interesting contribution to the history of this confederated body ; although its use must be looked for rather in negative than in positive results . Dr . Merzdorf has indisputably gained a new merit , in having introduced to the

brothers in Germany the cominunication of Bro . Lyon , Corresponding Member of the Society of German Masons , and in having made a good sketch . As Bro . Lyon will soon edit the articles published in the Freemasons' Magazine , in an enlarged form , we shall have occasion to notice them again . We content ourselves , therefore , with recommending the little

work of Bro . Merzdorf , giving a part of the prefaceand of the results of the statement . " Our learned brother , Dr . Merzdorf , is favourably known as the German translator of Laurie ' s History of the Grand Lodge of Scotland , and as author of " The Coins of the Freemason Fraternity Recorded

and Described ''—a work which Bro . Findel , who is distinguished for his impartial criticisms , has characterised as being " highly praiseworthy "—and we heartily endorse the tribute which the German Historian of Freemasonry has in the foregoing short

review paid to Dr . Merzdorf for his kindness in having placed our German brethren in possession of a translation of Bro . Murray Lyon's admirable history of the ancient Lodge of Kilwinning . We understand that , in accordance with the suggestion of brethren

distinguished for their labours in the walks of Masonic literature , —several of whom have through the Magazine repeatedly ascribed to the papers referred to a degree of value that would justify their reproduction in the form of a separate volume , —Bro . Lyon has

undertaken a revision of his Notes with a view to their republication on or about Christmas of tbe present year .