The House of Brunswick descends from the original Nobility (Angevin) who had set up and founded the Knights Templar. Not only this, but Brunswick has also maintained it’s status as the rightful head of House for the Nobility who founded the Templar. This was confirmed in numerous early charters and invoked by Brunswick heads of states with full recognition and treaties with present ruling governments, as continuing within the norms of international law today. Wolfenbuttel-Brunswick being the senior princely house of Germany (as co-treaties of numerous present reigning governments confirm this absolute right) did not in any way abdicate or sign away any of the rights of absolute dynastic rule to any new constitutions or any new entities that would seek to deprive the same. The unlawful occupations, usurpations, and de facto governments claiming any portion of our lands have been continuously protested against by the house of Wolfenbuttel-Brunswick without interruption.
The Orthodox Templar order was founded by the Angevin Nobility between the hands of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem and Constantinople. For the first generation of the Templar (founded in 1099 with only Orthodox and Royal protections) there was no collaboration or endorsement from the pope of Rome. Some may not be aware of the earlier founding under the Prince Raymond IV of Gothia (French/Angevin territories).
The record has been authenticated, as the history of Simon de St. Bertin. This text was written, Circa 1135-7, where he wrote: “While he [Godfrey] was reigning magnificently(1096-1099), some had decided not to return to the shadows of the world after suffering such dangers for God’s sake. On the advice of the princes of God’s army they vowed themselves to God’s Temple under this rule: they would renounce the world, give up personal goods, free themselves to pursue purity, and lead a communal life wearing a poor habit, only using arms to defend the land against the attacks of the insurgent pagans when necessity demanded.”
As it says “on advice of the Princes”, and the most powerful Crusader Prince was Raymond IV of Gothia they decided to stay as Templar(latest being 1099 that Godfrey reigned magnificently). When Godfrey was “reigning magnificently” he was liberating the Muslim occupied Orthodox areas together with Prince Raymond who were there to support the Byzantine Emperor directly in war against the Muslims. The great reign itself was between 1096 and no later than the time of his death in 1100. So the “Templar vow” of the Knights and order itself established at 36 years before the pope endorsed them.
It wasn’t till a full 30 years later that the Western church started demanding papal concessions. At the Council of Troyes in 1129 the rules for the order were approved and endorsed. Only in 1135 and 1139 the pope made official acts endorsing the order of the Temple.
As an army itself was mostly to deal with the Princes troops. Actual Knighthood status for a sovereign head of state was a pre-requisite to apply into it, as it is an order of Knights(a weighty matter in international law). The Clerical support was mostly within the pre-Schism Orthodox institutions (like the pre-schism Orthodox Order of St Benedict and their Culdee Chaplains) that continued it’s full relations with the Eastern church (as the schism had only occurred 40 years previous). History repeats that not only in the 1099 founding but also in 1118 the Eastern churches officially blessed the order. These Eastern and Western Orthodox Clerics worked with the Angevin Knights and Royals. The Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Patriarch of Constantinople together co-consecrated the start of the Knights Templar. They launched the Templar as an Orthodox institution decades before the Roman Latin pope became involved or endorsed the Templar as tax free within Western papal ecclesiastical jurisdictions. However, as time went on, the Templar would worship in any Christian Orthodox institution wherever they were serving. It amounted to about half Western Orthodox and half Eastern Orthodox institutions where they would worship. Even in the West several ecclesiastical jurisdictions never fully submitted to the pope, and whenever they did, there was more power in the local secular government to appoint bishops, rather than the foreign popes. Brunswick itself kept their Apostolic claim primarily to Saint Andrew as do most Orthodox, rather than Rome who makes claim to Saint Peter. The most prominent and tallest buildings in Brunswick, and most picturesque part of the city was dominated by the views of Saint Andrew’s Cathedral.
The first several Templar Grand Commanders and supportive Princes were all solely of the French Angevin House of who also reigned over England and Jerusalem. As heads of the Crusader states, the Angevin House were the first 11 Kings of Jerusalem (or 13 indirectly). All were of the House of Angevin. The Angevin Empire lawfully was set by the King Richard to ensure it was inherited by sons of Henry the Lion the Brunswick line of the original Duchy of German Saxony.
However this Angevin Empire ownership portion of the Brunswick inheritance was unlawfully kept from the house by de facto usurpation and occupations. These have been protested by Brunswick and are in present protest and inheritance claim documents, as kept in full effect during the last two centuries. These have been kept alive via four international treaties by present reigning governments, as well as the unanimous Dynastic and Public law regarded therein.
There are many claims in France, in Scotland, in England and in Portugal about the Templar fons honorum continuing as protected by the Royal houses of those states. This may be true and we support them in their struggle. We do also want to share Brunswick itself has some articles of “continuity” to offer to their treasure trove.
While it is well known and recorded that to this day in Supplingenberg and in the Brunswick principality (now city) have had uninterrupted Templar meetings since the time of the Crusades. There was only a short period where the principal Templar buildings were occupied by the Knights Hospitallers, and Templar were forced to meet in other buildings. However it was just a few short years till the Templar meeting houses were restored back to the Templar officers with open public representation and protections by the reigning Duke of Wolfenbuttel-Brunswick (Chief Monarch and head of the house of Guelph). The meetings were primarily at the Brunswick Tempelhof and they continue today with a rigorous schedule at Supplingenburg. The Knights recognize they operate under the Sovereign continued protections of the ducal House of Wolfenbuttel-Brunswick.
Royal Fons Honorum, an original Templar Brunswick Ducal Commandery Restored in 1367, Confirmed in 1409 Kalans Brothers of the Holy Spirit
As Otto was already titled the dux (Legion Commander) of Supplingenburg and brother of the Duke (Monarch) of Brunswick at a time it was a powerful Imperial house over all Germany and surrounding lands. As far as keeping the key Templar Commanderies in Templar hands, this was clearly a grand joint effort that was successful. At any time in Brunswick there was no full takeover of Hospitallers. As some times they were only a co-serving name of the Templar Commanderies, while the previous continued not only at the original sites but in additional Ducal Knights halls. Most of that wasn’t published so widely about how the dukes continued to lead the Templar, however it came out more during the Reformation period, as true Catholic Orthodoxy was promoted to be in conflict with Rome. Even for the short period that the Hospitallers had some sort of position leasing those Templar estates (owned by the Duchy of Brunswick) they were merely tenants who had to pay the Brunswick Monarchy (Templar Grand Commanders) in order to lease the Templar sites for usage by the Hospitallers.
To trace the line of successors we turn back to their Great Grandmother, Princess Maud of Scotland, the daughter of King Malcom III, the Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy at the same time. Her heirs included the Chiefs of the House of Anjou, whose Empire included the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Eleven successive Kings of Jerusalem were direct house members of the Anjou (Angevin) Dynasty of France.
Otto IV’s Uncle King Richard held hostage
The Angevin King (Emperor) Richard was kept hostage by the Austrian Duke Leopold until a special prisoner exchange deal was met. This was presided over by the German Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI Hohenstaufen(of a rival Billunger line, usurper branch of Brunswick’s then active rightful pre-Charlemagne alloids of Bavaria and Altorf). King Richard was exchanged for the two Dukes of Brunswick(Otto IV and Henry V) and the Bishopric of Wells which would annex Glastonbury Abbey. This tyrannical Emperor of Germany Henry VI had died in 1197 and so Richard (who was heir of the Electorate of Arles) placed his vote for these Guelph princes to become the next Emperor. After many attempts by Otto IV’s uncle (King Richard) to secure a marriage with the Scottish Royal House (to become King of Scotland) he had re-arranged his commitments to Brunswick by making all to fall back to Otto IV as the Angevin heir, by making him the Duke of Angevin Aquitaine and the Count of Poitou in 1196.
Illegal Usurpation of Angevin by King John
At the death of King Richard in 1197 a false Regency of Angevin was presided over by King John who was at war with France. In 1198 two of the Heirs and owners of the Angevin estates (Henry V Count Palatinate on the Rhine, Duke of Brunswick, and Henry of Winchester Duke of Brunswick) came to England to dispute King John for their rightful place in the Angevin Empire. However, this came to no avail. A peace treaty with France recognized King John as the heir of the Angevin Empire estates (although disputed by the House of Brunswick even till the last Capetian King was killed in the French Revolution, in the Brunswick Manifesto who claimed to raze Paris to the ground, lining up all civilians for a military execution if they continued to dishonor their rightful King/ally/ Rival Capetian house, who had made the Duke of Brunswick the rightful commander in chief of all the French Military, which Napoleon had defeated). His Grandson Charles II of Brunswick had received multiple treaties from the French Imperial House in the 1840’s, agreeing on the larger inheritance of Germany and France estates, and cooperation in war on reclaiming that of which they were deprived.
So the usurpation of the Angevin estates by King John was just a French false construction in 1200AD when a peace treaty was made with said King John. No doubt they did so to counter balance the power against the then elected Emperor Otto IV in 1198 and England against eachother. It seems France tactfully predicted King John could not hold together his estates, and we all witnessed this epic collapse of the Angevin Empire (from Jerusalem to England). Finally the “second House of Anjou(Capetians)” formed in 1246 to direct the supremacy over the rest of these French estates. Then finally Jerusalem’s next King was no longer Angevinian (after 11 successive Angevin Kings of Jerusalem).
The New or “second house” of Anjou formed in 1246, and this spelled much disaster for the region in France and for the Western Orthodox. Ultimately they had Angevin (new house of Angevin) popes who turned on the Templar together with the French House Capetians.
However the original true House of Brunswick, who are the correct line of Aquitaine, Gothia(Septimania/Langudoc) and Normandy(most of France), and the Carolingian line, were resistant against this cull of the Templars. Like Scotland, Brunswick kept a great hiding place, and later emerged as great protectors of Templar, as was Robert the Bruce.
However Brunswick has continued the protest down through the ages. The protests have included numerous wars on these grounds, as well as formal written petitions, sometimes annual petitions of Brunswick Monarchs in official proclamations in writing published in Gazettes for the general public, or else at least the heirs of said Monarchs continued the name and claim to these domains by demonstrating their coat of arms. These have been secured also in numerous international treaties that remain valid up till the last several years.
Coat of Arms of the Angevin Empire Chief Royal House (England, Normandy and Jerusalem)
The Coat of Arms of Brunswick primarily bears the claim of rightful sovereignty over Aquitaine and Normandy. The two golden lions passant on the red background especially go back to this time of the (disputed) end of the first house of Anjou and takeover by the usurper house of the Capets of France.
In the norms of international law a rightful Monarch keeps alive his ancient sovereign jurisdiction as long as his heirs continue to bear the coat of arms of that jurisdiction. If members of the family fail to do that for a period of 100 years then the jurisdiction is normally surrendered by laws of prescription. Here are some examples of keeping it alive by bearing the arms continuously:
Brunswick is a rival Capetian house, as heirs of the same Carolingian line, with inter-house agreements of co-recognitions all the way down the line till today. Often France did take sides of the senior House of Wolfenbuttel-Brunswick to help them go to war in greater regional conflicts (for example when Hanover illegally became an Electorate or also when made into a Kingdom) and all princes of Germany also joined Brunswick in Protest. However yet at many other times France and Brunswick had been the greatest mortal enemies (ie in the Napoleanic war).
As shown above, the mere demonstration of a coat of arms alone can hold the weight in international law enough to suffice the maintenance of this Angevin and Aquitaine inner-house struggle as a Capetian rival house. Otto IV of Brunswick held the main estates of the Angevin Empire, and had a pledge of King Richard to give the rest to the other sons of Henry the Lion who came to his aide, giving their lives to the Hohenstaufen Tyrant in exchange for his freedom. However these efforts came to no avail as war with the smaller areas of France were unwinding with King John winning a treaty with the rival Capetian line who are today’s Kings of France.
Henry II of England, one of the last major rulers of the Angevin Empire had nearly everything inherited by his daughter Matilda, just as he received all via his mother’s line, who was Granddaughter of an Angevin King of Jerusalem(Henry II was son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, son of Fulk V, King of Jerusalem). Henry II was father-in-law of Henry the Lion of Brunswick, and had long battled to retain headship of the Angevin Empire as a rival branch of the House of Capet, and he was often in war against France, as allies with Imperial Germany.
At the time of these disputes for the original house of Angevin to continue there was no strong preference of Primogeniture law (ie among the Anglo-Norman Kings of England) at the time. The heirship was mainly by preference among nephews and often via lines of daughters. King Richard’s chosen successors (house of Brunswick Dukes) were the only legal (de jure) true successors. De facto occupation did hold but not without continuous protest and claim by Brunswick.
It does stand in the prevailing Dynastic house and public laws today that all of these other branches are required to remain in subordinance to Europe’s oldest Royal House(Saxony Brunswick Imperial line) for the continuation of the House of the Angevin-Britain-Saxony-Jerusalem Empire. Brunswick maintains that the Capetian house is junior on several lines, including the Carolingian branches. So the highest claims to the crowns of Europe (and Jerusalem) are continued to this day.
We have additional co-agreements with the Ecclesiastical Orthodox Jurisdiction of Gothia mainly for the reason that these original Grand Masters were not only Dukes over the principality of Anjou on numerous lines, but also several direct successors of the Visigothic Nobility. A generation before the papal recognitions of the Templar, the most senior prince of Europe at the Crusades who had the title “Prince of Gothia”. He is accredited with bringingd brought the most knights to Jerusalem, and oversaw the formation of the first Templar at Jerusalem click here.
Henry the Lion was very much active in Templar affairs, in the early states as his heirs were to become heads of the Angevin Empire (spanning England, France and Jerusalem). He founded numerous Templar Commanderies in Brunswick Germany. Henry the Lion’s third son via Matilda of Anjou was Otto IV, and he became Holy Roman Emperor although designated to be Angevin Emperor by inheritance law, and by official decree of the lawful reigning Uncle King Richard.
As Henry the Lion’s, sons Henry V and Otto IV had the most validly legal claim as the Angevin successor, it makes the house of Brunswick a worthy topic of interest for any who call themselves Templar. The Founder House of the Templar, and first two Grand Masters, supporter princes, and Kings of Jerusalem either of the Gothia Principality of France (which today is titled as Marqis under the Aquitaine Brunswick flag) or at least of the Angevin Royal House of Britain, Normandy/Aquitaine and especially the longest running line of Jerusalem Kings. Consequentially this line also bears a family tree back to Israel, Judah, and to the line of King David of Jerusalem.
The Queen of England today also carries the title of Jerusalem.
The whole world witnessed when on syndicated TV when the present Queen of England was coronated with the pronouncement by the Archbishop, declaring her to be “Queen of Israel”.
For three centuries these titles of Jerusalem were proclaimed at England over the House of Brunswick during the reign of Hanover.
However, most do not know that in the House law of Este-Guelph Brunswick, Hanover is the Junior branch, and Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel is senior. It doesn’t matter that Hanover was made an electorate within the Empire as our house has always been arch-rivals of the Habsburgs for the Imperial crown. Still all parties of the house recognize that Wolfenbuettel is senior. Still the original compacts and laws hold precedence at the founding of the house. For 300 years this Junior line of Brunswick, known as the Hannoverian Kings of England, had this title “King of Israel” pronounced over them by the Archbishops.
Still within the house law the senior branch Brunswick-Wolfenbuettel-Oels must be restored. This title “King of Jerusalem” has not only been part of the Angevin house of Brunswick since ancient times, it has remained operating to this present day.
During the French wars against the Royalist Templars Napoleon killed half a dozen Dukes of Brunswick, including the Grand Master of the French Templars, Louis Hercule Timoléon de Cossé-Brissac. He had become Grand Master in 1776, and was killed during the French Revolution in the cause of the Royalty.
This all being realized in the House of Nott-Brunswick(d’Este-Guelph). Regarding other Eastern estates regained, read about the
“Oels Commandery Knights and Elector Rev Dr Stephen, Grand Commander for BENELUX“
and
The Living Exiled Brunswick-Wolfenbuettel House Being The Only Probable Successor of the Piasts (monarchy of Poland, Czech/Bohemia, Ukraine etc)
Protest was published on several online channels and delivered in person to Prince Heinrich von Hanover in 2009 before commencement of the 200th year anniversary of the Brunswick Ducal Guard ceremonies. Some trademarks also have been invoked to push back against this non-natural family. All of the parties had met at the anniversary celebration of the Black Legion at Brunswick-Wolfenbuettel as representing the mourners who raise continual petition against the suppressed Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbuettel-Oels. There was welcome, recognition and full acceptance, by the ceremonial ducal guard.
Within the documents are also claimed several domains and estates kept from our house. These were all combined, including Jerusalem, within the rightful inheritance of Brunswick. Geneva was placed as custodian until the rightful heirs of the true natural family has time to claim them pursuant to Geneva public law of inheritance. These were claimed in 1935 although this uncle Ulric d’Guelph Civry was killed the same day of his successful court filing at Geneva. The same was re-exerted in an official manner in 2009, which stands today as filed in official government records, and claimed as pursuant to the specified inner House Dynastic inheritance laws, public and international laws.
On the topic of the Templar the connection will always be with Jerusalem. The Jerusalem estates of the House also remain alive not only within the continual orders of Brunwick (Este-Guelph) but also by the official representative Clergy at Jerusalem. The teachings and purpose of their position has not been removed, but has been continued to fulfill the Biblical cause to restore the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. There have consistently been Roman, Egyptian Coptic, Byzantine, Greek, Anglican and other church Bishops and Archbishops stationed at Jerusalem for the restoration of the prophesied Kingdom. This is additional proof of the continual protest and maintenance of the Christian Kingdom of Israel as maintained in the majority by those who are successors of the founders of our religion. The Bishops and other high Clerics all have had autonomous princely authority like the Pope of Rome.
Non-Roman Bishops (and many independent Abbots, ie Glastonbury) worldwide have had equal sovereignty as the Pope of Rome. It wasn’t only the Eastern Church who has popes that are paid equal respects. The Western church (ie Columbanus the Culdee) has always had ours, though more suppressed. Rome kept some preeminence claimed in the West. However, it wasn’t with such power really until Mussolini granted the Papacy with a bit more sovereignty. That is the current sovereignty they actually enjoy today as a state. However, before then, sovereignty of ecclesiastical institutions were still respected, and will continue to be in future times. Numerous charters of the Pope and numerous Monarchs confirmed such sovereignties are belonging to the Abbots and Clerics of Glastonbury.
The Jerusalem jurisdictions are distinct entities and lands that belonged to our forefathers and have been inherited today by the house of Wolfenbuttel-Brunswick. This struggle is central and continuous to every shade of Templar order and a great many orders of Knighthood.