The Reason for the White Mantle
To this day, the white mantle and red cross is an internationally recognized symbol for the Knights Templar. Part of the reason why this mantle is so associated with the Knights is due to the importance the Knights themselves placed upon the mantle. It was so much a part of their life that they were not to eat or converse with their brothers if they did not have their white mantle upon them.
The white color of the mantle has been associated with chastity and some have claimed that even the married men that were allowed to join the order were banned from wearing the white mantle. It was true that Knights Templar were forbidden from having any physical contact with women including members of their own family. However, this rule was true for sergeants who wore a black or brown mantle instead of the white one.
All of the mantles were graced with a large red cross. The cross is believed to have been added to the mantle in 1147 after Pope Eugenius III, King Louis VII of France and other notable figures attended a Knights Templar meeting. The red cross was meant to be a symbol of the martyrdom of the Knights who all believed that to die in combat would be a great honor.
As time passed it would also become customary for men of the order to have long thick beards. It was not a matter of Templar Rule to have the beards but by 1240 they were described as the “order of bearded brethren.” When the Knights Templar came under attack and many of them were arrested and tortured, it was common for them to be singled out by their beards.