Aymeric Memorial Medal
The
design of the Aymeric Memorial Medal and Medallion is based on the medieval seal of Aymeric de Saint
Maur, the Master of the Knights Templar in Britain at the time of the
sealing of Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215.
Aymeric was one of the most powerful men in Britain.
Cast of a statue of Aymeric which stands in the Parliamentary Chamber of the House of Lords in London.
Aymeric worked with Archbishop
Stephen Langton to produce the original draft of Magna Carta. He was
named by King John in Magna Carta and was present as a witness to the
events at Runnymede, together with many of his Templar knights. He was
subsequently appointed to be one of the 13 nobles, led by his friend, the Earl of Pembroke, Sir William
Marshall, to be the Council of State for the young King
Henry III who succeeded to the throne after the death of King John.
During the 12th and 13th centuries the Great Seal of the Grand Masters of the Knights Templar showed on one side a representation of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to which pilgrims travelled and the Templars sought to protect. On the other side was the Order's symbol of two knights on one horse, indicating their vow of poverty. Many Provincial Masters also used this seal, according to a document issued by Pope Innocent IV in 1251.
However, the symbol of the two knights on one horse was not used in Britain. Instead the seal of successive Masters of the Knights Templar in Britain - for example, Richard of Hastings (1160-85), Aymeric (1200 onwards), Robert of Sandford (1241) and William de la More (1304) - all showed Jesus Christ as the Agnus Dei (Latin for the Lamb of God). This also echoed the belief that Jesus came to Britain as a young boy with his 'uncle', Joseph of Arimathea - as indicated much later (1804) in William Blake's well-known and well-loved hymn: "Jerusalem":
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen!
In heraldry the Agnus Dei is usually blazoned: "a
lamb passant proper, with a halo or charged with a cross gules the
dexter forelimb reflexed over a cross staff from which a pennon argent a
cross gules (Saint George) is flotant".
The seal depicted on the Aymeric Memorial Medal is derived from one of the Templar seals in the British Museum which displays the Agnus Dei on
the front, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the reverse:
The medal's ribbon is based on the international arms of the Order:
The Arms of the International Order OSMTH
Firstly, the Order's War Banner (a pallet in nine parts [alternate vertical stripes], white and black:
War Banner
and superimposed are three red stripes to represent the Great Banner of the Order:
Great Banner
These superb items have been made by one of the United Kingdom's leading manufacturers of military medals to the exacting standards and size of the medals they produce under licence for the Ministry of Defence.
Normally these medals are only available to Knights and Dames of the Order.
The following are photographs of both the front and the back of an actual medal, showing the ribbon attached:
The medals are a standard 36.6mm in diameter, suspended from the ribbon and supplied in a neat box and are 'ready to wear'.
They have been available since 15 June 2015, the day of the 800th Anniversary celebrations at Runnymede in Surrey, of the sealing of Magna Carta.
Ten (only) solid silver, London 2015 hall-marked, medals were made. They were numbered 01, 02, 03 ... 10. These have all been allocated and no more will ever be produced. Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, was given medal number 01 at Runnymede on 15 June 2015 when we there with her for the re-dedication of the American Bar Association rotunda:
The white-robed Welsh and English Templars, below, represented the original 25 Barons who were appointed to act as guarantors that King John would honour the terms of Magna Carta:
(The late Grand Prior of Wales is on the far left of the photograph and the present Grand Prior on the far right)
Others who have received the Aymeric Memorial Medal include:
His Eminence Archbishop Anba Angaelos OBE
of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom
His Excellency Owe Wagermark (here with his wife)
Knight Grand Cross in the Order
Grand Prior General (Emeritus) of Scandinavia
Their Excellencies Owe Wagermark & Gérard Willery
Both are Knight Grand Crosses in the Order
On the left: The Grand Prior General (Emeritus) of Scandinavia
On the right: The Grand Prior General of France (now Grand Master of the Order)
[The Grand Prior General of France has generously lodged his medal in the Templars' Museum in Paris]
Sir Robert Worcester KBE DL
Knight Commander in the Order
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The Aymeric Memorial Medallion (the medal without the ribbon and
suspension) is cast in bronze and supplied in a velour pouch:
Aymeric Memorial Medallion (front)
Aymeric Memorial Medallion (back)
Aymeric Memorial Medallion and pouch
Cast of a statue of Aymeric which stands in the Parliamentary Chamber of the House of Lords in London.
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