The Lost Memento Mori of the Knights Templar By Sir Knight Matthew J. Echevarria
M
emento Mori is Latin for “Remember that you must die.” Death is no more an option for us all than it is to dream; it is the fate that all of humanity shares. Today, it is both lurid and macabre to think about death, especially your own. However, as far back as ancient Rome and as recent as the Edwardian era, Memento Mori has been the form of practice in many societies throughout history, including American Knights Templar. Remember that you will die, and temper yourself here on earth that you might be rewarded with a place in Heaven.
knight templar
In Roman antiquity, it is said that a general on return to a Roman Triumph could be humbled by having a man behind him constantly saying the words “Memento Mori,” remember that you must die. This was to remind the general being praised that he should be humbled, for though his victory was great, he too must face the certain end. It caused an otherwise vain general to succumb to being humbled. By the time Christianity was sweeping Europe, human beings were being taught of Heaven and Hell, sin, and damnation. Christianity was asking
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