Trial of the Knights Templar
Encyclopedia
The Trial of the Knights Templar was a major event planned by King Philip IV
with the complicity of Pope Clement V in the early 14th century, against the Order of the Knights Templar
. King Philip, deeply in debt to the Templars, from the endless financial drain of the wars, ordered a dramatic arrest of all Templars in France on October 13, 1307. The Pope, Clement V, in November 22, 1307, also issued a papal decree (also known as a papal bull), called Pastoralis praceminentiae, ordering all monarchs of the Christian faith to arrest all Templars and confiscate their lands in the name of the Pope and the Church. Though the order went out to England, Iberia, Germany, Italy and Cyrus, the leader, Jacques de Molay, and many other Templars were in France, and, under the orders of the French King, were tortured until they finally confessed to the horrible crimes of which they were accused. Soon after, in 1307, the Pope sent two Cardinals to interview de Molay and Pairaud, and they recanted their confessions and told the other Templars to do the same. Two other Templars, Pierre de Bologna and Renaud de Provins also tried to convince other Templars to recant their confessions and by early May 1310, close to six hundred did so. After that Pierre de Bologna was never seen again and Renaud de Provins was sentenced to life imprisonment. On 12 May 1310, 54 Templars were burnt at the stake outside Paris. This basically silenced the other Templars. Philip continue to pressure and threaten the Pope to officially disband the Order, and things came to a dramatic end in 1314 with the public execution by burning of the Templar Grand Master, Jacques de Molay
, and Geoffroi de Charney, the Preceptor of Normandy.
and the fight in the Holy Land
. As the Crusades wound down though, and the Crusaders were eventually expelled from the area, European support for the Crusades dwindled, though the Templars were still a massive and wealthy organization, as were the Knights Hospitaller
. Further, the Templars, by order of the Pope, were exempt from all taxes, and had many other privileges, such as being able to pass freely through all borders. They were effectively an international banking organization, and had loaned large sums of money to many nobles, including the Kings of both England and France. These debts certainly contributed to Philip's motivations, as he was deeply in debt to the order. As an example, in 1299, the Order loaned him the substantial sum of five hundred thousand livres for the dowry of his sister. Philip was also in dire need of funds to meet the endless drain of the Flemish War
. He had imposed taxes until some of his subjects were in revolt, and others were on the verge of it. He had debased the coinage, leading to a popular insurrection in Paris. Ironically, Philip was defended during that incident by the Templars, who gave him refuge in their fortress. Philip then constructed a plan to have the Templars arrested, and their wealth confiscated. His ministers and agents such as Guillaume de Nogaret
and Enguerrand de Marigny
were in support, and collected a list of charges of which were quite similar the list of charges which had earlier been directed by Philip against the uncooperative Pope Boniface VIII
. Charges were drawn from the testimony of disgruntled expelled Templars, and sometimes made up entirely. As it was the time of the Inquisition
, heresy
being one of the charges, was a convenient charge to bring against anyone, as no proof was required — rumor alone was sufficient to justify arrest and trial.
, and hoped to claim their wealth for his own purposes. Scores of charges were leveled at the Templars, many of them similar charges to those directed at other of Philip's enemies, such as heresy
, sodomy
and blasphemy
.
There were five initial charges lodged against the Templars. The first was the renouncement of Christ and spitting on the cross during initiation into the Order. The second was the stripping of the man to be initiated and the thrice kissing of that man by the preceptor on the navel, posteriors and the mouth. The third was telling the neophyte (novice) that unnatural lust was lawful and indulged in commonly. The fourth was that the cord worn by the neophyte day and night was consecrated by wrapping it around an idol in the form of a human head with a great beard, and that this idol was adored in all chapters. The fifth was that the priests of the order did not consecrate the host in celebrating Mass. Many of these charges were made against Boniface before his capture, escape and eventual death shortly thereafter in 1308. They were also accomplished using the same agents of the King of France, not by accident, since many of these and similar charges had worked in the past on prior enemies of the King. On August 12, 1308, the charges would be increased and would become more outrageous, one specifically stated that the Templars worshipped idols, specifically made of a cat and a head, the latter having three faces. The lists of articles 86 to 127[3] would add many other charges.
While tortured, some Templars "confessed" to these crimes. Pope Clement V
interceded and directed that actual trials take place; however, Philip sought to thwart this effort, and had several Templars burned at the stake as heretics to prevent them from participating in the trials. The actions taken by Philip would eventually lead to the complete disbanding of the Order on March 22, 1312. The property of the Templars was ordered by Pope Clement V to the Hospitallers but Philip IV confiscated a huge sum from them in "compensation" for the "costs" of the proceedings against the Templars.
A Charge that was not levied was Usuary. Though it could have be argued that the Templars were guilty of Usury, this charge was not levied against them. Author Sharan Newman opines that if the Templars had been charged with usury, then so too would the Hospitallers, and the Italian bankers. For this reason the charge of usury was not brought against them.
Templar Peter (Pierre) of Bologna, had been trained as a lawyer and had been the Templar representative to the papal court in Rome. On April 23, 1310, Peter, with others, went before the commission and demanded what amounts to full disclosure
of their accusers and all the information and evidence gathered in the case. They also requested a ban on witnesses conversing with one another, and that all proceedings should be kept secret until they had been sent to the Pope. In May of 1310, the Archbishop of Sens
, Philippe de Marigny, took over the trial of the Templars from the original commission. Two days after this change, 54 Templars were burned outside of Paris. When the commission again asked to see Peter of Bologna, they were told that he had "suddenly returned to his former confession, then broken out of jail and fled." Whatever the truth, he was never seen or heard from again.
proceedings by ecclesiastics who had long dwelt with them in the East. At one point in the Inquisition (Geoffroi) de Charney is questioned about the enforcement of penalties of some tortured Templars and their Initiation Ceremonies. The record of the depositions state: "One, indeed, deposed that he had been offered the choice between renouncing Christ, spitting on the cross, and the indecent kiss, and he selected the spitting". In fact, the evidence as to the enforcement of the sacrilege is hopelessly contradictory. The "confessions" were full of contradictions. In many cases the neophyte was excused after a slight resistance; in others he was thrust into a dark dungeon until he yielded. Egidio, Preceptor of San Gemignano of Florence stated that he had known two recalcitrant neophytes carried in chains to Rome, where they perished in prison, and Niccolo Eegino, Preceptor of Grosseto, said that recusants were slain, or sent to distant parts, like Sardinia, where they ended their days. Geoffroi de Charney, Preceptor of Normandy, swore that he enforced it upon the first neophyte whom he received, but that he never did so afterwards, and Gui Dauphin, one of the high officers of the Order, said virtually the same thing; Gaucher de Liancourt, Preceptor of Keims, on the other hand, testified that he had required it in all cases, for if he had not he would have been imprisoned for life, and Hugues de Pairaud
, the Visitor of France, declared that it was obligatory on him.
, the Grand Master of the Temple, was questioned about accusations surrounding his inception into the order. At the time, the accusations surrounding the ritual reception into the order were the only charges levied. The accusations stemmed from the initiation ceremony being held privately and at night. Over the next few months, the number of charges would swell to 127, although many of those charges repeat themselves or are nearly identical.
According to historian Barbara Frale
, a dialogue between de Molay and Pope Clement took place in which Clement wanted to see the Templar Rule book and wanted to know if the Templars did in fact worship some sort of idol. With the numerous rumors about Templar initiation, the Pope had to know exactly what it was the Templars were doing to be gaining such attention.
Eventually King Philip's Inquisitors succeeded in making Jacques de Molay confess to the charges. As he was the Grand Master, all of the Templars would thus be considered guilty. De Molay and de Charney, later recanted his confession, were convicted for being relapsed heretics
, for which the punishment was being burned at the stake
.
to give his account of the matter, after which he was still unconvinced and on October 30 sent letters to the Pope, the Kings of Portugal
, Castile
, Aragon
and Naples
defending the Order of the Templars and encouraging them to do the same. He then wrote again to the Pope on Decemner 10 in which he states: "...he is unable to credit the horrible charges against the Knights Templar who everywhere bear a good name in England". He also requests more proof of the accusations. He noted that the financial and other dealings between the English Monarchy and the Templars had always been straightforward and honest and fought with King Richard
in the defense of the Holy Land
and well as giving financial support to Kings Richard, John and Henry III
. On December 14, he received the Order from the Pope
to arrest the Templars. Despite the Pope's Order, Edward went about the arresting of the Templars in a very different way than Philip
. Many Templars were allowed to stay on their property, received allowances and remained in relative comfort until brought before the pontifical inquiries in 1309. On September 13, 1309, two Inquisitors
were brought to England and allowed to question the Templars but in the presence of English prelates and as of November 1309, none of the Templars would confess to the charges. At that time torture was rarely used in England, the legal system in England was well-formed and used regular jurors as opposed to the "professional witness, accusers and jurors" frequently used by Philip as tools to enforce his will. In December, the Pope put pressure on England and other countries to allow the Inquisitors to be allowed to use "their" methods, namely "torture", and relunctant approval was given by the King of England. The conditions that the Templars were living in were radically changed and, as with continued pressure by the Pope and Inquisition on the King and local prelates, the inevitable result was obtained. The English Templars were sent to the Count of Ponthieu
which did not adhere to English Law. Various confessions, different in many ways, were nonetheless obtained and the Templars were either executed or sent to prison for life.
In 1312 by the Papal Bull "Ad Providam
" all assets of the Order of the Temple were given to Knights Hospitaller
or Order of St. John except for Spain where they were succeeded by the Order of Montesa
the Order of Calatrava
, from which its first recruits were drawn, and Portugal where they became the Order of Christ
and it has been claimed that in Scotland the Order combined with the Hospitallers and continued as The Order of St John and the Temple until the Reformation
, though there is no evidence to that effect. When Sir James Sandilands
, Preceptor of the Order converted to Protestantism
in 1553, the Order is thought to have ceased.
, found in September 2001 by Barbara Frale
in the Vatican Archives, indicates that Pope Clement V had absolved the Knights Templar on August 17–20, 1308, including Jacques de Molay. Three cardinals, acting on behalf of the Catholic Church, held a public inquiry whereby they conducted a public questioning of the Templars in which they signed a document admitting to their crimes. At the same time a private confession was heard and they received absolution
for their sins.
There is another Chinon Parchment in existence that has been well known to historians published by Étienne Baluze
in 1693, and by Pierre Dupuy in 1751. This other Chinon Parchment is dated Chinon 20 August 1308 and was addressed to Philip IV of France
, stating that absolution
had been granted to all those Templars that had confessed to heresy "and restored them to the Sacraments and to the unity of the Church".
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
with the complicity of Pope Clement V in the early 14th century, against the Order of the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
. King Philip, deeply in debt to the Templars, from the endless financial drain of the wars, ordered a dramatic arrest of all Templars in France on October 13, 1307. The Pope, Clement V, in November 22, 1307, also issued a papal decree (also known as a papal bull), called Pastoralis praceminentiae, ordering all monarchs of the Christian faith to arrest all Templars and confiscate their lands in the name of the Pope and the Church. Though the order went out to England, Iberia, Germany, Italy and Cyrus, the leader, Jacques de Molay, and many other Templars were in France, and, under the orders of the French King, were tortured until they finally confessed to the horrible crimes of which they were accused. Soon after, in 1307, the Pope sent two Cardinals to interview de Molay and Pairaud, and they recanted their confessions and told the other Templars to do the same. Two other Templars, Pierre de Bologna and Renaud de Provins also tried to convince other Templars to recant their confessions and by early May 1310, close to six hundred did so. After that Pierre de Bologna was never seen again and Renaud de Provins was sentenced to life imprisonment. On 12 May 1310, 54 Templars were burnt at the stake outside Paris. This basically silenced the other Templars. Philip continue to pressure and threaten the Pope to officially disband the Order, and things came to a dramatic end in 1314 with the public execution by burning of the Templar Grand Master, Jacques de Molay
Jacques de Molay
Jacques de Molay was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, leading the Order from 20 April 1292 until it was dissolved by order of Pope Clement V in 1312...
, and Geoffroi de Charney, the Preceptor of Normandy.
Events in France
Through the course of their 200-year history, the Templars, as an officially endorsed charity of the church, had received massive donations of money, land, businesses and other property, from European nobles who were interested in helping with the CrusadesCrusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
and the fight in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
. As the Crusades wound down though, and the Crusaders were eventually expelled from the area, European support for the Crusades dwindled, though the Templars were still a massive and wealthy organization, as were the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
. Further, the Templars, by order of the Pope, were exempt from all taxes, and had many other privileges, such as being able to pass freely through all borders. They were effectively an international banking organization, and had loaned large sums of money to many nobles, including the Kings of both England and France. These debts certainly contributed to Philip's motivations, as he was deeply in debt to the order. As an example, in 1299, the Order loaned him the substantial sum of five hundred thousand livres for the dowry of his sister. Philip was also in dire need of funds to meet the endless drain of the Flemish War
Battle of the Golden Spurs
The Battle of the Golden Spurs, known also as the Battle of Courtrai was fought on July 11, 1302, near Kortrijk in Flanders...
. He had imposed taxes until some of his subjects were in revolt, and others were on the verge of it. He had debased the coinage, leading to a popular insurrection in Paris. Ironically, Philip was defended during that incident by the Templars, who gave him refuge in their fortress. Philip then constructed a plan to have the Templars arrested, and their wealth confiscated. His ministers and agents such as Guillaume de Nogaret
Guillaume de Nogaret
Guillaume de Nogaret or William of Nogaret was councillor and keeper of the seal to Philip IV of France.- Early life :...
and Enguerrand de Marigny
Enguerrand de Marigny
Enguerrand de Marigny was a French chamberlain and minister of Philip IV the Fair.He was born at Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy, of an old Norman family of the smaller baronage called Le Portier, which took the name of Marigny about 1200....
were in support, and collected a list of charges of which were quite similar the list of charges which had earlier been directed by Philip against the uncooperative Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...
. Charges were drawn from the testimony of disgruntled expelled Templars, and sometimes made up entirely. As it was the time of the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
, heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
being one of the charges, was a convenient charge to bring against anyone, as no proof was required — rumor alone was sufficient to justify arrest and trial.
Arrests charges and subsequent events
Many of the Knights Templar in France were arrested on October 13, 1307 at the orders of King Philip IV of France. King Philip was severely in debt to the military orderMilitary order
A military order is a Christian society of knights that was founded for crusading, i.e. propagating or defending the faith , either in the Holy Land or against Islam or pagans in Europe...
, and hoped to claim their wealth for his own purposes. Scores of charges were leveled at the Templars, many of them similar charges to those directed at other of Philip's enemies, such as heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
, sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
and blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
.
There were five initial charges lodged against the Templars. The first was the renouncement of Christ and spitting on the cross during initiation into the Order. The second was the stripping of the man to be initiated and the thrice kissing of that man by the preceptor on the navel, posteriors and the mouth. The third was telling the neophyte (novice) that unnatural lust was lawful and indulged in commonly. The fourth was that the cord worn by the neophyte day and night was consecrated by wrapping it around an idol in the form of a human head with a great beard, and that this idol was adored in all chapters. The fifth was that the priests of the order did not consecrate the host in celebrating Mass. Many of these charges were made against Boniface before his capture, escape and eventual death shortly thereafter in 1308. They were also accomplished using the same agents of the King of France, not by accident, since many of these and similar charges had worked in the past on prior enemies of the King. On August 12, 1308, the charges would be increased and would become more outrageous, one specifically stated that the Templars worshipped idols, specifically made of a cat and a head, the latter having three faces. The lists of articles 86 to 127[3] would add many other charges.
While tortured, some Templars "confessed" to these crimes. Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got was Pope from 1305 to his death...
interceded and directed that actual trials take place; however, Philip sought to thwart this effort, and had several Templars burned at the stake as heretics to prevent them from participating in the trials. The actions taken by Philip would eventually lead to the complete disbanding of the Order on March 22, 1312. The property of the Templars was ordered by Pope Clement V to the Hospitallers but Philip IV confiscated a huge sum from them in "compensation" for the "costs" of the proceedings against the Templars.
A Charge that was not levied was Usuary. Though it could have be argued that the Templars were guilty of Usury, this charge was not levied against them. Author Sharan Newman opines that if the Templars had been charged with usury, then so too would the Hospitallers, and the Italian bankers. For this reason the charge of usury was not brought against them.
Templar Peter (Pierre) of Bologna, had been trained as a lawyer and had been the Templar representative to the papal court in Rome. On April 23, 1310, Peter, with others, went before the commission and demanded what amounts to full disclosure
Disclosure
Disclosure may refer to:Philosophy*World disclosure, a term referring to the way that humans make sense of the world*Reflective disclosure, a term coined by philosopher Nikolas KompridisComputers...
of their accusers and all the information and evidence gathered in the case. They also requested a ban on witnesses conversing with one another, and that all proceedings should be kept secret until they had been sent to the Pope. In May of 1310, the Archbishop of Sens
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sens
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sens is a Latin Rite Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic church in France. The Archdiocese comprises the department of Yonne, in the region of Bourgogne. Established in the first century AD as the Diocese of Senonensis, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese in...
, Philippe de Marigny, took over the trial of the Templars from the original commission. Two days after this change, 54 Templars were burned outside of Paris. When the commission again asked to see Peter of Bologna, they were told that he had "suddenly returned to his former confession, then broken out of jail and fled." Whatever the truth, he was never seen or heard from again.
Interrogations
It is irrational to accept the reasoning of Michelet, who argued that the uniformity of denial in a series of depositions taken by the Bishop of Elne does not suggest the statements were agreed upon in advance, and the variations in those who admitted guilt are an evidence of their truthfulness. If the Templars were innocent, denials of their charges read to them seriatim (one after another; in a series) would be necessarily identical; if they were guilty, the confessions would be likewise uniform. Thus the identity of the one group and the diversity of the other both concur to disprove the accusations. The proof that the Templar priests did not mutilate the words of consecration in the mass is furnished in the CypriotCyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
proceedings by ecclesiastics who had long dwelt with them in the East. At one point in the Inquisition (Geoffroi) de Charney is questioned about the enforcement of penalties of some tortured Templars and their Initiation Ceremonies. The record of the depositions state: "One, indeed, deposed that he had been offered the choice between renouncing Christ, spitting on the cross, and the indecent kiss, and he selected the spitting". In fact, the evidence as to the enforcement of the sacrilege is hopelessly contradictory. The "confessions" were full of contradictions. In many cases the neophyte was excused after a slight resistance; in others he was thrust into a dark dungeon until he yielded. Egidio, Preceptor of San Gemignano of Florence stated that he had known two recalcitrant neophytes carried in chains to Rome, where they perished in prison, and Niccolo Eegino, Preceptor of Grosseto, said that recusants were slain, or sent to distant parts, like Sardinia, where they ended their days. Geoffroi de Charney, Preceptor of Normandy, swore that he enforced it upon the first neophyte whom he received, but that he never did so afterwards, and Gui Dauphin, one of the high officers of the Order, said virtually the same thing; Gaucher de Liancourt, Preceptor of Keims, on the other hand, testified that he had required it in all cases, for if he had not he would have been imprisoned for life, and Hugues de Pairaud
Hugues de Pairaud
-Background:Hugues de Pairaud was one of the leaders of the Knights Templar. He and Geoffroi de Gonneville were sentenced to life imprisonment on March 18, 1314...
, the Visitor of France, declared that it was obligatory on him.
Death of Templar leaders
On October 24, 1307, Jacques de MolayJacques de Molay
Jacques de Molay was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, leading the Order from 20 April 1292 until it was dissolved by order of Pope Clement V in 1312...
, the Grand Master of the Temple, was questioned about accusations surrounding his inception into the order. At the time, the accusations surrounding the ritual reception into the order were the only charges levied. The accusations stemmed from the initiation ceremony being held privately and at night. Over the next few months, the number of charges would swell to 127, although many of those charges repeat themselves or are nearly identical.
According to historian Barbara Frale
Barbara Frale
Barbara Frale is an Italian paleographer at the Vatican Secret Archives. Frale has written books about the Templars and she has a special interest in the history of the Shroud of Turin. In September 2001, she found an authentic copy of the Chinon Parchment.-Biography:She was born in Viterbo on 24...
, a dialogue between de Molay and Pope Clement took place in which Clement wanted to see the Templar Rule book and wanted to know if the Templars did in fact worship some sort of idol. With the numerous rumors about Templar initiation, the Pope had to know exactly what it was the Templars were doing to be gaining such attention.
Eventually King Philip's Inquisitors succeeded in making Jacques de Molay confess to the charges. As he was the Grand Master, all of the Templars would thus be considered guilty. De Molay and de Charney, later recanted his confession, were convicted for being relapsed heretics
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
, for which the punishment was being burned at the stake
Burned at the Stake
Burned at the Stake is a 1981 film directed by Bert I. Gordon. It stars Susan Swift and Albert Salmi.-Cast:*Susan Swift as Loreen Graham / Ann Putnam*Albert Salmi as Captaiin Billingham*Guy Stockwell as Dr. Grossinger*Tisha Sterling as Karen Graham...
.
Trial timeline in France
| 1307, September 14 | Philip dispatches secret orders to prepare for the arrest of the Templars |
| 1307, October 13 | Templars arrested in France |
| 1307, October 14 | Guillaume de Nogaret Guillaume de Nogaret Guillaume de Nogaret or William of Nogaret was councillor and keeper of the seal to Philip IV of France.- Early life :... lists original accusations against Templars. |
| 1307, October 19 | Hearings in Paris begin. |
| 1307, October 24 | Jacques de Molay Jacques de Molay Jacques de Molay was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, leading the Order from 20 April 1292 until it was dissolved by order of Pope Clement V in 1312... , Grand Master of the Temple, confesses for the first time. |
| 1307, October 25 | Jacques de Molay repeats his confession before the members of the University of Paris. |
| 1307, October 27 | Pope Clement V expresses indignation at the arrests to Philip. |
| 1307, November 9 | Confession of Hugues de Pairaud Hugues de Pairaud -Background:Hugues de Pairaud was one of the leaders of the Knights Templar. He and Geoffroi de Gonneville were sentenced to life imprisonment on March 18, 1314... . |
| 1307, November 22 | de Molay retracts his confession before the cardinal sent by the pope. |
| 1308, Feb | Clement V suspends the inquisitors involved in the Templar affair. |
| 1308, August 17–20 | Chinon parchment Chinon Parchment The Chinon Parchment is a historical document, discovered in September 2001 by Barbara Frale, an Italian paleographer at the Vatican Secret Archives who claimed that in 1308, Pope Clement V secretly absolved the last Grand Master Jacques de Molay and the rest of the leadership of the Knights... shows pardons for leadership of the Templars, including Jacques de Molay and Huges de Pairaud. |
| 1310, March 14 | 127 Articles of accusation read to the Templars who are prepared to defend their order. |
| 1310, April 7 | Defense of the order led by Pierre de Bologna and Renaud de Provins. |
| 1310, May 12 | 54 Templars are burned at the stake. |
| 1310, December 17 | Remaining defenders were told that Peter of Bologna and Renaud de Provins had returned to their confessions and that Peter of Bologna had fled. |
| 1312, March 22 | The Order of the Knights Templar is officially suppressed. |
| 1313, March 21 | Hospitallers agree to pay Philip IV 200,000 livres tournois compensation |
| 1314, March 18 | Jacques de Molay and Geoffroi de Charney are burned at the stake as relapsed heretics. |
| 1314, April 20 | Death of Pope Clement V. |
| 1314, November 29 | Death of Philip IV. |
- Source for the majority of timeline: Malcolm BarberMalcolm BarberMalcolm Charles Barber is a British scholar of medieval history, described as the world's leading living expert on the Knights Templar. He is considered to have written the two most comprehensive books on the subject, The Trial of the Templars and The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the...
, Trials p 258
Events in England and Scotland
In 1307, the Templar Order in England was rich in possessions but few in members. At the time of the arrest of the Templars in France, Edward II doubted the accusations against the Order and summoned Guienne de Dene, his seneschal in AgenAgen
Agen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average...
to give his account of the matter, after which he was still unconvinced and on October 30 sent letters to the Pope, the Kings of Portugal
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
, Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
, Aragon
Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...
and Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
defending the Order of the Templars and encouraging them to do the same. He then wrote again to the Pope on Decemner 10 in which he states: "...he is unable to credit the horrible charges against the Knights Templar who everywhere bear a good name in England". He also requests more proof of the accusations. He noted that the financial and other dealings between the English Monarchy and the Templars had always been straightforward and honest and fought with King Richard
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
in the defense of the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
and well as giving financial support to Kings Richard, John and Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
. On December 14, he received the Order from the Pope
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got was Pope from 1305 to his death...
to arrest the Templars. Despite the Pope's Order, Edward went about the arresting of the Templars in a very different way than Philip
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
. Many Templars were allowed to stay on their property, received allowances and remained in relative comfort until brought before the pontifical inquiries in 1309. On September 13, 1309, two Inquisitors
Medieval Inquisition
The Medieval Inquisition is a series of Inquisitions from around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisition and later the Papal Inquisition...
were brought to England and allowed to question the Templars but in the presence of English prelates and as of November 1309, none of the Templars would confess to the charges. At that time torture was rarely used in England, the legal system in England was well-formed and used regular jurors as opposed to the "professional witness, accusers and jurors" frequently used by Philip as tools to enforce his will. In December, the Pope put pressure on England and other countries to allow the Inquisitors to be allowed to use "their" methods, namely "torture", and relunctant approval was given by the King of England. The conditions that the Templars were living in were radically changed and, as with continued pressure by the Pope and Inquisition on the King and local prelates, the inevitable result was obtained. The English Templars were sent to the Count of Ponthieu
Count of Ponthieu
The County of Ponthieu , centered on the mouth of the Somme, became a member of the Norman group of vassal states when Count Guy submitted to William of Normandy after the battle of Mortemer.....
which did not adhere to English Law. Various confessions, different in many ways, were nonetheless obtained and the Templars were either executed or sent to prison for life.
In 1312 by the Papal Bull "Ad Providam
Ad providam
Ad providam was the name of a Papal Bull issued by Pope Clement V in 1312. It built on a previous bull, Vox in excelso, which had disbanded the order of the Knights Templar...
" all assets of the Order of the Temple were given to Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
or Order of St. John except for Spain where they were succeeded by the Order of Montesa
Order of Montesa
The Order of Montesa is a Christian military order, territorially limited to the Kingdom of Aragon.-Templar background:The Templars had been received with enthusiasm in Aragon from their foundation in 1128...
the Order of Calatrava
Order of Calatrava
The Order of Calatrava was the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava as a Militia was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164.-Origins and Foundation:...
, from which its first recruits were drawn, and Portugal where they became the Order of Christ
Order of Christ (Portugal)
The Military Order of Christ previously the Royal Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ was the heritage of the Knights Templar in Portugal, after the suppression of the Templars in 1312...
and it has been claimed that in Scotland the Order combined with the Hospitallers and continued as The Order of St John and the Temple until the Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
, though there is no evidence to that effect. When Sir James Sandilands
James Sandilands, 1st Lord Torphichen
James Sandilands was born circa 1511 in Calder, West Lothian, Scotland, and died in 1596.He was the second son of Sir James Sandilands, 7th Lord of Calder...
, Preceptor of the Order converted to Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
in 1553, the Order is thought to have ceased.
The Chinon Parchment
The Chinon ParchmentChinon Parchment
The Chinon Parchment is a historical document, discovered in September 2001 by Barbara Frale, an Italian paleographer at the Vatican Secret Archives who claimed that in 1308, Pope Clement V secretly absolved the last Grand Master Jacques de Molay and the rest of the leadership of the Knights...
, found in September 2001 by Barbara Frale
Barbara Frale
Barbara Frale is an Italian paleographer at the Vatican Secret Archives. Frale has written books about the Templars and she has a special interest in the history of the Shroud of Turin. In September 2001, she found an authentic copy of the Chinon Parchment.-Biography:She was born in Viterbo on 24...
in the Vatican Archives, indicates that Pope Clement V had absolved the Knights Templar on August 17–20, 1308, including Jacques de Molay. Three cardinals, acting on behalf of the Catholic Church, held a public inquiry whereby they conducted a public questioning of the Templars in which they signed a document admitting to their crimes. At the same time a private confession was heard and they received absolution
Absolution
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This concept is found in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican churches, and most Lutheran churches....
for their sins.
There is another Chinon Parchment in existence that has been well known to historians published by Étienne Baluze
Étienne Baluze
Étienne Baluze was a French scholar, also known as Stephanus Baluzius.Born in Tulle, he was educated at his native town and took minor orders. As secretary to Pierre de Marca, archbishop of Toulouse, he won his appreciation of him, and at his death Marca left him all his papers...
in 1693, and by Pierre Dupuy in 1751. This other Chinon Parchment is dated Chinon 20 August 1308 and was addressed to Philip IV of France
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
, stating that absolution
Absolution
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This concept is found in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican churches, and most Lutheran churches....
had been granted to all those Templars that had confessed to heresy "and restored them to the Sacraments and to the unity of the Church".
Sources
- Barber, Malcolm The Trial of the Templars, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978.
- Legman, G. et al. The Guilt of the Templars, New York; Basic BooksBasic BooksBasic Books is a book publisher founded in 1952 and located in New York. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and history.-History:...
, inc. 1966. - Newman, Sharan, The Real History Behind the Templars, New York; Berkley BooksBerkley BooksBerkley Books is an imprint of Penguin Group that began as an independent company in 1955. It was established by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein, who were working for Avon and formed "Chic News Company". They renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. in 1955. They soon found a niche in science fiction...
, 2007.
Further reading
- M. C. Barber, The Social Context of the Templars, Transactions of the Royal Historical SocietyRoyal Historical SocietyThe Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...
, 5 no 34. (1984) p 27-26. - Gilmour-Bryson, Anne. The Trial of the Templars in the Papal State and the Abruzzi, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. 1982.
- Addison, C. G.Charles Greenstreet AddisonCharles Greenstreet Addison was an English barrister and historical, travel and legal writer.-Life:He was the son of W. Dering Addison, of Maidstone. He was elected to the bar in 1842, joined the home circuit, and was a revising barrister for Kent...
, The Knights Templar History New York; Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co. 1912. (reprinted 1978) - Anne Gilmour-Bryson. "Sodomy and the Knights Templar", Journal of the HIstory of SexualityJournal of the History of SexualityThe Journal of the History of Sexuality is a peer-reviewed academic journal founded in 1990 and published by the University of Texas Press.- Indexing :...
, 7 no 2 (October 1996) p 151-183.