Trials of the Knights Templar

Eventually, their rules of secrecy, their power, privileges and their wealth,[a] made them vulnerable to accusations by Philip IV of France and, with the Pope's unsuccessful attempts to prevent it, their destruction.

Hugues de Payens was elected their master and the Patriarch Warmund charged them with the duty of keeping the roads safe from thieves and others who were routinely robbing and killing pilgrims en route to Jerusalem,[3] which they did for nine years until the Council of Troyes in 1129, when they became a military order sanctioned by the Church encouraged substantially by the patronage of Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading churchman of the time.

[6] They received massive donations of money, manors, churches, even villages and the revenues thereof, from kings and European nobles interested in helping with the fight for the Holy Land.

[8] While the Templars had started off well and were at times considered the model of Christian knighthood, it was not long before resentment of their privileges, of their being "rich as kings", and criticism of some of their actions in war began to surface.

[9] For example, at the siege of Damascus in 1148, the Templars and Hospitallers were accused of accepting bribes to convince King Conrad III of Germany to abandon the effort.

[9] Following the disastrous battle at the Horns of Hattin and the subsequent fall of Jerusalem, which some blamed on the Templars, they were left with almost no discernible military purpose in the Holy Land.

The chronicler William of Tyre was often critical of the order and in one instance accused them of ransoming Nasr-al-Din, the sultan's son, for six thousand gold florins.

[14] During this time period the power of the papacy had declined and most of the popes of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries found themselves either fleeing Rome or not allowed to enter at all.

Finally in 1303 Guillaume de Nogaret, Philip IV's lawyer, drew up a list of 29 charges including black magic, sodomy, heresy and blasphemy against Pope Boniface.

This threat to Philip might have led to revolution so de Nogaret and Sciarra Colonna, leading a force of 1600 men, attacked Anagni where the pope was in residence.

[19] Philip IV was determined not to have a pope interfere with his plans again and after a year the conclave was still unable to decide, so an outsider was suggested in the person of Bernard de Goth, Archbishop of Bordeaux.

[21] Philip IV of France, like his predecessors, employed Templars in his royal treasury in Paris to oversee a variety of financial functions of the French kingdom.

[22] In 1299, the Order loaned Philip the substantial sum of five hundred thousand livres for the dowry of his sister as well as his need of funds to fight the Flemish War, at which time he imposed taxes until his subjects were in revolt.

[25] About a week before his planned formal investigation Clement V received a surprising message that members of the order had been arrested, imprisoned and charged with heresy by an inquisition the pope had not convened.

[27] Clement V, initially incensed at this flagrant disregard for his authority, nonetheless relented, and on November 22, 1307, issued a papal decree ordering all monarchs of the Christian faith to arrest all Templars and confiscate their lands in the name of the Pope and the Church.

[33] Additionally, from 1230 on, the inquisitors in northern Italy had been given special powers by Pope Honorius III which allowed them to examine even the exempted and protected orders of the Hospitallers, Cistercians and Templars, but only in cases where heresy was suspected.

[34] The initial charge against the Templars was heresy; more specifically, "when professing, the brothers were required to deny Christ, to spit on the Cross, and to place three 'obscene kisses' on the lower spine, the navel and the mouth; they were obliged to indulge in carnal relations with other members of the order, if requested; and finally they wore a small belt which had been consecrated by touching a strange idol, which looked like a human head with a long beard.

[48] In May 1312 by the bull Ad Providam he provided that all assets of the Order of the Temple were to be given to Knights Hospitaller, to maintain the original purposes of the gifts to aid the Holy Land.

[d] 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 Agen to give his account of the matter.

[51] Upon reading the report Edward was still unconvinced and on October 30 sent letters to Pope Clement V, and to the Kings of Portugal, Castile, Aragon and Sicily defending the Order of the Templars and encouraged them to do the same.

[51] Edward then wrote again to the Pope on December 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".

[52] He also requests more proof of the accusations and noted that the financial and other dealings between the English monarchy and the Templars had always been straightforward and honest, and that they had fought alongside King Richard in the defense of the Holy Land.

[51] Edward finally issued orders to his officers to arrest all Templars in England, Ireland and Scotland, and to confiscate and inventory all their properties.

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.

[62] But in June the Templars surrendered, their properties and treasure seized, and they were held at Khirokitia and later Yermasoyia, then finally Pano Lefkara, where they remained for three years.

[62] May 1310 found King Henry II restored to his throne and, unlike his brother, he complied with the Pope's demands to bring them to trial.

But the Hospitallers received the properties only, the treasure and movable goods were retained by Cypriot authorities to cover the unusually high costs of the trials.

[67] Kings Denis of Portugal and James II of Aragon both proclaimed they found no fault of heresy, blasphemy or immorality in the Templars in their respective realms.

[71] However, King Philip still withheld access to the leaders of the Order and it was not until August 1308 that a papal commission finally was allowed to hear from them and also grant them absolution.

[72] The importance of the Chinon parchment is that it is an authentic copy under the seal of three of the cardinals sent by Clement V, Bérenger Frédol, Etienne de Suisy [Wikidata] and Landolfo Brancaccio, who were authorized to judge the Templars in his name.