TEMPLARS. 



557 



tions, and also make conquests on its own account ; 

 in addition to which it received rich donations and 

 bequests from the superstition of the age. The 

 principal part of the possessions of the order were 

 in France : most of the knights were also French, 

 and the grand master was usually of that nation. 

 In 1244, the order possessed 9000 considerable 

 bailiwicks, commanderies, priories and preceptories, 

 independent of the jurisdiction of the sovereigns of 

 the countries in which they were situated. Its 

 members were devoted to the order with body and 

 soul, and their entrance into it severed all their 

 other ties. No one had any private property. The 

 order supported all. The arrogance objected to 

 them by bishops and princes is easily accounted for 

 by their power and wealth, as is also the luxury in 

 which they eventually indulged. The crusaders 

 complained that the order allowed its worldly inter- 

 ests to prevent it from affording a cordial support 

 to the holy wars ; and the emperor Frederic II. ac- 

 cused them of treason, of favouring the Saracens, 

 and of friendly connexions with these enemies of 

 Christianity. Though accounts differ on this point, 

 it is certain that, during the gradual decline of the 

 Christian kingdom of Jerusalem, the Templars en- 

 deavoured to secure their own possessions in that 

 country by means of treaties with the Saracens. 

 Nevertheless they were obliged, in 1291, with the 

 last defenders of that kingdom, to leave the Holy 

 Land entirely; and they transferred their chief seat, 

 which had been in Jerusalem, to the island of Cy- 

 prus. There the grand master resided, with a select 

 body of officers, knights and brethren, who exer- 

 cised themselves in warfare by sea against the Sa- 

 racens. James Bernard Molay, of Burgundy, the 

 last successor of the first grand master, Hugh, en- 

 deavoured in vain to reform the degenerate spirit 

 of the order. Most of the knights cared more for 

 their worldly possessions than for the holy sepulchre. 

 The aspirations of many of them for political influ- 

 ence, particularly in France ; the mystery which 

 hung over the internal administration of the order, 

 and which linked together the initiated; but espe- 

 cially its power and wealth, drew upon it the sus- 

 picions and the jealousy of princes. Rumours were 

 spread respecting ambitious plans for the overthrow 

 of all the thrones of Europe, and for the establish- 

 ment of a republic of the nobility ; also respecting 

 opinions at variance with the Catholic faith being 

 fostered in the bosom of the order. In the quarrels 

 between Philip the Fair and pope Boniface VIII., 

 the order took part against the king. In conse- 

 quence of this, Clement V., Philip's friend, under 

 the pretext of consultations for a new crusade, and 

 for a union of the knights Templars with the 

 knights of St John, summoned in 1306, the grand 

 master Molay, with sixty knights, to France. 

 After their arrival, these and all the other knights 

 present were suddenly arrested, October 13, 1307, 

 by the king's soldiers. Philip seized upon the 

 estates of the order, removed his court into the 

 temple (the residence of the grand master in Paris), 

 and ordered the trial of the knights to be com- 

 menced without delay, by his confessor, William of 

 Paris, inquisitor, and archbishop of Sens. He en- 

 deavoured to justify this arbitrary procedure by the 

 horrible crimes and heresies of which the order had 

 been accused. Historical records represent the ac- 

 cusers as some expelled Templars, who calumniated 

 the order at the instigation of its enemies. The 

 charge of apostacy from the Catholic faith could 

 not be substantiated. The other allegations, such 



as that they worshipped the devil, practised sor- 

 cery, adored an idol called Baphomet, contemned 

 the sacrament, neglected confession, and practised 

 unnatural vices, were, according to the general 

 opinion of historians down to the present day, ma- 

 licious misrepresentations or absurd calumnies. A 

 gold box of relics, which the Templars used to kiss, 

 according to the custom of Catholics, was what 

 gave origin to the story of the Baphomet ; and be- 

 cause, in an age previous to the general reception 

 of the doctrine of transubstantiation, they practised 

 the ancient manner of celebrating the mass (viz. 

 without the elevation of the host), this was called 

 contempt of the sacrament : their confessing exclu- 

 sively to their own clerical members was the 

 ground of the charge, that they received absolution 

 from their temporal superiors; and the friendship 

 by which they were united, gave rise to the impu- 

 tation of unnatural practices. In those times of 

 general persecution against heretics, every one, 

 whose ruin was resolved upon, and who could not 

 be attacked in any other way, was accused of 

 heresy. Accordingly, Philip being determined, be- 

 fore any inquisition had taken place, to destroy the 

 order, for whose wealth he thirsted, the inquisitors 

 employed, who were entirely devoted to him, and, 

 for the greater part, Dominicans, enemies of the 

 order, used this means to excite the public opinion 

 against them. By means of the most horrid tor- 

 tures, confessions of crimes which had never been 

 committed were extorted from the prisoners. 

 Overcome by long captivity and torment, many 

 Templars confessed whatever their inquisitors 

 wished, since a persevering denial of the crimes 

 with which they were charged was punished with 

 death. Clement V. at first opposed this arbitrary 

 treatment of an order which was amenable only to 

 the church ; but Philip soon prevailed on him to 

 join in its suppression. Two cardinals were sent 

 to take part in the examinations at Paris, and other 

 clergymen were united to the courts of inquisition 

 in the provinces, in order to impart a more legal 

 appearance to the procedure. Though little was, 

 in fact, proved against the Templars, the archbishop 

 of Sens, dared, in 1310, to burn alive fifty-four 

 knights, who had denied every crime of which they 

 were accused. In other dioceses of France, these 

 victims of tyranny and avarice were treated in a 

 similar way. The other princes of Europe were 

 also exhorted by the pope to persecute the Tem- 

 plars. Charles of Sicily and Provence imitated the 

 example of Philip, and shared the booty with the 

 pope. In England, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and 

 Germany, the Templars were arrested, but almost 

 universally acquitted. The inquisitions at Sala- 

 manca and at Mentz (1310) also resulted in the 

 justification of the order. Nevertheless, the pope, 

 at the council of Vienne, in Dauphiny, solemnly 

 abolished the order by a bull of March 2, 1312, not 

 in the legal way, but by papal authority (per provi- 

 sionis polius, quant condemnationis viani). The 

 members of the order, according to this bull, were 

 to be punished with mildness, when they confessed 

 the crimes imputed to them ; but those who per- 

 severed in denying them wer to be condemned to 

 death. Among the latter were the grand master 

 Molay, and Guido, the grand prior of Normandy, 

 who were burnt alive at Paris, March 13, 1314, after 

 they had cited, according to tradition, Philip and 

 Clement to appear before the judgment-seat of God 

 within a year. The pope, in fact, died ^pril 19, 

 in the ame year, and the king November 29. The 



