KNIGHTS. 



lars by historians ; but although those 

 may be founded in fact, it is not to be sup- 

 posed that pride alone caused the disso- 

 lution of the order : avarice, on the part 

 of their oppressors, was the grand agent, 

 and the riches of the knights the tempta- 

 tion to plunder them. Some of the mem- 

 bers, resident in Paris, were indiscreet 

 or wicked enough to cause a riot in the 

 streets of that city. Philip the Fair, then 

 on the throne of France, seizing on this 

 opportunity, determined to make use of 

 it to accomplish the total ruin of the or- 

 der ; he therefore procured the evidence 

 of many infamous brethren, either by 

 bribery or other means, who charged the 

 knights generally with the most shocking 

 enormities. Acting upon this base testi- 

 mony, the king ordered the arrest of 

 every templar in his dominions, abolish- 

 ed the order, and even caused fifty-seven 

 of them to be burned to death : the Pope, 

 influenced by the same spirit of in- 

 justice, and probably invited to partake 

 of the plunder, called a general council 

 at Vienna, by which the order was laid 

 under an interdict. 



Philip immediately communicated his 

 proceedings to our monarch, Edward II. 

 who returned an answer, dated October 

 30, 1307, in which he expressed great 

 "astonishment at the accounts received of 

 the abominable heresy of the templars, 

 and declared his intention of obtaining 

 further information through the Seneschal 

 of Agen. Clement directed a brief to 

 Edward, dated the 30th of November 

 following, explaining the conduct of 

 Philip, and asserting, that the Grand 

 Master had confessed, that the knights, 

 at their admission into the order, denied 

 the divinity of Jesus Christ, spit upon the 

 crucifix, and worshipped an idol in their 

 chapters; adding other charges, which 

 appear equally wicked and incredible, 

 but calculated to exculpate Philip, whose 

 example the holy father recommended 

 Edward to imitate in his own dominions. 

 Edward seems to have acted, on this de- 

 licate occasion, with some degree of wis- 

 dom and resolution ; but he was deficient 

 in that firm spirit which governed Henry 

 VIII. This is proved by a circular letter 

 from him, directed to the Kings of Cas- 

 tile, Arragon, Portugal, and Sicily, dated 

 December 4th, 1307 ; and another to the 

 Pope, in each of which he expressed his 

 disbelief of the accusations against the 

 templars, and mentioned a priest who had 

 endeavoured to confirm them to him, but 

 ineffectually, as he was convinced the 

 public agreed with himself in approving 

 their manners and conduct ; and yet, such 



is the weakness and instability of human 

 nature, this very king was prevailed up- 

 on to issue an order, addressed to the 

 sheriffs, for the apprehending of every 

 templar in the kingdom, upon the feast of 

 the Epiphany, 1308. 



The Pope, fearful of the wavering dis- 

 position of the Monarch, sent another 

 brief into England, repeating all the old 

 charges, and producing others, which he 

 addressed to the Archbishop of Canter- 

 bury, and his suffragans, at the same time 

 informing them he had appointed three 

 cardinals, four English bishops, and seve- 

 ral of the French clergy, to manage the 

 process to be instituted here against the 

 unfortunate, order. After the arrival of 

 the commissioners alluded to, Edward had 

 the good sense and precaution to com- 

 mand the invariable attendance of the 

 British part of it on every day the business 

 was prosecuted, by a letter directedtothe 

 Bishop of Lincoln, dated September 13th, 

 1309 ; thus shewing, that had he dared 

 to save the templars, he would have done 

 so without hesitation ; but the king and 

 the nation were equally alarmed at the 

 consequences of anathemas and interdicts, 

 and were compelled to acquiesce in the 

 dictates of the commissioners, who sen- 

 tenced the knights to eternal separation, 

 and the loss of all their territories in 

 Great Britain. To the everlasting honour 

 of Edward, he rejected the cruel example 

 of the King of France, and, instead of 

 burning the knights, he merely confined 

 them in different monasteries, where they 

 resided, secure and comfortable, till their 

 deaths. The estates of the Knights Tem- 

 plars having been confiscated, the king 

 very naturally concluded that he was en- 

 titled to them, and consequently proceed- 

 ed to sell and give them away ; the Papal 

 see, however, thought otherwise, and a 

 fresh bull arrived, demanding them for 

 the knights of the order of St. John of 

 Jerusalem in England; as the same causes 

 existed for compliance with this new man- 

 date, which induced the suppression, the 

 property in question was conveyed to the 



KNIGHTS of St. John of Jerusalem. The 

 order of St. John originated from the es- 

 tablishment of an hospital at Jerusalem, 

 in the year 1048, by certain Italian mer- 

 chants, for the reception of pilgrims and 

 travellers, which they dedicated to the 

 Baptist. The subsequent conquest of 

 Jerusalem, by Godfrey of Boulogne, who 

 wrested it from the Turks, was of infinite 

 service to the hospital, which flourished 

 in the same proportion with the facility 

 thus afforded for visiting 1 the holy 

 city. Raymond, rector of the brethren 



