The Knights of Templar were a religious group founded in 1119 to protect pilgrims, and during its peak years grew into a wealthy institution with military bases to serve as a bank and defense system for the nation [1].
The Templars, led by final Grandmaster James of Molay, became unpopular after the fall of the Christians at the Battle of Acre in 1291 [2]. They were also criticized for their great amounts of wealth despite their oath to poverty and their commitment to military defense [3].
King Philip at the time was struggling financially, and seizing the Templar’s property and riches was a very attractive solution, and his sudden arrests and denouncements of sodomy and heresy in 1307 are often attributed to those financial reasons [4].
This section of Middle Riddles will tackle the social and financial motivators leading to the deposition, and dissect the dynamics of these theories by analyzing key figures such as: the unpopular Grandmaster of the Templars James of Molay who was burned at the stake in result of the arrests [5], and his accomplice Hugh of Pairaud who was sentenced to life after accepting his sentence in silence[6]; the Pope Lord Clement V, who unsuccessfully defended the Templars only to be the one receiving their confessions [7]; and most importantly, King Philip IV, who was the ruler that decided to target the Templars by accusing them for sodomy [8].
Read more about the Order of Templars themselves and where they resided, and the Order of Preachers that made up the Inquisition opposing the Knights.
For more background context about the troublesome period that catalyzed the arrests, read about the Crusades and the Battle of Acre.
By: Cameron Mihell
[1] Malcolm Barber, The Trial of the Templars, 2nd ed. (New York, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), April 12, 2010, accessed February 07, 2018, page 13, http://books1.scholarsportal.info/viewdoc.html?id=249582.
[2] “Templar,” Encyclopædia Britannica, January 17, 2018, Accessed February 14, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Templars.
[3] Gilmour-Bryson, Anne. “Sodomy and the Knights Templar.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 7, no. 2 (1996): 151-83. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3704138.
[4] Malcolm Barber, The Trial of the Templars, 2nd ed. (New York, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), April 12, 2010, accessed February 07, 2018, page 60, http://books1.scholarsportal.info/viewdoc.html?id=249582
[5] Klimczak, Natalia. “The Powerful Curse of Jacques de Molay, the Last Grand Master of Templars.” Ancient Origins. February 27, 2016. Accessed February 19, 2018. http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/powerful-curse-jacques-de-molay-last-grand-master-templars-005431.
[6] Barber, Malcom. “Propaganda in the Middle Ages: The Charges against the Templars.” Nottingham Medieval Studies. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/J.NMS.3.61?journalCode=nms
[7] Bryson, David Morrow. “Clement V and the Road to Avignon, 1304-1309.” In On the Margrins of Crusading, 61-73. Surrey, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2011.
[8] Malcolm Barber, The Trial of the Templars, 2nd ed. (New York, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), April 12, 2010, accessed February 07, 2018, page 13, http://books1.scholarsportal.info/viewdoc.html?id=249582.
Middle Riddles 