8S6
TEMPLARS.
with large blood-red crosses, to signify that they wereto shed their blood in the service of the church. Inthe previous sketch is a view of a templar in thecostume of his order.
From the class of the knights, who were requiredto bo of approved nobility, and who were the actuallords of the possessions of the order, the officerswere chosen by the assembled chapters, viz., mar-shals and bannerets, as leaders in war ; drapiers, asinspectors over their wardrobe ; priors, as superiorsof single preceptories or priories ; abbots, command-ers, and grand priors, as rulers over provinces (similarto the provincials of the monastic order) ; and thegrand master, as chief of the whole order. The latterhad the rank of a prince, and considered himselfequal to the sovereigns of Europe ; since the order,like the Jesuits in later times, by virtue of the papalcharters, acknowledged the pope alone as its pro-tector, being independent of any other ecclesiasticalor secular jurisdiction, and free even from the effectsof interdicts, governing itself, and administering itsestates according to its own pleasure, the occupantsand vassals of which had to pay them tithes. Unitingthe privileges of a religious order with great militarypower, and always prepared for service by sea andland, it could use its possessions to more advantagethan other corporations, and also make conquests onits own account ; in addition to which it received richdonations and bequests from the superstition of theage. The principal part of the possessions of theorder were in France ; most of the knights were alsoFrench, and the grand-master was usually of thatnation. In 1244, the order possessed 9000 consi-derable bailiwicks, commanderies, priories and pre-ceptories, independent of the jurisdiction of thesovereigns of the countries in which they weresituated.
Its members were devoted to the order with bodyand soul, and their entrance into it severed all theirother ties. No one had any private property. Theorder supported all. The arrogance objected to themby bishops and princes is easily accounted for bytheir power and wealth, as is also the luxury in whichthey eventually indulged. The crusaders complainedthat the order allowed its worldly interests to preventit from affording a cordial support to the holy wars ;and the emperor Frederick II. accused them of trea-son, of favouring the Saracens, and of friendly con-nexions with those enemies of Christianity. Thoughaccounts differ on this point, it is certain that, duringthe gradual decline of the Christian kingdom of Jeru-salem, the templars endeavoured to secure their ownpossessions in that country by means of treaties withthe Saracens. Nevertheless, they were obliged, in1291, with the last defenders of that kingdom, toleave the Holy Land entirely ; and they transferredtheir chief scat, which had been in Jerusalem, to theisland of Cyprus. There the grand master resided,with a select body of officers, knights and brethren,who exercised themselves in warfare by sea againstthe Saracens. James Bernard Molay, of Burgundy,the last successor of the first grand-master, Hugh,endeavoured in vain to reform the degenerate spiritof the order. Most of the knights cared more fortheir worldly possessions than for the holy sepulchre.
The aspirations of many of them for political influ-ence, particularly in France ; the mystery whichhung over the internal administration of the order,and which linked together the initiated ; but especi-
ally its power and wealth,—drew upon it the suspi.cions and the jealousy of princes. Rumours werespread respecting ambitious plans for the overthrowof all the thrones of Europe, and for the establish-ment of a republic of the nobility ; also respectingopinions at variance with the Catholic faith bein°-fostered in the bosom of the order. In the quarrelsbetween Philip the Fair and pope Boniface VIII,,the order took part against the king. In consequenceof this, Clement V., Philip’s friend, under the pre-text of consultations for a new crusade, and for aunion of the knights templars with the knights ofSt. John, summoned, in 130G, the grand-masterMolay, with sixty knights, to France. After theirarrival, these and all the other knights present weresuddenly arrested, in October, 1307, by the king’ssoldiers. Philip seized upon the estates of theorder, removed his court into the temple (the resi-dence of the grand-master in Paris), and ordered thetrial of the knights to be commenced without delay,by his confessor, William of Paris, inquisitor, andarchbishop of Sens. He endeavoured to justify thisarbitrary procedure by the horrible crimes and here-sies of which the order had been accused.
Historical records represent the accusers as someexpelled templars, who calumniated the order at theinstigation of its enemies. The charge of apostasyfrom the Catholic faith could not be substantiated.The other allegations, such as that they worshippedthe devil, practised sorcery, adored an idol calledBaphomet, contemned the sacrament, neglected con-fession, and practised unnatural vices, were, accord-ing to the general opinion of historians down tothe present day, malicious misrepresentations or ab-surd calumnies. A gold box of relies, which thetemplars used to kiss, according to the custom ofCatholics, was what gave origin to the story of theBaphomet; and because, in an age previous to thegeneral reception of the doctrine of transubstantia-tion, they practised the ancient manner of celebratingthe mass (viz., without the elevation of the host),this was called contempt of the sacrament; their con-fessing exclusively to their own clerical members wasthe ground of the charge, that they received absolu-tion from their temporal superiors ; and the friend-ship by which they were united, gave rise to theimputation of unnatural practices.
In those times of general persecution against here-tics, every one, whose ruin was resolved upon, andwho could not he attacked in any other way, wasaccused of heresy. Accordingly, Philip being deter-mined, before any inquisition had taken place, todestroy the order, for whose wealth he thirsted, theinquisitors employed, who were entirely devoted tohim, and, for the greater part, Dominicans, enemiesof the order, used this means to excite the publicopinion against them. By means of the most horridtortures, confessions of crimes which had never beencommitted were extorted from the prisoners. Over-come by long captivity and torment, many templarsconfessed whatever their inquisitors wished, since apersevering denial of the crimes with which theywere charged was punished with death. Clement v.at first opposed this arbitrary treatment of an orderwhich was amenable only to the church ; but Php'Psoon prevailed on him to join in its suppression. Twocardinals were sent to take part in the examinationsat Paris, in order to impart a more legal appearanceto the procedure.