Surely the king, the chancellor, the grand inquisitor, the bishops and the archbishops could not all stoop to false witness? At first the pope had protested vigorously, suspending the Inquisition in France on 27 October 1307. But by now Philip was announcing sensational 'discoveries', including a letter of confession from Fra' Jacques, and so, at the end of November, Clement issued a second bull ordering the arrest of all Templars. Courts of inquiry were set up throughout Christendom. In January 1308, with some reluctance, England arrested its Templars. There were not more than 135 in the country –118 sergeants, 11 chaplains, and only 6 knights. The Grand Preceptor, Fra' William de la More, was immured in the Tower of London, his brethren in various prisons, though there was no interrogation for eighteen months. Irish and Scottish Templars were also rounded up. All but two Scottish brethren escaped; King Robert never legally ratified the Scottish Temple's dissolution.
Aragonese Templarios were not numerous but they were far too proud to surrender tamely;8 Monzon capitulated only in May, and Castellat held out until November, while other peninsular fortresses resisted even longer. The Aragonese commission found the brethren innocent, and the Archbishop of Compostella pronounced the Castilian brothers also blameless, as did the Portuguese bishops their Templars. Prince Amalric, the Cypriot regent who had been installed by the Poor Knights, delayed until May before acknowledging receipt of the papal letter; his country too could ill afford to lose valuable fighting men. He seems to have warned the brethren, who surrendered on terms. Even when King Henry escaped from Armenia to recover his throne with Hospitaller aid, his courts acquitted the Templars.9 Wild- und Rheingraf Hugo, Pfleger (preceptor) of Grumbach and twenty ritter, all in full armour and carrying swords, strode into the Archbishop of Metz's council.10 The Pfleger cried that not only was the whole Tempelherrenorden innocent of such vile insults and his Grossmeister a man of piety and honour, but Pope Clement was an evil tyrant, unlawfully elected, whom he, Hugo, with his ritter, declared deposed. Further, all brethren would welcome ordeal by battle; all challenges would be accepted. The council dispersed hastily.
In France the situation had changed radically at the end of June 1308. In May, Philip came to Poitiers to discuss the affair with Clement, finally agreeing to surrender the Templars to a papal commission. In return the pope withdrew his suspension of the Grand Inquisitor – Philip's confessor – Guillaume de Paris. In fact Clement left the brethren's enemies in full control, for the French Church was packed with royal agents. Philip forced the appointment of one of his creatures, Philip de Marigny, to the archbishopric of Sens. As his suffragan, the Bishop of Paris had to obey the new archbishop. Immediately seventy-two Templars were brought to Poitiers, where they repeated their 'confessions' en masse before a horrified Clement. The pope interrogated Fra' Jacques and the Grand Preceptors of Cyprus, Normandy and Aquitaine, who admitted their guilt. All were gagged by dread of reprisals as they knew that Clement was weak and were already appalled by his failure to rescue them. Only when safe in the commission's hands would they dare tell the truth; it is possible that most brethren had received instructions from their superiors. Unfortunately these first confessions left an indelible impression on Clement, who always remained convinced of the brethren's guilt. Most historians credit the pope with a total lack of scruple, but Clement was not only frightened, he was also ill and tired, not only vacillating by nature, but cursed with a weak man's obstinacy.
From Spain and Cyprus came news that the Templars were innocent, while investigations in the empire too found them guiltless. Pressure could be brought to bear on England, but here many prisoners had escaped, and when the remaining fifty were interrogated nothing could be extracted; a second inquiry in 1310 examined 228 brethren with no more result. Finally Clement ordered Edward II to use torture. Eventually King Edward agreed, stipulating that there must be no 'mutilations, incurable wounds or violent effusions of blood'. Out of more than 200 Templars, including confratres and retainers, examined in 1310 and 1311, all of whom were subjected to excruciating agonies, only four admitted to spitting at the cross. The Grand Preceptor begged his examiners 'for the love of God and as you hope for salvation judge us as you will be judged before God'. But there was no mercy.
The commission finally assembled in August 1309. The seven members sat in the Bishop of Paris's palace; their chairman, the Archbishop of Narbonne, was Philip's man. At first the Templars were uncertain that it really was the commission for which they waited. Then the Preceptor of Paris retracted his confession and on 26 November the Master came before the commissioners. Vehemently he retracted his confession, rejecting categorically 'wicked and false accusations by the Order's enemies'. Later the Master growled how he wished France had the custom 'as among Saracens and Tartars, of beheading perjurers'.11 He declared that no other Order had such rich churches or beautiful relics, or priests who celebrated Mass with more dignity and devotion, adding that 'no Order has fought more determinedly, more bravely, given its blood more generously in Palestine for Christianity'. Fra' Jacques also made a simple but moving declaration of faith. Nogaret interrupted: 'the Order's corruption is notorious . . . a chonicle at St Denis states that when the Templars were beaten Saladin blamed the defeat on their vice and sodomy, on betraying their own religion'.12 The Knight answered that he had heard no such tale before; of course there had been alliances, to save Outremer. The court was impressed. Yet the commissioners could not credit false witness of such magnitude. On the other hand this man seemed so sincere – he had begged to be shriven and for communion. Jacques de Molay was asked if he would conduct his Order's defence. Then the Master made two fatal mistakes.
First he demanded to see Pope Clement, for now that the commission had assembled he could speak without fear. Unfortunately Fra' Jacques had been too subtle; after that first shattering interview Clement had made up his mind once and for all. Molay's second error was refusing to undertake the brotherhood's defence. To begin with, he told the court he would be a 'poor creature' if he did not, but he needed money and lawyers. However, on reflection, Fra' Jacques declined, realizing that royal agents might intimidate the defending counsel. Alone it was impossible, as Molay, who was unlettered,13 was entirely dependent on secretaries. He staked everything on the pope; with really free access he could convince Clement and save his brethren. But the pope had no intention of seeing him. Cunningly the chairman adjourned the commission until February 1310; by then the Templars would have heard of their Master's refusal and be entirely demoralized. In March, at his final appearance before the commission, Molay again refused and asked to see the pope.
Probably Philip and his advisers anticipated no more trouble. Yet though dispersed and confined for two nightmarish years, there is a strong likelihood that somehow brethren, though gyved and bound, had managed to communicate and agree on a common policy. Suddenly in April brother after brother retracted his confession, over 500 of them offering to defend the Temple. The court had to take them seriously; the prisoners were assembled in the garden of the commissioners' palace to choose four representatives – two chaplains and two knights – the most capable being the priest, Fra' Pierre de Boulogne, once Preceptor of Rome. On 7 April he appeared in front of the commission and produced a statement for the pope, affirming the Order's innocence. The preceptor demanded that his brethren be removed from royal custody, that laymen – Philip's agents – be excluded from the court and that the accused be supplied with funds. He showed a remarkable grasp of the legal situation, pointing out that if his brethren agreed to plead before the court this did not mean they recognized its legality. Pierre argued his case with fluency and logic. How could Templars deny Christ when so many had died in Palestine rather than do this very thing? The commission were visibly shaken.
But Philip's creature, the Archbishop of Sens, controlled the ecclesiastical machinery of Paris; fifty-four Templars were handed over to the secular authority to be burnt as relapsed heretics. More torture, bribes, the pleading of relatives, could not
cow them. All met an agonizing death with determination, shrieking that they were guiltless. Even so, one brother, Amaury de Villiers-le-Duc, 'pale and terrified', broke down in front of the papal commissioners. Fifty years of age and thirty years a Templar, he may well have been a Palestinian veteran.14 Fra' Amaury cried that his tortures had been so terrible he would have confessed anything and begged the tribunal not to tell his jailers what he had said – faced by the fire, he 'would swear to murdering God himself15 if necessary. As the account occurs in the official report, available to royal agents, one prefers not to speculate on his subsequent fate. By the end of May, 120 Templars had been burnt. The Archbishop of Sens demanded that Reynaud de Pruino, Pierre de Boulogne's colleague, be handed over for examination. The commissioners were beginning to panic; on 30 May they adjourned, surrendering Reynaud and Pierre to the council of Sens. Every brother withdrew both his retraction and his offer to defend the Order.
Perhaps the Templars' worst anguish was spiritual – it must have seemed that God Himself had died – and probably many brethren went mad. Yet the wildest rumours circulated, for French public opinion undoubtedly believed in the brethren's guilt. They were supposed to have summoned devil women from hell and slept with them, while bastards were roasted in front of images smeared with children's fat, and cats were worshipped. The commission reassembled to examine witnesses who offered no defence.
Philip was apprehensive of the General Council of the Church, soon to assemble. The propaganda campaign against Clement was resumed. He was forced to try Boniface posthumously, the late pontiff being accused of every imaginable iniquity, including black magic. This preposterous charade had the same object as the Templar plot – to tarnish the papacy, bringing it more firmly under French control. However, the prosecution was discredited by its own absurdity and the trial was abandoned in return for papal condemnation of its former Praetorian Guard. When the council met at Vienne in October, however, it invited the Templars to defend themselves once again. Seven Poor Knights, bearded, wearing full armour and the red cross habit, appeared from nowhere. Clement was appalled; such monsters of guile might well convince foreign bishops of their innocence. Hastily he adjourned the council. These trusting brethren were arrested, and a massive hunt was started for their comrades, 1,500 of whom were supposed to be concealed in the neighbouring Lyonnais.
In February 1312 the French Estates' General demanded the Order's condemnation. Finally, in March, Clement, in private consistory (that is, with his advisers in camera), formally pronounced the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon to be guilty of all charges made against them. When the council reassembled on 3 April they were presented with a fait accompli, the bull, Vox in excelso, declaring the Order dissolved. The pope explained his reasons; canonically the Templars could not be convicted on the evidence, but he himself was convinced of their guilt and had therefore exercised his prerogative to condemn them. The General Council accepted his decision without demur. On 2 May a further bull disposed of the brotherhood's lands, which were given to the Hospitallers. Those brethren who had retracted confessions – or refused to confess at all – received life imprisonment, while those who had stuck to their confessions were released on a minute pension, most of them ending up as beggars. Clement waited before sentencing the high officers, Jacques de Molay (still pleading for an interview), the Treasurer and the Preceptors of Maine and Normandy.
The Hospitallers watched their rival's destruction with mixed feelings. They could not altogether repress their pity for men who had so often been comrades-in-arms; English Hospitallers always referred to Grand Preceptor de la More, who died in the Tower, as 'the Martyr' and their Prior, William de Tothale, drew up a list of the Temple's Masters to pray for their souls. However, even the most sympathetic looked forward to getting his hands on their wealth. But the kings had seized the preceptories and were reluctant to disgorge; Philip kept all revenues till his death, claiming that the Templars had owed him the cost of their trial, while in England Edward II had already shared out the spoils, and the Order of St John found itself faced by countless lawsuits from the occupants and the descendants of the original donors. Even when an Act of Parliament recognized the Hospitallers' title in 1324, it took years before this was properly implemented – the Strand Temple was recovered only in 1340, the remainder being let to lawyers. In Europe one half of the Poor Knights' possessions was lost to the laity.
None the less, this was an immense accession of wealth for the Hospitallers.* In Germany the vast estates of the Templars enabled the Herrenmeister of the Brandenburg Ballei of the 'Johanniterorden' to become semi-autonomous. Hitherto the Hospitallers' strength in the German-speaking lands had been in Austria, Silesia, the Breisgau and Switzerland. Now they acquired great estates in Brunswick and Halberstadt.
English commanderies had to be drastically reorganized to absorb new lands; sometimes the commandery itself was transferred to a former preceptory, as at Egle in Lincolnshire. Scotland was in such chaos that the Apostolic Decree dissolving the Scots' Temple was never ratified, but it is untrue that the Templars continued as part of a combined Order, even if a few Poor Knights may have been received as Hospitallers. Some English brethren were taken in as pensioners; in 1338 a former Templar was still living at Egle.16 Finally, after years of litigation, the number of St John's English houses rose to fifty-five. In 1338 their brothers numbered thirty-four knights, forty-eight sergeants and thirty-four chaplains.
Even the greediest Hospitaller must have been shaken by the last act. On 14 March 1314 the four Templar great officers were paraded on a scaffold outside Notre-Dame to hear their sentence – life imprisonment. Then Molay spoke from this macabre rostrum, the Templars' ultimate battleground:
I think it only right that at so solemn a moment when my life has so little time to run [he was nearly seventy] I should reveal the deception which has been practised and speak up for the truth. Before heaven and earth and with all of you here as my witnesses, I admit that I am guilty of the grossest iniquity. But the iniquity is that I have lied in admitting the disgusting charges laid against the Order. I declare, and I must declare, that the Order is innocent. Its purity and saintliness is beyond question. I have indeed confessed that the Order is guilty, but I have done so only to save myself from terrible tortures by saying what my enemies wished me to say. Other knights who have retracted their confessions have been led to the stake; yet the thought of dying is not so awful that I shall confess to foul crimes which have never been committed. Life is offered to me but at the price of infamy. At such a price, life is not worth having. I do not grieve that I must die if life can be bought only by piling one lie upon another.
Two of his brethren listened fearfully, but the Preceptor of Normandy, Fra' Geoffroy de Charnay, rallied to the Grand Master, speaking with equal defiance. Next morning the two brothers in religion were burnt alive over a slow charcoal fire on an island in the Seine, shouting their innocence through the flames. A legend grew up that Fra' Jacques had summoned Philip and Clement to come before God for judgement; certainly the pope was dead within a month, the king by the autumn, and his three sons and successors all died young.
One must not see the attack on the Templars as an isolated incident. Accusations of such viciousness were made against the Teutonic Knights that they transferred their headquarters from Venice to Prussia, while the crisis confirmed the Hospitallers' decision to move to Rhodes, hastening their development into a federation of national brotherhoods; Philip attempted, unsuccessfully, to stop this reorganization, which made a French takeover impossible. It also perpetuated the Leper Knights' division; in 1308 King Philip took Fra' Thomas de Sainville, the Master General of the Knighthood of St Lazarus, and all his Order's possessions under royal protection, but when Thomas died in 1312 his successor was not recognized by Naples and in 1318 Pope John XXII gave the priory of Capua full independence – henceforth there were two distinct branches of St Lazarus – Burton Lazars supporting Boigny.
Some
times the Roman Church has proved an unnatural mother, savaging those who love her best – like the eighteenth-century Jesuits – but seldom as gullible or as cruel as in the bull Vox in excelso. As Hilaire Belloc said, 'When one remembers how the Catholic Church has been governed, and by whom, one realizes that it must be divinely inspired to have survived at all.' Some Castilian Templars were so horrified that they fled to Granada"17 and turned Moslem. The Poor Knights' most lasting achievement, their contribution towards the overthrow of the Church's attitude to usury, was economic. No medieval institution did more for the rise of capitalism. Yet the Templars deserve to be remembered not as financiers but as the heroes of Acre.
13
RHODES AND THE SEA KNIGHTS
Unlike the Templars, the Hospitallers responded brilliantly to the challenge of new conditions. Rhodes had become a nest of pirates, Greek, Italian and Saracen, a Levantine Tortuga disrupting Christian trade throughout the Aegean. Initially the brethren occupied the island for this reason alone, but the attack on the Templars shocked them into making it their headquarters. In 1306, after spies had brought glowing reports, Master Foulques de Villaret, formerly the Order's first admiral, sailed for Rhodes in June with two galleys and some transports carrying only 35 knights and 500 infantry. En route he was joined by a Genoese adventurer, Vignole de' Vignoli, who brought two more galleys. The great port beat off their first assault, but in November the key fortress of Philermo was taken and the brethren invested Rhodes in earnest. Though Greek troops joined the outlaw garrison, for the Byzantine emperor had no wish to forfeit his nominal sovereignty, the little army hung on grimly, Fra' Foulques borrowing money to hire more soldiers. Finally the city was stormed and its defenders fled to the hills. This probably took place in early 1307, the convent being transferred two years later.1
The Monks of War Page 20