In October 2007, the Vatican added a document to the Papal
report about the Knights Templar that had been missing for 699 years. This document which dates back to 1308, is
titled Processus Contra Templarios,
which translates as “Trial of the Templars”. This Papal manuscript archives the
accounts of treason against the Templars, their defense, and Pope Clement V’s
absolution order.
As we learned in class the Knights Templar was a prestigious
organization which aided in the Crusades of the 11-13th
centuries. During these Crusades,
Christian Armies would travel from Europe to the inhabited Muslim territory in
order to take back the Holy Land.
According to this TIME article, in 1187 (which would be during the 3rd
Crusade) the Templars lost holding in Jerusalem, which attributed to their loss
in credibility. In 1303, they lost
holdings in present day Syria and failed to take Cyprus in 1307. It was soon after that event King Philip IV of
France drew up charges where he had the Templars arrested, tortured in hopes to
contain confessions of heresy. The
following year the matter was brought to the Pope.
The transcripts of this trial had been misplaced in the
Vatican archives until 2001. The official
verdict of the trail of the Templars concluded that they were immoral but not heretical. Dude to outside pressure following the trial,
the Pope then disbanded the Templars and gave a majority of their wealth to a
rival group.
Here is a replica of the court transcripts dating from 1308.
What I find the most interesting about the Templars are their charges and the when he Papacy gets involved. The pressure from Philip the fair has Pope Clement V disband them AND excommunicate them, yet Clement does not feel as if it was the correct thing to do. So he interviews all of them himself, but when he goes to present his evidence, Philip has them burned at the stake before the trial even occurs.
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