Frenchman Jacques de Molay (Molay) was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. He was born on March 16, 1244 in France, in the castle Montsegur, belonged to a noble family.
Molay's career in the order
In 1265 Jacques de Molay was honored to become a knight of the Templar Order, the most powerful order that had its own army, financial and agent system. Templars after Crusades They were content not only with gold and other riches of the defeated “infidel heretics.”
They were constantly in search of knowledge. The knights of the order brought to their community the knowledge of ancient scientists and philosophers from all the lands where they set foot: Arabic, Jewish, Persian and other chronicles.
Jacques de Molay himself, starting since 1275, was a participant in all campaigns organized by the pope ClementV and the French king PhilipIV “Beautiful”.
Grand Master
In April 1292 Molay was elected 23rd Grand Master of the Knights Templar. He held this position until March 1312. After him, this post, like the order itself, ceased to exist in France. In any case, in the same power and splendor as before.
Period of Templar leadership
In 1291, after the fall of Acre, the Templars moved their headquarters to Cyprus. Thus, the order left the Holy Land, for the protection of which it was created.
Jacques de Molay set himself two important tasks:
- firstly, he had to reform the order,
- secondly, to convince the Pope and European monarchs to launch a new crusade to the Holy Land.
At the same time, in anticipation of a great crusade, Jacques de Molay tried to regain the positions lost by the order in the Holy Land. To this end, in 1301 the Templars captured the island. Arvad(Ruad), located near the Syrian coast. However, they could not hold it and in 1302 Arvad was surrendered Saracens.
The failures of the order contributed to the growing criticism against it. Back in 1274, the question of uniting the two leading military monastic orders first arose - Temple And Hospital. In 1305, Pope Clement V again proposed to unite the orders. In his letter to Clement, Molay criticized this proposal.
The king's dissatisfaction and the arrests of the Templars
During his visit to Europe, Molay learned of the intrigues of King Philip IV of France against the Templars. The unrestrained harshness of the Chapter Master may have predetermined the sad end of his order. October 13, 1307 Molay was arrested in the Temple, the residence of the order on the outskirts of Paris.
Three weeks later, Philip IV sent secret instructions to his officials, after which the mass arrests of the Templars countrywide. A logical continuation of the reprisal was the high-profile multi-year trial of the order.
Burning
March 18, 1314 At the age of 70, the last Master of the Templar Order was burned as a heretic at the merciless stake of the medieval Catholic Church.
Before his execution, he completely renounced all his testimony against the order, which was made under terrible torture during a long (7 years) trial of the administration of the order.
The Curse of Jacques de Molay
There is a version (legend) that already at the stake, Jacques de Molay cursed the pope and the king of France and promised to call them to God's Judgment no later than one year after his execution.
De Molay was executed March 18, 1314., Pope Clement V died under unknown circumstances April 20, 1314, and King Philip IV - November 29, 1314(also under unclear circumstances).
Jacques de Molay did not belong to the highest circles of the aristocracy, so very little is known about his life before joining the Order. The Templars were not particularly interested in the worldly past of the members of the order. It is known that he was born in Burgundy on March 16, 1244. Most likely, he did not receive any education, which was normal for a knight. At the age of 21, in 1265, he joined the Order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem. Apparently, he was really looking forward to this moment - 21 was the minimum age at which one could join the order.
De Molay did not achieve great military success in the Order, but it would be strange to expect success from the crusaders in the Middle East at the end of the 13th century. The last time Jerusalem was lost was in the year of de Molay's birth, in 1244. The crusaders would not take it again. But they lost the city so many times and got it back so many times that the knights, especially de Molay, did not want to believe it. So they continued to fight. But Jacques de Molay makes a career in the depths of the Order - in England. There he receives the title of Great Preceptor of England and becomes a prominent member of the Order. In 1293, at the age of 49, Jacques de Molay became Grand Master of the Order. And one of his main tasks during the 90s was collecting money for a new Crusade.
There are various assessments of de Molay's activities. One of them: the last Grand Master is the most incompetent Grand Master. In particular, he is accused of an incorrect assessment of the situation in the Holy Land, an attempt to create a bridgehead for the offensive - in 1301 the Crusaders took the island of Arvad - the loss of the bridgehead just a year later and inept intrigues. However, it is not entirely clear in this version what the Templars, rooted in Western Europe, where all around were Christians (remained financial sector, in which the knights succeeded by inventing letters of credit). Naturally, the Grand Master tried to somehow return the Holy Land.
Mole during interrogation. (wikipedia.org)
Another assessment says that Jacques de Molay was a martyr who suffered from the machinations of a greedy king who could not come to terms, firstly, with the power of the Popes, and it was under Philip IV that the Avignon imprisonment of the Popes began. Moreover, Philip the Fair actually brought Clement V's predecessor, Boniface VIII, to the grave. And secondly, with the wealth of the Templars, who obeyed only the Pope and God.
Either at the end of 1306, or at the very beginning of 1307, de Molay visited Paris at the invitation of Philip IV. The king is very affectionate and says that he may ask de Molay to become the godfather of one of his children. Such an honor! Such closeness to the august person! There, in Paris, the Grand Master met with Pope Clement V, who became pope in 1305. In fact, a protege of Philip IV. They are discussing the upcoming Crusade. However, de Molay is intractable on one issue - he is against the unification of the Templars with the Hospitallers. The king had personal reasons for uniting the orders: firstly, resentment - he was not accepted into the Templars at one time. Secondly, it is necessary to place at least one, third son somewhere. Why not the new Grand Master of the new order? De Molay, clinging to little things, tried to resist this. What else is there to cling to when it is absolutely clear that the two orders in Cyprus are cramped?
A day before October 13, 1307, when all the Templars in France were to be arrested (many managed to escape), Jacques De Molay attended the funeral of a person of the royal family, a relative of the king, Princess Catherine de Courtenay, wife of Charles de Valois. And he stood next to the king and held in his hand a piece of cord with which the coffin was edged. He did not know that secret preparations for the raid on the Templars had been going on for 3 weeks. The knights were taken by surprise. The reason was the denunciation of Equieu de Floiran, who was expelled from the Order. Allegedly, upon joining, members of the Order renounced Christ, spat on the crucifix and worshiped the idol. Then they found more witnesses - you never know, offended and envious, ready to tell everything that was needed. And if they don’t want to... who cares what people want there? We'll force you.
Jacques de Molay. (wikipedia.org)
Under torture, de Molay admitted that the Order had fallen into heresy. Then he retracted his words, but ultimately gave in again. Because he fell into heresy for the second time, he was burned over low heat. While it was burning, and it was burning for a long time, according to the legend, it managed to curse the king and the Pope (later they would add descendants). Made an appointment in a year in heaven. Pope Clement V died a month later from illness, Philip IV fell from his horse seven months later.
Perhaps this was the first such large-scale and so brilliantly carried out police operation. To ensure that none of the Templars could leave, the French king Philip the Fair sent out instructions to his seneschals ahead of time Seneschal(from lat. Senex and Old Germanic. Scalc- senior servant) - one of the highest court positions in France in the 10th-12th centuries. Later, seneschals meant the military-administrative and military institution of royal officials. 1 countrywide. The orders were to be opened simultaneously at dawn on October 13, 1307 (this day fell on a Friday). The letters contained an order for the arrest of all Templars in the territory under their jurisdiction.
The defeat of the order was forced, although not unconditionally, supported by Pope Clement V, which is not surprising, because he came to the throne of St. Peter solely thanks to the French king Philip the Fair and was, in essence, his obedient puppet. Since Jacques de Molay was absent in France - in Cyprus he was preparing for war with the Saracens - Clement ordered him to come to France. Jacques de Molay obeyed, not realizing that he was walking into a trap.
There are quite a lot of sources about the life and work of Jacques de Molay. There are even more of them because after his arrest, the master was interrogated several times and answered numerous questions about the activities of the order and his participation in it. However, the documents mainly cover the period of his biography after joining the Templar Order. Little is known about his youth.
Life before the order
Jacques de Molay was born in eastern France in a place that today is called Vitre-sur-Mance in Franche-Comté (population in 2010 was 291 people). The name Franche-Comté appeared only in 1478, and earlier this area was called the County of Burgundy. The county of Burgundy, we note, very often acted in opposition to the Frankish kings - first the Merovingians, and then the Carolingians.
Place where Jacques de Molay was born. The commune of Vitre-sur-Mance today.
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The exact date of birth of the future last master of the Templars is unknown. Historians estimate his birth to be between 1244 and 1249. All that is known about his family is that it was not the most distinguished noble family, that is, they were rather middle-class nobles.
There is little information about the initial period of Jacques de Molay's activities as a Templar. It is only known that he joined the order in 1265. The Holy Land was under attack by the Mamluks during this period. Mamluks- military caste in medieval Egypt. It was recruited from young slaves of predominantly Turkic origin. In 1250 the Mamluks seized power in Egypt. The Mamluk cavalry was considered one of the strongest in combat until Napoleon's campaign in Egypt. 2 . And the very next year Jacques de Molay went to the East. In 1291, the Mamluks launched a vigorous offensive against Frankish lands in the Holy Land. After a two-month stubborn siege, they took the last point of European chivalry - the fortress of Acre. The Templars, part of the garrison of Acre, were the most stubborn defenders and remained on the walls until the last, covering the retreat to the sea of the galleys evacuating women and children. During the siege, the 21st Master of the Templars, Guillaume de Beaujeu, fell wounded by an arrow. Barbara Frail, a historian of the Templars, believes that de Molay was a relative of Guillaume de Beaujeu. 3 . Jacques de Molay himself also fought on the walls, and then evacuated to Cyprus with the remnants of the Templars.
After the death of de Beaujeu, Thibault Godin was elected head of the order, but already in April 1292 he died. His early death demanded new elections. Hugo de Peyraud and Jacques de Molay competed for the post of master. However, Molay, having received the votes of the Burgundian, won.
Master of the Templar Order
In 1293, the new master went to Europe to put the affairs of the order in order and restore diplomatic relations with the most important courts. The situation was quite difficult. The fact is that initially the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, as the Templar Order was officially called, was created to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land and main meaning His activity was to protect the Holy Land. But with the loss of the last stronghold, the meaning of the Templars’ existence seemed to disappear. It was necessary to develop a new paradigm for development away from the Holy Land.
Jacques de Molay first visited Marseille, where he called the brothers to order and took measures to strengthen discipline. And this was necessary, because if in the Holy Land the Templars were the most combat-ready and bravest formation, then on the continent, far from battles, but close to temptations, many brothers became somewhat unscrewed. The saying “drinks like a Templar” was very popular in Europe at that time.
Pope Boniface VIII.
Fresco by Giotto in the Lateran Basilica.
Then de Molay went to Aragon to ensure the strong position of the order in this kingdom, which was extremely important from the point of view of transporting goods - King Jacques II of Aragon was also the king of Sicily. Jacques de Molay successfully resolved tensions between the local Templars and the king of Aragon and went to England to the court of Edward I to discuss the abolition of the heavy fines imposed by the English king on the master of the Temple. After this, Jacques de Molay went to Rome, where he helped in the election of the Pope to take the throne of St. Peter to the new Pope Boniface VIII (December 1294). The help of Jacques de Molay consisted of a large number of gifts that he gave to the voters, hinting for whom they should give their balls during the vote.
In the autumn of 1296, after a long and successful tour, Jacques de Molay returned to Cyprus. Here he had to moderate the ardor of Henry II of Cyprus, who set his sights on the property and privileges of the Templars on the island. From Cyprus de Molay leads economic policy, designed to increase the income of the order, and also recruits new Templars. His goal was to organize an expedition to reconquer the Holy Land, because this was the raison d'être of the order.
The idea of recapturing Jerusalem did not leave Jacques de Molay; he believed in the possibility of organizing a new crusade. However, the military-political situation contributed little to a new crusade, at least by the forces of European knighthood only. And then a new plan is born in the head of Jacques de Molay, which even today seems very unusual.
Brother Gerard, founder of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (Hospitaliers).
Engravings of Laurent's Automobiles, 1725.
Not only Cyprus, which the Templars made a stronghold, was under threat of Mamluk invasion, but also Armenia. We are talking about the so-called. The Armenian kingdom of Cilicia, located in the southeastern region of Asia Minor at approximately the point where modern Turkey borders Syria. Of course, the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia has nothing in common, except for the name, with modern Armenia. In 1298, the Mamluks captured the castle of Roche-Guillaume, which was located in the Armenian kingdom, but in 1237 it was owned by the Templars. Built on a rock, the castle occupied a strategic position and controlled the road to Cilicia. In connection with this event, Jacques de Molay and the Grand Master of the Hospitallers Hospitallers or Ioannites, or Knights of Malta (French: Ordre des Hospitaliers) - founded in 1080 in Jerusalem as an Amalfi hospital, a Christian organization whose purpose was to care for the poor, sick or wounded pilgrims in the Holy Land, later developed into a military order. One of the Masters of the Hospitallers (Maltese) was the Russian Emperor Paul I. 4 Guillaume de Villaret visited the Cilician kingdom of Armenia.
Yellow Crusade
This poetic name was given to this cycle of events by Lev Gumilyov. But Lev Nikolayevich’s outstanding literary gift more often than allowed prevailed over him as a scientist. An overly romantic attitude towards the Mongols, unfortunately, sometimes forced him to insert descriptions into books that had little to do with reality. In the interpretation of Lev Gumilyov (in the book “In Search of an Imaginary Kingdom”), the matter looked like this.
At the kurultai of 1253, held in the upper reaches of the Onon, the Mongols allegedly decided to liberate Jerusalem from Muslims. It should be noted that the Onon is a river in Mongolia, that is, in a straight line it is located at a distance of approximately 6.5 thousand kilometers from Jerusalem. Unfortunately, Lev Nikolayevich, in support of his hypothesis, did not give at least one reason why the Mongols needed to organize a military campaign to such a distance to liberate a city that was completely unnecessary to them.
Further, Gumilyov continues, the Mongols sent Khan Hulagu, whose wife was Christian, to carry out this event. On his way to Jerusalem, Hulagu destroyed the Baghdad Caliphate, assumed supreme power over Georgia and brutally suppressed the uprising of the Georgians, who were not happy about this development of events. This undermined the liberation fervor of the Mongols, who, if the Georgians had not separated them from the liberation of the Holy Land, could have captured Palestine in 1259.
In addition, Gumilyov reports in his book, the Templars acted treacherously, who, instead of helping the Mongols, declared that they would not allow them into the Holy Land. For which, according to Lev Nikolaevich, they ultimately paid. This is what he writes: “Having betrayed the Mongols and Armenians, whom they did not allow to go on a counter-offensive until the end of 1263, the crusaders were left alone with the Mamluks... From 1307 to 1317, the terrible process of the Templars lasted... But did they remember in the intervals between tortures... that it was thanks to their order... that the Christian population of Syria was destroyed,... the goal of the Crusades - the Holy Land - was forever lost" L.N. Gumilyov, “In search of an imaginary kingdom”, Partnership Klyshnikov, Komarov and Co., Moscow, 1992, pp. 162-163 5 .
Why such a conscientious scientist as Lev Gumilyov composed this tale is not very clear. Perhaps several factors combined here: and insufficient awareness of the activities of the Templars of that period (after all, it is unlikely that Lev Gumilyov, who at one time was imprisoned twice in the camp, could freely travel to Europe to work in the archives, and many documents about the Templars became known after his death L.N. Gumilyov), and some kind of strange romantic attachment to the image of the Mongols, forcing him in any historical collisions to create the image of the Mongols as the noblest of people, and Gumilyov reproached everyone who did not rejoice at their arrival for short-sightedness, treachery, etc. .P. In fact, everything was somewhat different.
Khan Hulagu actually had a Nestorian wife Nestorianism- a branch of Christianity condemned at the Ephesian (Third Ecumenical) Council in 431. It received its name from its main apostle, the Antioch theologian Nestorius. The main principle of Nestorianism is that in the person of Christ, from his very birth, two natures are inextricably united - God and man. 6 , and in fact led the Mongol campaign in the Middle East. However, his goal was not the liberation of Jerusalem, but the capture of Persia. Lev Gumilyov is trying to pass off the usual border skirmishes between the new geopolitical players in the region - the Mongols and the Mamluks - as confirmation that Hulagu allegedly had plans for Palestine. But historical facts they say that having received Persia, Hulagu no longer thought about any new conquests. In Persia, he founded the Ilkhanid (Hulaguid) dynasty, the Persian Mongols. And only the entry of Jacques de Molay into the arena at the end of the 13th century reshuffled the geopolitical maps.
At the time of Jacques de Molay's visit to Armenia, the Ilkhanid state was ruled by Khan Ghazan, a Muslim by religion. Jacques de Molay decided to organize a military alliance between Henry II of Cyprus, King Hethum II of Armenia, Khan Ghazan and the Templars. The purpose of the alliance was the mutual desire to drive the Mamluks out of Asia Minor.
Ghazan Khan on horseback.
Persian miniature
From December 1299 to 1300, the Mongols carried out a number of fairly successful military operations against the Mamluks. Jacques de Molay himself decided to act at sea (the Templars traditionally had a very strong fleet). Together with the Hospitallers and Henry II of Cyprus, the Templars equipped a fleet of sixteen galleys and a dozen smaller ships with the aim of attacking Egypt, that is, the main territory of the Mamluks. In July 1300, the Templar fleet sacked Rosetta and Alexandria, after which Jacques de Molay notified Khan Ghazan that he should intensify his actions against the Mamluks in Syria. Khan Ghazan had nothing against it and invited the allies to arrive with their troops in Armenia and begin offensive operations from there. The King of Cyprus sent 300 knights to Armenia.
The Templars captured the island of Arvad and held it until 1302, creating a base for future offensive operations. Ghazan, during his second campaign, took and plundered Damascus in September 1302, but as soon as his troops left Syria, Damascus again fell under the rule of the Mamluks. In general, the situation was in a state of unstable parity: the alliance of the Templars, the king of Cyprus, the Armenian king and the Mongols had enough strength to inflict sensitive blows on the Mamluks, but did not have enough of these forces to maintain the success achieved for a long time. It is difficult to say how it would have ended, but in 1304 Khan Ghazan died and Jacques de Molay’s project to reconquer the Holy Land with the help of such an unusual alliance, one might say, ceased to exist.
Fall of the Grand Master
On November 14, 1305, the Gascon nobleman Raymond Bertrand de Gault became pope. He wore the tiara under the name of Clement V - he was the first pope to be crowned with a tiara Tiara- a triple crown, a tall egg-shaped headdress, topped with a small cross and three crowns and having two flowing ribbons at the back, which was worn by popes from the beginning of the 14th century to 1965. 7 . This pope was an obedient instrument for carrying out the ambitious policies of the French king Philip IV the Fair. Clement V became the first pope to leave Rome and move to the city of Avignon in southern France, giving rise to a historical period called the Captivity of Avignon Captivity of Avignon- the period from 1309 to 1378, when the residence of the heads of the Catholic Church was not in Rome, but in the French city of Avignon. 8 .
In 1306, Clement V (or perhaps Philip the Fair) decided to unite the Templar Order with the Hospitaller Order, which also found refuge in the Kingdom of Cyprus. Clement V motivated his decision by the fact that the united order would be able to more easily organize the liberation of the Holy Land from the Mamluks. Jacques de Molay very arrogantly rejected the idea of a merger, saying that a new crusade could only be succeeded by the united forces of the entire European knighthood, numbering at least 20 thousand people. In response, Clement V summoned Jacques de Molay to France.
Philip IV the Handsome.
National French Library
Arriving in France, Jacques de Molay learned that the French king was collecting charges against the Templars, preparing something like a trial against them. Allegedly Philip the Handsome Philip IV the Fair(French Philippe IV le Bel, 1268-1314) - King of France from 1285, King of Navarre 1284-1305, Count of Champagne and Brie 1284-1305, son of Philip III the Bold, from the Capetian dynasty. 9 wants to accuse the Templars of depraved behavior, bribery, greed, illicit contacts with Muslims and - much worse - dangerous heretical practices. Jacques de Molay did not like Philip the Fair; he accused him of murdering Pope Boniface VIII, whose election he had contributed so much to in his time.
Boniface VIII in 1302 issued the bull “Unam Sanctam”, in which he set out the principles of the supremacy of the power of the popes over the temporal power of any king. The Master of the Templar Order, who reported directly to the Pope, liked this concept. But she was like a bone in the throat for the ambitious French king. The question was, in fact, about what force would rule the Christian world: the popes through the most powerful military alliance - the Order of the Templars, or the Christian world would submit to the earthly power of the strongest king. In general, Boniface VIII was killed within a year after the appearance of this scandalous bull. Philip the Fair's intentions may not have included killing the pope, but the head of the detachment sent by the king to arrest the pope, Guillaume de Nogaret, overdid it. Boniface VIII was badly injured during the attempted arrest and died three days later. Of course, Jacques de Molay knew all this, but for the time being he left it without consequences.
Having received news of Philip the Fair's intentions regarding the order, Jacques de Molay, apparently not very afraid of the French king, in August 1307 demanded from Clement V a public investigation of the rumors. Here the countdown has already begun in days, if not hours. Philip the Handsome understood perfectly well that he was unlikely to stand openly against the power of the entire Templar Order. Was there a selfish undertone to his subsequent actions? Yes, the Templars were a very rich order and of course the French king could not help but remember their wealth. However, the main motive was precisely political - the question was about who would rule Western Europe (although this term was not yet used in those centuries).
Maubucson Abbey, where on August 24, 1307, Philip the Fair discussed the problem of the Templar Order.
Modern photo
On August 24, 1307, Philip the Fair convened a meeting with especially trusted representatives at Maubuisson Abbey. The meeting discussed the issue of how to deal with the Templars as quickly and painlessly as possible. As a result, a plan was developed, the implementation of which was entrusted to Guillaume de Nogaret, the royal lawyer and adviser to the king. He was quite a remarkable person. As mentioned above, the king entrusted him with the arrest of the Pope. Guillaume was the author of the royal decree of 1306 for the arrest and expulsion of all Jews from France and the confiscation of their property. In general, the man was tenacious and fearless.
De Nogaret approached the matter very carefully. On September 14, 1307, the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a sealed order drawn up by de Nogaret was sent to all seneschals and bailiffs of France. However, the contents of the packages were ordered to be examined only at dawn on October 13, 1307. This scheme was developed so that an operation to exterminate the Templar Order would begin simultaneously throughout France.
Knowing nothing about the preparations of Philip IV, Jacques de Molay arrived in Paris on October 12, 1307 for the funeral of the wife of Charles of Valois, the king's brother. The Grand Master was received with all the honors due to a person of his rank.
Early in the morning of October 13, 1307 - this day fell on a Friday - responsible royal officials opened sealed envelopes and found in them an order for the arrest of all Templars in the territory under their jurisdiction. The mousetrap slammed shut.
Charges against Jacques de Molay
It may seem strange that it was so easy and painless to carry out the operation to arrest almost all members of the most powerful and most militant European knightly union. This can be compared to how Captain von Stauffenberg Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (German: Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, 1907-1944) - Wehrmacht colonel, one of the main participants in the group of conspirators who planned the July 20 Plot and carried out the attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944. After the collapse of the conspiracy, he was shot on July 21 in Berlin. 10 On July 20, 1944, throughout Germany, he arrested all the top and middle leaders of the SS and everything would have gone smoothly for him. Of course, the Templar Order was not so numerous, but the royal forces thrown against them were also not many thousands. This was a medieval reality, when an army of three hundred knights already seemed large, and a thousand knights seemed like just a huge armada. Rather, it was something else.
Arrest of Jacques de Molay.
The Templars simply could not believe the scale of the king’s plan and were sure that they would soon be released, and therefore did not resist - they did not know that the action was taking place simultaneously throughout France. Moreover, it can be assumed that for some time the outcome of the entire operation was completely ambiguous. This assumption is supported, in particular, by the fact that Pope Clement V tried to distance himself as much as possible from the king’s actions. Upon learning of the arrests on October 13, he rushed to Poitiers and appointed a consistory Consistory, in the Roman Catholic Church - a special meeting of the Holy College of Cardinals under the Pope. 11 cardinals with the aim of creating a tribunal at which the pope and the cardinals were to hear the complaints and accusations of both sides. The consistory lasted several days, after which Clement V, as he was not dependent, opposed the king’s actions, writing a letter to Philip on October 27, 1307, protesting against the arrests of the Templars. Philip the Handsome poured cold contempt on the Pope's message. All Templars who escaped arrest on October 13, but appeared at the tribunal to testify, were arrested.
The exact number of Templars arrested is unknown to this day. Some documents speak of hundreds of those arrested, some even of more than a thousand arrested Templars.
Of course, Philip’s most important captive was Jacques de Molay, who so imprudently arrived in Paris literally on the eve of the arrests. He, like all Templars, was charged with stereotypical charges: denial of Christ, indecent kisses between brothers, sodomy, worship of the idol Baphomet. Jacques de Molay partially admitted the charges, but denied that he allegedly spat on the cross upon joining the order in 1265. De Molay's confession changes the vector of attitude towards the order. The kings of England and Aragon are inclined to follow the example of Philip the Fair.
Clement V also tries to participate in the interrogations of the Templars, but the French king obstructed him. Finally, under threat of excommunication, Philip the Fair finally allowed papal envoys to interrogate Jacques de Molay personally. This happened on December 27, 1307. Jacques de Molay declares to the cardinals that he is completely innocent, and his testimony was obtained under torture. Moreover, he gives them a document in which he orders all Templars who confessed to anything to retract their testimony. Clement V decides to suspend the royal procedure, but the king is adamant and interrogations continue with partiality.
Chinon parchment
One of the most important documents related to the personality of Jacques de Molay is the so-called. parchment from Chinon Chinon- a city on the Vienne River in western France. Since 1205, Chinon has been listed as a royal estate. 12 , Chinon parchment. This document was kept in the secret archives of the Vatican Vatican secret archive officially founded on January 31, 1612 by Pope Paul V by issuing a special important documents, directly related to the pastoral ministry of popes, from the general collection of the Vatican Library. The archive contains millions of documents dating from the 8th to the 21st centuries. Total length storage shelves occupying two floors - 85 km. Since 1881, the archive has been open to scientists 13 . In 2002, Italian historian Barbara Freil, who studied the history of the Templars, discovered the existence of this document, and in 2007 its text became available to the public. Barbara Freil has studied many hundreds of documents relating to the Knights Templar. She, in particular, believed that Baphomet, known from many interrogation reports of the Templars, is nothing more than the Shroud of Turin Shroud of Turin- a piece of white fabric 4.3x1.1 m, on which there is a clearly visible imprint of a person’s head, visible as if in a negative image; it was believed that this was a piece of the shroud in which the body of Jesus Christ was wrapped after being taken down from the cross. After research in 1988 based on the radiocarbon method, it was recognized that the shroud was made no earlier than the 13th century. However, a number of other researchers point out that already in the Prayer Code of the 12th century there is allegedly a reference to the Shroud of Turin. 14 , which the members of the order worshiped.
As for the Chinon parchment itself, it says that in the period from August 17 to August 20, 1308, on the initiative of Pope Clement V, a commission of three authorized cardinals was formed for additional interrogation of Jacques de Molay and the arrested members of the General Staff of the Templar Order. The commission interrogated the following persons: brother Jacques de Molay, Master of the Order of the Templars, brother Rambo Carombe, brother Hugh de Peyraud (Jacques de Molay's main competitor for the post of head of the order), brother Geoffroy de Gonville, Geoffroy de Charnay (who was later burned along with Jacques de Molay). The purpose of the interrogations was to clarify the question of whether it was possible to cancel the excommunication in relation to these members of the order and, having absolved them of their sins, return them to the bosom of the Church.
Investigators focused primarily on charges that members of the fraternity admitted to commit against themselves: sodomy, condemnation of God, unnatural kissing between members of the order, spitting on the cross and worship of an idol (Baphomet). Jacques de Molay was the last to be questioned, on August 20, 1308.
The interrogation of each of the senior leaders of the order took place according to a uniform pattern: the Templar entered the hall where the commission was meeting, swore an oath to answer truthfully, then a list of accusations against him was read out, the protocols of their earlier interrogations were given, the denunciations against them were read out, a list of their requests for absolution and resolutions to these requests.
About Jacques de Molay in the Chion parchment it is said that he was asked whether he pleaded guilty for a promised reward, gratitude, out of hatred of any person or out of fear of being subjected to torture. Jacques de Molay answered negatively. When asked whether he had been subjected to torture after his arrest, he answered in the negative.
As a result of the interrogation of Jacques de Molay, the cardinals decided: “After this, we decided to grant the grace of absolution for his actions to Brother Jacques de Molay, Master of the Order; in the form and manner described above, he condemned in our presence the above heresies and any other heresies and swore personally on the holy Gospel of the Lord, and humbly asked for remission of sins. Therefore, he was again restored to unity with the Church and again received into the communion of believers and the sacraments of the Church.”
In relation to the remaining interrogated members of the Templar General Staff, excommunication was also lifted and they were given absolution. However, this did not mean that the royal court was overturning its conviction. Everyone, including Jacques de Molay, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Interrogations, trial and execution
After receiving absolution, Jacques de Molay was left in Chinon. On November 26, 1309, he appeared before a new papal commission to investigate the activities of the Templars. The commission met in the presence of Guillaume de Nogaret, who developed the operation on October 13, 1307 for the lightning destruction of the Templar Order. For the brilliant implementation of this operation, de Nogaret received the title of Guardian of the Seal of France, that is, something like the Minister of Justice.
Jacques de Molay again tried to defend himself by dismissing the charges. He was reminded of the commission last year and that then he admitted the justice of the accusations, renouncing heresies. During interrogations, Jacques de Molay began to behave in a rather strange way, constantly changing his defense tactics. At some point, he stated that the “poor illiterate knight” (he meant himself) did not know Latin, and therefore could not fight the royal lawyers-hook-makers on equal terms, and in order to hire qualified defenders, he did not have enough funds. De Molay also recalled that no other structure shed as much of its blood in defense of Christ as the Templars did. In the end, he refused to speak any more with the commission and demanded a personal meeting with Pope Clement V. Of course, he did not receive this audience.
In December 1313, Clement V appointed a new commission of three cardinals to try Jacques de Molay, Hugh de Peyraud, Geoffroy de Gonville and Geoffrey de Charnay, Grand Prior of Normandy. In March 1314, Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay took back their words spoken in 1307 and again declared their complete innocence. The judges immediately accused them of recidivism. Relapse in the Catholic medieval Church meant a serious crime, implying that the accused, who repented of his sins, again returned to his heresy, that is, if initially he could fall into heresy unconsciously and, having sincerely repented, receive forgiveness, then in case of relapse he chooses heresy consciously.
Execution of Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay.
As a result, Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay were sentenced to be burned at the stake. On March 18, 1314, King Philip ordered a burning on the Jewish island. Jewish Island(French, Ile aux Juifs) - located in Paris to the west of the Ile de la Cité, near the Palace of Justice; got its name because of the executions of Jews carried out here in the Middle Ages. 15 .
The last minutes of Jacques de Molay's life are known from the memoirs of Geoffroy of Paris, a priest and clerk from the royal chancellery, who was near the fire during the execution. He describes the moment of execution as follows: Jacques de Molay climbed onto the fire wearing only his shirt, despite the cold weather. The guards were about to tie his hands, but he smiled and said: “Gentlemen, at least leave my hands free so that I can pray to God. I die freely and God knows of my innocence and knows who is to blame and sin and misery will soon fall on those who falsely condemned us. God will avenge our death. All those who are against us will suffer. In this faith I want to die. This is my faith and I ask you in the name of the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to our Lord, do not cover my face when you light the fire.” His request was granted and he never said another word, accepting death in silence, surprising everyone around him. Geoffroy de Charnay ascended the fire after his master and before his death, having delivered a laudatory speech in honor of Jacques de Mole, he also accepted martyrdom.
Another witness to the scene, a certain Florentin, claimed that on the night after the burning, certain adherents collected the bones of Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay and hid them in a sacred place for religious rites.
A curse
Such a tragic death and the very personality of those executed could not help but arouse the people's imagination. Already from the 14th century, the personality of Jacques de Molay and the Templars began to acquire romantic features. Thus, Boccaccio mentions de Molay in his “De casibus virorum illustrium” A series of stories, collected in nine books, telling about famous - real and mythical - heroes of the past. The cycle was written between 1355 and 1373. 16 . What most impressed the imagination of subsequent generations was that the chief judges of the Templars, King Philip IV and Pope Clement V, died suddenly within a few months of the execution of Jacques de Molay. Moreover, the children of Philip the Fair also very quickly left the historical scene and the Valois dynasty reigned in France.
All this gave descendants the basis for creating the legend of the curse of Jacques de Molay. After all, before his execution, he actually promised a quick death to all his tormentors. This idea was most fully developed by the French writer Maurice Druon. Maurice Druon(French, Maurice Druon), 1918-2009, French writer, member of the Resistance, Minister of Culture in the government of Georges Pompidou; in 2002 met with Vladimir Putin. 17 , in his famous series of novels “Cursed Kings”.
However, there is a more prosaic version. The Templars were a very extensive and most influential organization in medieval Europe. Despite the fact that the operation on October 13, 1307 was successful, it was clearly a large number of people who were not members of the order directly, but sympathized with it, remained free. They allegedly helped the curse of Jacques de Molay come true. After all, it was not difficult for a hidden supporter of the Templars from the retinue of Clement V and Philip the Fair to organize their murder and escape.
Whether this is true or not, we are unlikely to ever know. But it is known that on January 21, 1793, when the head of the French king Louis XVI fell under the blow of a guillotine knife, some unknown person separated from the crowd of onlookers, plunged his hands into the still warm blood of the king and, showing his outstretched bloody palms to the crowd, exclaimed: “ You have been avenged, Jacques de Molay! No one knows who this man was or where he then disappeared to.
The Uncrowned King
Jacques de Molay is an extraordinary figure, his bright life and martyrdom served as a reason for the mythologization of chivalry, and he himself became the prototype of a fighter against the church and royal power, inspiring many generations of revolutionaries and atheists of all stripes. Finding himself a victim of the political inquisition process, the Grand Master himself was by no means a sinless person, and his activities at the head of the Templar Order threatened the total destruction of the foundations Christendom back in the 14th century. King Philip the Fair and Pope Clement V had every reason to see Jacques de Molay as a dangerous competitor.
Horoscope of Jacques de Molay
Jacques de Molay_
Let's start with what the Templar Order was for medieval Europe, and why its continued existence threatened not only the French crown, but also the entire Western European world, the civilizational foundations of which were based on ideas about the sacred origin of royal power. As long as the king and pope were God's representatives on earth, the union of spiritual and temporal power guaranteed the progressive development of European society in line with the Christian worldview. But already in the 15th century, irreversible changes for the worse took place - the foundations of the Gothic civilization shook. The times of the Renaissance became the prologue to a new chapter in the life of Christian Europe, painted with the crimson color of unrest and the fratricidal Huguenot and Hussite wars. The royal and papal power were doomed, but their fall was delayed by the abolition of the powerful supranational union of the Templars - an organization whose political resources made it possible to call the order the very first International. However, the seeds of the atheistic ideas sown by the Templars sprouted during the Enlightenment, and real fruits only in the twentieth century, the bloody history of which goes back to the dark times of the Middle Ages.
The struggle between God and the devil has become the main leitmotif of the two-thousand-year history of Christianity, which some researchers rightly divide into two equal periods, one of which belongs to Christ, and the other to the Antichrist. The appearance of numerous sects and heresies on the historical arena at the border of the 1st and 2nd millennia became the basis for the future emergence of secret societies: the Illuminati, Freemasons, Rosicrucians, etc., which completed the work of overthrowing the power of Christianity begun by the Templars. The Order of the Knights of the Temple of Solomon was one of the most effective mechanisms for spreading Western Europe occult oriental teachings, and primarily Jewish Kabbalah. Like everything new, hidden and incomprehensible, occultism, coupled with Kabbalistic astrology, attracted a huge number of new adherents to the order. The knowledge promised to neophytes could not be obtained outside the knightly circle, which became the ideal environment for the birth of the religion of Lucifer.
Baphomet
The Templars, as it turned out, worshiped a certain Baphomet - a strange monster with a goat's head, which seemed to the knights of the 13th century something very mysterious, exotic and deeply symbolic. In all occult publications, a sign of identity is placed between the goat-footed Baphomet, who embodies (oddly enough) the idea of astral light, and the eternal enemy of God. Obviously, the Templars and their successors had grounds for such analogies, because the very name of Lucifer is translated as “bringer of light.”
(Here is an excerpt from the speech of the founder of the Ku Klux Klan, the sovereign - grand master of the “SENIOR AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH CIRCLE OF FREE MASONS” Albert Pike, delivered on April 7, 1889, before the 32nd degree of the “Scottish Circle”: “We honor God, but this - a god who is worshiped without prejudice. The religion of the Freemasons is called upon first of all to bring to us all initiates of the highest degrees in the purity of the Luciferian teaching. As the old law says: there is no light without shadow, there is no beauty without ugliness and there is no white without black; therefore the Absolute can exist only in two gods... That is why the teaching of Satanism is a heresy. And a truly pure, truly philosophical religion is faith in Lucifer, the god of light, equal to Adonai (Christ). But Lucifer, the god of light and goodness, fights for humanity against Adonai, the god darkness and cruelty.")
There is not the slightest doubt about the anti-Christian essence of the teachings of the Templars, who called themselves the Knights of the Temple of Solomon.
The name of the Templar Order comes from the French tample (“temple”), but has nothing to do with Christianity, since it implies the Jewish Temple of Solomon, on the ruins of which the residence of the knightly order in Jerusalem was built. The legend of the ritual murder of the main builder of the temple, Hiram Abiff, formed the basis of the mythologized initiation ceremony into members of the Masonic lodge.
The ritual and ceremonial of the Knights Templar were adopted by the mystical secret societies that replaced them: the Scottish Rite Masonic lodges, the Illuminati and other advocates of occult doctrines persecuted by the Christian Church.
For several centuries, Catholicism, through the forces of the Dominican Order, whose monks called themselves “dogs of the Lord,” relatively successfully resisted numerous heresies that sought to split the body of the Christian religion from the inside. At the same time, the number of innocent victims of the Inquisition grew in geometric progression, which could not but cause a natural desire of ordinary believers to get rid of constant fear in all my life. The need to reform the church has ripened by itself, and the emergence of Protestantism from a historical point of view looks like something quite natural. But the internal struggle within the limits of an integral organism, which can be considered the Catholic Church
Elena Korovina
Great prophecies. 100 predictions that changed the course of history
The Cursed Prophecy of Jacques de Molay
IN early XIV century, a revolt broke out in Paris against royal exactions. At that time, King Philip IV the Fair (1268-1314; reigned from 1285) from the Capetian dynasty sat on the French throne. True, Philip himself was only half French: his father, of course, was the King of France, Philip III, but his mother was Isabella of Aragon, daughter of King Jaime I of Aragon. It is not surprising that with such a “pro-Spanish” origin, the Parisians did not like Philip, although they called him Beautiful. However, not only the origin, but also the very character of the king was contradictory. He was truly handsome, had a noble appearance and graceful manners. In addition, he attended divine services every day, scrupulously observed fasts and other requirements of the church charter, and even wore a hair shirt under his clothes. Only in his deeds this modest and schema-monk knew no restraint: he had a cruel character, an iron will and walked towards his intended goal with unshakable persistence, showing complete unpredictability in his actions. No wonder his contemporaries called him a “mysterious figure.”
Jacques de Molay. 19th century drawing
However, in the second decade of his reign, it became clear that the French treasury was depleted by eternal wars, and even the exorbitant taxes that the king imposed could not save Philip from ruin. When he took a completely desperate step - he ordered the minting of gold and silver coins, lightening their weight - this led to popular indignation.
First, Parisians took to the streets, then the whole country rose up. The frightened king had to take refuge in the fortified city of the Temple, which was erected by the ancient order of the Knights Templar for its top leadership. At that time, the Supreme Grand Master (otherwise the Grand Master) of the order was Jacques de Molay, an old friend of King Philip, the godfather of his daughter. Of course, he did not refuse to shelter the disgraced ruler and even sent his knights to suppress the rebellion.
The Templars had plenty of strength, because the order was founded 200 years ago, when in the 12th century crowds of crusaders poured into the East. Not only warrior-adventurers went to Jerusalem, but also pilgrims, ordinary curious people, and fundraisers who gathered throughout Europe for the Crusades. They needed escort and protection along the way. This responsibility was assumed by members of the Order of the Temple, which arose in 1118-1119. Hence another name for the Knights Templar - templars. However, while providing assistance to pilgrims and crusaders, the order did not disdain to collect for itself, or rather, plunder, a countless amount of treasures of the East. And when the Templars returned to Europe, their chests were bursting with gold and precious stones, pearls and spices, which, as you know, were very highly valued. The Chapter of the Order hired the best architects and builders. So in all countries, including Germany, Italy, England, Spain, Portugal, Flanders and other less significant lands, impregnable castle-fortresses appeared, the main one among which was the majestic and gloomy Temple.
And so, in order to brighten up King Philip’s stay, to lift his spirits, the gray-haired and majestic Grand Master Jacques de Molay led his friend-ruler through the corridors and rooms, climbed with him onto the fortress walls with high loopholes, narrow slits-windows and descended into the invisible ones. dungeons. And there, in the secret cellars of the Temple’s belly, Philip the Fair, for the first time in his life, saw the untold wealth of the order, accumulated over 200 years.
What to do, the king is weak, like simple people... The greedy gaze of the beggar king rested on forged chests filled with gold, on leather bags with diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds. And at that very moment, Philip realized that he was ready to do anything just to get all these riches of the Order of the Templars. And no friendship, no godparenthood through a daughter could save Philip the Fair from the fatal step - returning to Paris after the suppression of the uprising, he accused the order of heresy. The same order that hid him and helped protect the throne.
However, in order to bring an accusation, the consent of the Pope himself was required, and King Philip obtained permission from Pope Clement V to dissolve the Knights Templar. Moreover, Philip explained to the pope that he owed the order a huge amount of money, which he could not return, but if the treasures of the Templars passed into his hands, then the king would give half of his debt to Clement. In short, there was a topic for conspiracy.
And so, having a papal bull in his hands, King Philip ordered the arrest on Friday 13 (!) October 1307 of all members of the order living in French possessions. By evening, 15 thousand Templars were in chains, of which 2 thousand were knights who had the right to bear arms, that is, just those who could fight back.
Fearing that Grand Master Jacques de Molay might escape, the king committed an absolutely dishonorable act. The day before the general arrest, when no one suspected the hunt for the Templars, on October 12, the funeral of the suddenly deceased daughter-in-law of Philip the Fair took place in the royal palace of Paris. It was them that the king decided to use. As a relative, the godfather of his daughter, he invited the master to the burial ceremony. The gray-haired old warrior Jacques de Molay even carried a funeral veil, which was considered a sign of special trust. And what was the master’s amazement when the next day he, along with 60 leaders of the order, was taken into custody by order of the treacherous king!..
In a word, all those arrested - both the chapter of the order and its ordinary members - were taken by surprise, subjected to interrogation and horrific torture. Everyone was accused of an incredible heresy: supposedly members of the order rejected the name of Christ, desecrated religious shrines, worshiped the devil, performed wild rituals of sodomy, bestiality, and, as is usually stated in such cases, “drank the blood of innocent Christian babies.”
Torture, racking and “Spanish boots” did their job - the knights began to incriminate themselves, confessing to the most terrible sins. On one day, 509 knights were burned alive near Paris. But executions and torture continued for several more years - so many people were in the order.
However, there were also those who, after being forced to confess to unthinkable accusations, renounced testimony obtained under torture. “You said that I confessed! - one of the sufferers shouted to the judges. - But was it I who confessed during your interrogation? Was it I who took upon my soul the monstrous and absurd fruit of your imagination? No, messires! It is torture that asks, and pain that answers!”
The Shrews were burned with particular cruelty - alive on a slow fire that burned for almost a day. This horror happened in the blessed month of March 1310 on a field near the monastery of St. Antonio near Paris, where 54 knights died. The monastery had to be closed for several years - the suffocating and nauseating smell did not disappear...
On March 13 (again this fatal figure), however, according to other sources, on March 14 or even 15 (everything got confused in the haste) of 1314, the Grand Master of the Order, Jacques de Molay, was burned alive over a low fire along with three comrades. The day before, he still managed to publicly declare his innocence. And when the flames engulfed him from all sides, words of either a curse or a prophecy of the Grand Master were heard over the execution square: “Philip and Clement, not even a year will pass before I summon you to the judgment of God! And may the descendants of Philip be cursed to the thirteenth generation. The Capetians should not be on the throne of France!”
The words of the old master were fulfilled - the higher powers did not doubt their righteousness. Less than a month had passed since Pope Clement V died. And his death was terrible. Immediately after the execution of the Grand Master, Philip IV began to suffer from a debilitating illness that doctors could not recognize. And on November 29, 1314, the monster king died in terrible pain.
His eldest son, who ascended the throne under the name Louis X, reigned for only two years (from 1314 to 1316) and died in convulsions from fever. He was only 27 years old. True, his wife, Clementia, was expecting a child. The newborn baby was even christened John I, but he also died. The throne passed to the second son of Philip IV, Philip V. He reigned for six years (from 1316 to 1322), but he was also carried away by terrible dysentery, during which he suffered so much that he screamed out loud for a couple of weeks.
There were no sons left after Philip V, so the throne passed to the last son of Philip the Fair, Charles IV. He reigned from 1322 to 1328, was married three times, but did not have a single child. True, after his death it turned out that his last wife, Jeanne d’Evreux, was pregnant. All Capetians looked forward to the birth of their son Charles IV. But the unfortunate queen gave birth to a daughter on April 1, 1328. What a great joke it was - Master de Molay and his Templars had a lot of fun in Heaven.
The prophecy was fulfilled - direct succession through the male line was broken and the Capetians disappeared from the throne of France forever. And there was no need for a curse until the 13th generation. All the daughters left after the Capetian kings either died in infancy or were barren. And a new dynasty ascended to the throne of France. On May 29, 1329, a representative of the Valois family, Philip VI, was crowned in the Cathedral of Reims.
It’s just that the kingdom’s treasury was empty and remains so. But how come, everyone wondered, didn’t the treacherous Philip IV the Fair get the Templars’ treasures? No - God marks the rogue!
The nosy Pope Clement V, back in 1312, managed to secretly sign a bull that began with the words “To the providence of Christ” and ended with two orders: the Templar Order was dissolved, and its treasures were returned to the bosom of... the Holy Church. In a word, when Philip IV announced the confiscation of the funds of the Order of the Temple, he was told that it was no good to covet something that belonged to the Church, and you could get a summons to the Holy Inquisition Court.
The king then became furious. He even announced that the heir to the Knights of the Temple was not the entire church, but only one of its orders, which the king hastily elevated - the Order of St. John. But the Johannites were poor and did not find the funds to pay the taxes needed by the church on time.
Philip IV, in a rage, ordered the transportation of chests from the cellars of the Temple to begin. But when the people he sent arrived at the fortress, already abandoned by the templars, its dungeons were empty. Since then, there has been a legend about the missing treasures of the Templars. In the sixth century, adventurers and enthusiasts of all stripes were looking for gold, silver and precious stones, but, alas...
Or maybe this is fortunate. It is unlikely that Jacques de Molay did not cast a spell on the treasures, which, according to legend, he instructed his most faithful comrades to transport from the fortress to safe places. So it’s better not to find treasures with such spells...