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The Trial of the Templars
On 18 March 1314, Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Templars, was burned at the stake. For almost two centuries, the knights of the Order of the Temple had flourished during the Crusades in Palestine and Syria, and in the West, notably in France. But in 1307, the Templars in France were arrested by King Philip IV's officials in the name of the Inquisition, their property seized and the men charged with serious heresies, including the denial of Christ, homosexuality and idol worship. Confessions, extracted under torture, were brought before royal and papal tribunals, but in 1310 a number of Templar brothers mounted a defence of their Order, refuelling the controversies which continued for a further four years before the final executions. Malcolm Barber's fascinating account, assessing the charges brought against the Order, once again puts the Templars on trial.
318 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Malcolm Barber
29 books28 followersMalcolm Barber is Emeritus Professor of of Medieval European History at the University of Reading.
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October 25, 2017Classic study of the downfall and end of the order of the Knights Templar in which we see, unsurprisingly, that all the jurisdictions that allowed juridical torture found the Templars guilty of all the charges levelled against them no matter how bizarre and outlandish while those that didn't accept evidence obtained under duress, did not find them guilty.
The story is a fascinating coming together of greed, ambition and possibly devotion to the cause of crusading.
Barber's The New Knighthood and Schein's Fideles Crucis are worth reading for a broader perspectives.
The story is a fascinating coming together of greed, ambition and possibly devotion to the cause of crusading.
Barber's The New Knighthood and Schein's Fideles Crucis are worth reading for a broader perspectives.
June 20, 2013
“A bitter thing, a lamentable thing, a thing which is horrible to contemplate, terrible to hear of, a detestable crime, an execrable evil, an abominable work, a detestable disgrace, a thing almost inhuman, indeed set apart from all humanity.” Hyperbole aside, I would have assumed this was an opinion about the persecution of the Templars, but it’s a description of the Templars’ supposed transgressions from the introduction to the (secret) orders of Philip IV to arrest the Templars (p. 45). This Trial of the Templars is an enormously detailed account of the proceedings of the trial, and the background against which it all transpired. I have to say, I knew it was going to be a cynical matter, but I didn’t realize it was this sordid.
Let me start by saying that Barber did a great job. He’s gone over all the existing evidence (mostly transcripts and records of the trial, but also letters etc.). I doubt you will find a more complete account of the trial itself. I can’t think of anything that could be added, or of any shortcuts Barber might have taken. His mastery of the subject feels complete, and you feel it at every turn of a page.
On to the trial itself: that it was a cynical matter is obvious from the introduction to the trial and the reasons for Philip IV’s chronic lack of money. The French crown needed more and more money to effectively control the large swaths of territory it gained since the rule of Philip II, and Philip IV (called the Fair, but “the Villainous” would perhaps be more accurate) tried to ‘find’ funds by persecuting first the Jews, then the Lombards (North-Italian mercantile families/companies who figured prominently as moneylenders), and then the Templars. Philip, or more exactly, his servants, used existing disapproval of Templar-arrogance and wealth, dissatisfaction with the loss of the Holy Land and frustration at the failures of crusading, and superstition and homophobia to fabricate a case in which the Templars were accused of denying Christ, worshipping idols, and practicing homosexuality, with a side helping of implicated heresy, money-grubbing and satan-worshipping. There is no doubt the Templars were high and mighty before November 13 of 1307, so arrogance is probably something some of them were guilty of. The accusations themselves were nothing but a sham.
The Templars were arrested across France on November 13th 1307. They were taken into royal custody, not papal custody; this is important, because the Templars were formally a religious order, and subject only to the pope. The pope protested against the French king’s methods, but was unable to force him to relinquish control of the Templars. He could do no more than slow the proceedings down, in part also because he rated his personal struggle of papacy vs. monarchy of higher importance than taking a stand for the Templars. The leaders of the Order maintained a constant faith in the pope, which was in fact a pitiable pitiful delusion. Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master, even forsook to appear for the defense of the Order because he wanted to reserve himself for papal judgment.
The main case against the Templars comes down to a pattern, characterized as follows: a new brother is formally received into the order, but during the secret part of the ceremony is ordered to deny Christ, spit on a cross, and perform illicit homosexual acts. The crown-appointed interrogators asked all the captured Templars virtually the same set of questions, and through torture and abuse managed to get confessions from most every Templar. Some were left defiant, but most were broken by the abuse they had to suffer. Because of the system of inquisition, these confessions, shambolic as they were, were a strong force against the Templars. (Those accused were not allowed advocates, they were not allowed to know who made accusation against them – they could only name their enemies, in the hopes of negating the anonymous testimony against them. The point of the inquiry was to fix guilt in order to forgive and rehabilitate.) The confessions of the leaders or the Order, extracted by torture or fear of torture, also counted heavily against them.
Barber describes the proceedings in lots of detail. He gives detailed accounts of what numerous separate Templars testified to: from seeing a cat during reception, to being asked to worship a four-legged three-faced head. These testimonies only prove that the inquisitors (mostly appointed by king Philip) got the story they set out to get; very often it is mentioned how gaolers and royal ministers were present during testimony, in obvious efforts to cow the brutalized Templars. Almost every rule of law, trial and inquisition was bent or disregarded in order to intimidate the Templars. Callous comments by scribes and inquisitors like “subject was incoherent with fear” or “subject is adamant that he wishes to confess, but does not seem to understand what he’s confessing to” reveal how torture was employed to win confessions, and how worthless these confessions really were. Further happenings, like Templars prominent in the defense of the Order suddenly disappearing (like Peter of Bologna), and the king losing patience and having the bishop of Sens burn 84 Templars almost on a whim testify to the sheer inhumanity of the course of events.
I knew beforehand what the trial was about, in broad strokes, and that it was a naked money-grab by the king. I was not expecting to be touched by the sparse stories of defiance and more common stories of older Templars who were so obviously scared out of their minds because of the large-scale program of torture and maltreatment. Even Barber is sometimes numbed by the numerous mentions of torture.
Cynical, sordid, pitiful episode, but a very good book. Scholarly and businesslike.
Let me start by saying that Barber did a great job. He’s gone over all the existing evidence (mostly transcripts and records of the trial, but also letters etc.). I doubt you will find a more complete account of the trial itself. I can’t think of anything that could be added, or of any shortcuts Barber might have taken. His mastery of the subject feels complete, and you feel it at every turn of a page.
On to the trial itself: that it was a cynical matter is obvious from the introduction to the trial and the reasons for Philip IV’s chronic lack of money. The French crown needed more and more money to effectively control the large swaths of territory it gained since the rule of Philip II, and Philip IV (called the Fair, but “the Villainous” would perhaps be more accurate) tried to ‘find’ funds by persecuting first the Jews, then the Lombards (North-Italian mercantile families/companies who figured prominently as moneylenders), and then the Templars. Philip, or more exactly, his servants, used existing disapproval of Templar-arrogance and wealth, dissatisfaction with the loss of the Holy Land and frustration at the failures of crusading, and superstition and homophobia to fabricate a case in which the Templars were accused of denying Christ, worshipping idols, and practicing homosexuality, with a side helping of implicated heresy, money-grubbing and satan-worshipping. There is no doubt the Templars were high and mighty before November 13 of 1307, so arrogance is probably something some of them were guilty of. The accusations themselves were nothing but a sham.
The Templars were arrested across France on November 13th 1307. They were taken into royal custody, not papal custody; this is important, because the Templars were formally a religious order, and subject only to the pope. The pope protested against the French king’s methods, but was unable to force him to relinquish control of the Templars. He could do no more than slow the proceedings down, in part also because he rated his personal struggle of papacy vs. monarchy of higher importance than taking a stand for the Templars. The leaders of the Order maintained a constant faith in the pope, which was in fact a pitiable pitiful delusion. Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master, even forsook to appear for the defense of the Order because he wanted to reserve himself for papal judgment.
The main case against the Templars comes down to a pattern, characterized as follows: a new brother is formally received into the order, but during the secret part of the ceremony is ordered to deny Christ, spit on a cross, and perform illicit homosexual acts. The crown-appointed interrogators asked all the captured Templars virtually the same set of questions, and through torture and abuse managed to get confessions from most every Templar. Some were left defiant, but most were broken by the abuse they had to suffer. Because of the system of inquisition, these confessions, shambolic as they were, were a strong force against the Templars. (Those accused were not allowed advocates, they were not allowed to know who made accusation against them – they could only name their enemies, in the hopes of negating the anonymous testimony against them. The point of the inquiry was to fix guilt in order to forgive and rehabilitate.) The confessions of the leaders or the Order, extracted by torture or fear of torture, also counted heavily against them.
Barber describes the proceedings in lots of detail. He gives detailed accounts of what numerous separate Templars testified to: from seeing a cat during reception, to being asked to worship a four-legged three-faced head. These testimonies only prove that the inquisitors (mostly appointed by king Philip) got the story they set out to get; very often it is mentioned how gaolers and royal ministers were present during testimony, in obvious efforts to cow the brutalized Templars. Almost every rule of law, trial and inquisition was bent or disregarded in order to intimidate the Templars. Callous comments by scribes and inquisitors like “subject was incoherent with fear” or “subject is adamant that he wishes to confess, but does not seem to understand what he’s confessing to” reveal how torture was employed to win confessions, and how worthless these confessions really were. Further happenings, like Templars prominent in the defense of the Order suddenly disappearing (like Peter of Bologna), and the king losing patience and having the bishop of Sens burn 84 Templars almost on a whim testify to the sheer inhumanity of the course of events.
I knew beforehand what the trial was about, in broad strokes, and that it was a naked money-grab by the king. I was not expecting to be touched by the sparse stories of defiance and more common stories of older Templars who were so obviously scared out of their minds because of the large-scale program of torture and maltreatment. Even Barber is sometimes numbed by the numerous mentions of torture.
Cynical, sordid, pitiful episode, but a very good book. Scholarly and businesslike.
September 30, 2022
There have been tons of books written about the Knights Templars that are filled with garbage. The Trial Of the Templars by Malcolm Barber isn’t one of them. This is a sober-minded account of how they were taken down by church and state. In fact, this book isn’t actually a comprehensive history of this most famous of all medieval fraternal orders. It is really about their persecution and destruction at the hands of the monarchy.
The opening chapter gives a short account of who the Templars were. They rose up to be the most prominent and successful order of knights during the Crusades at the turn of the 14th century. They built castles at outposts throughout the Middle East, provided protection for people on pilgrimage to the so-called Holy Land, and set up a primitive banking network. Admission to this secret society was highly coveted because it guaranteed rapid social advancement for the lower classes and they were considered exempt from prosecution by dictate from the Catholic church.
Then Pope Clement V and Phillip IV came to power and everything went to hell for the highly revered knights. Clement V held the papacy in Avignon during the schism when France tried to wrestle the position out of the hands of the Vatican in Rome. Clement V had plans for expanding the power of the church and part of his plot involved uniting all knightly orders into one army in order to fight another crusade. The Templars, who prized their privileged status, didn’t want to share it with others so the conflict went from there. Phillip IV was installed as King of France by divine mandate according to Clement V, who was backed by the monarchy in his bid to control the church from Avignon. Phillip IV also had big ambitions to untie France into one kingdom, taking land from England, Flanders, Germany, Sicily, and Italy. His problem was that the previous king had nearly bankrupted the monarchy by building too many castles and funding too many crusades which were becoming less and less successful due to the rise of Saladin, the commander who led the Muslims to victory over the Crusaders. The battle of Acre, in what is now Syria, was the turning point and they blamed the Templars for the defeat.
Phillip IV needed money and guess who the richest and most unpopular people were at the time?The Templars. Clement and Phillip conspired together to take the order down. The pope declared them heretics and the French aristocracy was put in charge of the trial. Accusations of satanism, blasphemy, and homosexuality were leveled against the Templars and many confessions were obtained after some of the knights were tortured. Many of them retracted their confessions, and those who did were burned at the stake.
Malcolm Barber does an outstanding job of explaining the legal, theological, and technical aspects of the trial and points out how the government and church were able to manipulate the French populace and turn them against the Templars. Part of Barber’s methodology is to repeat over and over again what the Templars confessed. It was the same thing every time: spitting and walking on a cross, denying the divinity of Jesus Christ, worshiping idols, kissing men’s anuses, indulging in sodomy, and practicing witchcraft. By repeating the confessions continuously, the words get seared into your brain. This is awfully annoying for the reader, but it seems Barber has done this to make his point. After reading the same thing so many times, you tend to forget that these confessions were the result of torture. We should know by now that during torture, people will confess to anything, no matter how untrue or absurd, to make the torture stop. Imagine how the medieval illiterates who watched the trials would feel after hearing confession after confession without even knowing the knights had spent so much times in the dungeons. While this might be a mind-numbing writing technique, it goes a long way in helping the author to make his case.
Barber breaks up the painful monotony with one interesting chapter that traces the folkloric roots of the accusations against the Templars. He examines myths, legends, and folk tales that were circulating at the time that contributed to the public’s perception that the Templars were Satanists. Other than that, this book is thankfully devoid of any of the occult or conspiracy theory crap that usually gets attached to the name of the Holy Order Of the Knights Of the Temple.
Malcolm Barber’s The Trial Of the Templars is a stone cold attempt at presenting the facts surrounding the liquidation of the Knights Templar. While it isn’t a thrilling read, he succeeds in demonstrating how the real evil happening in this historical legal drama was on the throne and in the church. None of the skullduggery going on had anything to do with what the Templars were actually up to; it was entirely the result of a plot hatched by those in power who were greedy for more wealth. Don’t say it can’t happen here in America during the 21st century. Human nature hasn’t changed at all since the Middle Ages.
The opening chapter gives a short account of who the Templars were. They rose up to be the most prominent and successful order of knights during the Crusades at the turn of the 14th century. They built castles at outposts throughout the Middle East, provided protection for people on pilgrimage to the so-called Holy Land, and set up a primitive banking network. Admission to this secret society was highly coveted because it guaranteed rapid social advancement for the lower classes and they were considered exempt from prosecution by dictate from the Catholic church.
Then Pope Clement V and Phillip IV came to power and everything went to hell for the highly revered knights. Clement V held the papacy in Avignon during the schism when France tried to wrestle the position out of the hands of the Vatican in Rome. Clement V had plans for expanding the power of the church and part of his plot involved uniting all knightly orders into one army in order to fight another crusade. The Templars, who prized their privileged status, didn’t want to share it with others so the conflict went from there. Phillip IV was installed as King of France by divine mandate according to Clement V, who was backed by the monarchy in his bid to control the church from Avignon. Phillip IV also had big ambitions to untie France into one kingdom, taking land from England, Flanders, Germany, Sicily, and Italy. His problem was that the previous king had nearly bankrupted the monarchy by building too many castles and funding too many crusades which were becoming less and less successful due to the rise of Saladin, the commander who led the Muslims to victory over the Crusaders. The battle of Acre, in what is now Syria, was the turning point and they blamed the Templars for the defeat.
Phillip IV needed money and guess who the richest and most unpopular people were at the time?The Templars. Clement and Phillip conspired together to take the order down. The pope declared them heretics and the French aristocracy was put in charge of the trial. Accusations of satanism, blasphemy, and homosexuality were leveled against the Templars and many confessions were obtained after some of the knights were tortured. Many of them retracted their confessions, and those who did were burned at the stake.
Malcolm Barber does an outstanding job of explaining the legal, theological, and technical aspects of the trial and points out how the government and church were able to manipulate the French populace and turn them against the Templars. Part of Barber’s methodology is to repeat over and over again what the Templars confessed. It was the same thing every time: spitting and walking on a cross, denying the divinity of Jesus Christ, worshiping idols, kissing men’s anuses, indulging in sodomy, and practicing witchcraft. By repeating the confessions continuously, the words get seared into your brain. This is awfully annoying for the reader, but it seems Barber has done this to make his point. After reading the same thing so many times, you tend to forget that these confessions were the result of torture. We should know by now that during torture, people will confess to anything, no matter how untrue or absurd, to make the torture stop. Imagine how the medieval illiterates who watched the trials would feel after hearing confession after confession without even knowing the knights had spent so much times in the dungeons. While this might be a mind-numbing writing technique, it goes a long way in helping the author to make his case.
Barber breaks up the painful monotony with one interesting chapter that traces the folkloric roots of the accusations against the Templars. He examines myths, legends, and folk tales that were circulating at the time that contributed to the public’s perception that the Templars were Satanists. Other than that, this book is thankfully devoid of any of the occult or conspiracy theory crap that usually gets attached to the name of the Holy Order Of the Knights Of the Temple.
Malcolm Barber’s The Trial Of the Templars is a stone cold attempt at presenting the facts surrounding the liquidation of the Knights Templar. While it isn’t a thrilling read, he succeeds in demonstrating how the real evil happening in this historical legal drama was on the throne and in the church. None of the skullduggery going on had anything to do with what the Templars were actually up to; it was entirely the result of a plot hatched by those in power who were greedy for more wealth. Don’t say it can’t happen here in America during the 21st century. Human nature hasn’t changed at all since the Middle Ages.
November 3, 2019
Ok so three Templars go into a bar, one says to the other “it’s Friday the 13th, 1314 AD and I’m studying for my “bar” exam...”
No but seriously, what did these Templar in this book get for ending ushury and creating a communal family of credit to all who are of kind, gentile and noble soul (original credit banking); ending fake exoteric faux Christianity for a moment in favor of a more inner, esoteric, beautiful one and stopping the schills who by then carved it out into modicums for bloodshed over money and property and petty pedantics for power ever in the West; aligning with the high orders of a more peaceful and bold Sufic Islam of Hashassins so much so you are accused of being Islamic and opposing western interests; creating a celibate mystical order of protectors, a brotherhood of men beyond marriage and landlocked, who can assist any visiting holy lands in the East; and who salvage so many ancient relics and books of old resurrecting an architecture and geomancy and symbolism and courtly occasional love and conscious practice of prayer and higher cosmic order of understanding reality unequalled before or since for the past few millenia in the West and revealing such in codes and architecture and far lands for posterity for many ages to come?
For all this you get some coiffe-sleeved smiling, silent, exo/real (sic) -politic, non-illuminated pre-conscious, skeptic dandies, inner raging murderers and micro-law making dead-souled sadists, like Philip the Fair and Boniface and Longshanks (see their historic descriptions if you doubt any of this as mere tirade) who create for the first time at exactly such beautifully rising holy Templar wave time (and a little later the lesser wakes of Braveheart Wallach and Joan of Arc uprises): a matching, contrary, black rogue Orwellian one in the West and in history that begins here ending Medieval Magical Idealism and continuing in unto today: the ever so thoughtful “let us help you help us so we can help you” cheap psychic parlour trick system used in every Human Resources Employee Complaint box now in the West even unto today to weed out and make any suffer who try to complain or change anything; what I mean is Philip the Fair invented the “required attourney” system locked into place, he invented attourneys. And guess who got to approve and appoint your attourneys for you oh Templars? You guessed it. Yes these faux royalty new leaders, they who were anti-hebraic, kicking out even the impoverished jews after being too much in dependency on them in a gross manner; and they were of no noble Aryan inner spirit at all either, no matter how pale: arrested the “Noble=Ariya” Templar on (now here’s some projection because Philip was not deemed spiritually virile enough to join the Templars) charges of homosexuality and heresy (indeed they were “heretics” because truly Orthodox; for they held no modern version of some Jesus meek and mild, but you look at their early rises in Champagne and you see they did love a sort of “Christ” seldom understood in a sort of Meister Eckhart transcendant inner manner and misunderstood as Satanism by the unilluminated); you get the Inquisition and Witch Hunting conducted by the Seculare Arm (those who are skeptics and not in the church at all) into full steam and swing here really picking up killing all kinds of innocent people via the shelled out church and it’s heresy laws it used as mere tools in jest and jesuistry, until Napoleon knocked it on it’s Arse 500 years later; you get a fellow who ruined holy French King lines slowly starting here with his ilk, “the spotted kings,” living on among them ruining things by intrigue and sloganeering; for guess who first used the term “terrorist” in the West? I found it once in an excellent book by a female historian I shall not mention to protect who uncovered a letter of Philip the Fair where he said “make sure to call the people you wish to oppose “terrorists” for it makes the populace believe they are a menace to them and so it becomes easy to prosecute them.” You see what that has got you my family of man, modernity? Oh but you love these types, for as Morrison and Lennon said, “you are all fu&@$ng slaves, peasants as far as I can see.”
These latter types set the bar and created the bar and debar whom they will and they are at the core of the modern fake inner psychological makeup and composition and thinking process and emotionality and understanding in most smiling modern skeptics of no magical idealism today in their manner of operation (see my review on the handbook of clinical psychological disorders); and almost all today are now like them, like so many various shades of grey and peas in a pod unless you have a Temple, Templar-like soul and are gnostic. These pre-modern modern types in the 1300’s are they who burned the Templars and left us with not a single book from them, though some of them escaped through “La Roche” Port at this time (see my review on Zach De La Rocha Rage Against the Machine Book and Lord Pentland’s Book for further hints on such). So now where are we? At the Bar(red) exam.
P.S. Templars and their relation to the famed nasty crusades though some ask? There is no room to show this in such a short review but the Crusades were co-opted money grabs against holy peoples in the East (and finally imploded into it’s own West as evil pseudo-empires always do) “after” the Crusade modernity knows nothing about (that wasn’t of such nature happened and was pulled off by the early Templar), nor was the children’s crusade next co-opted either till the last second; and then from there on you have the above mentioned types publically in horror of such revolution and so using such momentum rather to turn those waves into their quick controlled opposites of opportunism for them and the opposite of what they originally were, whipping and controlling and imprisoning and confiscating the landed good folk once a part of the original Templars monetarily and socially. See for example Raymond of Toulouse if you can discover true information about the right one; and his relation or lack of such with the Pope then. I understand there are different swathes of interpretation to seeing all this time in history better but this one presented here is, nonetheless, an important and accurate and emotionally and morally important one in it’s own right and should be documented here. All things swung and changed on the fulcrum with the killing of the Templars.
Now we are left today instead with a spirit in our steps that can only be reminiscent of this song:
“Ghost in his smile is always looking for new bodies to haunt, and it’s been here disappeared. He’s hanging around a lift lift for awhile gradually gone, it’s pleasing and freezing. Well I wonder what it is you’re after, keeping company with this Disaster?
Looked all over town, got turned around to walk back through the mud, the kind you had left behind you. Everybodies the same in this long no win game where every new blood gets time to become resigned/reassigned. Now I wonder what it is you’re after, keeping company with this Disaster, why you never try to tame your master? You just blow through the coals, blow through the colds, blowed through the calls, till everyone knows that your smile is just the ghost: the ghost in your smile was seen on a body in the park, it’s old Nous/News, you see that it’s no use. Waiting to start, waiting to lie, wait until dark; I told you, man, I told you. Well I wonder what it is you’re after, keeping company with this disaster, why you never try to tame your master?”
- Elliott Smith, New Disaster
No but seriously, what did these Templar in this book get for ending ushury and creating a communal family of credit to all who are of kind, gentile and noble soul (original credit banking); ending fake exoteric faux Christianity for a moment in favor of a more inner, esoteric, beautiful one and stopping the schills who by then carved it out into modicums for bloodshed over money and property and petty pedantics for power ever in the West; aligning with the high orders of a more peaceful and bold Sufic Islam of Hashassins so much so you are accused of being Islamic and opposing western interests; creating a celibate mystical order of protectors, a brotherhood of men beyond marriage and landlocked, who can assist any visiting holy lands in the East; and who salvage so many ancient relics and books of old resurrecting an architecture and geomancy and symbolism and courtly occasional love and conscious practice of prayer and higher cosmic order of understanding reality unequalled before or since for the past few millenia in the West and revealing such in codes and architecture and far lands for posterity for many ages to come?
For all this you get some coiffe-sleeved smiling, silent, exo/real (sic) -politic, non-illuminated pre-conscious, skeptic dandies, inner raging murderers and micro-law making dead-souled sadists, like Philip the Fair and Boniface and Longshanks (see their historic descriptions if you doubt any of this as mere tirade) who create for the first time at exactly such beautifully rising holy Templar wave time (and a little later the lesser wakes of Braveheart Wallach and Joan of Arc uprises): a matching, contrary, black rogue Orwellian one in the West and in history that begins here ending Medieval Magical Idealism and continuing in unto today: the ever so thoughtful “let us help you help us so we can help you” cheap psychic parlour trick system used in every Human Resources Employee Complaint box now in the West even unto today to weed out and make any suffer who try to complain or change anything; what I mean is Philip the Fair invented the “required attourney” system locked into place, he invented attourneys. And guess who got to approve and appoint your attourneys for you oh Templars? You guessed it. Yes these faux royalty new leaders, they who were anti-hebraic, kicking out even the impoverished jews after being too much in dependency on them in a gross manner; and they were of no noble Aryan inner spirit at all either, no matter how pale: arrested the “Noble=Ariya” Templar on (now here’s some projection because Philip was not deemed spiritually virile enough to join the Templars) charges of homosexuality and heresy (indeed they were “heretics” because truly Orthodox; for they held no modern version of some Jesus meek and mild, but you look at their early rises in Champagne and you see they did love a sort of “Christ” seldom understood in a sort of Meister Eckhart transcendant inner manner and misunderstood as Satanism by the unilluminated); you get the Inquisition and Witch Hunting conducted by the Seculare Arm (those who are skeptics and not in the church at all) into full steam and swing here really picking up killing all kinds of innocent people via the shelled out church and it’s heresy laws it used as mere tools in jest and jesuistry, until Napoleon knocked it on it’s Arse 500 years later; you get a fellow who ruined holy French King lines slowly starting here with his ilk, “the spotted kings,” living on among them ruining things by intrigue and sloganeering; for guess who first used the term “terrorist” in the West? I found it once in an excellent book by a female historian I shall not mention to protect who uncovered a letter of Philip the Fair where he said “make sure to call the people you wish to oppose “terrorists” for it makes the populace believe they are a menace to them and so it becomes easy to prosecute them.” You see what that has got you my family of man, modernity? Oh but you love these types, for as Morrison and Lennon said, “you are all fu&@$ng slaves, peasants as far as I can see.”
These latter types set the bar and created the bar and debar whom they will and they are at the core of the modern fake inner psychological makeup and composition and thinking process and emotionality and understanding in most smiling modern skeptics of no magical idealism today in their manner of operation (see my review on the handbook of clinical psychological disorders); and almost all today are now like them, like so many various shades of grey and peas in a pod unless you have a Temple, Templar-like soul and are gnostic. These pre-modern modern types in the 1300’s are they who burned the Templars and left us with not a single book from them, though some of them escaped through “La Roche” Port at this time (see my review on Zach De La Rocha Rage Against the Machine Book and Lord Pentland’s Book for further hints on such). So now where are we? At the Bar(red) exam.
P.S. Templars and their relation to the famed nasty crusades though some ask? There is no room to show this in such a short review but the Crusades were co-opted money grabs against holy peoples in the East (and finally imploded into it’s own West as evil pseudo-empires always do) “after” the Crusade modernity knows nothing about (that wasn’t of such nature happened and was pulled off by the early Templar), nor was the children’s crusade next co-opted either till the last second; and then from there on you have the above mentioned types publically in horror of such revolution and so using such momentum rather to turn those waves into their quick controlled opposites of opportunism for them and the opposite of what they originally were, whipping and controlling and imprisoning and confiscating the landed good folk once a part of the original Templars monetarily and socially. See for example Raymond of Toulouse if you can discover true information about the right one; and his relation or lack of such with the Pope then. I understand there are different swathes of interpretation to seeing all this time in history better but this one presented here is, nonetheless, an important and accurate and emotionally and morally important one in it’s own right and should be documented here. All things swung and changed on the fulcrum with the killing of the Templars.
Now we are left today instead with a spirit in our steps that can only be reminiscent of this song:
“Ghost in his smile is always looking for new bodies to haunt, and it’s been here disappeared. He’s hanging around a lift lift for awhile gradually gone, it’s pleasing and freezing. Well I wonder what it is you’re after, keeping company with this Disaster?
Looked all over town, got turned around to walk back through the mud, the kind you had left behind you. Everybodies the same in this long no win game where every new blood gets time to become resigned/reassigned. Now I wonder what it is you’re after, keeping company with this Disaster, why you never try to tame your master? You just blow through the coals, blow through the colds, blowed through the calls, till everyone knows that your smile is just the ghost: the ghost in your smile was seen on a body in the park, it’s old Nous/News, you see that it’s no use. Waiting to start, waiting to lie, wait until dark; I told you, man, I told you. Well I wonder what it is you’re after, keeping company with this disaster, why you never try to tame your master?”
- Elliott Smith, New Disaster
March 7, 2017
A sober study that aims to go through the details of the Templar trial to examine why the Order was attacked and destroyed in France in the manner that it was, and whether the charges were justified. Barber finds no evidence for the various sins the Templars were accused of and argues that the differing levels of torture employed between France and England demonstrate the falsity of the confessions extracted in the former. He posits that Philip IV wanted the Templars’s wealth and wanted to target a heterodox group to strengthen his own claim to have a holy monarchy. The tide was turning against the Templars: popular opinion was not overly fond of them, they were seen as insufficiently monastic, the failure of the crusading movement raised questions about their existence, and they were unable to establish another raison d'être as the Hospitallers and Teutonics did. This made them vulnerable to an avaricious king and a weak pope.
April 26, 2023
The Trial of the Templars examines the violent dissolution of the religious order of warrior-monks, its motivations, and its outcomes. Author Malcolm Barber states clearly on p. 45 “The attack on the Templars must be seen in the context of the many methods employed by the French government in its efforts to relieve the acute financial problems of the reign.”
In a nutshell, Barber argues that France’s Philip IV faced a series of financial crises and was forced to find a way to alleviate the resulting economic pressures. While primarily tasked with fighting perceived enemies of Christendom, the Templars also acted as bankers and acquired great wealth over time. But after the fall of Acre, the Crusaders had largely been expelled from the Holy Land, untethering the Templars from the purpose for which they were originally conceived. As such, this left the Order politically vulnerable, and Philip IV pounced, motivated in seizing Templar property to satisfy debts and revitalize his nation’s currency. Using the precedents set by the inquisition against the Cathars and the Waldensians, torture was used to pry confessions from the Templars. A power struggle ensued between the papacy under Pope Clement V, to whom the Templars were ultimately answerable, and Philip IV, with the former lacking the military or political clout to prevail. In the end, the Templar Order was disbanded by papal decree and Philip managed to enrich his treasury by taxing the Hospitallers, who were the beneficiaries of seized Templar property.
Many books have been written about the Templars, most verging on conspiracy theories on the level of fictional works such as The Da Vinci Code or Assassin’s Creed. Barber’s work is refreshingly underpinned by meticulous research. Its thesis is convincing and well supported by primary and secondary sources. There is also a details discussion regarding the historiography of the repression of the Templar Order.
Barber establishes a clear motive for Philip V’s attack on the Order by outlining the financial distresses his kingdom faced at the time of the inquisition against the Templars, namely France’s inefficient system of taxation. His most compelling arguments concentrate on the use of torture to illicit confessions from the Order’s members. That some Templars were able to withstand those grisly acts and refused to confess is a testament to their innocence. Moreover, the Templar leaders were all executed for later recanting their confessions. But most importantly, Barber demonstrates a clear correlation between the use of physical force and gaining confessions, by citing how few Templars admitted to the crimes for which they were accused in jurisdiction that did not employ torture.
Another compelling argument involved the uniformity of the crimes each Templar was accused of. Almost all of them were charge with the same specific crimes: spitting on a crucifix, homosexuality (viewed as a serious crime by Catholic authorities), and idolatry.
One line of attack that was perhaps less convincing was the origins of the idolatry involving cats. Much of these arguments were based on speculation and read like conjecture. They felt superfluous when added to stronger arguments that didn’t require buttressing.
Overall, The Trial of the Templars is a refreshing examination of the dissolution of the Templar Order because it is based on historical sources and cogently argued.
In a nutshell, Barber argues that France’s Philip IV faced a series of financial crises and was forced to find a way to alleviate the resulting economic pressures. While primarily tasked with fighting perceived enemies of Christendom, the Templars also acted as bankers and acquired great wealth over time. But after the fall of Acre, the Crusaders had largely been expelled from the Holy Land, untethering the Templars from the purpose for which they were originally conceived. As such, this left the Order politically vulnerable, and Philip IV pounced, motivated in seizing Templar property to satisfy debts and revitalize his nation’s currency. Using the precedents set by the inquisition against the Cathars and the Waldensians, torture was used to pry confessions from the Templars. A power struggle ensued between the papacy under Pope Clement V, to whom the Templars were ultimately answerable, and Philip IV, with the former lacking the military or political clout to prevail. In the end, the Templar Order was disbanded by papal decree and Philip managed to enrich his treasury by taxing the Hospitallers, who were the beneficiaries of seized Templar property.
Many books have been written about the Templars, most verging on conspiracy theories on the level of fictional works such as The Da Vinci Code or Assassin’s Creed. Barber’s work is refreshingly underpinned by meticulous research. Its thesis is convincing and well supported by primary and secondary sources. There is also a details discussion regarding the historiography of the repression of the Templar Order.
Barber establishes a clear motive for Philip V’s attack on the Order by outlining the financial distresses his kingdom faced at the time of the inquisition against the Templars, namely France’s inefficient system of taxation. His most compelling arguments concentrate on the use of torture to illicit confessions from the Order’s members. That some Templars were able to withstand those grisly acts and refused to confess is a testament to their innocence. Moreover, the Templar leaders were all executed for later recanting their confessions. But most importantly, Barber demonstrates a clear correlation between the use of physical force and gaining confessions, by citing how few Templars admitted to the crimes for which they were accused in jurisdiction that did not employ torture.
Another compelling argument involved the uniformity of the crimes each Templar was accused of. Almost all of them were charge with the same specific crimes: spitting on a crucifix, homosexuality (viewed as a serious crime by Catholic authorities), and idolatry.
One line of attack that was perhaps less convincing was the origins of the idolatry involving cats. Much of these arguments were based on speculation and read like conjecture. They felt superfluous when added to stronger arguments that didn’t require buttressing.
Overall, The Trial of the Templars is a refreshing examination of the dissolution of the Templar Order because it is based on historical sources and cogently argued.
February 10, 2016
MALCOLM BARBER, PhD, Prof, Ortaçağ Avrupa Tarihçisi, Reading Üniveristesi, ING-2006 (2.Baskı), TR-2009, Phoenix Yayın, Çeviren: Nuri Plümer, 608 sf.
***MASONLARIN ÖNCÜLLERİNDEN BİRİ: TAPINAKÇILAR***
-TAPINAK ŞÖVALYELERİ, 1119 yılında KUDÜS topraklarında Hugues de Payns ve Godfrey de Saint-Omer isimli iki Fransız şövalyesi tarafından kurulan ASKERİ bir DİNSEL TARİKATTIR.
-12. ve 13.yy. boyunca, gerek Filistin ve Suriye'de HAÇLILAR tarafından kurulan DEVLETLERDE, gerekse Batı'da, özellikle FRANSA'da GENİŞ TOPRAKLAR ve MÜLKLER edindiler. Hem doğrudan sorumlu oldukları ve mülklerini koruma altına alan PAPALAR, hem de üyelerinin topraklarında yaşadıkları laik KRALLAR tarafından kendilerine sağlanan DİNİ ve HUKUKİ AYRICALIKLARDAN yararlandılar. Tapınakçıların OLAĞANÜSTÜ MEZİYETLERİ ve eşine az rastlanır derecedeki DÜRÜSTLÜKLERİ nedeniyle onlara İNSAN GÜCÜ ve AŞAR VERGİSİ tahsisi yapılıyordu. Ayrıca, tarikatlarının ULUSLARARASI YAPISININ sağladığı kolaylıklardan faydalanarak geniş çapta BANKACILIK faaliyetleri ile de uğraştılar ve ÇOK GÜÇLENDİLER.
-Manastırlarındaki gündelik yaşam, keşişlerin olağan yaşamından farklı değildi: Dini törenlere katılmak, tam bir sessizlik içinde ve okunan Kutsal Kitap eşliğinde topluca yenilen yemekler, haftada üç gün et yemeklerinin bulunduğu son derece sade bir diyet, her türlü gösterişten uzak giysiler, davranış biçimleri ve donanımlar ve KİŞİSEL BİR MÜLKİYETİN BULUNMAMASI. Tarikat, bir SADAKAT TAAHHÜDÜ ve SIKI BİR DİSİPLİN gerektirir ve bunların dışına çıkanlar, yüksek yetkilere sahip Üstat (ve Meclis) tarafından cezalandırılırdı (kovulma dahil). Bir kez tarikata giren üye, üstadın izni olmaksızın Tarikat'tan ayrılamaz ve başka bir manastıra geçemezdi.
İtaat, bekaret ve kanaatkarlık erdem; rüşvet, ihanet, sır ifşası, sapkınlık ve eşcinsellik ise büyük suç sayılıyordu.
-Bu denli güçlü ve ünlü olmalarını sağlayan doğuda kurulan HAÇLI DEVLETLERİNİN ASKERİ YÖNDEN SAVUNULMASI (172 yıl kesintisiz) konusunda büyük bir sorumluluğa sahiptiler. 1250'ler sonrasındaki Moğol istilasını takiben, Mısır'dan gelen Memluklar tarafından 1291'de doğuda yerleşik HIRİSTİYAN NÜFUSUN BÖLGEDEN SÜRÜLMESİ üzerine, Tapınak Şövalyeleri esas varoluş amaçlarından uzaklaştılar. Tarikatın yeni kabul edilen adaylardan RÜŞVET kabul etmeleri ve ellerindeki topraklardan AZAMİ GELİR için, haklarını son derece sıkı biçimde kullanmaları, Papalığa şikayet edilmeye başlanmıştı.
-1292'de JACQUES DE MOLAY üstat seçildi. En büyük önceliği, Doğuda Tarikat'ın yeniden yapılandırması idi. 1291'de AKKA'nın düşmesi, kaçınılmaz olarak tüm dikkatleri üç askeri tapınağın (diğerleri: HOSPİTALLER; kuruluş:1070; TÖTONLAR; kuruluş:1190) rolü üzerinde toplamıştı ve bu tarikatların etkinlik konusunda gösterdikleri yetersizlikler, öncelikle bir ilgi odağı oluşturmuştu. Bunlara karşı durmaya çalışan Molay, yıllar süren ziyaretler sonucunda belli ölçüde insan ve malzeme sağlamayı başardı. 1300'lerin başında Doğu'da giriştiği toparlanma harekatı yine Memluklar tarafından başarısızlığa uğratıldı (Aynı dönemde Hospitaller Tarikatı Rodos'u, Tötonlar ise Prusya'yı ilhak etmeyi ve bir süre daha devam edebilmeyi becerebilmişti).
1305'de V.Clemens papalığa seçildi ve 1306'da Molay tekrar Fransa'ya döndü.
-Tarikatın Fransa'da yaşayan üyeleri 1307'de birdenbire, Kral IV. (Güzel) Philippe'in askerleri tarafından engizisyon adına tutuklandı. İSA'NIN REDDİ, KUTSAL HAÇIN ÜZERİNE TÜKÜRMEK, UYGUNSUZ BİÇİMDE ÖPÜŞMEK ve EŞCİNSELLİK, GİZLİ TÖRENLERDE ve RUHANİ MECLİS TOPLANTILARINDA PUTLARA TAPINMA gibi ciddi birtakım sapkınlık eylemleri ile suçlandılar. Yoğun İŞKENCELER sonrasında, Molay ve Tarikat müfettişi Pairaud dahil tutuklu şövalyeler sanki AĞIZ BİRLİĞİ YAPMIŞ GİBİ suçlarını İTİRAF (1.) ettiler.
-PAPA V.Clemens, kendisine bağlı olan şövalyelerin tutuklanmasını kendi OTORİTESİNE KARŞI DOĞRUDAN MEYDAN OKUMA olarak görerek, temsilcilerini Molay ve Pairaud ile görüşmeye gönderdi; her ikisi de İTİRAFLARINI GERİ ALIP (1.) diğer tutuklulara da aynısını yapma çağrısında bulundular. Papa 1308'de SORUŞTURMAYI DURDURDU.
-Kral Papa'yı ŞİDDET İLE TEHDİT ederek Papalık Komisyonu kurularak yeniden görüşülmesini kabule zorladı. 1309'daki yaygın ve ağır işkenceler, şövalyelerin çoğunun geri aldıkları İTİRAFLARINI yeniden KABUL (2.) etmesine yol açtı (1309 tarihi aynı zamanda, Fransa Kralı-Papalık savaşı nedeniyle 68 yıl sürecek olan AVIGNON PAPALIĞI döneminin başlangıcıdır; soldaki resimde: Avignon Papalık Sarayı -FNK-).
-1310'da 600 kadar Tarikat üyesinin İTİRAFLARIN tamamını REDDEREK (2.) savunma kararı alması üzerine Papa duruşmaları ertelemek istedi; Kralın buna çok sert karşılık vererek, kendi düzenlediği duruşmalarla suçlu buldurduğu 54 şövalyeyi kazığa bağlatarak yaktırması üzerine diğer üyeler tekrar İTİRAFLARI KABUL (3.) etmek zorunda kaldı.
-Papalığın duruşmaları ise 1312'de sonlandı (Viyana'daki nihai duruşmaya Kral Philippe de gitti) ve buna istinaden Papa tarafından, Tarikat'ın ONURUNUN artık faaliyetlerini sürdüremeyecek kadar KİRLENDİĞİ gerekçesiyle LAĞVEDİLMESİNE ve tüm mal varlıklarının HOSPİTALLER (St.Jean) Tarikatı'na bırakılmasına nihai olarak karar verildi.
-1313'de KRAL, duruşma masraflarını gerekçe göstererek Hospitaller'den BÜYÜK MİKTARDA PARA ALDI.
-Tarikat'ın büyük liderleri 1314'de Papalık tarafından özel olarak yargılanarak ömür boyu hapse mahkum edildiyseler de Jacques de MOLAY ve Geoffroi de Charney kararı hararetle protesto ederek Tarikat'ın saf ve kutsal olduğunu ısrarla vurguladılar (Hugues de Pairaud ve Geoiffroi de Goneville ise kararı kabul ettiler) ve bunun üzerine Kral tarafından Seine Nehri üzerindeki Javiaux adasında (Paris'in ortasındaki St.Louis adası) adasında kazığa dikilerek yaktırıldılar (Aynı yıl Papa ve Kral da öldüler).
KONUYA İLİŞKİN SON DÖNEM TARİH TARİH ÇALIŞMALARI:
-Ayrıntılı belgelere dayalı tarih çalışmalarında, Tapınakçılara yöneltilen SUÇLAMALARIN ÖZÜNDE MESNETSİZ OLDUĞU anlaşılmıştır.
-Yoğun bir biçimde YÖNETİM ve FİNANSMAN alanlarına yönelmesinin, manastıra bağlı herhangi bir tarikatın RUHANİ DİNAMİZMİNE CİDDİ ANLAMDA TEHDİT OLUŞTURDUĞU ve Tarikat'ın AYRICALIKLARININ diğer keşiş ve rahiplere tanınanlardan daha büyük olduğu tartışmasız olarak kabul edilmektedir.
-Tarikat bünyesinde YAYGIN OLMAYAN EŞCİNSELLİĞİN ve birtakım DİNSEL ZAAFLARIN olduğu birkaç tarihçi tarafından savunulsa da, son 50 yıl içinde, Tapınakçıların SUÇLU OLDUKLARINI SAVUNAN TARİHÇİ YOK DENECEK KADAR AZDIR.
-Dönem, İŞKENCE, CADI AVI ve İNFAZ TOPLUMU'nun ortaya çıkmaya başladığı bir dönemdir (16.-17.yy.da zirve yapar) ve bu durum hadisenin arka planını oluşturan ASLİ NEDENLERDENDİR.
-Fransa Krallığı PARASAL AÇIDAN VAHİM BİR DURUMDADIR (Tapınak Şövalyeleri'nden önce, 1306'da Yahudilerin mülklerinin müsaderesi gerçekleştirilmiştir).
TARİKAT'IN PARASAL GÜCÜ, Krallık için yeni CAZİBE unsurudur.
-Kral, DİNSEL MEGALOMAN denilecek düzeyde MARAZİ BİR DİNDAR, karısının ölümünden sonra giderek artan biçimde kendini MİSTİSİZME kaptırmış, İNANCA İLİŞKİN SUÇLARDA ACIMASIZ, DEVLETİN BÜYÜCÜLERİN ve TARİKAT'IN TEHDİDİ ALTINDA OLDUĞUNA İNANAN, politik konuları kraliyet mühürdarı NOGARET'e bırakmış olan bir şahsiyettir.
-Nogaret, devlet gücü fanatiği bir entrikacıdır ve birçok araştırmacı tarafından, kralın dindarlığı üzerinden SERVETİN MÜSADERESİ için AHLAKİ BİR ZEMİN oluşturması planının mimarı olarak gösterilir)
-Yargılama süreci, klasik anlamda suçluluğun ya da masumiyetin sınanması şeklinde değil, TOPLUMUN IV.Philippe hükümetinin bu şekilde davranmasına neden olan KOŞULLARI ORTAYA ÇIKARTARAK, bir zamanlar BÜYÜK BİR GURURLA YETİŞTİRDİĞİ BİR TARİKAT'I EZEREK yaşamına son verdiği BİR ORTAÇAĞ TRAJEDİSİ şeklinde algılanmalıdır.
-Kral ve Nogaret'in planları, GELENEKSEL FEODAL VE DİNSEL GÜÇLERİ ZAYIFLATACAK YENİ, MERKEZİYETÇİ BİR DEVLETİN KURULMASINA YÖNELİKTİR. Bu plan, İŞKENCE ve KARANLIK GÜÇLER FAALİYETLERİ ile MERKEZİLEŞMİŞ BİR POLİS DEVLETİ ile sonuçlanmıştır.
**********
EK BİLGİ:
Tarikatın bir çok yönden devamını da içlerine alan MASONLARIN günümüzdeki merkezi, İskoçya-Edinburgh yakınındaki Rosslyn Şapeli'dir.
(bakınız: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_... )
Gerçek anlamda bir SEMBOLİZM TAPINAĞI olan ROSSLYN ŞAPELİ'nin içindeki AYRINTILARI gösteren bir VİDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sutS9...
***MASONLARIN ÖNCÜLLERİNDEN BİRİ: TAPINAKÇILAR***
-TAPINAK ŞÖVALYELERİ, 1119 yılında KUDÜS topraklarında Hugues de Payns ve Godfrey de Saint-Omer isimli iki Fransız şövalyesi tarafından kurulan ASKERİ bir DİNSEL TARİKATTIR.
-12. ve 13.yy. boyunca, gerek Filistin ve Suriye'de HAÇLILAR tarafından kurulan DEVLETLERDE, gerekse Batı'da, özellikle FRANSA'da GENİŞ TOPRAKLAR ve MÜLKLER edindiler. Hem doğrudan sorumlu oldukları ve mülklerini koruma altına alan PAPALAR, hem de üyelerinin topraklarında yaşadıkları laik KRALLAR tarafından kendilerine sağlanan DİNİ ve HUKUKİ AYRICALIKLARDAN yararlandılar. Tapınakçıların OLAĞANÜSTÜ MEZİYETLERİ ve eşine az rastlanır derecedeki DÜRÜSTLÜKLERİ nedeniyle onlara İNSAN GÜCÜ ve AŞAR VERGİSİ tahsisi yapılıyordu. Ayrıca, tarikatlarının ULUSLARARASI YAPISININ sağladığı kolaylıklardan faydalanarak geniş çapta BANKACILIK faaliyetleri ile de uğraştılar ve ÇOK GÜÇLENDİLER.
-Manastırlarındaki gündelik yaşam, keşişlerin olağan yaşamından farklı değildi: Dini törenlere katılmak, tam bir sessizlik içinde ve okunan Kutsal Kitap eşliğinde topluca yenilen yemekler, haftada üç gün et yemeklerinin bulunduğu son derece sade bir diyet, her türlü gösterişten uzak giysiler, davranış biçimleri ve donanımlar ve KİŞİSEL BİR MÜLKİYETİN BULUNMAMASI. Tarikat, bir SADAKAT TAAHHÜDÜ ve SIKI BİR DİSİPLİN gerektirir ve bunların dışına çıkanlar, yüksek yetkilere sahip Üstat (ve Meclis) tarafından cezalandırılırdı (kovulma dahil). Bir kez tarikata giren üye, üstadın izni olmaksızın Tarikat'tan ayrılamaz ve başka bir manastıra geçemezdi.
İtaat, bekaret ve kanaatkarlık erdem; rüşvet, ihanet, sır ifşası, sapkınlık ve eşcinsellik ise büyük suç sayılıyordu.
-Bu denli güçlü ve ünlü olmalarını sağlayan doğuda kurulan HAÇLI DEVLETLERİNİN ASKERİ YÖNDEN SAVUNULMASI (172 yıl kesintisiz) konusunda büyük bir sorumluluğa sahiptiler. 1250'ler sonrasındaki Moğol istilasını takiben, Mısır'dan gelen Memluklar tarafından 1291'de doğuda yerleşik HIRİSTİYAN NÜFUSUN BÖLGEDEN SÜRÜLMESİ üzerine, Tapınak Şövalyeleri esas varoluş amaçlarından uzaklaştılar. Tarikatın yeni kabul edilen adaylardan RÜŞVET kabul etmeleri ve ellerindeki topraklardan AZAMİ GELİR için, haklarını son derece sıkı biçimde kullanmaları, Papalığa şikayet edilmeye başlanmıştı.
-1292'de JACQUES DE MOLAY üstat seçildi. En büyük önceliği, Doğuda Tarikat'ın yeniden yapılandırması idi. 1291'de AKKA'nın düşmesi, kaçınılmaz olarak tüm dikkatleri üç askeri tapınağın (diğerleri: HOSPİTALLER; kuruluş:1070; TÖTONLAR; kuruluş:1190) rolü üzerinde toplamıştı ve bu tarikatların etkinlik konusunda gösterdikleri yetersizlikler, öncelikle bir ilgi odağı oluşturmuştu. Bunlara karşı durmaya çalışan Molay, yıllar süren ziyaretler sonucunda belli ölçüde insan ve malzeme sağlamayı başardı. 1300'lerin başında Doğu'da giriştiği toparlanma harekatı yine Memluklar tarafından başarısızlığa uğratıldı (Aynı dönemde Hospitaller Tarikatı Rodos'u, Tötonlar ise Prusya'yı ilhak etmeyi ve bir süre daha devam edebilmeyi becerebilmişti).
1305'de V.Clemens papalığa seçildi ve 1306'da Molay tekrar Fransa'ya döndü.
-Tarikatın Fransa'da yaşayan üyeleri 1307'de birdenbire, Kral IV. (Güzel) Philippe'in askerleri tarafından engizisyon adına tutuklandı. İSA'NIN REDDİ, KUTSAL HAÇIN ÜZERİNE TÜKÜRMEK, UYGUNSUZ BİÇİMDE ÖPÜŞMEK ve EŞCİNSELLİK, GİZLİ TÖRENLERDE ve RUHANİ MECLİS TOPLANTILARINDA PUTLARA TAPINMA gibi ciddi birtakım sapkınlık eylemleri ile suçlandılar. Yoğun İŞKENCELER sonrasında, Molay ve Tarikat müfettişi Pairaud dahil tutuklu şövalyeler sanki AĞIZ BİRLİĞİ YAPMIŞ GİBİ suçlarını İTİRAF (1.) ettiler.
-PAPA V.Clemens, kendisine bağlı olan şövalyelerin tutuklanmasını kendi OTORİTESİNE KARŞI DOĞRUDAN MEYDAN OKUMA olarak görerek, temsilcilerini Molay ve Pairaud ile görüşmeye gönderdi; her ikisi de İTİRAFLARINI GERİ ALIP (1.) diğer tutuklulara da aynısını yapma çağrısında bulundular. Papa 1308'de SORUŞTURMAYI DURDURDU.
-Kral Papa'yı ŞİDDET İLE TEHDİT ederek Papalık Komisyonu kurularak yeniden görüşülmesini kabule zorladı. 1309'daki yaygın ve ağır işkenceler, şövalyelerin çoğunun geri aldıkları İTİRAFLARINI yeniden KABUL (2.) etmesine yol açtı (1309 tarihi aynı zamanda, Fransa Kralı-Papalık savaşı nedeniyle 68 yıl sürecek olan AVIGNON PAPALIĞI döneminin başlangıcıdır; soldaki resimde: Avignon Papalık Sarayı -FNK-).
-1310'da 600 kadar Tarikat üyesinin İTİRAFLARIN tamamını REDDEREK (2.) savunma kararı alması üzerine Papa duruşmaları ertelemek istedi; Kralın buna çok sert karşılık vererek, kendi düzenlediği duruşmalarla suçlu buldurduğu 54 şövalyeyi kazığa bağlatarak yaktırması üzerine diğer üyeler tekrar İTİRAFLARI KABUL (3.) etmek zorunda kaldı.
-Papalığın duruşmaları ise 1312'de sonlandı (Viyana'daki nihai duruşmaya Kral Philippe de gitti) ve buna istinaden Papa tarafından, Tarikat'ın ONURUNUN artık faaliyetlerini sürdüremeyecek kadar KİRLENDİĞİ gerekçesiyle LAĞVEDİLMESİNE ve tüm mal varlıklarının HOSPİTALLER (St.Jean) Tarikatı'na bırakılmasına nihai olarak karar verildi.
-1313'de KRAL, duruşma masraflarını gerekçe göstererek Hospitaller'den BÜYÜK MİKTARDA PARA ALDI.
-Tarikat'ın büyük liderleri 1314'de Papalık tarafından özel olarak yargılanarak ömür boyu hapse mahkum edildiyseler de Jacques de MOLAY ve Geoffroi de Charney kararı hararetle protesto ederek Tarikat'ın saf ve kutsal olduğunu ısrarla vurguladılar (Hugues de Pairaud ve Geoiffroi de Goneville ise kararı kabul ettiler) ve bunun üzerine Kral tarafından Seine Nehri üzerindeki Javiaux adasında (Paris'in ortasındaki St.Louis adası) adasında kazığa dikilerek yaktırıldılar (Aynı yıl Papa ve Kral da öldüler).
KONUYA İLİŞKİN SON DÖNEM TARİH TARİH ÇALIŞMALARI:
-Ayrıntılı belgelere dayalı tarih çalışmalarında, Tapınakçılara yöneltilen SUÇLAMALARIN ÖZÜNDE MESNETSİZ OLDUĞU anlaşılmıştır.
-Yoğun bir biçimde YÖNETİM ve FİNANSMAN alanlarına yönelmesinin, manastıra bağlı herhangi bir tarikatın RUHANİ DİNAMİZMİNE CİDDİ ANLAMDA TEHDİT OLUŞTURDUĞU ve Tarikat'ın AYRICALIKLARININ diğer keşiş ve rahiplere tanınanlardan daha büyük olduğu tartışmasız olarak kabul edilmektedir.
-Tarikat bünyesinde YAYGIN OLMAYAN EŞCİNSELLİĞİN ve birtakım DİNSEL ZAAFLARIN olduğu birkaç tarihçi tarafından savunulsa da, son 50 yıl içinde, Tapınakçıların SUÇLU OLDUKLARINI SAVUNAN TARİHÇİ YOK DENECEK KADAR AZDIR.
-Dönem, İŞKENCE, CADI AVI ve İNFAZ TOPLUMU'nun ortaya çıkmaya başladığı bir dönemdir (16.-17.yy.da zirve yapar) ve bu durum hadisenin arka planını oluşturan ASLİ NEDENLERDENDİR.
-Fransa Krallığı PARASAL AÇIDAN VAHİM BİR DURUMDADIR (Tapınak Şövalyeleri'nden önce, 1306'da Yahudilerin mülklerinin müsaderesi gerçekleştirilmiştir).
TARİKAT'IN PARASAL GÜCÜ, Krallık için yeni CAZİBE unsurudur.
-Kral, DİNSEL MEGALOMAN denilecek düzeyde MARAZİ BİR DİNDAR, karısının ölümünden sonra giderek artan biçimde kendini MİSTİSİZME kaptırmış, İNANCA İLİŞKİN SUÇLARDA ACIMASIZ, DEVLETİN BÜYÜCÜLERİN ve TARİKAT'IN TEHDİDİ ALTINDA OLDUĞUNA İNANAN, politik konuları kraliyet mühürdarı NOGARET'e bırakmış olan bir şahsiyettir.
-Nogaret, devlet gücü fanatiği bir entrikacıdır ve birçok araştırmacı tarafından, kralın dindarlığı üzerinden SERVETİN MÜSADERESİ için AHLAKİ BİR ZEMİN oluşturması planının mimarı olarak gösterilir)
-Yargılama süreci, klasik anlamda suçluluğun ya da masumiyetin sınanması şeklinde değil, TOPLUMUN IV.Philippe hükümetinin bu şekilde davranmasına neden olan KOŞULLARI ORTAYA ÇIKARTARAK, bir zamanlar BÜYÜK BİR GURURLA YETİŞTİRDİĞİ BİR TARİKAT'I EZEREK yaşamına son verdiği BİR ORTAÇAĞ TRAJEDİSİ şeklinde algılanmalıdır.
-Kral ve Nogaret'in planları, GELENEKSEL FEODAL VE DİNSEL GÜÇLERİ ZAYIFLATACAK YENİ, MERKEZİYETÇİ BİR DEVLETİN KURULMASINA YÖNELİKTİR. Bu plan, İŞKENCE ve KARANLIK GÜÇLER FAALİYETLERİ ile MERKEZİLEŞMİŞ BİR POLİS DEVLETİ ile sonuçlanmıştır.
**********
EK BİLGİ:
Tarikatın bir çok yönden devamını da içlerine alan MASONLARIN günümüzdeki merkezi, İskoçya-Edinburgh yakınındaki Rosslyn Şapeli'dir.
(bakınız: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_... )
Gerçek anlamda bir SEMBOLİZM TAPINAĞI olan ROSSLYN ŞAPELİ'nin içindeki AYRINTILARI gösteren bir VİDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sutS9...
November 10, 2024
It is a testimony to the overwhelming layers of horrid and outrageous evidence brought falsely against the Order of the Temple recounted in this book that so many of its reviewers cannot but write grand essays expressing their disgust of the medieval politic. With a little rhetoric and an exhaustive citation of evidence, one feels suffocated by the injustices of the French monarch and the faithlessness of the Pope laid out with a persuasive frankness.
The willingness of Barber to adopt the frameworks and perspectives of the various parties involved did him great justice, and I did not get the impression that he suffered any inability in understanding the complex cultural and theological issues of the time.
I recommend this book to all those curious of the sordid end of the Order of the Templar, those most fierce and fanatical crusaders which even the Moslem Saracens did fear enough to order their beheadings upon capture. Be warned that it is densely packed with citations and depositions - much of which felt to me as a reader to be somewhat redundant and dull - though they do add to the oppressive sentiment of this recount.
The willingness of Barber to adopt the frameworks and perspectives of the various parties involved did him great justice, and I did not get the impression that he suffered any inability in understanding the complex cultural and theological issues of the time.
I recommend this book to all those curious of the sordid end of the Order of the Templar, those most fierce and fanatical crusaders which even the Moslem Saracens did fear enough to order their beheadings upon capture. Be warned that it is densely packed with citations and depositions - much of which felt to me as a reader to be somewhat redundant and dull - though they do add to the oppressive sentiment of this recount.
March 10, 2023
Wow. This was one of the most difficult books to get through for many reasons. Clearly this is for a college course or college research. It is filled with people, places, events, and timeframes. It includes world events enveloping the entire period prior to Templar arrests, to the end of the order and distribution of wealth. Between the differing Kings in the various regions, the popes, and the tensions among all of them, this book gives a complete assessment, analysis, and presentation. It is well written and extremely well documented. Still, this is not a casual read. This is for the serious student of Templar history. I give it 4 stars for all the work needed to create this book, but it is not for everyone.
March 4, 2018
I did not enjoy this book. Barber's radical skepticism was incredibly frustrating with regard to this trial, as he took NO TIME to imagine the motives of the Templars complexly. I came away with a great understanding of why Philip the Fair and Pope Clement might have benefitted from accusing the Templars of heresy/sorcery, but not why they chose the Templars specifically or what the Templars might have gained from such practices. He starts with the assumption that the Templars are COMPLETELY INNOCENT, which makes everything entirely contrived. It was stifling to the imagination.
February 7, 2019
Excellent and very thorough. I was only slightly familiar with the topic from readings that mentioned it in passing, so it was nice to get the full picture. Barber talks about the trial from many angles and is very helpful at stitching together sources to cover gaps in knowledge. My copy is full of notes now and I'm sure I'll be referring to it as my go-to timeline for a long time.
March 27, 2019
El proceso de ataque y derribo de la Orden de los Templarios desde el punto de vista de la monarquía, desde el del Papa, y desde la propia Orden. Resulta muy ilustrativa, me confirmó mis sospechas y me hizo ver que a lo largo de la historia siempre han habido cabrones que arrasan con todo lo que les estorba por su propio interés. Sin miramientos. Ahora y siempre.
July 28, 2021
Brought up as an RC I had no reason as a young person to question that faith.
Until one day I was in Sunderland Public Library Reference Room completing homework and happened upon a multivolume history of the Church which I spent weeks reading. I never took books at face value again. This book is a scholarly look at one part of Christendom.
Until one day I was in Sunderland Public Library Reference Room completing homework and happened upon a multivolume history of the Church which I spent weeks reading. I never took books at face value again. This book is a scholarly look at one part of Christendom.
October 16, 2023
Such an extraordinary tale, I was hoping for more. Like "The Monks of War" this is a good book but does not stick in my head like the great ones. And, again, I'll return to this book as I find the topic so interesting. I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it, but wouldn't recommend as highly as some other histories.
December 31, 2018
Book is not too terribly long, but drags in the middle.
The last few chapters pick up and get it from a 3 to a 4 (or 3.5 to 3.75, truly).
The last few chapters pick up and get it from a 3 to a 4 (or 3.5 to 3.75, truly).
June 7, 2022
Très détaillé, un vrai travail d'archives.
November 27, 2025
One of the best History books I have ever read.
March 3, 2017
Masonically, I am a KT. Of course, we just play at the idea the traditions and lineage have continued. But this book explains the real Templars; their origins, their rise and fall and everything in between. A good read. But the most important part of this book is the actual trial(s) that took place in France. A modern day Masonic hero, Jacques Demolay was one of those put on trial by Phillip the Fair. He is the namesake of the Masonic youth organization for young men. And added bonus for Masons in reading this book.
July 11, 2024
In-depth study, with references and bibliography. Everything!,
Barber has accomplished a very difficult task. He has compiled scattered accurate information regarding the Templars and laid it down in an easy to read fashion.
Despite the title of the book, this book covers more than just the trials surrounding the Templars. It is a concise timeline of the time period including political powers, church rulers, allies and enemies, detractors and benefactors.
Barber has given a balanced view of the Templars, their rise, fall, trial and destruction. He offers a plethora of footnotes and references and a daunting bibliography which would be the envy of any medieval history, Templar history, catholic history, french history or crusades history lover.
Also offered by Barber is another book covering the Templars ( The New Knighthood : A History of the Order of the Temple )which goes even further in depth regarding the actual successes and failures of the Order, again offering a huge list of historical references.
Barber, it appears, is the foremost historical expert that is publishing works regarding the secretive but ever-popular Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon.
Barber has accomplished a very difficult task. He has compiled scattered accurate information regarding the Templars and laid it down in an easy to read fashion.
Despite the title of the book, this book covers more than just the trials surrounding the Templars. It is a concise timeline of the time period including political powers, church rulers, allies and enemies, detractors and benefactors.
Barber has given a balanced view of the Templars, their rise, fall, trial and destruction. He offers a plethora of footnotes and references and a daunting bibliography which would be the envy of any medieval history, Templar history, catholic history, french history or crusades history lover.
Also offered by Barber is another book covering the Templars ( The New Knighthood : A History of the Order of the Temple )which goes even further in depth regarding the actual successes and failures of the Order, again offering a huge list of historical references.
Barber, it appears, is the foremost historical expert that is publishing works regarding the secretive but ever-popular Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon.
January 21, 2014
This book is an excellent historical analysis of the arrest and trial of the Templar Knights from 1307 to 1314. Malcolm Barber's meticulous research, vast knowledge, and clear analysis make this book well worth reading. Barber offers a lucid, detailed explanation of the reasons, the methods, and the machinations that brought about the utter collapse and defeat of the most powerful, influential, and respected medieval military order the world has known.
This book is essential to anyone who has more than a passing interest in the true history of the Templars, those Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon.
This book is essential to anyone who has more than a passing interest in the true history of the Templars, those Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon.
March 16, 2013
richly detailed and balanced exposition of the Great Trial -- 49 pages of footnotes! 18 pages of bibliography! whew! The same sort of scholarship apparently resides in his 2012 "The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple" -- which at $140 was way too pricey for me -- maybe the paperback is soon to come?
August 4, 2015
A comprehensive and thoroughly readable account of the attack on the Templars by Philip IV of France, the possible and probably underlying motivations, examination and analysis of the trials in France, England, Aragon, Castile and Cyprus, and concluding with a discussion of the historiography surrounding the subject.
Earns its reputation as the most thorough account of the Templar trials.
Earns its reputation as the most thorough account of the Templar trials.
February 20, 2013
Certainly the best book on the topic.
November 17, 2012
I found the book rich in content but somewhat too like a text book for a truly enjoyable read.
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