The Persecution of the Knights Templar: Scandal, Torture, Trial
The definitive account of history's most infamous trial, following the doomed Order of the Knights Templar from scandal to suppression.

The trial of the Knights Templar is one of the most infamous in history. Accused of heresy by the king of France, the Templars were arrested and imprisoned, had their goods seized and their monasteries ransacked. Under brutal interrogation and torture, many made shocking confessions: denial of Christ, desecration of the Cross, sex acts, and more.

This narrative follows the everyday reality of the trial, from the early days of scandal and scheming in 1305, via torture, imprisonment and the dissolution of the order, to 1314, when leaders Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay were burned at the stake. Through first-hand testimony and written records of the interrogations of 231 French Templars, this book illuminates the stories of hundreds of ordinary members, some of whom testified at the trial, as well as the many others who denied the charges or retracted their confessions.

This is a deeply researched and immersive account that gives a striking vision of the relentless persecution, and the oft-underestimated resistance, of the once-mighty Knights Templar.
1128968700
The Persecution of the Knights Templar: Scandal, Torture, Trial
The definitive account of history's most infamous trial, following the doomed Order of the Knights Templar from scandal to suppression.

The trial of the Knights Templar is one of the most infamous in history. Accused of heresy by the king of France, the Templars were arrested and imprisoned, had their goods seized and their monasteries ransacked. Under brutal interrogation and torture, many made shocking confessions: denial of Christ, desecration of the Cross, sex acts, and more.

This narrative follows the everyday reality of the trial, from the early days of scandal and scheming in 1305, via torture, imprisonment and the dissolution of the order, to 1314, when leaders Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay were burned at the stake. Through first-hand testimony and written records of the interrogations of 231 French Templars, this book illuminates the stories of hundreds of ordinary members, some of whom testified at the trial, as well as the many others who denied the charges or retracted their confessions.

This is a deeply researched and immersive account that gives a striking vision of the relentless persecution, and the oft-underestimated resistance, of the once-mighty Knights Templar.
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The Persecution of the Knights Templar: Scandal, Torture, Trial

The Persecution of the Knights Templar: Scandal, Torture, Trial

by Alain Demurger
The Persecution of the Knights Templar: Scandal, Torture, Trial

The Persecution of the Knights Templar: Scandal, Torture, Trial

by Alain Demurger

Hardcover

$27.95 
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Overview

The definitive account of history's most infamous trial, following the doomed Order of the Knights Templar from scandal to suppression.

The trial of the Knights Templar is one of the most infamous in history. Accused of heresy by the king of France, the Templars were arrested and imprisoned, had their goods seized and their monasteries ransacked. Under brutal interrogation and torture, many made shocking confessions: denial of Christ, desecration of the Cross, sex acts, and more.

This narrative follows the everyday reality of the trial, from the early days of scandal and scheming in 1305, via torture, imprisonment and the dissolution of the order, to 1314, when leaders Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay were burned at the stake. Through first-hand testimony and written records of the interrogations of 231 French Templars, this book illuminates the stories of hundreds of ordinary members, some of whom testified at the trial, as well as the many others who denied the charges or retracted their confessions.

This is a deeply researched and immersive account that gives a striking vision of the relentless persecution, and the oft-underestimated resistance, of the once-mighty Knights Templar.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781643130019
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Publication date: 01/01/2019
Pages: 368
Sales rank: 224,768
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Alain Demurger is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Paris, and France's foremost specialist in the history of the Crusades. His books on the subject have become required reading, including The Last Templar, which was translated into a dozen languages. This is his first book published in the United States. He lives in France.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations xi

List of Tables and Maps xii

Translator's Note xiii

Introduction 1

The Order of the Temple (1120-1307) 1

The trial of the Templars (1307-1314) 4

How can the Templar Affair be explained? 10

1 Prelude (1305-1307) 12

The Agenais rumour 12

Lyon (November 1305) 14

Guillaume de Nogaret's 'moles' 16

Facts v. hearsay 19

Poitiers-Paris, 1306-1307: crossed paths 22

The Saint Bartholomew's Day letter (24 August 1307) 25

2 The Arrests (13 October 1307) 28

Maubuisson (September 1307) 28

The early morning of 13 October, in the bailiwick of Caen 33

Prisoners in the Temple of Paris (13 October 1307) 37

On the run 39

3 The King and the Inquisition (October-November 1307) 44

Troyes (15 and 18 October 1307) 44

Paris (19 October-24 November 1307) 46

Seneschalsy of Nîmes-Beaucaire (8-15 November 1307) 49

Elsewhere in France 51

Torture 53

4 At Notre-Dame de Paris (?) (24 or 26 December 1307) 59

The confession of Jacques de Molay 59

The pope's reaction 63

Jacques de Molay and the cardinals 69

The dispersal of the Templars of Paris (24 January-12 February 1308) 70

5 Power Struggle (January-June 1308) 74

Poitiers: The flight of the cubicularius (13 February 1308) 75

Paris: The consultation with the university (March 1308) 76

Pierre Dubois 78

Tours: The Estates General (May 1308) 80

Bertrand de Languissel, bishop of Nîmes, and the Templars 82

Guillaume de Plaisians in Poitiers (May-June 1308) 84

6 Compromise: Poitiers-Chinon (June-August 1308) 87

The Templars appear before the pope: Poitiers, 28 June-2 July 1308 87

Faciens misericordiam 92

Chinon (17-20 August 1308) 98

7 Clermont: The Diocesan Commissions (June 1309) 104

The diocesan commissions are set up (August 1308-spring 1309) 104

The Clermont commission (June 1309) 108

Other commissions throughout France 111

Nîmes, August 1310 and August 1311 114

Pressure and threats inflicted on the detained 117

8 The Papal Commission Gets Off to a Slow Start (August-November 1309) 121

Paris, 8 August 1309 121

Bazas, September/October 1309 123

Paris, episcopal palace, November 1309 125

Another adjournment 132

9 The Papal Commission at Work (1309-1311) 135

The commissioners 135

Where the commission met 139

Commissioners' fees 141

Objectives and work methods 145

10 The Templars' Revolt (February-May 1310) 149

Everyone arrives in Paris: February 1310 149

The lists of Templars 152

The prisons of Paris 154

28 March, in the bishopric orchard 158

The prison visits 162

The 'memoranda' in defence of the Order 165

The spokesmen for the Temple 171

11 The Council of Sens: The Revolt Is Quelled (11-12 May 1310) 174

The tide turns 174

The Council of Sens, 11 and 12 May 176

The Templars at the Council of Sens 179

Burning at the stake: 12 May 181

Relapsed or not? 183

After 12 May 188

12 Interlude: In the Prisons of Senlis (June 1310-1312) 191

From prisons in Paris to prisons in Senlis 191

The conditions of detention 195

Escape from Plailly 198

The overall cost of the Templars' imprisonment 199

13 The Second Phase of Interrogations (Paris, 1311) 202

Work resumes: 17 December 1310 202

In carts on the roads of France 204

The interrogations: against a backdrop of relapse 208

The beard and the mantle 212

14 The Council of Vienne and the Burning of Jacques de Molay (1311-1314) 216

The end of the papal investigations 216

The Council of Vienne and the defence of the Templars 219

The suppression of the Order of the Temple 223

What became of the Templars? 226

The burning of Jacques de Molay (March 1314) 229

Conclusion 234

Philip the Fair 234

Clement V 235

The papal commission 237

Henri de Harcigny, or the Templar resistance 239

Appendices 245

1 A problem of identification: Thiers-sur-Thève (diocese of Senlis) 247

2 The strange diocese of Vienne, on the borders of the Argonne forest 249

3 The articles of accusation against the Templars 252

4 Original dioceses of Templars who appeared in Paris from 6 February to 2 May 1310 259

5 Templars present at the provincial councils of Sens and Reims 262

6 List of Templars who refused to defend the Order on 19 May 1310 265

7 Templars interrogated in Paris in October/November 1307 and before the papal commission in 1311 268

8 List of Templars detained in the bailiwick of Senlis (1310-1312) 270

9 Templars' appearance before the Paris commission and their interrogations (April/May 1310 and 17 December 1310-May 1311) 280

Notes 290

Sources and bibliography 326

Index of places 337

Index of people 344

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