Trial of the Templars

This article provides an outline for a new interpretation of the trial of the Templars, with special attention to the texts written by the instigators of the case, namely, Philip the Fair and his ministers. The trial had everything to do with the growth of the French monarchy. With the “discovery” and repression of the “Templars' heresy,” the Capetian monarchy claimed for itself the mystic foundations of the papal theocracy. The Temple case was the last step of a process of appropriating these foundations, which had begun with the Franco-papal rift at the time of Boniface VIII. Being the ultimate defender of the Catholic faith, the Capetian king was now fully invested with a Christlike function that put him above the pope. What was at stake in the Templars' trial was the establishment of a royal theocracy.

Après avoir rappelé les grandes lignes de l’affaire du Temple, l’article en esquisse une réinterprétation d’ensemble. L’analyse des sources émises par les instigateurs du procès – le roi de France Philippe le Bel et ses conseillers – est privilégiée. Une logique étrangère à l’histoire de l’ordre mais propre, en revanche, à celle de la monarchie capétienne présida aux événements. La « découverte » et la répression d’une « hérésie des templiers » fut la dernière étape d’un processus, commencé lors du conflit avec Boniface VIII, au cours duquel la royauté française s’appropria les fondements mystiques de la théocratie pontificale. Dans l’affaire du Temple, les légistes royaux achevèrent de sceller une Nouvelle Alliance entre Dieu et le Capétien. Défenseur suprême de la foi catholique, le roi était désormais investi d’une fonction christique, supérieure à celle du pape. L’enjeu du procès des templiers fut la transfiguration du pouvoir royal.

Abstract
« A Heresy of State. Philip the Fair, the Trial of the ‘Perfid Templars’ and the pontificalization of French Kingship ».

Having first summed up the Temple case, this article outlines a comprehensive reinterpretation with special regard to the texts written by the instigators of the trial, namely Philip the Fair and his ministers. The logic that prevailed was peculiar to the history of the capetian monarchy ; it had nothing to do with the order’s history. The « discovery » and repression of the « templars’ heresy » was the last step of a process that had begun with the franco-papal rift at the time of Boniface VIII. In this process, the french monarchy appropriated the mystic foundations of the papal theocracy. With the Temple case, the royal legists finished to set the seal on a New Alliance between God and the king. As the ultimate defender of the catholic faith, the capetian king was now fully invested with a christical function that put him above the pope. What was at stake in the templars’ trial was the transfiguration of the royal power.

Complete transcription of the Acts of the trial of the Templar Knights held in Carcassonne in November 1307, that so far had been only partially published. Outline of the historical context, commentary to the text and refutation of the theory that stated that the prisoners’ confessions proved that the Templars worshipped the Holy Shroud of Turin.

Study of the order of the Temple has understandably concentrated on its military role on the frontiers of Christendom. Comparatively little research has been conducted on the order’s social and economic role in the localities of western Europe where it held property, although valuable contributions have been made by Malcolm Barber, Alan Forey and Cristina Dondi. Yet the documents relating to the investigations into the Templars in England and Scotland between 1308 and 1312 contain many examples of contact between the brothers and their local communities which, taken together, suggest that the relationship between the order’s houses and their localities could be close, even though this relationship might infringe the letter of the order’s privileges and regulations.  This article considers some of the evidence surviving in the records of the ‘Templar’s affair’ in Britain that may deepen our knowledge of the Templars’ relations with society at large. It argues that at least some Templar houses were integrated into their locality, with travellers passing through the house on a regular basis, lodging there or visiting the chapel. Many local people were employed by a Templar commandery, on a full-time basis all year round or on a part-time seasonal basis. In addition, through the provision of corrodies and charitable giving, a Templar house could be a significant local provider of care to the elderly or needy. The evidence indicates that the level of provision varied from house to house, and that some houses were more significant to their locality than others.

a s h g a t e . c o m a s h g a t e . c o m a s h g a t e . c o m a s h g a t e . c o m a s h g a t e . c o m a s h g a t e . c o m a s h g a t e . c o m © Copyrighted Material © Copyrighted Material Chapter 23 4 Von Hefele, Histoire des conciles, vol. 6, part 1, p. 505.

This paper uses testimonies given during the trial of the Templars in the British Isles to explore what the people of Britain and Ireland actually knew about the Holy Land during the early years of the fourteenth century. Having discussed the problems of using such testimony evidence, it shows that there was a certain level of travel from Ireland to the eastern Mediterranean, and argues that some of those who spoke against the Templars did have a personal interest in the situation in the Middle East.

The trial of the Templars in Ireland was somewhat different from that in Britain, in its procedures, its record, and its conclusion. Any Templar who was a visitor rather than a regular member of a commandery in Ireland was not cross-examined. The inquisitors attempted to investigate the Templars in Ireland with all due rigour, but their efforts were not entirely successful. A number of friars gave evidence against the Templars, which amounted to little more than a statement of general dislike. The inquisitors sent some of the testimonies they obtained to their colleagues in England, who included some Irish material in the summary of the trial proceedings in the British Isles submitted to the papal commission preparing for the council of Vienne. But overall, the fact that the Templar commander in Ireland was released on bail in 1311, with no evidence that he had to abjure heresies or perform penance, indicates that there was a lack of enthusiasm for the trial among the Anglo-Irish administration, and no general conviction that the Order was guilty as charged.

Identificazione precisa dei luoghi e dei personaggi coinvolti nel locale processo attraverso anche nuove fonti coeve (1309) Analizzando le fonti disponibili coeve si ritrovano notizie sulla partecipazione dei bolognesi alle crociate, in particolare nel Chronicon Bononiense( 1 ) che pone l'andata dei Bolognesi oltremare, nell'ambito della quinta crociata al 1220. Si hanno inoltre notizie di partecipazioni a spedizioni fin dalla prima crociata nel 1096 e tra il 1217 e il 1220.

"Le prime testimonianze storiche accertate riguardo alla Sindone di Torino risalgono alla seconda metà del XIV secolo; secondo qualcuno, però, esistono alcuni documenti che proverebbero la sua esistenza anche nei secoli precedenti, e permetterebbero di seguire i suoi spostamenti a partire dalla Gerusalemme del I secolo fino ad arrivare a Costantinopoli, nel tesoro delle reliquie di proprietà dell’Imperatore bizantino. Una delle ricostruzioni storiografiche più in voga mette in relazione la Sindone con l’Ordine dei cavalieri Templari. Essi si sarebbero impadroniti del prezioso oggetto dopo che era stato depredato durante il saccheggio di Costantinopoli in occasione della IV crociata del 1204; venerata segretamente, riprodotta in copie e trasportata in Francia, la Sindone sarebbe poi scampata all’arresto dei Templari e alla confisca dei loro beni ordinata da Filippo il Bello nel 1307. Tenuta nascosta e sopravvissuta alla dissoluzione dell’Ordine, sarebbe poi ricomparsa qualche decennio dopo in una piccola chiesa nella diocesi di Troyes. A sostegno o corollario di questa teoria vengono addotti documenti di vario genere: testi di cronache (una relazione araba sulle crociate, la Cronaca di Saint-Denis), dichiarazioni processuali (gli interrogatori dei Templari incarcerati), dipinti (il pannello di Templecombe), oggetti (i sigilli dei maestri templari di Germania) e genealogie (le famiglie La Roche e Charny).
Questo libro prende in esame ciascuna di queste prove e sottopone al vaglio della critica storica l’intera ricostruzione. La conclusione è che nessuno degli appigli documentali presentati può dimostrare ciò che si pretende, e che tutta la teoria è fondata su fraintendimenti, manipolazioni dei testi, approssimazioni ed errori materiali. Il collegamento tra i Templari e la Sindone, pertanto, risulta totalmente indimostrato. L’occasione fornisce lo spunto per una riflessione su un certo modo di scrivere la storia: interi edifici basati su castelli di supposizioni e forzature, nei quali l’uso della fantasia e l’intento di giungere in ogni modo ad una conclusione già decisa in partenza si sostituiscono ai consueti metodi e strumenti di lavoro propri dello storico. Questo genere di pseudostoria, che si nutre avidamente di sensazionalismo, trova largo spazio all’interno di libri, articoli giornalistici e programmi televisivi che si sostengono vicendevolmente; ciò alimenta la crescita di stereotipi e false credenze tra il grande pubblico dei non addetti ai lavori, allargando sempre più il divario già esistente tra questo genere di letteratura e la seria divulgazione storica."

ABSTRACT
On the night of the 13th of February 1308, exactly four months after the general arrest of the Knights Templars in France on the order of King Philip IV the Fair, Giacomo da Montecucco, the master of the Templar province of northern Italy and a cubicularius of Pope Clement V, escaped from the papal Curia. A direct source provides us with a detailed account of Clement’s special frustration and great wrath after Giacomo’s flight. The master of Lombardy’s defection, it is suggested here, could hardly have come at a worse time, because it thwarted the strategy recently adopted by the pope in what had become a trial of strength with the king of France. This paper examines the meaning of this episode in the light of a general interpretation of the Templar affair.

Keywords: Templar Order - Trial of the Templars - Clement V - Philip the Fair of France

""In the language of most superior jurisdictions in the end of the Middle Ages, the concept of enormitas included the most serious breaches of the legitimate order. It is suggested here that this concept was created during the 12th century in the practice of papal government and ecclesiastical reform. First, around 1130-1150, an « enormity » refered to a simple canonical irregularity without indicating any level of seriousness. From 1150-1160 on, the meaning changed. « Enormity » started to denote a blend of breach of rules or law, sin or stain and potentially radical subversion of the christian order. Although it remained typical of the ecclesiastical sphere, this new concept quickly spread broadly in the secular world, with a sense that was very similar to that of roman « atrocity » but had specific features. The enormitas of the 13th and 14th centuries was structurally unstable and protean. The perimeter of its field as a legal definition was variable, just as were its procedural implications. In many cases, the concept tended to embrace the whole criminal sphere (or « grand criminel », as it was called in France). Its use developed in concomitance with the rise of inquisitorial or « extraordinary » procedures, which were defined by an unprecedented expansion of the arbitrium judicis and therefore by situations of more or less generalized exceptionality with regard to traditional rules. While contributing to delimit the criminal sphere, enormitas thus created a continuum between the restricted field of crime of lese-majesty and that of ordinary crimes.


Dans le langage de la plupart des juridictions supérieures d’Occident à la fin du Moyen Âge, la catégorie de l’enormitas recouvrait les plus graves atteintes à l’ordre légitime. On montre ici que cette catégorie a été élaborée au XIIe siècle dans la pratique du gouvernement pontifical et de la réforme ecclésiastique. En premier lieu, dans les années 1130-1150, une « énormité » désigna une simple irrégularité canonique, sans référence à un quelconque degré de gravité. À partir des années 1150-1160, le contenu de la notion évolua. Elle commença à qualifier – et qualifia dès lors jusqu’à la fin du Moyen Âge et bien au-delà – un mixte d’infraction aux règles ou à la loi, de péché ou souillure et de subversion potentiellement radicale de l’ordre chrétien. Même si elle resta typique de la sphère ecclésiastique, cette nouvelle catégorie connut rapidement une vaste diffusion au sein du monde séculier, dans des acceptions qui présentaient de fortes similitudes avec la notion romaine d’atrocitas, mais aussi des caractéristiques spécifiques. L’enormitas des XIIIe-XIVe siècles était une notion structurellement instable, protéiforme. Le périmètre de son champ d’application comme qualification juridique, tout comme ses implications procédurales, demeuraient variables. Dans de nombreux contextes, la catégorie tendait à embrasser l’ensemble de la sphère criminelle (ou du « grand criminel »). Son usage se développa en concomitance avec l’apparition de procédures inquisitoires ou « extraordinaires » caractérisées par une dilatation sans précédent de l’arbitrium judicis et donc par des situations d’exceptionnalité plus ou moins généralisée eu égard aux règles de droit traditionnelles. Tout en contribuant à délimiter le champ du pénal, l’enormitas ménageait donc un continuum entre la sphère restreinte des crimes de lèse-majesté et celle des crimes ordinaires.""

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Pour étayer l’hypothèse, que j’ai avancée il y a quelques années, d’un sens mystico-politique sous-jacent à la persécution des templiers lancée par Philippe le Bel et ses conseillers, on mettra en relation des éléments concernant les aspects suivants : le christocentrisme de la royauté capétienne à partir du début du XIIIe siècle et sa propension à se prétendre titulaire d’une Nouvelle Alliance avec Dieu (en particulier depuis le transfert des reliques de la Passion dans la Sainte Chapelle, « nouvel Arche d’Alliance », sous Louis IX) ; la vogue des prophéties et des traités eschatologiques dans l’Occident latin à la fin du XIIIe et au début du XIVe siècle ; les preuves de l’intérêt particulier porté par les conseillers de Philippe le Bel (en particulier par Guillaume de Nogaret) à la « prophétie des soixante dix semaines » de Daniel, 9, 24-27, et, notamment, à l’interprétation de cette prophétie dans les écrits d’Arnau de Villeneuve ; la prégnance des motifs bibliques de la Destruction du Temple , de l’Antéchrist et de l’Alliance dans les textes rédigés par des membres de l’entourage du Capétien non seulement au cours de l’affaire du Temple, mais aussi dans le cadre d’autres conflits avec la papauté à la même époque – en particulier à l’occasion des procès pour hérésie intentés contre Boniface VIII avant et après sa mort (1303-1312).

"Crudelis" is the most important of a series of tracts written by Philip the Fair's main counselor for ecclesiastical affairs, Guillaume de Nogaret, to justify his own action against Pope Boniface VIII at Anagni (7-8 September 1303). Dated between the end of July and 12 September 1304, this lenghty auto-apology was printed only once, in Pierre Dupuy's Histoire du Différend"" (1655), without the necessary critical apparatus, an it never was closely examined by historians. This paper will be based on a new edition of the text from the autograph manuscript kept in the Trésor des chartes at the Archives Nationales (AN J 492/802). One finds in "Crudelis", I shall suggest, most of the themes, arguments, rhetorical figures and biblical or legal references used in other texts written by Nogaret, especially in the following years with regard to the Templars' affair. I will thus hopefully contribute to the discussion, in which Elizabeth A. R. Brown's profound studies are of paramount importance,  of this extraordinary figure and its crucial role in the great confrontation of the french Monarchy and the Papacy.

Recommended to read "Re-Examining the Larmenius Charter" in addition to this.
The Charter of Larmenius has not been considered a reliable historical document regarding a legitimate line of descent of the Knights Templar for nearly 200 years. However, renewed analysis of the Charter's contents, language, and historical correlations have reinvigorated the study of its claims in a new generation. As a result, new historical connections are now being made which may further bolster the
credibility of the Charter's narrative. One potential association with the Charter is a document known as the Avignon Decree of 1326. This Papal Bull was produced by a council of bishops assembled at the abbey of Saint Ruf in what is now Avignon, France and was adopted and enforced by Pope John XXII just two years after the reported writing of the Larmenius Charter in 1324. If a legitimate connection between the two is found to be likely, it would establish an additional primary document that corresponds directly to the narrative of the Charter.

This study commences by exploring the reactions of Clement V to Philip the Fair’s decree ordering the seizure on suspicion of grave heresy of all members of the Templar Order in France, a decree issued on 14 September 1307, the feast of the Exaltation of the True Cross. Particularly important were the two inquisitorial commissions that Clement finally established on 12 August 1308 in the bull Faciens misericordiam.
The first was charged with investigating the Order itself, the second with judging individual members of the Order. The remainder of the article explores the itinerant inquest, focused on the Order and the local magnus preceptor, which was conducted in the so-called Terre della Chiesa, the Church’s lands, and in the Abruzzi between the fall of 1309 and the end of July 1310, by papally appointed commissioners whose proceedings were recorded in detail in a parchment roll preserved in the Archivio Apostolico Vaticano. The protagonists were, on the one hand, Pandolfo Savelli, nephew of Honorius IV, former papal chaplain and papal notary, who headed the commission, and, on the other, despite his absence, the magnus preceptor of the Templars in Lombardia, Giacomo da Montecucco, who was with Clement in Poitiers when Philip the Fair had the Templars seized on 13 October 1307, and who on 13 February 1308 fled from Poitiers, betraying the trust of Clement V and jeopardizing the strategies that Clement V had instituted to resolve the issue of the Templars’ innocence or guilt.

Qui peut nous enlever la folie de ce mauvais rêve ?
De la sensation que nous vivons dans un monde à la dérive, un monde ébloui et dirigé vers un rivage bourdonnant ?
Je pense que personne ne peut s’imaginer la facilité avec laquelle nous avons perdu les repères dans ce monde où il est possible, qu’un jour ou l’autre le prototype de « l’homme déraciné » puisse Trenna.
Avec beaucoup de conviction, l’auteur de ce livre tente également de nous éclairer, suite aux préoccupations ci-dessous.
Dans une conversation plus ancienne, Remus Barna m’a déclaré, légèrement révolté :
"Non Monsieur, nous ne nous dirigeons pas vers les abîmes, en effet nous pouvons être très sérieux si nous recherchons en toute raison la force de nos racines"!
Je souris alors, et maintenant, en achevant de lire le livre, il reste enclin dans mon esprit, à lui rendre justice.
La persévérance avec laquelle il cherche et scrute avec patience les archives ou d’autres formes de témoignages du passé, indique le fait qu’il n’a pas cédé, qu’il reste un conquérant devant ceux qui se battent pour s’assurer que ses questions sur l’existence des racines des Templiers Chevaliers en Transylvanie, dont il n’y a pas de témoignages précis et réel…
Reflexion Templiere en Transylvanie
3 | P a g e
Apparemment, pas une fois, il n’est tombé sur ces « bienfaiteurs » qui, en protégeant leur incapacité ou leur incohérence se sont précipités pour l’assurer qu’il n’y avait pas de Templiers chez nous, d’où viendraient-ils ?
Je pense que c’est pour cela que ce sujet, lui est cher, dans sa colère jusqu’à ce que les témoignages commencent à apparaître, luifaisant comprendre qu’il s’est engagé sur la bonne voie mais qu’il faut de la patience, et beaucoup de foi dans l’objectif proposé, et tout au long du processus.
Remus Barna a fait preuve de patience et d’un bon sens élémentaire quand il a commencé à regrouper beaucoup de liens, lorsque les faits le permettaient.
Par conséquent, Remus Barna a continué son chemin, comprenant, tout d’abord, qu’il doit se débarrasser de tout préjugé sur un territoire si particulier.
Là où la « vérité » montre son image, il est besoin de beaucoup de noblesse pour qu’elle soit mise à jour.
Nous apprécions l’effort d’entrer dans les mystères du Neuvième Prieuré Templier, celui du Royaume Hongrois, avec un détachement approprié, qui l’honore.
Le fait que la Hongrie et la Transylvanie ont eu des événements multiples et compliqués dans leurs relations ne relève pas des voeux de M. Remus Barna mais de ceux qui ne sont même pas les ombres de l’histoire.
Tant que les Templiers ont laissé des traces, aussi fragiles qu’elles soient, celles-ci doivent être mises au grand jour, et il était normal que Remus Barna offre à ceux qui en ont la joie et le besoin de les découvrir, de les étudier et de
Remus Barna
4
les connaître même s’il y a des racines frêles, celle-ci peuvent devenir des chênes puissants.
La documentation et les textes que l’auteur offre publics sont intéressants et prouvent la volonté avec laquelle Remus Barna traite le sujet. Même si les documents relatifs à la période du roi André le IIe, visant à la présence des chevaliers en Transylvanie, sont plus concrets, l’auteur les traite avec les mêmes valeurs, sans perdre de vue l’essentielle place des chevaliers dans l’équation compliquée d’un siècle convulsé, même sur le territoire de la Transylvanie.
Je n’ai pas l’intention de dire précisément ce que j’ai apprécié le plus dans ce livre, mais je sais seulement que l’auteur s’est comporté en vrai professionnel, acceptant le défi, sans s’entraver des méchantes parsemées face à ses efforts.
Il a fini ce livre, comme le fond seulement ceux qui savent tenir leurs promesses, ceux qui comprennent plus que jamais le besoin de racines fortes.
Merci simplement, avec la noblesse de celui qui découvre que la lanterne de Diogène trouve encore des gens en terre Roumaine.

After the arrest of the templars in France in October 1307, they were held in various prisons throughout the kingdom for almost three years. they did not have the opportunity to exchange information with each other and, above all, to get instructions from the leaders of the Order. this changed in the beginning of 1310, when more than 650 brothers came to Paris to participate in the inquiry led the papal commission against the Order as a whole. in the beginning of the Paris proceedings, French templars were offered a chance to defend the Order together. they tried to make use of this opportunity, but in may of 1310, after fifty-four brothers were condemned as relapsed heretics by the Council of sens and burned at stake, they abandoned it. the paper focuses mainly on the first phase of the Paris proceedings (before the Council of sens). the information flow between the templar brothers and its influence on their situation at that time will be analysed. it will address the following questions: Was the possibility to exchange the information enough for the templars to defend the Order in an effective manner? Could they do this without the involvement of the Grand master and other dignitaries of the Order? the answers to these questions will then allow to show that, contrary to the opinion of the vast majority of historians working on this topic, the templars lost their chance to defend the Order long before the tragic events of may 1310.

I Templari furono distrutti. Il loro ultimo Gran Maestro fu sacrificato sul rogo, molti suoi confratelli subirono lo stesso supplizio, moltissimi furono torturati e incarcerati in condizioni durissime. Anche se alla fine l'Ordine non fu condannato ma soppresso per decisione del pontefice, e i singoli cavalieri del Tempio, quelli sopravvissuti a sette anni di calvario, furono nella grandissima maggioranza riconosciuti innocenti, l'obbiettivo di questa complessa macchinazione era stato raggiunto: i Templari furono distrutti. Scopo principale di questo piccolo libro è mostrare quali armi furono usate per ottenere lo scopo voluto da chi lo perseguì a tutti i costi. Il risultato fu raggiunto nonostante i molti ostacoli giuridici e la completa mistificazione della verità, grazie all'uso pianificato e "intelligente" di due mezzi subdoli: la calunnia e la diffamazione.

The Templars were destroyed. Their last Grand Master was sacrificed at the stake, many of his brothers suffered the same torment, many were tortured and imprisoned in very harsh conditions. Although in the end the Order was not condemned but suppressed by decision of the pontiff, and the individual knights of the Temple, those who survived seven years of Calvary, were in the overwhelming majority recognized innocent, the goal of this complex machination had been achieved: the Templars were destroyed. The main purpose of this little book is to show which weapons were used to achieve the purpose desired by those who pursued it at all costs. The result was achieved despite the many legal obstacles and the complete mystification of the truth, thanks to the planned and "intelligent" use of two subtle means: calumny and defamation.