The Templars in France revoke their rack-extorted confessions--They
are tried as relapsed heretics, and burnt at the stake--The progress
of the inquiry in England--The curious evidence adduced as to the mode
of holding the chapters of the order--As to the penance enjoined
therein, and the absolution pronounced by the Master--The Templars
draw up a written defence, which they present to the ecclesiastical
council--They are placed in separate dungeons, and put to the
torture--Two serving brethren and a chaplain of the order then make
confessions--Many other Templars acknowledge themselves guilty of
heresy in respect of their belief in the religious authority of their
Master--They make their recantations, and are reconciled to the church
before the south door of Saint Paul's cathedral--The order of the
Temple is abolished by the Pope--The last of the Masters of the Temple
in England dies in the Tower--The disposal of the property of the
order--Observations on the downfall of the Templars.
Veggio 'l nuovo Pilato si crudele,
Che cio nol sazia, ma, senza decreto
Porta nel TEMPIO le cupide vele.
_Dante._ Del Purgatorio. Canto xx. 91.
[Sidenote: JAMES DE MOLAY. A. D. 1310.]
In France, on the other hand, the proceedings against the order had
assumed a most sanguinary character. Many Templars, both in the capital
and the provinces, had made confessions of guilt whilst suffering upon the
rack, but they had no sooner been released from the hands of their
tormentors, and had recovered their health, than they disavowed their
confessions, maintained the innocence of their order, and appealed to all
their gallant actions, in ancient and modern times, in refutation of the
calumnies of their enemies. The enraged Philip caused these Templars to be
brought before an ecclesiastical tribunal convoked at Paris, and sentence
of death was passed upon them by the archbishop of Sens, in the following
terms:--
"You have avowed," said he, "that the brethren who are received into the
order of the Temple are compelled to renounce Christ and spit upon the
cross, and that you yourselves have participated in that crime: you have
thus acknowledged that you have fallen into the sin of _heresy_. By your
confession and repentance you had merited absolution, and had once more
become reconciled to the church. As you have revoked your confession, the
church no longer regards you as reconciled, but as having fallen back to
your first errors. You are, therefore, _relapsed heretics(!)_ and as such,
we condemn you to the fire."[380]
The following morning, (Tuesday, May 12,) in pursuance of this absurd and
atrocious sentence, fifty-four Templars were handed over to the secular
arm, and were led out to execution by the king's officers. They were
conducted into the open country, in the environs of the Porte St. Antoine
des Champs at Paris, and were burnt to death in a most cruel manner before
a slow fire. All historians speak with admiration of the heroism and
intrepidity with which they met their fate.[381]
Many hundred other Templars were dragged from the dungeons of Paris before
the archbishop of Sens and his council. Those whom neither the agony of
the torture nor the fear of death could overcome, but who remained
stedfast amid all their trials in the maintenance of the innocence of
their order, were condemned to perpetual imprisonment as _unreconciled
heretics_; whilst those who, having made the required confessions of
guilt, continued to persevere in them, received absolution, were declared
reconciled to the church, and were set at liberty. Notwithstanding the
terror inspired by these executions, many of the Templars still persisted
in the revocation of their confessions, which they stigmatized as the
result of insufferable torture, and boldly maintained the innocence of
their order.
On the 18th of August, four other Templars were condemned as relapsed
heretics by the council of Sens, and were likewise burned by the Porte St.
Antoine; and it is stated that a hundred and thirteen Templars were from
first to last burnt at the stake in Paris. Many others were burned in
Lorraine; in Normandy; at Carcassone, and nine, or, according to some
writers, twenty-nine, were burnt by the archbishop of Rheims at Senlis!
King Philip's officers, indeed, not content with their inhuman cruelty
towards the living, invaded the sanctity of the tomb; they dragged a dead
Templar, who had been Treasurer of the Temple at Paris, from his grave,
and burnt the mouldering corpse as a heretic.[382] In the midst of all
these sanguinary atrocities, the examinations continued before the
ecclesiastical tribunals. Many aged and illustrious warriors, who merited
a better fate, appeared before their judges pale and trembling. At first
they revoked their confessions, declared their innocence, and were
remanded to prison; and then, panic-stricken, they demanded to be led back
before the papal commissioners, when they abandoned their retractations,
persisted in their previous avowals of _guilt_, humbly expressed their
sorrow and repentance, and were then pardoned, absolved, and reconciled
to the church! The torture still continued to be applied, and out of
thirty-three Templars confined in the chateau d'Alaix, four died in
prison, and the remaining twenty confessed, amongst other things, the
following absurdities:--that in the provincial chapter of the order held
at Montpelier, the Templars set up a head and worshipped it; that the
devil often appeared there in the shape of a cat, and conversed with the
assembled brethren, and promised them a good harvest, with the possession
of riches, and all kinds of temporal property. Some asserted that the head
worshipped by the fraternity possessed a long beard; others that it was a
woman's head; and one of the prisoners declared that as often as this
wonderful head was adored, a great number of devils made their appearance
in the shape of beautiful women...!![383]
We must now unfold the dark page in the history of the order in England.
All the Templars in custody in this country had been examined separately
and apart, and had, notwithstanding, deposed in substance to the same
effect, and given the same account of their reception into the order, and
of the oaths that they took. Any reasonable and impartial mind would
consequently have been satisfied of the truth of their statements; but it
was not the object of the inquisitors to obtain evidence of the
_innocence_, but proof of the _guilt_, of the order. At first, king Edward
the Second, to his honour, forbade the infliction of torture upon the
illustrious members of the Temple in his dominions--men who had fought and
bled for Christendom, and of whose piety and morals he had a short time
before given such ample testimony to the principal sovereigns of Europe.
But the virtuous resolution of the weak king was speedily overcome by the
all-powerful influence of the Roman pontiff, who wrote to him in the month
of June, upbraiding him for preventing the inquisitors from submitting
the Templars to the discipline of the rack.[384] Influenced by the
admonitions of the pope, and the solicitations of the clergy, king Edward,
on the 26th of August, sent orders to John de Crumbewell, constable of the
Tower, to deliver up all the Templars in his custody, at the request of
the inquisitors, to the sheriffs of London, in order that the inquisitors
might be able to proceed more conveniently and effectually with their
inquisition.[385] And on the same day he directed the sheriffs to receive
the prisoners from the constable of the Tower, and cause them to be placed
in the custody of gaolers appointed by the inquisitors, to be confined in
prisons or such other convenient places in the city of London as the
inquisitors and bishops should think expedient, and generally to permit
them to do with the bodies of the Templars whatever should seem fitting,
in accordance with ecclesiastical law. He directs, also, that from
thenceforth the Templars should receive their sustenance at the hands of
such newly-appointed gaolers.[386]
On the Tuesday after the feast of St. Matthew, (Sept. 21st,) the
ecclesiastical council again assembled at London, and caused the
inquisitions and depositions taken against the Templars to be read, which
being done, great disputes arose touching various alterations observable
in them. It was at length ordered that the Templars should be again
confined in separate cells in the prisons of London; that fresh
interrogatories should be prepared, to see if by such means the _truth_
could be extracted, and if by straitenings and confinement they would
_confess nothing further_, then the torture was to be applied; but it was
provided that the examination by torture should be conducted without the
PERPETUAL MUTILATION OR DISABLING OF ANY LIMB, AND WITHOUT A VIOLENT
EFFUSION OF BLOOD! and the inquisitors and the bishops of London and
Chichester were to notify the result to the archbishop of Canterbury, that
he might again convene the assembly for the purpose of passing sentence,
either of absolution or of condemnation. These resolutions having been
adopted, the council was prorogued, on the following Saturday, _de die in
diem_, until the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, A. D.
1311.[387]
On the 6th of October, a fortnight after the above resolution had been
formed by the council, the king sent fresh instructions to the constable
of the Tower, and the sheriffs of London, directing them to deliver up the
Templars, one at a time, or altogether, and receive them back in the same
way, at the will of the inquisitors.[388] The gaolers of these unhappy
gentlemen seem to have been more merciful and considerate than their
judges, and to have manifested the greatest reluctance to act upon the
orders sent from the king. On the 23rd of October, further and more
peremptory commands were forwarded to the constable of the Tower,
distinctly informing him that the king, on account of his respect for the
holy apostolic see, had lately conceded to the prelates and inquisitors
deputed to take inquisition against the order of the Temple, and the Grand
Preceptor of that order in England, the power of ordering and disposing of
the Templars and their bodies, of examining them by TORTURE or otherwise,
and of doing to them whatever they should deem expedient, according to the
ecclesiastical law; and he again strictly enjoins the constable to deliver
up all the Templars in his custody, either together or separately, or in
any way that the inquisitors or one bishop and one inquisitor may direct,
and to receive them back when required so to do.[389] Corresponding orders
were again sent to the sheriffs, commanding them, at the requisition of
the inquisitors, to get the Templars out of the hands of the constable of
the Tower, to guard them in convenient prisons, and to permit certain
persons deputed by the inquisitors to see that the imprisonment was
properly carried into effect, to do with the bodies of the Templars
whatever they should think fit according to ecclesiastical law. When the
inquisitors, or the persons appointed by them, had done with the Templars
what they pleased, they were to deliver them back to the constable of the
Tower, or his lieutenant, there to be kept in custody as before.[390]
Orders were likewise sent to the constable of the castle of Lincoln, and
to the mayor and bailiffs of the city of Lincoln, to the same effect. The
king also directed Roger de Wyngefeld, clerk, guardian of the lands of the
Templars, and William Plummer, sub-guardian of the manor of Cressing, to
furnish to the king's officers the sums required for the keep, and for the
expenses of the detention of the brethren of the order.[391]
On the 22nd of November the king condescended to acquaint the mayor,
aldermen, and commonalty of his faithful city of London, that out of
reverence to the pope he had authorised the inquisitors, sent over by his
holiness, to question the Templars by TORTURE; he puts them in possession
of the orders he had sent to the constable of the Tower, and to the
sheriffs; and he commands them, in case it should be notified to them by
the inquisitors that the prisons provided by the sheriffs were
insufficient for their purposes, to procure without fail fit and
convenient houses in the city, or near thereto, for carrying into effect
the contemplated measures; and he graciously informs them that he will
reimburse them all the expenses that may be incurred by them or their
officers in fulfilling his commands.[392] Shortly afterwards the king
again wrote to the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of London, acquainting
them that the sheriffs had made a return to his writ, to the effect that
the four gates (prisons) of the city were not under their charge, and that
they could not therefore obtain them for the purposes required; and he
commands the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty, to place those four gates at
the disposal of the sheriffs.[393]
On the 12th of December, all the Templars in custody at Lincoln were, by
command of the king, brought up to London, and placed in solitary
confinement in different prisons and private houses provided by the mayor
and sheriffs. Shortly afterwards orders were given for all the Templars in
custody in London to be loaded with chains and fetters; the myrmidons of
the inquisitors were to be allowed to make periodical visits to see that
the imprisonment was properly carried into effect, and were to be allowed
to TORTURE the bodies of the Templars in any way that they might think
fit.[394]
[Sidenote: A. D. 1311.]
On the 30th of March, A. D. 1311, after some months' trial of the above
severe measures, the examination was resumed before the inquisitors, and
the bishops of London and Chichester, at the several churches of St.
Martin's, Ludgate, and St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate. The Templars had now
been in prison in England for the space of three years and some months.
During the whole of the previous winter they had been confined in chains
in the dungeons of the city of London, compelled to receive their scanty
supply of food from the officers of the inquisition, and to suffer from
cold, from hunger, and from torture. They had been made to endure all the
horrors of solitary confinement, and had none to solace or to cheer them
during the long hours of their melancholy captivity. They had been already
condemned collectively by the pope, as members of an heretical and
idolatrous society, and as long as they continued to persist in the truth
of their first confessions, and in the avowal of their innocence, they
were treated as obstinate, unreconciled heretics, living in a state of
excommunication, and doomed, when dead, to everlasting punishment in hell.
They had heard of the miserable fate of their brethren in France, and they
knew that those who had confessed crimes of which they had never been
guilty, had been immediately declared reconciled to the church, had been
absolved and set at liberty, and they knew that freedom, pardon, and peace
could be immediately purchased by a confession of guilt; notwithstanding
all which, every Templar, at this last examination, persisted in the
maintenance of his innocence, and in the denial of all knowledge of, or
participation in, the crimes and heresies imputed to the order. They
declare that everything that was done in their chapters, in respect of
absolution, the reception of brethren, and other matters, was honourable
and honest, and might well and lawfully be done; that it was in no wise
heretical or vicious; and that whatever was done was from the
appointment, approbation, and regulation of all the brethren.[395] From
their statements, it appears that the Master of the Temple in England was
in the habit of summoning a general chapter of the order once a year, at
which the preceptors of Ireland and of Scotland were present. These were
always called together to take into consideration the affairs of the Holy
Land, and to determine on sending succour to their brethren in the East.
At the close of their examination the Templars were again sent back to
their dungeons, and loaded with chains; and the inquisitors, disappointed
of the desired confessions, addressed themselves to the enemies of the
order for the necessary proofs of guilt.
During the month of April, seventy-two witnesses were examined in the
chapter-house of the Holy Trinity. They were nearly all monks, Carmelites,
Augustinians, Dominicans, and Minorites; their evidence is all hearsay,
and the nature of it will be seen from the following choice specimens.
Henry Thanet, an Irishman, had _heard_ that Brother Hugh de Nipurias, a
Templar, deserted from the castle of Tortosa in Palestine, and went over
to the Saracens, abjuring the christian faith; and that a certain
preceptor of the Pilgrim's Castle was in the habit of making all the
brethren he received into the order deny Christ; but the witness was
unable to give either the name of the preceptor or of the persons so
received. He had also _heard_ that a certain Templar had in his custody a
brazen head with two faces, which would answer all questions put to it!
Master John de Nassington declared that Milo de Stapelton and Adam de
Everington, knights, told him that they had once been invited to a great
feast at the preceptory of Templehurst, and were there informed that the
Templars celebrated a solemn festival once a year, at which they
worshipped a _calf_!
John de Eure, knight, sheriff of the county of York, deposed that he had
once invited Brother William de la Fenne, Preceptor of Wesdall, to dine
with him, and that after dinner the preceptor drew a book out of his
bosom, and delivered it to the knight's lady to read, who found a piece of
paper fastened into the book, on which were written abominable, heretical
doctrines, to the effect that Christ was not the Son of God, nor born of a
virgin, but conceived of the seed of Joseph, the husband of Mary, after
the manner of other men, and that Christ was not a true but a false
prophet, and was not crucified for the redemption of mankind, but for his
own sins, and many other things contrary to the christian faith. On the
production of this important evidence, Brother William de la Fenne was
called in and interrogated; he admitted that he had dined with the sheriff
of York, and had lent his lady a book to read, but he swore that he was
ignorant of the piece of paper fastened into the book, and of its
contents. It appears that the sheriff of York had kept this dangerous
secret to himself for the space of six years!
William de la Forde, a priest, rector of the church of Crofton in the
diocese of York, had _heard_ William de Reynbur, priest of the order of
St. Augustine, who was then dead, say, that the Templar, Brother Patrick
of Rippon, son of William of Gloucester, had confessed to him, that at his
entrance into the order, he was led, clothed only in his shirt and
trousers, through a long passage to a secret chamber, and was there made
to deny his God and his Saviour; that he was then shown a representation
of the crucifixion, and was told that since he had previously honoured
that emblem he must now dishonour it and spit upon it, and that he did so.
"Item dictum fuit ei quod, depositis brachis, dorsum verteret ad
crucifixum," and this he did bitterly weeping. After this they brought an
image, as it were, of a calf, placed upon an altar, and they told him he
must kiss that image, and worship it, and he did so, and after all this
they covered up his eyes and led him about, kissing and being kissed by
all the brethren, but he could not recollect in what part. The worthy
priest was asked when he had first _heard_ all these things, and he
replied _after_ the arrest of the brethren by the king's orders!
Robert of Oteringham, senior of the order of Minorites, stated that on one
occasion he was partaking of the hospitality of the Templars at the
preceptory of Ribstane in Yorkshire, and that when grace had been said
after supper, the chaplain of the order reprimanded the brethren of the
Temple, saying to them, "The devil will burn you," or some such words; and
hearing a bustle amongst them, he got up to see what was the matter, and,
as far as he recollects, he saw one of the brothers of the Temple,
"brachis depositis, tenentem faciem versus occidentem et posteriora versus
altare!" Being asked who it was that did this, he says he does not exactly
remember. He then goes on to state, that about twenty years before that
time! he was again the guest of the Templars, at the preceptory of
Wetherby (query Feriby) in Yorkshire, and when evening came he heard that
the preceptor was not coming to supper, as he was arranging some relics
that he had brought with him from the Holy Land, and afterwards at
midnight he heard a confused noise in the chapel, and getting up he looked
through the keyhole, and saw a great light therein, either from a fire or
from candles, and on the morrow he asked one of the brethren of the Temple
the name of the saint in whose honour they had celebrated so grand a
festival during the night, and that brother, aghast and turning pale,
thinking he had seen what had been done amongst them, said to him, "Go thy
way, and if you love me, or have any regard for your own life, never speak
of this matter." This same "Senior of the Minorites" declares also that he
had seen, in the chapel of the preceptory of Ribstane, a cross, with the
image of our Saviour nailed upon it, thrown carelessly upon the altar,
and he observed to a certain brother of the Temple, that the cross was in
a most indecent and improper position, and he was about to lift it up and
stand it erect, when that same brother called out to him, "Lay down the
cross and depart in peace!"
Brother John de Wederal, another Minorite, sent to the inquisitors a
written paper, wherein he stated that he had lately _heard_ in the
country, that a Templar, named Robert de Baysat, was once seen running
about a meadow uttering, "Alas! alas! that ever I was born, seeing that I
have denied God and sold myself to the devil!" Brother N. de Chinon,
another Minorite, had _heard_ that a certain Templar had a son who peeped
through a chink in the wall of the chapter-room, and saw a person who was
about to be professed, slain because he would not deny Christ, and
afterwards the boy was asked by his father to become a Templar, but
refused, and he immediately shared the same fate. Twenty witnesses, who
were examined in each other's presence, merely repeated the above
absurdities, or related similar ones.[396]
At this stage of the proceedings, the papal inquisitor, Sicard de Vaur,
exhibited two rack-extorted confessions of Templars which had been
obtained in France. The first was from Robert de St. Just, who had been
received into the order by brother Himbert, Grand Preceptor of England,
but had been arrested in France, and there tortured by the myrmidons of
Philip. In this confession, Robert de St. Just states that, on his
admission to the vows of the Temple, he denied Christ, and spat _beside_
the cross. The second confession had been extorted from Geoffrey de
Gonville, Knight of the Order of the Temple, Preceptor of Aquitaine and
Poitou, and had been given on the 15th of November A. D. 1307, before the
grand inquisitor of France. In this confession, (which had been afterwards
revoked, but of which revocation no notice was taken by the inquisitors,)
Sir Geoffrey de Gonville states that he was received into the order in
England in the house of the Temple at London, by Brother Robert de
Torvibe, knight, the Master of all England, about twenty-eight years
before that time; that the master showed him on a missal the image of
Jesus Christ on the cross, and commanded him to deny him who was
crucified; that, terribly alarmed, he exclaimed, "Alas! my lord, why
should I do this? I will on no account do it." But the master said to him,
"Do it boldly; I swear to thee that the act shall never harm either thy
soul or thy conscience;" and then proceeded to inform him that the custom
had been introduced into the order by a certain bad Grand Master, who was
imprisoned by a certain sultan, and could escape from prison only on
condition that he would establish that form of reception in his order, and
compel all who were received to deny Christ Jesus! but the deponent
remained inflexible; he refused to deny his Saviour, and asked where were
his uncle and the other good people who had brought him there, and was
told that they were all gone; and at last a compromise took place between
him and the Master, who made him take his oath that he would tell all his
brethren that he had gone through the customary form, and never reveal
that it had been dispensed with! He states also that the ceremony was
instituted in memory of St. Peter, who three times denied Christ![397]
Ferinsius le Mareschal, a secular knight, being examined, declared that
his grandfather entered into the order of the Temple, active, healthy, and
blithesome as the birds and the dogs, but on the third day from his taking
the vows he was dead, and, as he _now suspects_, was killed because he
refused to participate in the iniquities practised by the brethren. An
Augustine monk declared that he had heard a Templar say that a man after
death had no more soul than a dog. Roger, rector of the church of
Godmersham, swore that about fifteen years before he had an intention of
entering into the order of the Temple himself, and consulted Stephen
Queynterel, one of the brothers, on the subject, who advised him not to do
so, and stated that they had _three_ articles amongst themselves in their
order, known only to God, the devil, and the brethren of the Temple, and
the said Stephen would not reveal to the deponent what those articles
were.
The vicar of the church of Saint Clement at Sandwich had _heard_ that a
boy had secreted himself in the large hall where the Templars held their
chapter, and heard the Master preach to the brethren, and explain to them
in what mode they might enrich themselves; and after the chapter was
concluded, one of the brothers, in going out of the hall, dropped his
girdle, which the boy found and carried to the brother who had so dropped
it, when the latter drew his sword and instantly slew him! But to crown
all, Brother John de Gertia, a Minorite, had _heard_ from a certain woman
called Cacocaca! who had it from Exvalettus, Preceptor of London, that one
of the servants of the Templars entered the hall where the chapter was
held, and secreted himself, and after the door had been shut and locked by
the last Templar who entered, and the key had been brought by him to the
superior, the assembled Templars jumped up and went into another room, and
opened a closet, and drew therefrom a certain black figure with shining
eyes, and a cross, and they placed the cross before the Master, and the
"culum idoli vel figurae" they placed upon the cross, and carried it to the
Master, who kissed the said image, (in ano,) and all the others did the
same after him; and when they had finished kissing, they all spat three
times upon the cross, except one, who refused, saying, "I was a bad man in
the world, and placed myself in this order for the salvation of my soul;
what could I do worse? I will not do it;" and then the brethren said to
him, "Take heed, and do as you see the order do;" but he answered that he
would not do so, and then they placed him in a well which stood in the
midst of their house, and covered the well up, and left him to perish.
Being asked as to the time when the woman heard this, the deponent stated
that she told it to him about fourteen years back at London, where she
kept a shop for her husband, Robert Cotacota! This witness also knew a
certain Walter Salvagyo of the family of Earl Warrenne, grandfather of the
then earl, who, having entered into the order of the Temple, was about two
years afterwards entirely lost sight of by his family, and neither the
earl nor any of his friends could ever learn what had become of him.
John Walby de Bust, another Minorite, had _heard_ John de Dingeston say
that _he had heard_ that there was in a secret place of the house of the
Templars at London a gilded head, and that when one of the Masters was on
his deathbed, he summoned to his presence several preceptors, and told
them that if they wished for power, and dominion, and honour, they must
worship that head.
Brother Richard de Koefeld, a monk, had _heard_ from John de Borna, who
had it from the Knight Templar Walter le Bacheler, that every man who
entered into the order of the Temple had to sell himself to the devil; he
had also _heard_ from the priest Walter, rector of the church of Hodlee,
who had it from a certain vicar, who was a priest of the said Walter le
Bacheler, that there was one article in the profession of the Templars
which might not be revealed to any living man.
Gasper de Nafferton, chaplain of the parish of Ryde, deposed that three
years back he was in the employ of the Templars for about six months,
during which period William de Pokelington was received into the order;
that he well recollected that the said William made his appearance at the
Temple on Sunday evening, with the equipage and habit of a member of the
order, accompanied by Brother William de la More, the Master of the
Temple, Brother William de Grafton, Preceptor of Ribbestane and
Fontebriggs; and other brethren: that the same night, during the first
watch, they assembled in the church, and caused the deponent to be
awakened to say mass; that, after the celebration of the mass, they made
the deponent with his clerk go out into the hall beyond the cloister, and
then sent for the person who was to be received; and on his entry into the
church one of the brethren immediately closed all the doors opening into
the cloister, so that no one within the chambers could get out, and thus
they remained till daylight; but what was done in the church the deponent
knew not; the next day, however, he saw the said William clothed in the
habit of a Templar, looking very sorrowful. The deponent also declared
that he had threatened to peep through a secret door to see what was going
on, but was warned that it was inevitable death so to do. He states that
the next morning he went into the church, and found the books and crosses
all removed from the places in which he had previously left them; that he
afterwards saw the knight Templar Brother William deliver to the
newly-received brother a large roll of paper, containing the rule of the
order, which the said newly-received brother was directed to transcribe in
private; that after the departure of the said Brother William, the
deponent approached the said newly-received brother, who was then
diligently writing, and asked to be allowed to inspect the roll, but was
told that none but members of the order could be allowed to read it; that
he was then about to depart, when Brother William made his appearance,
and, astonished and confounded at the sight of the deponent, snatched up
the roll and walked away with it, declaring, with a great oath, that he
would never again allow it to go out of his hands.
Brother John de Donyngton, of the order of the Minorites, the
seventy-sixth witness examined, being sworn, deposed that some years back
an old veteran of the Temple (whose name he could not recollect) told him
that the order possessed four chief idols in England, one at London in the
sacristy of the Temple; another at the preceptory of Bistelesham; a third
at Bruere in Lincolnshire; and the fourth in some place beyond the Humber,
(the name of which he had forgotten;) that Brother William de la More, the
Master of the Temple, introduced the melancholy idolatry of the Templars
into England, and brought with him into the country a great roll, whereon
were inscribed in large characters the wicked practices and observances of
the order. The said old veteran also told the deponent that many of the
Templars carried idols about with them in boxes, &c. &c.
The deponent further states that he recollected well that a private
gentleman, Master William de Shokerwyk, a short time back, had prepared to
take the vows of the order, and carried his treasures and all the property
he had to the Temple at London; and that as he was about to deposit it in
the treasury, one of the brethren of the Temple heaved a profound sigh,
and Master William de Shokerwyk having asked what ailed him, he
immediately replied, "It will be the worse for you, brother, if you enter
our order;" that the said Master William asked why, and the Templar
replied, "You see us externally, but not internally; take heed what you
do; but I shall say no more;" and the deponent further declares, that on
another occasion the said Master William entered into the Temple Hall, and
found there an old Templar, who was playing at the game called Daly; and
the old Templar observing that there was no one in the hall besides
himself and the said Master William, said to the latter, "If you enter
into our order, it will be the worse for you."
The witness then goes into a rambling account of various transactions in
the East, tending to show that the Templars were in alliance with the
Saracens, and had acted with treachery towards the christian cause![398]
After the delivery of all this hearsay, these vague suspicions and
monstrous improbabilities, the notaries proceeded to arrange the valuable
testimony adduced, and on the 22nd of April all the Templars in custody in
the Tower and in the prisons of the city were assembled before the
inquisitors and the bishops of London and Chichester, in the church of the
Holy Trinity, to hear the depositions and attestations of the witnesses
publicly read. The Templars required copies of these depositions, which
were granted them, and they were allowed eight days from that period to
bring forward any defences or privileges they wished to make use of.
Subsequently, before the expiration of the eight days, the officer of the
bishop of London was sent to the Tower with scriveners and witnesses, to
know if they would then set up any matters of defence, to whom the
Templars replied that they were unlettered men, ignorant of law, and that
all means of defence were denied them, since they were not permitted to
employ those who could afford them fit counsel and advice. They observed,
however, that they were desirous of publicly proclaiming the faith, and
the religion of themselves and of the order to which they belonged, of
showing the privileges conceded to them by the chief pontiffs, and their
own depositions taken before the inquisitors, all which they said they
wished to make use of in their defence.
On the eighth day, being Thursday the 29th of April, they appeared before
the papal inquisitors and the bishops of London and Chichester, in the
church of All Saints of Berkyngecherche, and presented to them the
following declaration, which they had drawn up amongst themselves, as the
only defence they had to offer against the injustice, the tyranny, and the
persecution of their powerful oppressors; adding, that if they had in any
way done wrong, they were ready to submit themselves to the orders of the
church.
This declaration is written in the Norman French of that day, and is as
follows:
"_Conue chese seit a nostre honurable pere, le ercevesque de Canterbiere,
primat de toute Engletere, e a touz prelaz de seinte Eglise, e a touz
Cristiens, qe touz les freres du Temple que sumes ici assemblez et
chescune singulere persone par sen sumes cristien nostre seignur Jesu
Crist, e creoms en Dieu Pere omnipotent, qui fist del e terre, e en Jesu
soen fiz, qui fust conceu du Seint Esperit, nez de la Virgine Marie,
soeffrit peine e passioun, morut sur la croiz pour touz peccheours,
descendist e enferns, e le tierz jour releva de mort en vie, e mounta en
ciel, siet au destre soen Pere, e vendra au jour de juise, juger les vifs
e les morz, qui fu saunz commencement, e serra saunz fyn; e creoms comme
seynte eglise crets, e nous enseigne. E que nostre religion est foundee
sus obedience, chastete, vivre sans propre, aider a conquere la seint
terre de Jerusalem, a force e a poer, qui Dieu nous ad preste. E nyoms e
firmement en countredioms touz e chescune singulere persone, par sei
toutes maneres de heresies e malvaistes, que sount encountre la foi de
Seinte Eglise. E prioms pour Dieu e pour charite a vous, que estes en lieu
nostre seinte pere l'apostoile, que nous puissoms aver lez drettures de
seinte eglise, comme ceus que sount les filz de sainte eglise, que bien
avoms garde, e tenu la foi, e la lei de seinte eglise, e nostre religion,
la quele est bone, honeste e juste, solom les ordenaunces, e les
privileges de la court de Rome avons grauntez, confermez, e canonizez par
commun concile, les qels priviliges ensemblement ou lestablisement, e la
regle sount en la dite court enregistrez. E mettoms en dur e en mal eu
touz Cristiens saune noz anoisourz, par la ou nous avoms este conversaunt,
comment nous avoms nostre vie demene. E se nous avoms rien mesprys de
aucun parole en nos examinacions par ignorance de seu, si comme nous sumes
genz laics prest sumes, a ester a lesgard de seint eglise, comme cely que
mourust pour nouz en la beneite de croiz. E nous creoms fermement touz les
sacremenz de seinte eglise. E nous vous prioms pour Dieu e pour salvacioun
de vous almes, que vous nous jugez si comme vous volez respoundre pour
vous et pour nous devaunt Dieu: e que nostre examinement puet estre leu e
oii devaunt nous e devaunt le people, solom le respouns e le langage que
fust dit devaunt vous, e escrit en papier._[399]
"Be it known to our honourable father, the archbishop of Canterbury,
primate of all England, and to all the prelates of holy church, and to all
Christians, that all we brethren of the Temple here assembled, and every
of one of us are Christians, and believe in our Saviour Jesus Christ, in
God the Father omnipotent, &c. &c. ..."
"And we believe all that the holy church believes and teaches us. We
declare that our religion is founded on vows of obedience, chastity, and
poverty, and of aiding in the conquest of the Holy Land of Jerusalem, with
all the power and might that God affordeth us. And we firmly deny and
contradict, one and all of us, all manner of heresy and evil doings,
contrary to the faith of holy church. And for the love of God, and for
charity, we beseech you, who represent our holy father the pope, that we
may be treated like true children of the church, for we have well guarded
and preserved the faith and the law of the church, and of our own
religion, the which is good, honest, and just, according to the ordinances
and the privileges of the court of Rome, granted, confirmed, and canonized
by common council; the which privileges, together with the rule of our
order, are enregistered in the said court. And we would bring forward all
Christians, (save our enemies and slanderers,) with whom we are
conversant, and among whom we have resided, to say how and in what manner
we have spent our lives. And if, in our examinations, we have said or done
anything wrong through ignorance of a word, since we are unlettered men,
we are ready to suffer for holy church like him who died for us on the
blessed cross. And we believe all the sacraments of the church. And we
beseech you, for the love of God, and as you hope to be saved, that you
judge us as you will have to answer for yourselves and for us before God;
and we pray that our examination may be read and heard before ourselves
and all the people, _in the very language and words in which it was given
before you, and written down on paper_."
The above declaration was presented by Brother William de la More, the
Master of the Temple; the Knights Templars Philip de Mewes, Preceptor of
Garwy; William de Burton, Preceptor of Cumbe; Radulph de Maison, Preceptor
of Ewell; Michael de Baskevile, Preceptor of London; Thomas de Wothrope,
Preceptor of Bistelesham; William de Warwick, Priest; and Thomas de
Burton, Chaplain of the Order; together with twenty serving brothers. The
same day the inquisitors and the two bishops proceeded to the different
prisons of the city to demand if the prisoners confined therein wished to
bring forward anything in defence of the order, who severally answered
that they would adopt and abide by the declaration made by their brethren
in the Tower.
It appears that in the prison of Aldgate there were confined Brother
William de Sautre, Knight, Preceptor of Samford; Brother William de la
Ford, Preceptor of Daney; Brother John de Coningeston, Preceptor of
Getinges; Roger de Norreis, Preceptor of Cressing; Radulph de Barton,
priest, Prior of the New Temple; and several serving brethren of the
order. In the prison of Crepelgate were detained William de Egendon,
Knight, Preceptor of Schepeley; John de Moun, Knight, Preceptor of
Dokesworth; and four serving brethren. In the prison of Ludgate were five
serving brethren; and in Newgate was confined Brother Himbert Blanke,
Knight, Grand Preceptor of Auvergne.
The above declaration of faith and innocence was far from agreeable to the
papal inquisitors, who required a confession of _guilt_, and the torture
was once more directed to be applied. The king sent fresh orders to the
mayor and the sheriffs of the city of London, commanding them to place the
Templars in separate dungeons; to load them with chains and fetters; to
permit the myrmidons of the inquisitors to pay periodical visits to see
that the wishes and intentions of the inquisitors, with regard to the
severity of the confinement, were properly carried into effect; and,
lastly, to inflict TORTURE upon the bodies of the Templars, and generally
to do whatever should be thought fitting and expedient in the premises,
according to ecclesiastical law.[400] In conformity with these orders, we
learn from the record of the proceedings, that the Templars were placed in
solitary confinement in loathsome dungeons; that they were placed on a
short allowance of bread and water, and periodically visited by the agents
of the inquisition; that they were moved from prison to prison, and from
dungeon to dungeon; were now treated with rigour, and anon with
indulgence; and were then visited by learned prelates, and acute doctors
in theology, who, by exhortation, persuasion, and by menace, attempted in
every possible mode to wring from them the required avowals. We learn that
all the engines of terror wielded by the church were put in force, and
that torture was unsparingly applied "_usque ad judicium sanguinis_!" The
places in which these atrocious scenes were enacted were the Tower, the
prisons of Aldgate, Ludgate, Newgate, Bishopsgate, and Crepelgate, the
house formerly belonging to John de Banguel, and the tenements once the
property of the brethren of penitence.[401] It appears that some French
monks were sent over to administer the torture to the unhappy captives,
and that they were questioned and examined in the presence of notaries
whilst suffering under the torments of the rack. The relentless
perseverance and the incessant exertions of the foreign inquisitors were
at last rewarded by a splendid triumph over the powers of endurance of two
poor serving brethren, and one chaplain of the order of the Temple, who
were at last induced to make the long-desired avowals.
On the 23rd of June, Brother Stephen de Stapelbrugge, described as an
apostate and fugitive of the order of the Temple, captured by the king's
officers in the city of Salisbury, deposed in the house of the head gaoler
of Newgate, in the presence of the bishops of London and Chichester, the
chancellor of the archbishop of Canterbury, Hugh de Walkeneby, doctor of
theology, and other clerical witnesses, that there were two modes of
profession in the order of the Temple, the one good and lawful, and the
other contrary to the christian faith; that he himself was received into
the order by Brother Brian le Jay, Grand Preceptor of England at
Dynneslee, and was led into the chapel, the door of which was closed as
soon as he had entered; that a cross was placed before the Master, and
that a brother of the Temple, with a drawn sword, stood on either side of
him; that the Master said to him, "Do you see this image of the
crucifixion?" to which he replied, "I see it, my lord;" that the Master
then said to him, "You must deny that Christ Jesus was God and man, and
that Mary was his mother; and you must spit upon this cross;" which the
deponent, through immediate fear of death, did with his mouth, but not
with his heart, and he spat _beside_ the cross, and not on it; and then
falling down upon his knees, with eyes uplifted, with his hands clasped,
with bitter tears and sighs, and devout ejaculations, he besought the
mercy and the favour of holy church, declaring that he cared not for the
death of the body, or for any amount of penance, but only for the
salvation of his soul.
On Saturday, the 25th of June, Brother Thomas Tocci de Thoroldeby, serving
brother of the order of the Temple, described as an apostate who had
escaped from Lincoln after his examination at that place by the papal
inquisitors, but had afterwards surrendered himself to the king's
officers, was brought before the bishops of London and Chichester, the
archdeacon of Salisbury, and others of the clergy in St. Martin's Church
in Vinetria; and being again examined, he repeated the statement made in
his first deposition, but added some particulars with regard to penances
imposed and absolutions pronounced in the chapter, showing the difference
between sins and defaults, the priest having to deal with the one, and the
Master with the other. He declared that the little cords were worn from
honourable motives, and relates a story of his being engaged in a battle
against the Saracens, in which he lost his cord, and was punished by the
Grand Master for a default in coming home without it. He gives the same
account of the secrecy of the chapters as all the other brethren, states
that the members of the order were forbidden to confess to the friars
mendicants, and were enjoined to confess to their own chaplains; that they
did nothing contrary to the christian faith, and as to their endeavouring
to promote the advancement of the order by any means, right or wrong, that
exactly the contrary was the case, as there was a statute in the order to
the effect, that if any one should be found to have acquired anything
unjustly, he should be deprived of his habit, and be expelled the order.
Being asked what induced him to become an apostate, and to fly from his
order, he replied that it was through fear of death, because the abbot of
Lagny, (the papal inquisitor,) when he examined him at Lincoln, asked him
if he would not confess anything further, and he answered that he knew of
nothing further to confess, unless he were to say things that were not
true; and that _the abbot, laying his hand upon his breast, swore by the
word of God that he would make him confess before he had done with him_!
and that being terribly frightened he afterwards bribed the gaoler of the
castle of Lincoln, giving him forty florins to let him make his escape.
The abbot of Lagny, indeed, was as good as his word, for on the 29th of
June, four days after this imprudent avowal, Brother Thomas Tocci de
Thoroldeby was brought back to Saint Martin's Church, and there, in the
presence of the same parties, he made a third confession, in which he
declares that, coerced by two Templars with drawn swords in their hands,
he denied Christ with his mouth, but not with his heart; and spat _beside_
the cross, but not on it; that he was required to spit upon the image of
the Virgin Mary, but contrived, instead of doing so, to give her a kiss on
the foot. He declares that he had heard Brian le Jay, the Master of the
Temple at London, say a hundred times over, that Jesus Christ was not the
true God, but a man, and that the smallest hair out of the beard of one
Saracen was of more worth than the whole body of any Christian. He
declares that he was once standing in the presence of Brother Brian, when
some poor people besought charity of him for the love of God and our lady
the blessed Virgin Mary; and he answered, "_Que dame, alez vous pendre a
vostre dame_"--"What lady? go and be hanged to your lady," and violently
casting a halfpenny into the mud, he made the poor people hunt for it,
although it was in the depth of a severe winter. He also relates that at
the chapters the priest stood like a beast, and had nothing to do but to
repeat the psalm, "God be merciful unto us, and bless us," which was read
at the closing of the chapter. (The Templars, by the way, must have been
strange idolaters to have closed their chapters, in which they are accused
of worshipping a cat, a man's head, and a black idol, with the reading of
the beautiful psalm, "God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and show us
the light of thy countenance, that _thy way may be known upon earth_, thy
saving health among all nations," &c. Psalm lxvii.) This witness further
states, that the priest had no power to impose a heavier penance than a
day's fast on bread and water, and could not even do that without the
permission of the brethren. He is made also to relate that the Templars
always favoured the Saracens in the holy wars in Palestine, and oppressed
the Christians! and he declares, speaking of himself, that for three years
before he had never seen the body of Christ without thinking of the devil,
nor could he remove that evil thought from his heart by prayer, or in any
other way that he knew of; but that very morning he had heard mass with
great devotion, and since then had thought only of Christ, and thinks
there is no one in the order of the Temple whose soul will be saved,
unless a reformation takes place.[402]
Previous to this period, the ecclesiastical council had again assembled,
and these last depositions of Brothers Stephen de Stapelbrugge and Thomas
Tocci de Thoroldeby having been produced before them, the following solemn
farce was immediately publicly enacted. It is thus described in the record
of the proceedings:
"To the praise and glory of the name of the most high Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, to the confusion of heretics, and the
strengthening of all faithful Christians, begins the public record of the
reconciliation of the penitent heretics, returning to the orthodox faith
published in the council, celebrated at London in the year 1311.
"In the name of God, Amen. In the year of the incarnation of our Lord
1311, on the twenty-seventh day of the month of June, in the hall of the
palace of the bishop of London, before the venerable fathers the Lord
Robert by the grace of God archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all
England, and his suffragans in provincial council assembled, appeared
Brother Stephen de Stapelbrugge, of the order of the chivalry of the
Temple; and the denying of Christ and the blessed Virgin Mary his mother,
the spitting upon the cross, and the heresies and errors acknowledged and
confessed by him in his deposition being displayed, the same Stephen
asserted in full council, before the people of the City of London,
introduced for the occasion, that all those things so deposed by him were
true, and that to that confession he would wholly adhere; humbly
confessing his error on his bended knees, with his hands clasped, with
much lamentation and many tears, he again and again besought the mercy and
pity of holy mother church, offering to abjure all heresies and errors,
and praying them to impose on him a fitting penance, and then the book of
the holy gospels being placed in his hands, he abjured the aforesaid
heresies in this form:
"I, brother Stephen de Stapelbrugge, of the order of the chivalry of the
Temple, do solemnly confess," &c. &c. (he repeats his confession, makes
his abjuration, and then proceeds;) "and if at any time hereafter I shall
happen to relapse into the same errors, or deviate from any of the
articles of the faith, I will account myself _ipso facto_ excommunicated;
I will stand condemned as a manifest perjured heretic, and the punishment
inflicted on perjured relapsed heretics shall be forthwith imposed upon me
without further trial or judgment!!"
He was then sworn upon the holy gospels to stand to the sentence of the
church in the matter, after which Brother Thomas Tocci de Thoroldeby was
brought forward to go through the same monstrous ceremony, which being
concluded, these two poor serving brothers of the order of the Temple, who
were so ignorant that they could not write, were made to place their mark
(_loco subscriptionis_) on the record of the abjuration.
"And then our lord the archbishop of Canterbury, for the purpose of
absolving and reconciling to the unity of the church the aforesaid Thomas
and Stephen, conceded his authority and that of the whole council to the
bishop of London, in the presence of me the notary, specially summoned for
the occasion, in these words: 'We grant to you the authority of God, of
the blessed Mary, of the blessed Thomas the Martyr our patron, and of all
the saints of God (sanctorum atque _sanctarum_ Dei) to us conceded, and
also the authority of the present council to us transferred, to the end
that thou mayest reconcile to the unity of the church these miserables,
separated from her by their repudiation of the faith, and now brought
back again to her bosom, reserving to ourselves and the council the right
of imposing a fit penance for their transgressions!' And as there were two
penitents, the bishop of Chichester was joined to the bishop of London for
the purpose of pronouncing the absolution, which two bishops, putting on
their mitres and pontificals, and being assisted by twelve priests in
sacerdotal vestments, placed themselves in seats at the western entrance
of the cathedral church of Saint Paul, and the penitents, with bended
knees, humbly prostrating themselves in prayer upon the steps before the
door of the church, the members of the council and the people of the city
standing around; and the psalm, _Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy
great goodness_," having been chaunted from the beginning to the end, and
the subjoined prayers and sermon having been gone through, they absolved
the said penitents, and received them back to the unity of the church in
the following form:
"In the name of God, Amen. Since by your confession we find that you,
Brother Stephen de Stapelbrugge, have denied Christ Jesus and the blessed
Virgin Mary, and have spat _beside_ the cross, and now taking better
advice wishest to return to the unity of the holy church with a true heart
and sincere faith, as you assert, and all heretical depravity having for
that purpose been previously abjured by you according to the form of the
church, we, by the authority of the council, absolve you from the bonds of
excommunication wherewith you were held fast, and we reconcile you to the
unity of the church, if you shall have returned to her in sincerity of
heart, and shall have obeyed her injunctions imposed upon you."
Brother Thomas Tocci de Thoroldeby was then absolved and reconciled to the
church in the same manner, after which various psalms (Gloria Patri,
Kyrie Eleyson, Christe Eleyson, &c. &c.) were sung, and prayers were
offered up, and then the ceremony was concluded.[403]
On the 1st of July, an avowal of guilt was wrung by the inquisitors from
Brother John de Stoke, chaplain of the order, who, being brought before
the bishops of London and Chichester in St. Martin's church, deposed that
he was received in the mode mentioned by him on his first examination; but
a year and fifteen days after that reception, being at the preceptory of
Garwy in the diocese of Hereford, he was called into the chamber of
Brother James de Molay, the Grand Master of the order, who, in the
presence of two other Templars of foreign extraction, informed him that he
wished to make proof of his obedience, and commanded him to take a seat at
the foot of the bed, and the deponent did so. The Grand Master then sent
into the church for the crucifix, and two serving brothers, with naked
swords in their hands, stationed themselves on either side of the doorway.
As soon as the crucifix made its appearance, the Grand Master, pointing to
the figure of our Saviour nailed thereon, asked the deponent whose image
it was, and he answered, "The image of Jesus Christ, who suffered on the
cross for the redemption of mankind;" but the Grand Master exclaimed,
"Thou sayest wrong, and are much mistakened, for he was the son of a
certain woman, and was crucified because he called himself the Son of God,
and I myself have been in the place where he was born and crucified, and
thou must now deny him whom this image represents." The deponent
exclaimed, "Far be it from me to deny my Saviour;" but the Grand Master
told him he must do it, or he would be put into a sack and be carried to a
place which he would find by no means agreeable, and there were swords in
the room, and brothers ready to use them, &c. &c.; and the deponent asked
if such was the custom of the order, and if all the brethren did the
same; and being answered in the affirmative, he, through fear of immediate
death, denied Christ with his _tongue_, but not with his _heart_. Being
asked in whom he was told to put his faith after he had denied Christ
Jesus, he replies, "In that great Omnipotent God who created the heaven
and the earth."[404]
Such, in substance, was the whole of the criminatory evidence that could
be wrung by torture, by a long imprisonment, and by hardships of every
kind, from the Templars in England. It amounts simply to an assertion that
they compelled all whom they received into their order to renounce the
christian religion, a thing perfectly incredible. Is it to be supposed
that the many good Christians of high birth, and honour, and exalted
piety, who entered into the order of the Temple, taking the cross for
their standard and their guide, would thus suddenly have cast their faith
and their religion to the winds? Would they not rather have denounced the
impiety and iniquity to the officers of the Inquisition, and to the pope,
the superior of the order?
"Ainsi que la vertu, le crime a ses degres
Et jamais on n'a vu la timide innocence
Passer subitement a l'extreme licence.
Un seul jour ne fait point d'un mortel vertueux
Un perfide apostat, un traitre audacieux."
_Phedre_, Acte iv. Scene 2.
On Saturday, the 3rd of July, the archbishop of Canterbury, and the
bishops, the clergy, and the people of the city of London, were again
assembled around the western door of Saint Paul's cathedral, and Brother
John de Stoke, chaplain of the order of the Temple, made his public
recantation of the heresies confessed by him, and was then absolved and
reconciled to the church in the same manner as Brothers Thomas de
Stapelbrugge and Tocci de Thoroldeby, after which a last effort was made
to bend the remaining Templars to the wishes of the papal inquisitors.
On Monday, July 5th, at the request of the ecclesiastical council, the
bishop of Chichester had an interview with Sir William de la More, the
Master of the Temple, taking with him certain learned lawyers,
theologians, and scriveners. He exhorted and earnestly pressed him to
abjure the heresies of which he stood convicted, by his own confessions
and those of his brethren, respecting the absolutions pronounced by him in
the chapters, and submit himself to the disposition of the church; but the
Master declared that he had never been guilty of the heresies mentioned,
and that he would not abjure crimes which he had never committed; so he
was sent back to his dungeon.
The next day, (Tuesday, July the 6th,) the bishops of London, Winchester,
and Chichester, had an interview in Southwark with the Knight Templar,
Philip de Mewes, Preceptor of Garwy, and some serving brethren of the New
Temple at London, and told them that they were manifestly guilty of
heresy, as appeared from the pope's bulls, and the depositions taken
against the order both in England and France, and also from their own
confessions regarding the absolutions pronounced in their chapters,
explaining to them that they had grievously erred in believing that the
Master of the Temple, who was a mere layman, had power to absolve them
from their sins by pronouncing an absolution in the mode previously
described, and they warned them that if they persisted in that error they
would be condemned as heretics, and that as they could not clear
themselves therefrom, it behoved them to abjure all the heresies of which
they were accused. The Templars replied that they were ready to abjure the
error they had fallen into respecting the absolution, and _all heresies
of every kind_, before the archbishop of Canterbury and the prelates of
the council, whenever they should be required so to do, and they humbly
and reverently submitted themselves to the orders of the church,
beseeching pardon and grace.
A sort of compromise was then made with most of the Templars in custody in
London. They were required publicly to repeat a form of confession and
abjuration drawn up by the bishops of London and Chichester, and were then
solemnly absolved and reconciled to the church in the following terms:--
"In the name of God, Amen. Since you have confessed in due form before the
ecclesiastical council of the province of Canterbury that you have gravely
erred concerning the sacrament of repentance, in believing that the
absolution pronounced by the Master in chapter had as much efficacy as is
implied in the words pronounced by him, that is to say, 'The sins which
you have omitted to confess through shamefacedness, or through fear of the
justice of the order, we, by virtue of the power delegated to us by God
and our lord the pope, forgive you, as far as we are able;' and since you
have confessed that you cannot entirely purge yourselves from the heresies
set forth under the apostolic bull, and taking sage counsel with a good
heart and unfeigned faith, have submitted yourselves to the judgment and
the mercy of the church, having previously abjured the aforesaid heresies,
and all heresies of every description, we, by the authority of the
council, absolve you from the chain of excommunication wherewith you have
been bound, and reconcile you once more to the unity of the church, &c.
&c."
On the 9th of July, Brother Michael de Baskevile, Knight, Preceptor of
London, and seventeen other Templars, were absolved and reconciled in full
council, in the Episcopal Hall of the see of London, in the presence of a
vast concourse of the citizens.
On the 10th of the same month, the Preceptors of Dokesworth, Getinges, and
Samford, the guardian of the Temple church at London, Brother Radulph de
Evesham, chaplain, with other priests, knights, and serving brethren of
the order, were absolved by the bishops of London, Exeter, Winchester, and
Chichester, in the presence of the archbishop of Canterbury and the whole
ecclesiastical council.
The next day many more members of the fraternity were publicly reconciled
to the church on the steps before the south door of Saint Paul's
cathedral, and were afterwards present at the celebration of high mass in
the interior of the sacred edifice, when they advanced in a body towards
the high altar bathed in tears, and falling down on their knees, they
devoutly kissed the sacred emblems of Christianity.
The day after, (July 12,) nineteen other Templars were publicly absolved
and reconciled to the church at the same place, in the presence of the
earls of Leicester, Pembroke, and Warwick, and afterwards assisted in like
manner at the celebration of high mass. The priests of the order made
their confessions and abjurations in Latin; the knights pronounced them in
Norman French, and the serving brethren for the most part repeated them in
English.[405] The vast concourse of people collected together could have
comprehended but very little of what was uttered, whilst the appearance of
the penitent brethren, and the public spectacle of their recantation,
answered the views of the papal inquisitors, and doubtless impressed the
commonalty with a conviction of the guilt of the order. Many of the
Templars were too _sick_ (suffering doubtless from the effect of torture)
to be brought down to St. Paul's, and were therefore absolved and
reconciled to the church by the bishops of London, Winchester, and
Chichester, at Saint Mary's chapel near the Tower.
Among the prisoners absolved at the above chapel were many old veteran
warriors in the last stage of decrepitude and decay. "They were so old and
so infirm," says the public notary who recorded the proceedings, "that
they were unable to stand;" their confessions were consequently made
before two masters in theology; they were then led before the west door of
the chapel, and were publicly reconciled to the church by the bishop of
Chichester; after which they were brought into the sacred building, and
were placed on their knees before the high altar, which they devoutly
kissed, whilst the tears trickled down their furrowed cheeks. All these
penitent Templars were now released from prison, and directed to do
penance in different monasteries. Precisely the same form of proceeding
was followed at York: the reconciliations and absolution being there
carried into effect before the south door of the cathedral.[406]
Thus terminated the proceedings against the order of the Temple in
England.
Similar measures had, in the mean time, been prosecuted against the
Templars in all parts of Christendom, but no better evidence of their
guilt than that above mentioned was ever discovered. The councils of
Tarragona and Aragon, after applying the torture, pronounced the order
free from heresy. In Portugal and in Germany the Templars were declared
innocent, and in no place situate beyond the sphere of the influence of
the king of France and his creature the pope was a single Templar
condemned to death.[407]
[Sidenote: A. D. 1312.]
On the 16th of October a general council of the church, which had been
convened by the pope to pronounce the abolition of the order, assembled at
Vienne near Lyons in France. It was opened by the holy pontiff in person,
who caused the different confessions and avowals of the Templars to be
read over before the assembled nobles and prelates, and then moved the
suppression of an order wherein had been discovered such crying iniquities
and sinful abominations; but the entire council, with the exception of an
Italian prelate, nephew of the pope, and the three French bishops of
Rheims, Sens, and Rouen, all creatures of Philip, who had severally
condemned large bodies of Templars to be burnt at the stake in their
respective dioceses, were unanimously of opinion, that before the
suppression of so celebrated and illustrious an order, which had rendered
such great and signal services to the christian faith, the members
belonging to it ought to be heard in their own defence.[408] Such a
proceeding, however, did not suit the views of the pope and king Philip,
and the assembly was abruptly dismissed by the holy pontiff, who declared
that since they were unwilling to adopt the necessary measures, he
himself, out of the plenitude of the papal authority, would supply every
defect. Accordingly, at the commencement of the following year, the pope
summoned a private consistory; and several cardinals and French bishops
having been gained over, the holy pontiff abolished the order by an
apostolical ordinance, perpetually prohibiting every one from thenceforth
entering into it, or accepting or wearing the habit thereof, or
representing themselves to be Templars, on pain of excommunication.[409]
On the 3rd of April, the second session of the council was opened by the
pope at Vienne. King Philip and his three sons were present, accompanied
by a large body of troops, and the papal decree abolishing the order was
published before the assembly.[410] The members of the council appear to
have been called together merely to hear the decree read. History does not
inform of any discussion with reference to it, nor of any suffrages having
been taken.
A few months after the close of these proceedings, Brother William de la
More, the Master of the Temple in England, died of a broken heart in his
solitary dungeon in the Tower, persisting with his last breath in the
maintenance of the innocence of his order. King Edward, in pity for his
misfortunes, directed the constable of the Tower to hand over his goods
and chattels, valued at the sum of 4_l._ 19_s._ 11_d._, to his executors,
to be employed in the liquidation of his debts, and he commanded Geoffrey
de la Lee, guardian of the lands of the Templars, to pay the arrears of
his prison pay (2_s._ per diem) to the executor, Roger Hunsingon.[411]
Among the Cotton MS. is a list of the Masters of the Temple, otherwise the
Grand Priors or Grand Preceptors of England, compiled under the direction
of the prior of the Hospital of Saint John at Clerkenwell, to the intent
that the brethren of that fraternity might remember the antient Masters of
the Temple in their prayers.[412] A few names have been omitted which are
supplied in the following list:--
Magister R. de Pointon.[413]
Rocelinus de Fossa.[414]
Richard de Hastings,[415] A. D. 1160.
Richard Mallebeench.[416]
Geoffrey, son of Stephen,[417] A. D. 1180.
Thomas Berard, A. D. 1200.
Amaric de St. Maur,[418] A. D. 1203.
Alan Marcel,[419] A. D. 1224.
Amberaldus, A. D. 1229.
Robert Mountforde,[420] A. D. 1234.
Robert Sanford,[421] A. D. 1241.
Amadeus de Morestello, A. D. 1254.
Himbert Peraut,[422] A. D. 1270.
Robert Turvile,[423] A. D. 1290.
Guido de Foresta,[424] A. D. 1292.
James de Molay, A. D. 1293.
Brian le Jay,[425] A. D. 1295.
WILLIAM DE LA MORE THE MARTYR.
The only other Templar in England whose fate merits particular attention
is Brother Himbert Blanke, the Grand Preceptor of Auvergne. He appears to
have been a knight of high honour and of stern unbending pride. From
first to last he had boldly protested against the violent proceedings of
the inquisitors, and had fearlessly maintained, amid all trials, his own
innocence and that of his order. This illustrious Templar had fought under
four successive Grand Masters in defence of the christian faith in
Palestine, and after the fall of Acre, had led in person several daring
expeditions against the infidels. For these meritorious services he was
rewarded in the following manner:--After having been tortured and
half-starved in the English prisons for the space of five years, he was
condemned, as he would make no confession of guilt, to be shut up in a
loathsome dungeon, to be loaded with double chains, and to be occasionally
visited by the agents of the inquisition, to see if he would confess
_nothing further_![426] In this miserable situation he remained until
death at last put an end to his sufferings.
[Sidenote: A. D. 1313.]
James de Molay, the Grand Master of the Temple, Guy, the Grand Preceptor,
a nobleman of illustrious birth, brother to the prince of Dauphiny, Hugh
de Peralt, the Visitor-general of the Order, and the Grand Preceptor of
Aquitaine, had now languished in the prisons of France for the space of
five years and a half. The Grand Master had been compelled to make a
confession which he afterwards disowned and stigmatized as a forgery,
swearing that if the cardinals who had subscribed it had been of a
different cloth, he would have proclaimed them liars, and would have
challenged them to mortal combat.[427] The other knights had also made
confessions which they had subsequently revoked. The secrets of the dark
prisons of these illustrious Templars have never been brought to light,
but on the 18th of March, A. D. 1313, a public scaffold was erected
before the cathedral church of Notre Dame, at Paris, and the citizens were
summoned to hear the Order of the Temple convicted by the mouths of its
chief officers, of the sins and iniquities charged against it. The four
knights, loaded with chains and surrounded by guards, were then brought
upon the scaffold by the provost, and the bishop of Alba read their
confessions aloud in the presence of the assembled populace. The papal
legate then, turning towards the Grand Master and his companions, called
upon them to renew, in the hearing of the people, the avowals which they
had previously made of the guilt of their order. Hugh de Peralt, the
Visitor-General, and the Preceptor of the Temple of Aquitaine, signified
their assent to whatever was demanded of them, but the Grand Master
raising his arms bound with chains towards heaven, and advancing to the
edge of the scaffold, declared in a loud voice, that to say that which was
untrue was a crime, both in the sight of God and man. "I do," said he,
"confess my guilt, which consists in having, to my shame and dishonour,
suffered myself, through the pain of torture and the fear of death, to
give utterance to falsehoods, imputing scandalous sins and iniquities to
an illustrious order, which hath nobly served the cause of Christianity. I
disdain to seek a wretched and disgraceful existence by engrafting another
lie upon the original falsehood." He was here interrupted by the provost
and his officers, and Guy, the Grand Preceptor, having commenced with
strong asseverations of his innocence, they were both hurried back to
prison.
King Philip was no sooner informed of the result of this strange
proceeding, than, upon the first impulse of his indignation, without
consulting either pope, or bishop, or ecclesiastical council, he commanded
the instant execution of both these gallant noblemen. The same day at dusk
they were led out of their dungeons, and were burned to death in a slow
and lingering manner upon small fires of charcoal which were kindled on
the little island in the Seine, between the king's garden and the convent
of St. Augustine, close to the spot where now stands the equestrian statue
of Henri IV.[428]
Thus perished the last Grand Master of the Temple.
The fate of the persecutors of the order is not unworthy of notice.
A year and one month after the above horrible execution, the pope was
attacked by a dysentery, and speedily hurried to his grave. The dead body
was transported to Carpentras, where the court of Rome then resided; it
was placed at night in a church which caught fire, and the mortal remains
of the holy pontiff were almost entirely consumed. His relations
quarrelled over the immense treasures he left behind him, and a vast sum
of money, which had been deposited for safety in a church at Lucca, was
stolen by a daring band of German and Italian freebooters.
Before the close of the same year, king Philip died of a lingering disease
which baffled all the art of his medical attendants, and the condemned
criminal, upon the strength of whose information the Templars were
originally arrested, was hanged for fresh crimes. "History attests," says
Monsieur Raynouard, "that all those who were foremost in the persecution
of the Templars, came to an untimely and miserable death." The last days
of Philip were embittered by misfortune; his nobles and clergy leagued
against him to resist his exactions; the wives of his three sons were
accused of adultery, and two of them were publicly convicted of that
crime. The misfortunes of Edward the Second, king of England, and his
horrible death in Berkeley Castle, are too well known to be further
alluded to.
To save appearances, the pope had published a bull transferring the
property, late belonging to the Templars, to the order of the Hospital of
Saint John,[429] which had just then acquired additional renown and
popularity in Europe by the conquest from the infidels of the island of
Rhodes. This bull, however, remained for a considerable period nearly a
dead letter, and the Hospitallers never obtained a twentieth part of the
antient possessions of the Templars.
The kings of Castile, Aragon, and Portugal, created new military orders in
their own dominions, to which the estates of the late order of the Temple
were transferred, and, annexing the Grand Masterships thereof to their own
persons, by the title of Perpetual Administrators, they succeeded in
drawing to themselves an immense revenue.[430] The kings of Bohemia,
Naples, and Sicily, retained possession of many of the houses and
strongholds of the Templars in their dominions, and various religious
orders of monks succeeded in installing themselves in the convents of the
fraternity. The heirs of the donors of the property, moreover, claimed a
title to it by escheat, and in most cases where the Hospitallers obtained
the lands and estates granted them by the pope, they had to pay large
fines to adverse claimants to be put into peaceable possession.[431]
"The chief cause of the ruin of the Templars," justly remarks Fuller, "was
their extraordinary wealth. As Naboth's vineyard was the chiefest ground
of his blasphemy, and as in England Sir John Cornwall Lord Fanhope said
merrily, not he, but his stately house at Ampthill in Bedfordshire was
guilty of high treason, so certainly their wealth was the principal cause
of their overthrow.... We may believe that king Philip would never have
taken away their lives if he might have taken their lands without putting
them to death, but the mischief was, he could not get the honey unless he
burnt the bees."[432]
King Philip, the pope, and the European sovereigns, appear to have
disposed of all the personalty of the Templars, the ornaments, jewels, and
treasure of their churches and chapels, and during the period of five
years, over which the proceedings against the order extended, they
remained in the actual receipt of the vast rents and revenues of the
fraternity. After the promulgation of the bull, assigning the property of
the Templars to the Hospitallers, king Philip put forward a claim upon the
land to the extent of two hundred thousand pounds for the expenses of the
prosecution, and Louis Hutin, his son, required a further sum of sixty
thousand pounds from the Hospitallers, before he would consent to
surrender the estates into their hands.[433] "J'ignore," says Voltaire,
"ce qui revint au pape, mais je vois evidemment que les frais des
cardinaux, des inquisiteurs delegues pour faire ce proces epouvantable
monterent a des sommes immenses."[434] The holy pontiff, according to his
own account, received only a _small portion_ of the personalty of the
order,[435] but others make him a large participator in the good things of
the fraternity.[436]
On the imprisonment of the Templars in England, the Temple at London, and
all the preceptories dependent upon it, with the manors, farms, houses,
lands, and revenues of the fraternity, were placed under the survey of
the Court of Exchequer, and extents[437] were directed to be taken of the
same, after which they were confided to the care of certain trustworthy
persons, styled "Guardians of the lands of the Templars," who were to
account for the rents and profits to the king's exchequer. The bishop of
Lichfield and Coventry had the custody of all the lands and tenements in
the county of Hants. John de Wilburgham had those in the counties of
Norfolk and Suffolk, and there were thirty-two other guardians entrusted
with the care of the property in the remaining counties of England.[438]
These guardians were directed to pay various pensions to the old servants
and retainers of the Templars dwelling in the different preceptories,[439]
also the expenses of the prosecution against the order, and they were at
different times required to provide for the exigencies of the public
service, and to victual the king's castles and strongholds. On the 12th of
January, A. D. 1312, William de Slengesby, guardian of the manor of
Ribbestayn in the county of York, was commanded to forward to the
constable of the castle of Knaresburgh a hundred quarters of corn, ten
quarters of oats, twenty fat oxen, eighty sheep, and two strong carts,
towards the victualling of the said fortress, and the king tells him that
the same shall be duly deducted when he renders his account to the
exchequer of the rents and profits of the said manor.[440] The king,
indeed, began to dispose of the property as if it was wholly vested in the
crown, and made munificent donations to his favourites and friends. In the
month of February of the same year, he gave the manors of Etton and Cave
to David Earl of Athol, directing the guardians of the lands and tenements
of the Templars in the county of York to hand over to the said earl all
the corn in those manors, the oxen, calves, ploughs, and all the goods and
chattels of the Templars existing therein, together with the ornaments and
utensils of the chapel of the Temple.[441]
On the 16th of May, however, the pope addressed bulls to the king, and to
all the earls and barons of the kingdom, setting forth the proceedings of
the council of Vienne and the publication of the papal decree, vesting the
property late belonging to the Templars in the brethren of the Hospital of
St. John, and he commands them forthwith to place the members of that
order in possession thereof. Bulls were also addressed to the archbishops
of Canterbury and York and their suffragans, commanding them to enforce by
ecclesiastical censures the execution of the papal commands.[442] King
Edward and his nobles very properly resisted this decree, and on the 21st
of August the king wrote to the Prior of the Hospital of St. John at
Clerkenwell, telling him that the pretensions of the pope to dispose of
property within the realm of England, without the consent of parliament,
were derogatory to the dignity of the crown and the royal authority; and
he commands him, under severe pains and penalties, to refrain from
attempting to obtain any portion of the possessions of the Templars.[443]
The king, indeed, continued to distribute the lands and rents amongst his
friends and favourites. At the commencement of the year 1313, he granted
the Temple at London, with the church and all the buildings therein, to
Aymer de Valence earl of Pembroke;[444] and on the 5th of May of the same
year he caused several merchants, from whom he had borrowed money, to be
placed in possession of many of the manors of the Templars.[445]
Yielding, however, at last to the exhortations and menaces of the pope,
the king, on the 21st of Nov. A. D. 1313, granted the property to the
Hospitallers,[446] and sent orders to all the guardians of the lands of
the Templars, and to various powerful barons who were in possession of the
estates, commanding them to deliver them up to certain parties deputed by
the Grand Master and chapter of the Hospital of Saint John to receive
them.[447] At this period, however, many of the heirs of the donors, whose
title had been recognized by the law, were in possession of the lands, and
the judges held that the king had no power of his own sole authority to
transfer them to the order of the Hospital.[448] The thunders of the
Vatican were consequently vigorously made use of, and all the detainers of
the property were doomed by the Roman pontiff to everlasting
damnation.[449] Pope John, in one of his bulls, dated A. D. 1322, bitterly
complains of the disregard by all the king's subjects of the papal
commands. He laments that they had hardened their hearts and despised the
sentence of excommunication fulminated against them, and declares that his
heart was riven with grief to find that even the ecclesiastics, who ought
to have been as a wall of defence to the Hospitallers, had themselves been
heinously guilty in the premises.[450]
At last (A. D. 1324) the pope, the bishops, and the Hospitallers, by their
united exertions, succeeded in obtaining an act of parliament, vesting all
the property late belonging to the Templars in the brethren of the
Hospital of Saint John, in order that the intentions of the donors might
be carried into effect by the appropriation of it to the defence of the
Holy Land and the succour of the christian cause in the East.[451] This
statute gave rise to the greatest discontent. The heirs of the donors
petitioned parliament for its repeal, alleging that it had been made
against law and against reason, and contrary to the opinion of the
judges;[452] and many of the great barons who held the property by a title
recognised by the common law, successfully resisted the claims of the
order of the Hospital, maintaining that the parliament had no right to
interfere with the tenure of private property, and to dispose of their
possessions without their consent.
This struggle between the heirs of the donors on the one hand, and the
Hospitallers on the other, continued for a lengthened period; and in the
reign of Edward the Third it was found necessary to pass another act of
parliament, confirming the previous statute in their favour, and writs
were sent to the sheriffs (A. D. 1334) commanding them to enforce the
execution of the acts of the legislature, and to take possession, in the
king's name, of all the property unjustly detained from the brethren of
the Hospital.[453]
Whilst the vast possessions, late belonging to the Templars, thus
continued to be the subject of contention, the surviving brethren of that
dissolved order continued to be treated with the utmost inhumanity and
neglect. The ecclesiastical council had assigned to each of them a pension
of fourpence a day for subsistence, but this small pittance was not paid,
and they were consequently in great danger of dying of hunger. The king,
pitying their miserable situation, wrote to the prior of the hospital of
St. John at Clerkenwell, earnestly requesting him to take their hard lot
into his serious consideration, and not suffer them to come to beggary in
the streets.[454] The archbishop of Canterbury also exerted himself in
their behalf, and sent letters to the possessors of the property,
reproving them for the non-payment of the allotted stipends. "This
inhumanity," says he, "awakens our compassion, and penetrates us with the
most lively grief. We pray and conjure you in kindness to furnish them,
for the love of God and for charity, with the means of subsistence."[455]
The archbishop of York caused many of them to be supported in the
different monasteries of his diocese.[456]
Many of the quondam Templars, however, after the dissolution of their
order, assumed a secular habit; they blended themselves with the laity,
mixed in the pleasures of the world, and even presumed to contract
matrimony, proceedings which drew down upon them the severe indignation of
the Roman pontiff. In a bull addressed to the archbishop of Canterbury,
the pope stigmatises these marriages as unlawful concubinages; he observes
that the late Templars remained bound, notwithstanding the dissolution of
their order, by their vows of perpetual chastity, and he orders them to be
separated from the women whom they had married, and to be placed in
different monasteries, where they are to dedicate themselves to the
service of God, and the strict performance of their religious vows.[457]
The Templars adopted the oriental fashion of long beards, and during the
proscription of the fraternity, when the fugitives who had thrown off
their habits were hunted out like wild beasts, it appears to have been
dangerous for laymen to possess beards of more than a few weeks' growth.
Papers and certificates were granted to men with long beards, to prevent
them from being molested by the officers of justice as suspected Templars,
as appears from the following curious certificate given by king Edward the
Second to his valet, who had made a vow not to shave himself until he had
performed a pilgrimage to a certain place beyond sea.
"Rex, etc. Cum dilectus valettus noster Petrus Auger, exhibitor
praesentium, nuper voverit quod barbam suam radi non faciat, quousque
peregrinationem fecerit in certo loco in partibus transmarinis; et idem
Petrus sibi timeat, quod aliqui ipsum, ratione barbae suae prolixae fuisse
Templarium imponere sibi velint, et ei inferre impedimenta seu gravamina
ex hac causa; Nos veritati volentes testimonium pertulere, vobis tenore
praesentium intimamus, quod praedictus Petrus est valettus camerae nostrae,
_nec unquam fuit Templarius, sed barbam suam sic prolixam esse permittit,
ex causa superius annotata_, etc. Teste Rege, &c."[458]