麻豆APP

The Knights Templars Fall

The Templars Knights were born at the beginning of the crusades, around 1128. Originally, there were noble knights who swore to dedicate their sword to the defense of christian pilgrims. The pilgrimage to Jerusalem indeed turned out to be very dangerous. The Templars Knights built strong fortresses on the most critical passages. With times, they became powerful and rich. Their network used to spread all over Europe and Middle East and they quickly acted as world bankers. They owned lands, convents, taxes rights, and only answered directly to the pope.

In 1298, the city of Saint-Jean-d鈥橝cre felt in the hands of the Muslims. The was the end of the Latin Kingdoms. The crusades were over. The Holy Land was lost, and the Knight Templars had to withdraw even though they bravely fought for defend the city. This is the very moment the King of France chose to get rid of the Order, once for all.

Indeed, the King of France, Phillipe IV had been trying for long to build a powerful and independent French State. He was then trying to get rid of the Pope influence. The conflit was even more exacerbating when the King own concellor tried to kidnapp the Pope himself. The Knights Templar, strongly tied to the person of the Pope, became a major and attractiv target for the King.

Furthermore, the Knights Templars had been building up to themselves a very bad reputation. They were very rich, yet not fighting in the Holy Land anymore, their original purpose. They were told being arrogant and cupid. The King of France was spreading as well terrible rumors, blaming the Temple Order for witchcraft and obscene rites. The population started to hate them. Still, they are were a force of thousands of armed and well trained soldiers, not easy to stop.

In october 1307, Phillipe IV every one called the Iron King trusted his own strength enough to have all the Knights Templars arrested despite the Pope protests. They were all thrown in jail, on Friday the 13th. The Knights Templars Order was over. The trial took long, the Knights loudly proclaiming their innocence. But torture finally made them confess all the crimes all the crimes they were accused of. In a hurry to be done with the Order, the King ordered 150 of the Knights to be burned alive. The two last master of the Order, Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay, were burned on l鈥橧le de la Cit茅. However, while the flammes started to bite them, they had the times to shout out those words :鈥滸od knows who is wrong and has sinned. Soon a calamity will occur to those who have condemned us to death.鈥�

And indeed, the King Phillipe IV, as well as all its concellors and the Pope himself died in the following year…

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