The Knights Templar
Medieval Catholic military order suddenly arrested en masse on Friday the 13th, 1307, on charges of heresy — their suppressed trial records found in Vatican archives in 2001.
Overview
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, commonly known as the Knights Templar, was a Catholic military order founded in 1119, recognized by the papal bull Omne datum optimum in 1139. They became among the wealthiest and most powerful organizations of medieval Christendom. On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the mass arrest of Templars on charges of heresy, blasphemy, and sodomy. In 2001, scholar Barbara Frale rediscovered the 'Chinon Parchment' in the Vatican Secret Archives, showing Pope Clement V had secretly absolved the order.
Timeline
- 1119Order founded in Jerusalem by Hugues de Payens.
- 1307-10-13Mass arrest of Templars across France.
- 1312Order officially dissolved by papal bull Vox in excelso.
- 1314-03-18Last Grand Master Jacques de Molay burned at the stake.
- 2001Chinon Parchment rediscovered by Barbara Frale in Vatican Archives.
- 2007Vatican publishes 'Processus Contra Templarios' facsimile edition.
Evidence on Record
- 01Chinon Parchment (Vatican Secret Archives, Archivum Arcis Armarium D 217-218)
- 02Trial transcripts (Archives nationales, Paris)
Theories & Disputes
The order's wealth and fleet's disappearance fuels speculation about flight to Scotland or the New World.
Connection to Freemasonry (claimed by Andrew Michael Ramsay in 1737) — disputed by historians.
Reputed custodians of the Holy Grail, Ark of the Covenant, or the Shroud of Turin.