Trial of The Knights Templar

Trial Of The Knights Templar

The Knights Templar trace their beginnings to the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in c. 1120 when eight Christian knights, under the auspices of King Baldwin II and the Patriarch Warmund, were given the task of protecting pilgrims on the roads to Jerusalem. This they did for nine years until elevated to a military order at the Council of Troyes in 1129. They became an elite fighting force in the Crusades known for their propensity not to retreat or surrender.

Eventually, their rules of secrecy, their power, privileges and their wealth, made them vulnerable to the King of France’s accusations, and with the Pope’s unsuccessful attempts to prevent it, their destruction. The Templar leader, Master Jacques de Molay had recently come to France for meetings with the pope. In 1307, members of the Templar order in France were suddenly charged with heresy and arrested. In France, many ultimately, including their leader, were burned at the stake while others were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment. The events in France led to a series of trials in other locations, not all of which had the same outcome.