Frenchman Jacques de Molay (Molay) was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. He was born on March 16, 1244 in France, in the castle Montsegur, belonged to a noble family.
Molay's career in the order
In 1265 Jacques de Molay was honored to become a knight of the Templar Order, the most powerful order that had its own army, financial and agent system. The Templars after the Crusades were content not only with gold and other riches of the defeated “infidel heretics.”
They were constantly in search of knowledge. The knights of the order brought to their community the knowledge of ancient scientists and philosophers from all the lands where they set foot: Arabic, Jewish, Persian and other chronicles.
Jacques de Molay himself, starting since 1275, was a participant in all campaigns organized by the pope ClementV and the French king PhilipIV “Beautiful”.
Grand Master
In April 1292 Molay was elected 23rd Grand Master of the Knights Templar. He held this position until March 1312. After him, this post, like the order itself, ceased to exist in France. In any case, in the same power and splendor as before.
Period of Templar leadership
In 1291, after the fall of Acre, the Templars moved their headquarters to Cyprus. Thus, the order left the Holy Land, for the protection of which it was created.
Jacques de Molay set himself two important tasks:
- firstly, he had to reform the order,
- secondly, to convince the Pope and European monarchs to launch a new crusade to the Holy Land.
At the same time, waiting for the big one crusade, Jacques de Molay tried to regain the positions lost by the order in the Holy Land. To this end, in 1301 the Templars captured the island. Arvad(Ruad), located near the Syrian coast. However, they could not hold it and in 1302 Arvad was surrendered Saracens.
The failures of the order contributed to the growing criticism against it. Back in 1274, the question of uniting the two leading military monastic orders first arose - Temple And Hospital. In 1305, Pope Clement V again proposed to unite the orders. In his letter to Clement, Molay criticized this proposal.
The king's dissatisfaction and the arrests of the Templars
During his visit to Europe, Molay learned of the intrigues of King Philip IV of France against the Templars. The unrestrained harshness of the Chapter Master may have predetermined the sad end of his order. October 13, 1307 Molay was arrested in the Temple, the residence of the order on the outskirts of Paris.
Three weeks later, Philip IV sent secret instructions to his officials, after which the mass arrests of the Templars countrywide. A logical continuation of the reprisal was the high-profile multi-year trial of the order.
Burning
March 18, 1314 At the age of 70, the last Master of the Templar Order was burned as a heretic at the merciless stake of the medieval Catholic Church.
Before his execution, he completely renounced all his testimony against the order, which was made under terrible torture during a long (7 years) trial of the administration of the order.
The Curse of Jacques de Molay
There is a version (legend) that already at the stake, Jacques de Molay cursed the pope and the king of France and promised to call them to God's Judgment no later than one year after his execution.
De Molay was executed March 18, 1314., Pope Clement V died under unknown circumstances April 20, 1314, and King Philip IV - November 29, 1314(also under unclear circumstances).
(1314-03-18 ) (70 years old)Jewish Island (now part of the Ile de la Cité), Paris
Youth
Born on the night of March 16, 1244 at the castle of Montsegur into a noble family. His mother was Esclarmonde de Perey ( fr. Esclarmonde de Pereille), she was the third, and youngest, daughter of the last lords of Montsegur, Raymond and Corba de Perey (fr. Raymond et Corba de Pereille), nee Corba Yuno de Lanta (fr. Corba Hunaud de Lanta).
Coat of arms
The colors present on his coat of arms originate from the coat of arms of the French kings - golden lilies on a blue background. Blue color - symbol of the holy bishop Tura Martina patron of France who lived in the 4th century. Martin, according to legend, having met a beggar, cut off half of his blue cloak with a sword and gave it to him. Long time The Franks had a banner in the form of a blue banner, reinforced with a red cord on a cross. Golden - from a stylized image of a yellow iris, which meant the Virgin Mary in the Middle Ages. The golden stripe, the so-called "Band on the right" symbolizes special merits. After joining the order, images of 2 Templar crosses, located diagonally, were added to the personal coat of arms of Jacques de Molay.
As a master
In 1291, after the fall of Acre, the Templars moved their headquarters to Cyprus. Thus, the order left the Holy Land, for the protection of which it was created.
Jacques de Molay set himself two important tasks: firstly, he had to reform the order, and secondly, to convince the pope and European monarchs to equip a new crusade to the Holy Land. To solve these problems, Molet visited Europe twice: in 1293-1296. and in 1306-1307.
At the same time, in anticipation of a great crusade, Jacques de Molay tried to regain the positions lost by the order in the Holy Land. To this end, in 1301 the Templars captured the island of Arwad (Ruad), located near the Syrian coast. However, they were unable to hold it and in 1302 Arvad was surrendered to the Saracens.
The failures of the order contributed to the growing criticism against it. Back in 1274, the question arose for the first time about the unification of two leading military monastic orders - the Temple and the Hospital. In 1305, Pope Clement V again proposed to unite the orders. In his letter to Clement, Molay criticized this proposal.
During his second visit to Europe, Molay learned of the intrigues of King Philip IV of France against the Templars. The unrestrained rigidity of the master may have predetermined the sad end of his order. On October 13 (Friday), 1307, Molet was arrested in the Temple, the residence of the order on the outskirts of Paris. Three weeks later, Philip IV sent secret instructions to his officials, after which mass arrests of Templars began throughout the country. A logical continuation of the reprisal was the high-profile multi-year trial of the order.
On trial
During the trial, under severe torture, Mole changed his testimony several times. In October 1307, he admitted that the order had a custom of renouncing Christ and spitting on the cross. However, on Christmas Day of the same year, before the papal commissioners, the master recanted his testimony. In August 1308, in Chinon, Molay again returned to his original testimony, and in 1309 he actually refused to defend the order. Apparently, he hoped for an audience with the pope, which never took place. At the last hearing in March 1314, Molay recanted all his testimony and declared that the Templar Order was innocent. Burnt at the stake on March 18, 1314 in Paris as a relapser into heresy.
Historians' assessments
The personality of the last Master of the Templar Order has not received an unambiguous assessment by historians.
Legends
In addition, there is a legend that Jacques de Molay, before his death, founded the first Masonic lodges, in which the forbidden Order of the Templars was to be preserved underground, although somewhat different from their modern examples. The main goal of Freemasonry generated by the Templars (according to legend) was revenge and destruction of the Christian Church and the monarchy. This legend is actively supported by lodges of the so-called Scottish Ritual.
Jacques de Molay in art and characters associated with him
Jacques de Molay is one of the heroes of the series of historical novels “The Damned Kings” by the French writer Maurice Druon.
The history of the Templar Order, the trial of the Order and Jacques de Molay are mentioned in Umberto Eco's novel Foucault's Pendulum.
In addition, the Temple musical theater is staging a rock opera dedicated to Jacques de Molay.
The arrest and burning of Jacques de Molay appears in computer game Assassin's Creed Unity. A voiceover says about him: "Jacques De Molay was a genius who was betrayed by the one he trusted most - the corrupt king of France."
Memory
In 1919, the Order de Molay was founded in Kansas City, Missouri. Order of DeMolay) as a Para-Masonic initiatory organization for children aged 12 to 21 years, whose fathers are members of the Brotherhood of Freemasons. Immediately after its founding, the Order becomes international youth movement. Since 1990, the organization has been known as the "Order Internationale de Molay".
Film incarnations
Xavier Depraz as the Grand Master in the series "Cursed Kings", 1972.
Gerard Depardieu as the Grand Master in the series “Cursed Kings”, 2005.
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Notes
Literature
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
- Barber Malcolm. Templar process. - M.: Aletheya, 1998. - 496 p. - ISBN 5-89321-020-4.
- Demurje Alain. Jacques de Molay. Grand Master of the Templar Order. - St. Petersburg: Eurasia, 2009. - 416 p. - Series “Historical Library”. - ISBN 978-5-8071-0322-2, 9785807103222
- Zharinov E. V. Prophecies of the Grand Master of the Templars. - M.: Eterna, 2013. - 176 p. - Series “History is interesting!” - ISBN 978-5-480-00275-1
- Lobe M., Fo G. The tragedy of the Templar Order / Trans. from fr. D. A. Zhuravleva. - M., St. Petersburg: Veche, Eurasia, 2007. - 224 p. - “Clio” series.
- Pal Lin fon. Secrets of the Templars. - M.: LLC "AST" 2007. - 286 p. - Series “All the secrets of the Earth.”
- Barber M. James of Molay, the Last Grand Master of the Order of the Temple // Studia Monastica 14 (1972).
- Barber M. James of Molay // The Crusades. An Encyclopedia/Ed. A. V. Murray. Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford: ABC-CLIO, 2006.
- Bulst-Thiele M.-L. Sacrae Domus Militiae Templi Hierosolymitani Magistri: Untersuchungen zur Geschichte des Templerordens, 1118/9-1314. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1974.
- Demurger A. Jacques de Molay: Le crépuscule des Templiers. Paris: Payot et Rivages, 2007.
- Demurger A. The Last Templar: The Tragedy of Jacques de Molay, Last Grand Master of the Temple. London: Profile, 2004.
- Menache S. The Last Master of the Temple: James of Molay // Knighthoods of Christ: Essays on the History of the Crusades and the Knights Templar/ Ed. Housley N. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2007.
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Excerpt characterizing Molay, Jacques de
- Prince Vasily. He was very nice. Now I agreed to everything, reported to the sovereign,” Princess Anna Mikhailovna said with delight, completely forgetting all the humiliation she went through to achieve her goal.- That he has aged, Prince Vasily? – asked the Countess. – I haven’t seen him since our theaters at the Rumyantsevs’. And I think he forgot about me. “Il me faisait la cour, [He was trailing after me,” the countess recalled with a smile.
“Still the same,” answered Anna Mikhailovna, “kind, crumbling.” Les grandeurs ne lui ont pas touriene la tete du tout. [The high position did not turn his head at all.] “I regret that I can do too little for you, dear princess,” he tells me, “order.” No, he is a nice man and a wonderful family member. But you know, Nathalieie, my love for my son. I don't know what I wouldn't do to make him happy. “And my circumstances are so bad,” Anna Mikhailovna continued with sadness and lowering her voice, “so bad that I am now in the most terrible situation. My miserable process is eating up everything I have and is not moving. I don’t have, you can imagine, a la lettre [literally], I don’t have a dime of money, and I don’t know what to outfit Boris with. “She took out a handkerchief and began to cry. “I need five hundred rubles, but I have one twenty-five-ruble note.” I am in this position... My only hope now is Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhov. If he does not want to support his godson - after all, he baptized Borya - and assign him something for his maintenance, then all my troubles will be lost: I will have nothing to outfit him with.
The Countess shed tears and silently thought about something.
“I often think, maybe this is a sin,” said the princess, “and I often think: Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhoy lives alone... this is a huge fortune... and what does he live for? Life is a burden for him, but Borya is just beginning to live.
“He will probably leave something for Boris,” said the countess.
- God knows, chere amie! [dear friend!] These rich people and nobles are so selfish. But I’ll still go to him now with Boris and tell him straight out what’s going on. Let them think what they want about me, I really don’t care when my son’s fate depends on it. - The princess stood up. - Now it’s two o’clock, and at four o’clock you have lunch. I'll have time to go.
And with the techniques of a St. Petersburg business lady who knows how to use time, Anna Mikhailovna sent for her son and went out into the hall with him.
“Farewell, my soul,” she said to the countess, who accompanied her to the door, “wish me success,” she added in a whisper from her son.
– Are you visiting Count Kirill Vladimirovich, ma chere? - said the count from the dining room, also going out into the hallway. - If he feels better, invite Pierre to dinner with me. After all, he visited me and danced with the children. Call me by all means, ma chere. Well, let's see how Taras distinguishes himself today. He says that Count Orlov never had such a dinner as we will have.
“Mon cher Boris, [Dear Boris,”] said Princess Anna Mikhailovna to her son when Countess Rostova’s carriage, in which they were sitting, drove along the straw-covered street and drove into the wide courtyard of Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhy. “Mon cher Boris,” said the mother, pulling her hand out from under her old coat and with a timid and affectionate movement placing it on her son’s hand, “be gentle, be attentive.” Count Kirill Vladimirovich is still for you Godfather, and your future fate depends on it. Remember this, mon cher, be as sweet as you know how to be...
“If I had known that anything other than humiliation would come out of this...” the son answered coldly. “But I promised you and I’m doing this for you.”
Despite the fact that someone’s carriage was standing at the entrance, the doorman, looking at the mother and son (who, without ordering to report themselves, directly entered the glass vestibule between two rows of statues in the niches), looking significantly at the old cloak, asked who they wanted whatever, the princesses or the count, and, having learned that the count, said that their Lordships are worse off now and their Lordships do not receive anyone.
“We can leave,” the son said in French.
- Mon ami! [My friend!] - said the mother in a pleading voice, again touching her son’s hand, as if this touch could calm or excite him.
Boris fell silent and, without taking off his overcoat, looked questioningly at his mother.
“Darling,” Anna Mikhailovna said in a gentle voice, turning to the doorman, “I know that Count Kirill Vladimirovich is very ill... that’s why I came... I’m a relative... I won’t bother you, dear... But I just need to see Prince Vasily Sergeevich: because he is standing here. Report back, please.
The doorman sullenly pulled the string upward and turned away.
“Princess Drubetskaya to Prince Vasily Sergeevich,” he shouted to a waiter in stockings, shoes and a tailcoat who had run down from above and was looking out from under the ledge of the stairs.
The mother smoothed out the folds of her dyed silk dress, looked into the solid Venetian mirror in the wall and walked briskly up the staircase carpet in her worn-out shoes.
“Mon cher, voue m"avez promis, [My friend, you promised me,” she turned again to the Son, exciting him with the touch of her hand.
The son, with lowered eyes, calmly followed her.
They entered the hall, from which one door led to the chambers allocated to Prince Vasily.
While the mother and son, going out into the middle of the room, intended to ask for directions from the old waiter who jumped up at their entrance, a bronze handle turned at one of the doors and Prince Vasily in a velvet fur coat, with one star, in a homely manner, came out, seeing off the handsome black-haired a man. This man was the famous St. Petersburg doctor Lorrain.
“C"est donc positif? [So, is this true?] - said the prince.
“Mon prince, “errare humanum est”, mais... [Prince, it is human nature to make mistakes.] - answered the doctor, gracing and pronouncing Latin words in a French accent.
– C"est bien, c"est bien... [Okay, okay...]
Noticing Anna Mikhailovna and her son, Prince Vasily dismissed the doctor with a bow and silently, but with a questioning look, approached them. The son noticed how suddenly deep sorrow was expressed in his mother's eyes, and smiled slightly.
- Yes, in what sad circumstances did we have to see each other, Prince... Well, what about our dear patient? - she said, as if not noticing the cold, insulting gaze directed at her.
Prince Vasily looked questioningly, to the point of bewilderment, at her, then at Boris. Boris bowed politely. Prince Vasily, without answering the bow, turned to Anna Mikhailovna and answered her question with a movement of his head and lips, which meant the worst hope for the patient.
- Really? - Anna Mikhailovna exclaimed. - Oh, this is terrible! It’s scary to think... This is my son,” she added, pointing to Boris. “He himself wanted to thank you.”
Boris bowed politely again.
- Believe, prince, that a mother’s heart will never forget what you did for us.
“I’m glad that I could do something pleasant for you, my dear Anna Mikhailovna,” said Prince Vasily, straightening his frill and in his gesture and voice showing here, in Moscow, in front of the patronized Anna Mikhailovna, even greater importance than in St. Petersburg, at Annette’s evening Scherer.
“Try to serve well and be worthy,” he added, turning sternly to Boris. - I'm glad... Are you here on vacation? – he dictated in his dispassionate tone.
“I’m waiting for an order, your Excellency, to go to a new destination,” answered Boris, showing neither annoyance at the prince’s harsh tone, nor a desire to engage in conversation, but so calmly and respectfully that the prince looked at him intently.
- Do you live with your mother?
“I live with Countess Rostova,” said Boris, adding again: “Your Excellency.”
“This is the Ilya Rostov who married Nathalie Shinshina,” said Anna Mikhailovna.
“I know, I know,” said Prince Vasily in his monotonous voice. – Je n"ai jamais pu concevoir, comment Nathalieie s"est decidee a epouser cet ours mal – leche l Un personnage completement stupide et ridicule.Et joueur a ce qu"on dit. [I could never understand how Natalie decided to come out marry this dirty bear. A completely stupid and ridiculous person. And a player, too, they say.]
– Mais tres brave homme, mon prince, [But a kind person, Prince,” Anna Mikhailovna remarked, smiling touchingly, as if she knew that Count Rostov deserved such an opinion, but asked to have pity on the poor old man. – What do the doctors say? - asked the princess, after a short silence and again expressing great sadness on her tear-stained face.
“There is little hope,” said the prince.
“And I really wanted to thank my uncle again for all his good deeds to both me and Bora.” C"est son filleuil, [This is his godson," she added in such a tone, as if this news should have greatly pleased Prince Vasily.
Prince Vasily thought and winced. Anna Mikhailovna realized that he was afraid to find in her a rival in the will of Count Bezukhy. She hastened to reassure him.
- If it weren't for mine true love and devotion to his uncle,” she said, pronouncing this word with particular confidence and carelessness: “I know his character, noble, direct, but he has only princesses with him... They are still young...” She bowed her head and added in a whisper: “Did he fulfill last duty, prince? How precious are these last minutes! After all, it can’t be worse; it needs to be cooked if it is that bad. We women, Prince,” she smiled tenderly, “always know how to say these things.” It is necessary to see him. No matter how hard it was for me, I was already used to suffering.
The prince apparently understood, and understood, as he did at the evening at Annette Scherer’s, that it was difficult to get rid of Anna Mikhailovna.
“Wouldn’t this meeting be difficult for him, here Anna Mikhailovna,” he said. - Let's wait until evening, the doctors promised a crisis.
“But you can’t wait, Prince, at these moments.” Pensez, il va du salut de son ame... Ah! c"est terrible, les devoirs d"un chretien... [Think, it’s about saving his soul! Oh! this is terrible, the duty of a Christian...]
A door opened from the inner rooms, and one of the count's princesses, the count's nieces, entered, with a gloomy and cold face and a strikingly disproportionate long waist to her legs.
Prince Vasily turned to her.
- Well, what is he?
- All the same. And as you wish, this noise... - said the princess, looking around Anna Mikhailovna as if she were a stranger.
“Ah, chere, je ne vous reconnaissais pas, [Ah, dear, I didn’t recognize you,” Anna Mikhailovna said with a happy smile, walking up to the count’s niece with a light amble. “Je viens d"arriver et je suis a vous pour vous aider a soigner mon oncle. J'imagine, combien vous avez souffert, [I came to help you follow your uncle. I can imagine how you suffered," she added, with participation rolling my eyes.
Jacques de Molay did not belong to the highest circles of the aristocracy, so very little is known about his life before joining the Order. The Templars were not particularly interested in the worldly past of the members of the order. It is known that he was born in Burgundy on March 16, 1244. Most likely, he did not receive any education, which was normal for a knight. At the age of 21, in 1265, he joined the Order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem. Apparently, he was really looking forward to this moment - 21 was the minimum age at which one could join the order.
De Molay did not achieve great military success in the Order, but it would be strange to expect success from the crusaders in the Middle East at the end of the 13th century. IN last time Jerusalem was lost in the year of de Molay's birth, in 1244. The crusaders will not take it again. But they lost the city so many times and got it back so many times that the knights, especially de Molay, did not want to believe it. So they continued to fight. But Jacques de Molay makes a career in the depths of the Order - in England. There he receives the title of Great Preceptor of England and becomes a prominent member of the Order. In 1293, at the age of 49, Jacques de Molay became Grand Master of the Order. And one of his main tasks during the 90s was collecting money for a new Crusade.
There are various assessments of de Molay's activities. One of them: the last Grand Master is the most incompetent Grand Master. In particular, he is accused of an incorrect assessment of the situation in the Holy Land, an attempt to create a bridgehead for the offensive - in 1301 the Crusaders took the island of Arvad - the loss of the bridgehead just a year later and inept intrigues. However, it is not entirely clear in this version what the Templars, rooted in Western Europe, where all around were Christians (remained financial sector, in which the knights succeeded by inventing letters of credit). Naturally, the Grand Master tried to somehow return the Holy Land.
Mole during interrogation. (wikipedia.org)
Another assessment says that Jacques de Molay was a martyr who suffered from the machinations of a greedy king who could not come to terms, firstly, with the power of the Popes, and it was under Philip IV that the Avignon imprisonment of the Popes began. Moreover, Philip the Fair actually brought Clement V's predecessor, Boniface VIII, to the grave. And secondly, with the wealth of the Templars, who obeyed only the Pope and God.
Either at the end of 1306, or at the very beginning of 1307, de Molay visited Paris at the invitation of Philip IV. The king is very affectionate and says that he may ask de Molay to become the godfather of one of his children. Such an honor! Such closeness to the august person! There, in Paris, the Grand Master met with Pope Clement V, who became pope in 1305. In fact, a protege of Philip IV. They are discussing the upcoming Crusade. However, de Molay is intractable on one issue - he is against the unification of the Templars with the Hospitallers. The king had personal reasons for uniting the orders: firstly, resentment - he was not accepted into the Templars at one time. Secondly, it is necessary to place at least one, third son somewhere. Why not the new Grand Master of the new order? De Molay, clinging to little things, tried to resist this. What else is there to cling to when it is absolutely clear that the two orders in Cyprus are cramped?
A day before October 13, 1307, when all the Templars in France were to be arrested (many managed to escape), Jacques De Molay attended the funeral of a person of the royal family, a relative of the king, Princess Catherine de Courtenay, wife of Charles de Valois. And he stood next to the king and held in his hand a piece of cord with which the coffin was edged. He did not know that secret preparations for the raid on the Templars had been going on for 3 weeks. The knights were taken by surprise. The reason was the denunciation of Equieu de Floiran, who was expelled from the Order. Allegedly, upon joining, members of the Order renounced Christ, spat on the crucifix and worshiped the idol. Then they found more witnesses - you never know, offended and envious, ready to tell everything that was needed. And if they don’t want to... who cares what people want there? We'll force you.
Jacques de Molay. (wikipedia.org)
Under torture, de Molay admitted that the Order had fallen into heresy. Then he retracted his words, but ultimately gave in again. Because he fell into heresy for the second time, he was burned over low heat. While it was burning, and it was burning for a long time, according to the legend, it managed to curse the king and the Pope (later they would add descendants). Made an appointment in a year in heaven. Pope Clement V died a month later from illness, Philip IV fell from his horse seven months later.
Jacques de Molay was born on March 16, 1244 in Montsegur, France. In 1265 he was initiated into the Templars in the presence of two high-ranking servants of the order, Amber de Peyraud, Visitator General in England and France, and Amaury de La Roche, Master of France. From 1275, Molay took part in the order's campaigns in the Holy Land.
In 1291, after the fall of Acre, the Templars moved their headquarters to Cyprus. Thus, the order left the Holy Land, for the protection of which it was created. A year later, Jacques de Molay was elected Master of the Order.
He set himself two important tasks: firstly, he had to reform the order, and secondly, to convince the pope and European monarchs to equip a new crusade to the Holy Land. To solve these problems, Molay visited Europe twice: in 1293 and in 1306.
At the same time, in anticipation of a great crusade, Jacques de Molay tried to regain the positions lost by the order in the Holy Land. To this end, in 1301 the Templars captured the island of Arvad, located near the Syrian coast. However, they could not hold it and in 1302 Arvad was surrendered to the Saracens.
The failures of the order contributed to the growing criticism against it. The question arose about the unification of two leading military monastic orders: the Temple and the Hospital. In 1305, Pope Clement V again proposed to unite the orders.
During his second visit to Europe, Molay learned of the intrigues of King Philip IV of France against the Templars. The unrestrained harshness of the master may have predetermined the sad end of his order. Mole October 13, 1307 was arrested in the Temple, the seat of the order on the outskirts of Paris. Three weeks later, Philip IV sent secret instructions to his officials, after which mass arrests of Templars began throughout the country. A logical continuation of the reprisal was the high-profile multi-year trial of the order.
During the trial, under severe torture, Jacques de Molay changed his testimony several times, but still October 25, 1307 he admitted that in the order there was a custom of renouncing Christ, spitting on the cross and engaging in same-sex sex sexual intercourse, sodomy. However, on Christmas Day of the same year, before the papal commissioners, he renounced his testimony.
In August 1308, in Chinon, Molay again returned to his original testimony, and in 1309 he actually refused to defend the order. Apparently, he hoped for an audience with the pope, which never took place. At the last hearing in March 1314, Molay recanted all his testimony and declared that the Templar Order was innocent.
Jacques de Molay, Twenty-third and last Master of the Knights Templar, burned at the stake in Paris March 18, 1314 as if he had relapsed into heresy.
Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar (1292–1313), became a legendary figure. For some he was a martyr, for others he was a heretic. He was called either a victim of a conspiracy, or a man who received what he deserved for the crimes of the Templars. Plays were written about Jacques de Molay. A group of young Masons took his name. Was he the last head of the secret society? Or a heretic who denied the divinity of Christ? Or was he simply an honest and devoted warrior who fell into a trap set by the French king, a relic of a passing world?
Who is he, this man who stood at the head of the Templar Order in last days his existence?
Many circumstances of Jacques de Molay’s life remain unknown. Almost all the information about his personality has reached our days from the Grand Master’s own testimony, which he gave after his arrest in 1307, attached to the case.
In the first protocol, which was drawn up on October 24, 1307, that is, 11 days after his arrest, Jacques testifies that he has been a member of the Order of the Knights Templar for 42 years. He was accepted into the order in the city of Beaune, in the diocese of Autun, by Hubert de Perot and Amaury de la Roche. If we assume that Jacques became a Templar at the age of 17, then at the time of his arrest he was about 60. However, Jacques could have joined the order when he was a little younger or much older.
We also cannot judge with certainty where Jacques de Molay was born. He probably comes from Burgundy, where there are several villages called Molay. The author of the biography of the Grand Master, Alain Demurger, reduces the possible choice to two cities, but we are not entirely sure of the validity of this limitation.
If Jacques was born in Burgundy, then the jurisdiction of the King of France did not apply to him - after all, Burgundy at that time was part of the Holy Roman Empire. But Jacques, apparently, considered himself a Frenchman.
We know nothing at all about his family and the early period of his life. The reasons why he wanted to join the Templar Order are also unknown to us. Not a single document of the order has reached us where Jacques de Molay was mentioned and by which we could judge what he did before his election as Grand Master.
Ironically, we know the least about the legendary Grand Master of the order himself. It is very possible that information about the early period of his life was contained in papers that were lost after the Turkish capture of Cyprus in 1571. But what is the use of knowing where this information was if we have no idea what it is?
Jacques de Molay became Grand Master at a critical moment for the Templars and all the Latin kingdoms. In 1291, when Acre fell, he was most likely in the Holy Land. It cannot be ruled out that Jacques was one of the few knights who left the city, although this fact is not mentioned anywhere. It is more likely that at that time he was in one of the fortified points of the order, for example in Sidon or Cyprus.
After the death of Guillaume de Beaujeu, who fell in defense of Acre, the commander of the order in the East, Thibault Gaudin, became Grand Master. Of all the surviving Templars, he occupied the highest position in the hierarchy of the order, which, apparently, explains his election. Only a few letters have survived that date back to Gaudin's short period as Grand Master. He died before April 1292, because it was then that Jacques de Molay sent a dispatch to Spain with permission to sell a plot of land in Aragon, which he signed as Master of the Order.
What remained of the order when Jacques de Molay became Grand Master?
And although the Templars fought bravely in Acre, after the city fell almost all the blame for the defeat fell on them - this is, at least, how it looked in the eyes of the West. That is why Jacques considered his main and priority task to be the return of the lost lands of the former Latin kingdoms. To do this, he believed, it was necessary to preserve the last Christian state in the East - Armenia, which was located on the territory located in the southeastern part of modern Turkey.
At the beginning of 1292, Pope Nicholas IV sent messages to the Templars and Hospitallers, in which he ordered them “to come to the aid of the Armenian kingdom and stand in its defense, using the galleys that they have by the will of the Apostolic See, in order to resist the enemies of the Holy Cross.”
Unfortunately, Armenia was weakened by internecine fighting within the ruling family and deprived of the support it once received from the Latin kingdoms. Attempts to help the Armenians were also hampered by the war between the Venetians and Genoese. These two merchant states held in their hands a significant part of the means for the sea transport of troops and goods, and their confrontation greatly hampered navigation in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.
For some time, the island of Ruad remained in the hands of the Knights of the Temple - just opposite the city of Tortosa. There, Jacques de Molay hoped to accumulate forces in order to invade the territory of the Saracens and begin to return the lost lands. In these plans, Ruad played only the role of a springboard for the offensive.
It was a tiny rocky island with no fresh water. The year 1300 became the starting point for the planned invasion, in which the crusaders were to move from the west to the Saracens, and the Mongol warriors from the east. Due to various reasons, including weather and disagreements between the Mongol leaders, the planned invasion did not take place. True, the templars and their allies were able to take Tortosa, but, having received no help, they did not hold it and were forced to return to Ruad.
They held this island until 1302, when the Egyptian fleet advanced to Ruadh. The Saracens were led by Emir Saif al-Din Yesendemur, “born of a Christian and a certain woman in a land called Georgia.” This meant that he was from Slavic lands, captured and sold into slavery in Egypt.
The Templars did not have large enough ships to confront the Egyptians at sea or escape pursuit. After a short battle, the knights and the soldiers subordinate to them had to surrender. The Templars were promised free passage, but “because the Syrian foot soldiers resisted so fiercely that they inflicted great damage on the Saracens, they cut off every single one of their heads, and sent the brothers of the Templar Order with dishonor to Babylon.” This is the metaphor of the chronicler who tried to bring to the reader’s attention that the Templars were sold into slavery like the Jews taken into Babylonian captivity. In this case, we were talking about the slave markets of Egypt.
When the Saracens took Tortosa, Jacques was not there. He remained in Cyprus, trying to obtain ships to send to rescue the city's defenders. However, it would be better if he himself were in the ranks of the latter, because the loss of Ruad and the capture of the templars in the near future will be used in the trial against the Templars.
We know that Jacques de Molay was present at the enthronement of Pope Boniface VIII in Naples and, apparently, was able to establish good relations with him. And of course, this did not endear Jacques to the mortal enemy of the Pope, King Philip IV of France, but only the mutual affection of the master and the pontiff could not have become the reason that the order and its head were chosen as objects of royal revenge.
Probably some event occurred (presumably in 1297) that pushed the king to the idea of getting rid of the Grand Master. Not long before, the king had borrowed 2,500 livres from the Templars, a very common sum for Philip. But one Cypriot chronicler noted that in addition to this, the treasurer of the order gave the monarch 200 thousand florins. Having learned about such a large loan, Jacques kicked out the treasurer, and even the king’s request did not force him to change his decision.
It’s a pity, but we are not sure of the reliability of this information - it cannot be ruled out that this is simply an invention of the chronicler. Documents that could confirm such a loan have long been lost. However, if this was the case, then we can conclude that Jacques considered the king an unreliable debtor. In this case, Philip appeared good reason make sure that the relevant papers of the order disappear. In addition, it becomes obvious that even before the arrest of the Templars, the relationship between them and the king had clearly deteriorated.
At the end of 1296, Jacques de Molay returned to Cyprus and remained in the East for the next 10 years. He led repeated attacks on Egypt by sea and took part in an unsuccessful campaign in Armenia in 1299, as a result of which the order lost its last fortress there.
By early 1306, Jacques already knew the detrimental effect on public opinion Europe suffered all these defeats. In addition, just as his predecessors allowed themselves to be embroiled in the civil strife of the leaders of the Latin kingdoms, he became involved in the internal political intrigues of Cyprus.
I think that Jacques de Molay became despondent when he received a letter from the new Pope Clement V, in which the pontiff invited him to express his thoughts on the merger of the two orders - the Templars and the Hospitallers. The idea of unification had been in the air for a long time, since the Second Council of Lyons, held in 1274, but Jacques feared that this time the Templars would not be able to delay this event.
Jacques de Molay knew that if he failed to convince the pope of the advisability of maintaining the independence of the Templars, then the Hospitallers, their longtime rivals, would absorb his order. Jacques did not see a place for himself in the new - united - order.
When Clement V ordered the Grand Master to appear at the papal court in Poitiers to discuss this issue, Jacques sent him a letter explaining his position. But his arguments against the merger of orders seemed unconvincing even to de Molay himself. He wrote that he considered it wrong to ask a warrior who had once joined a certain brotherhood to suddenly become a member of another, and that discord would inevitably arise between knights of two orders forced to live together.
The well-known (or infamous) rivalry between brotherhoods will disappear, but with it the useful desire to prove oneself more courageous, noble, merciful than a rival from another order will disappear. “For when the Hospitallers met the Saracens in battle, the Templars stopped at nothing to show even greater valor, and the same was the case with the Hospitallers.”
Jacques admits that maintaining one order will be cheaper, but notes that inevitable strife can reduce this advantage to zero. In general, the argument built by Jacques in defense of the independence of the Templars turned out to be far from the best. But, although he was extremely concerned about the pope's proposal, the main goal of his return to Europe was still the desire to recruit enough troops to return Jerusalem to the Christian world.
At the beginning of the Grand Master's letter there is interesting place, giving reason to doubt the strength of his memory even at a time when de Molay was free and not in danger of torture. He wrote that in 1274 he was present at the council in Lyon together with Guillaume de Beaujeu, who had recently become Grand Master. The inquisitors should have studied this letter before interrogating Jacques, because in it he tells Pope Clement V that he saw King Louis Saint during this council.
Louis died in 1270, that is, 4 years before the council about which we speak. If this had been heard in court, the process could have taken a completely different path. A man who was visited by visions of a holy king could hardly be considered a heretic. On the other hand, it is difficult to rely on a person whose memory records events so erroneously in other matters.
When the Grand Master arrived in Marseille in the late summer of 1307, he began to hear rumors about the Templars, which were spreading widely throughout Europe. Until this time, Jacques knew only the old usual reproaches presented to the brothers of the order - they say that they are full of pride, stingy and not generous in donations, keep secret the affairs discussed at their meetings, etc. Imagine the horror that gripped de Molay, when he learned of new accusations: that the templars renounce Jesus Christ, spit on the cross and blaspheme.
It is difficult to say where these rumors originated, although some scientists have made attempts to find out. It is believed that all these stories were invented out of revenge by people who were expelled from the order.
By 1307, stories were already circulating about inappropriate rituals accompanying initiation into the Templars, but the Grand Master behaved as if this did not particularly bother him. He informed Clement V of his desire for a commission appointed by the pope to study the true state of affairs and refute the slander. After this, Jacques de Molay returned to his business. It was August 1307.
A secret order to arrest the templars appeared a month later.
All the chroniclers of that era claim that neither the Templars, nor, in particular, the Grand Master had any idea about the impending arrest. Nobody warned them. They did not have time to somehow prepare, run or hide important documents or values. On Thursday, October 12, Jacques de Molay went to bed as the head of a famous and respected spiritual order. On Friday, October 13, he found himself in prison and was being interrogated on charges of crimes against Christ.
How could the Grand Master feel when Guillaume de Nogarey's royal soldiers began to break down the gates of the Parisian Temple? Surely he mistook the turmoil for a fire, or an unexpected enemy invasion, or news of some misfortune in Cyprus? When these people burst into Jacques de Molay's bedroom and dragged him outside, did he understand what was really happening?
The recording of de Molay's first interrogation is dated October 24. This is a strict legal document that records the confession of the interrogated person that upon joining the Knights Templar 42 years ago he was ordered to renounce Jesus Christ, which “he did, although not of his own free will.” When asked if he spat on the cross, de Molay answered in the negative, adding that he spat on the ground.
Jacques confessed to these crimes, but denied that he was asked to “copulate with other brothers, and swore that he had never committed such a thing.”
This was enough for his enemies. The next day, Jacques was forced to repeat his confessions before the masters of the University of Paris, and also to write an open letter to all members of the order, in which he admitted his guilt and repented. He encouraged his brothers to do the same. Some responded to his call, but not all.
Why did the Grand Master confess? He later said that he was starved and threatened with torture. At some point he apparently realized that the King of France had no power over him or the order. During all subsequent interrogations, Jacques refuses to answer questions, demanding that he be sent to the papal court, because only the pope has the right to judge him. The Grand Master maintained this position for the next six years. The trial of the Templars continued without him - the master remained silent in his cell.
Without a doubt, his "confession", whatever it was, dealt a crushing blow to the defense of the order. Many people doubted that the Templars were as villainous as Philip and his associates portrayed them, and the news of the master's refusal to admit the justice of the charges might cause the pope to refrain from arresting the Templars outside France.
Jacques was unable to lead the 600-odd templars who were forced to defend themselves and their order. 1307, October 25 - he repeated his confessions in the presence of two cardinals sent by Pope Clement. Nevertheless, in August 1308, the cardinals again interrogated de Molay in Chinon. The master confessed to the same sins this time.
Was he tortured during this period? Has prison weakened his will? It should be noted that de Molay never admitted to anything other than participating in inappropriate rituals when joining the order. He spat on the ground next to the cross and renounced Christ, and then continued to serve as a good knight and Christian.
During interrogation in 1309, the master again stated that he was subject only to the pope.
It is difficult not to blame Jacques de Molay, who remained silent in his cell when so many others risked their lives - and lost them - to defend the Templars at trial. He apparently based his defense entirely on the conviction that only the pope had the power to judge him. At some point, he, however, spoke out in defense of the entire order, saying that he did not know another spiritual brotherhood that would perform so many merciful deeds, and did not know other people who so willingly gave their lives fighting the pagans for the Christian faith .
But Jacques de Molenov became silent when accusations against the order began to multiply and take on even more bizarre forms: the Templars allegedly worshiped a black cat, venerated an idol, which, in their belief, could protect the harvest and enrich the brothers, and also on every Good Friday urinated on the crucifix.
After interrogation by representatives of the pope, the master spent 4 years in prison in the royal castle of Gizor. With Jacques de Molay there were the commander of Cyprus Rimbaud de Caron, the commander of Normandy Geoffroy de Charnay, the commander of Aquitaine and Poitou Geoffroy de Gonneville and the general examiner of the order Hugo de Perot. Clement V insisted that he would judge these templars of the highest rank personally. At the same time, dad was in no hurry with his decision.
We do not know what happened to Jacques and his fellow sufferers while dad was wondering what he should do. Finally, in December 1313, a year after the official dissolution of the Templar Order, Clement decided to entrust the fate of Jacques de Molay and other prisoners to the three cardinals. They met in Paris in March 1314.
Before a group of church hierarchs, which included Archbishop Sansa, who in 1310 had already allowed 54 templars to be sent to the stake, Jacques and others confessed everything. “On the Monday after St. Gregory’s Day (March 18) in the square in front of the Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris they were all sentenced to life imprisonment.
But, when the cardinals had already decided that the matter was over, suddenly two Templars, Jacques de Molay and the Master of Normandy, with great persistence began to object to the cardinal who announced the verdict and the Archbishop of Sens, insisting on their innocence. Showing extreme negligence towards the court, they denied what they had previously sworn, and thereby caused great confusion to many present.”
The King of France, who was in his palace at that time, was immediately informed about how the Grand Master and Geoffroy de Charnay behaved. The monarch was furious. Chronicler Guillaume de Nangy wrote: “Out of caution, without informing the clergy, that same evening he (the king) committed these two Templars to fire on an island on the Seine between the royal garden and the church of the Hermit Brothers.”
Guillaume further continues: “They endured the suffering with such indifference and calm that ... all the witnesses to the execution were filled with surprise and admiration.” One of the eyewitnesses, Geoffroy of Paris, a priest in the service of the French king, described the execution scene in the following verses:
Meanwhile, the Master is heading to the place of imminent execution
He approached calmly, without fear.
Throwing away my cloak, without trepidation or fear,
He went up to the fire wearing only his shirt.
Pulled to a post, entwined with rope,
Doesn't beg for mercy, doesn't tremble
And he doesn’t groan in anticipation of the torment of death,
But he asks his executioners: “Palms
Let me connect to elevate
Prayer to the Lord, I’m on my way to Him,
He only knows who is righteous and who is not,
And, having gotten rid of earthly snares,
I only trust in the Lord's judgment -
He will separate the chaff from the grain
And he will take revenge, I know this for sure,
For the death of his faithful servants in full..."
And the soul peacefully ascended to the Lord,
And the people around the fire froze, not breathing.
Jacques de Molay behaved with dignity during his execution. True, it is impossible to say whether he actually made a speech while standing at the stake - after all, the only eyewitness who wrote about it was Geoffrey of Paris, but he was a poet, and therefore could take liberties in the presentation of events. But everyone agrees that the behavior of Jacques de Molay during the execution led many to doubt the guilt of both the master and the entire order.
