By Rainer Sousa
A large amount of land, financial resources and a mighty army. This seemed to be the infallible recipe of some kings so that they could submit their authority during the process of formation of European national monarchies. Despite seeming simple, such a project of concentration of political power should necessarily go through the obstacles imposed by the institutions that legitimized the political power of clerics and noble landowners.
In 14th century France, we have one of the most interesting facts linked to this historical experience when we observe the conflict between the monarch Philip IV, the Beautiful, and the members of the Order of the Knights Templar. By this time, this religious order created by the Church had been enriched through the important military role played in the Crusades. In France, they became politically influential and controlled a significant number of lands.
Coveting Templar wealth, King Philip IV tried to join the order without the expected success. With that, he decided to institute a self-sacrificing religious persecution accusing the members of this Order of practicing rituals and spreading beliefs far from the dogmas provided by the Holy See. By putting pressure on Pope Clement V, the King of France managed to materialize a legal process in which the Templars would be tried for the crimes they allegedly committed.
During the process, the king tried to prevent the testimony of some Templar leaders who could influence the decision in his favor. Despite all royal pressure, Pope Clement V and the other cardinals who enjoyed the case decided to completely absolve the Templars of any kind of charge. However, there were indeed some traditions among the Templars that could justify the self-serving persecution of Philip IV.
In their initiation rituals, the Templars had to undergo a session in which they spat on the cross and exchanged a few kisses with the preceptor who introduced them to the Order. Although exotic, the pope managed to understand that the strange act was common to a military group where the question of loyalty was fundamental. Furthermore, Clement V's understanding was based on the fact that the Templars did not deny any of the Catholic liturgies.
Although the decision frustrated the monarchical plans, the tension and mistrust cultivated over the incident motivated the pope to organize a public assembly in 1308, where he said that the situation of the Templars would be resolved in a council that would take place two years later. Until that moment, it seemed that the papal vagueness would serve to calm tempers and let the Templar Order go its own way.
However, Philip IV decided to carry out another new incident that would shake the situation between the monarchy and the Church. That same year, the king accused, tried, and condemned the Bishop of Troyes to death at the stake. Such authoritarian action aimed to restrain the most powerful bishops of France to support the French monarch. Otherwise, they would buy a war that could seriously threaten Catholic religious unity within Europe.
Intimidated by the king's retaliation, Pope Clement V found himself in an uncomfortable situation:either he preserved Christian unity, or he would buy an expensive fight to defend the Templars. Finally, at the Council of Vienne (1311 - 1312), the supreme head of the Church announced the extinction of the religious order through administrative action. With this precedent, Philip IV was able to arrest, plunder and kill all the Knights Templar present in France.
Before long, Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Templars, was burned to the stake on a small island in the River Seine. According to the account of a writer of the time, before he died Molay prophesied that Philip IV and Clement V would be judged by God for the injustice they had committed. A few weeks later, the King of France and the Pope died. Such a coincidence, even today, nourishes the myths that speak about the secrets and mysteries of the Templar Order.