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Article THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. ← Page 4 of 7 →
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The Knights Templar.
hibited the bishops in France from taking cognizance m the affair , which he reserved to himself . He wrote at the same time to Philip , complaining of the imprisonment of the members of a religious Order , who had no superior but their Pontiff ; telling him in this letter , written with much spirit , that he had sent the Cardinals Berenger de
Tridale and Stephen de Sisci , and expected that he would immediately put both the persons of the Templars and their effects into their hands , or those of his nuncio , the Bishop of Prenesto . Philip made a reply of sophistry , and which showed how impatient he was of the least delay in the affair .
The conduct which the King had observed towards Boniface made Clement cautious of drawing upon him the resentment of a prince resolute and incapable of giving up any enterprise in which he had once embarked . So Clement was compelled to relax somewhat of the
formalities of the law ; and it was agreed that the King should deliver the Templars and their effects into the hands of the nuncio , which was immediately complied with , although they still remained under the guard of the King ' s troops . But for form ' s sake , and to please the Pope , it was said that they
were guarded in his name and that of the Church . Everything , indeed , was carried on in the Pope ' s name ; but the agents were William Pisdoue and Rene Bourdon , valets de chambre of the King , which plainly shows that in all this affair there was nothing changed but the style and form . The King , in return for this condescension ,
required his Holiness to take off the interdict laid on his confessor , and to allow that Dominican still to assist in the prosecution of the Templars . This was also obtained , and thus in concert they carried on the proceedings against the Templars .
The prisons were crowded with those Knights , and all were put to the most violent torture , except such only as pleaded guilty . Nothing was heard but the cries and groans of such as had their flesh torn off "with burning pincers , or were extended , dismembered , or broken upon the rack .
Many at once confessed all that was required of them , in order to escape those cruel tortures . But there was also a great number of Templars who , amidst the most horrible torments , maintained with an invincible firmness and constancy that they were innocent . The different and contradictory manner in which several authors
have related these facts , has left posterity the most impenetrable piece of history that ever suffered by the malice or negligence of historians . The Pope , desirous of taking cognizance of this affair , examined seventy-two Templars who confessed themselves guilty ; and a Knight of the Order , who was an officer of the Pontiff ' s , owned to him , as he says ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Knights Templar.
hibited the bishops in France from taking cognizance m the affair , which he reserved to himself . He wrote at the same time to Philip , complaining of the imprisonment of the members of a religious Order , who had no superior but their Pontiff ; telling him in this letter , written with much spirit , that he had sent the Cardinals Berenger de
Tridale and Stephen de Sisci , and expected that he would immediately put both the persons of the Templars and their effects into their hands , or those of his nuncio , the Bishop of Prenesto . Philip made a reply of sophistry , and which showed how impatient he was of the least delay in the affair .
The conduct which the King had observed towards Boniface made Clement cautious of drawing upon him the resentment of a prince resolute and incapable of giving up any enterprise in which he had once embarked . So Clement was compelled to relax somewhat of the
formalities of the law ; and it was agreed that the King should deliver the Templars and their effects into the hands of the nuncio , which was immediately complied with , although they still remained under the guard of the King ' s troops . But for form ' s sake , and to please the Pope , it was said that they
were guarded in his name and that of the Church . Everything , indeed , was carried on in the Pope ' s name ; but the agents were William Pisdoue and Rene Bourdon , valets de chambre of the King , which plainly shows that in all this affair there was nothing changed but the style and form . The King , in return for this condescension ,
required his Holiness to take off the interdict laid on his confessor , and to allow that Dominican still to assist in the prosecution of the Templars . This was also obtained , and thus in concert they carried on the proceedings against the Templars .
The prisons were crowded with those Knights , and all were put to the most violent torture , except such only as pleaded guilty . Nothing was heard but the cries and groans of such as had their flesh torn off "with burning pincers , or were extended , dismembered , or broken upon the rack .
Many at once confessed all that was required of them , in order to escape those cruel tortures . But there was also a great number of Templars who , amidst the most horrible torments , maintained with an invincible firmness and constancy that they were innocent . The different and contradictory manner in which several authors
have related these facts , has left posterity the most impenetrable piece of history that ever suffered by the malice or negligence of historians . The Pope , desirous of taking cognizance of this affair , examined seventy-two Templars who confessed themselves guilty ; and a Knight of the Order , who was an officer of the Pontiff ' s , owned to him , as he says ,