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Article THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. ← Page 2 of 3 Article THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. Page 2 of 3 →
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The Knights Templars.
The point which the Inquisitor was anxious to establish , was the denial of Christ . The Templars who confessed , acknowledged that upon their reception they denied Christ , and spat upon the Cross three times ; but many of them qualified
this by stating that they had been compelled to do so by the brethren . * Peter de Villars deponed that he had not denied Christ till after they had shut him up in a prison for a day and a night . Matthew de Quenoy stated that they had kept him
imprisoned for three days on bread and water before he did so . Constantino de Biciac said , that to make him consent to it , the brethren dragged him with violence all over the apartment . John de Buvine declared that he had been imprisoned
eight clays ; and Elias de Jotro , that upon his refusal he was beaten and imprisoned upon which violence he gave in , denied Christ ancl spat three times upon the Cross . These depositions were afterwards recalled by the Templars . The
evidence produced with regard to the unmentionable crime is so trifling , the details so disgusting , and three of the accused only confessing to its actual committing , that we do not feel called upon to notice it further . Besides , this portion of the
accusation was not so important m the eyes of Imbert as the others , and the Templars were not pressed very strongly on this point . In regard to the charge of idolatry—in public estimation the most serious , since those who were
guilty of it were no longer Christians—sixty-eight deponed to it . They acknowledged to the posession of the image , which was of a hideous shape , having four feet , two iu front and two behind . They never saw it except at a Grand Chapter , when
all the Templars adored it , taking off their caps and prostrating themselves at its feet . It did not appear , from the depositious , to be kept at any particular town , although several Knights named Montpelier . If it had only been kept
there , the . French brethren could have been accused of idolatry ; but the depositions were carefully worded so as to obtain a general confession ; nor do we find , although it would have formed valuable evidence , that the idol was ever sought
for . In all probability , had it been required , the Inquisitor would have forged an idol as he had done a letter . Some of the witnesses had heard of such au idol , but had never seen it ; others had seen it , but never adored it . Some
The Knights Templars.
deponed that on their reception , a cord was passed round their bodies , which had touched the idol , and this cord they were ordered constantly to wear . Some , however , had never heard of these cords . All was contradiction .
Many there were , however , who bravely maintained their innocence , and whose depositions are , strange enough , to be found among the records . John de Chateauville , Henry d'Hercigny , John de Paris , and many others , boldly denied that such
crimes were committed at their reception , or that such abominations had ever existed . They stigmatised the charges as the device of the devil , who wished to overthrow one of the bulwarks of Christianity , so that he mig ht the more readily
turn away souls from the Cross . They stated that there was nothing proposed , nothing said , nothing done , but what was wise and honest , and the torture failed to change their depositions . Matthew de Bosc Adhemar made a charge
against a preceptor , which might have been true , but is easily explained . He had never seen nor heard of the idol , but having caused the Holy Mass to be offered up three times a week in his house , he was forbidden , by his superior to do so . He does not , however , state the reason for this , which might have been justifiable by the laws of
the Order , or because his house was under interdict . A great ground of complaint against the Templars was their celebrating mass in places lying under interdict oftener than the privileges granted to the Order by the Popes permitted .
Adhemar further deponed , that , being troubled in mind at this , he had intended going to Rome to confess , and receive absolution ; but although he had arranged with seven Knights to accompany him , he never made the voyage . *
It is . questionable if the Grand Master and the Grand Prior of France made any confession , for they afterwards denied having clone so , wich the excejofciou that the Grand Master stated that he confessed to some abuses which had crept into
the Order . In Iuibert ' s account , the confession runs , that the Grand Master declared that , at his reception , they made him three times renounce Jesus Christ , an avowal strangely opposed to his well known character , to the opinions held by all
of his worth—totally inconsistent with the speeches he made in defence of the Order , and with the tone of the conversations he had held with the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Knights Templars.
The point which the Inquisitor was anxious to establish , was the denial of Christ . The Templars who confessed , acknowledged that upon their reception they denied Christ , and spat upon the Cross three times ; but many of them qualified
this by stating that they had been compelled to do so by the brethren . * Peter de Villars deponed that he had not denied Christ till after they had shut him up in a prison for a day and a night . Matthew de Quenoy stated that they had kept him
imprisoned for three days on bread and water before he did so . Constantino de Biciac said , that to make him consent to it , the brethren dragged him with violence all over the apartment . John de Buvine declared that he had been imprisoned
eight clays ; and Elias de Jotro , that upon his refusal he was beaten and imprisoned upon which violence he gave in , denied Christ ancl spat three times upon the Cross . These depositions were afterwards recalled by the Templars . The
evidence produced with regard to the unmentionable crime is so trifling , the details so disgusting , and three of the accused only confessing to its actual committing , that we do not feel called upon to notice it further . Besides , this portion of the
accusation was not so important m the eyes of Imbert as the others , and the Templars were not pressed very strongly on this point . In regard to the charge of idolatry—in public estimation the most serious , since those who were
guilty of it were no longer Christians—sixty-eight deponed to it . They acknowledged to the posession of the image , which was of a hideous shape , having four feet , two iu front and two behind . They never saw it except at a Grand Chapter , when
all the Templars adored it , taking off their caps and prostrating themselves at its feet . It did not appear , from the depositious , to be kept at any particular town , although several Knights named Montpelier . If it had only been kept
there , the . French brethren could have been accused of idolatry ; but the depositions were carefully worded so as to obtain a general confession ; nor do we find , although it would have formed valuable evidence , that the idol was ever sought
for . In all probability , had it been required , the Inquisitor would have forged an idol as he had done a letter . Some of the witnesses had heard of such au idol , but had never seen it ; others had seen it , but never adored it . Some
The Knights Templars.
deponed that on their reception , a cord was passed round their bodies , which had touched the idol , and this cord they were ordered constantly to wear . Some , however , had never heard of these cords . All was contradiction .
Many there were , however , who bravely maintained their innocence , and whose depositions are , strange enough , to be found among the records . John de Chateauville , Henry d'Hercigny , John de Paris , and many others , boldly denied that such
crimes were committed at their reception , or that such abominations had ever existed . They stigmatised the charges as the device of the devil , who wished to overthrow one of the bulwarks of Christianity , so that he mig ht the more readily
turn away souls from the Cross . They stated that there was nothing proposed , nothing said , nothing done , but what was wise and honest , and the torture failed to change their depositions . Matthew de Bosc Adhemar made a charge
against a preceptor , which might have been true , but is easily explained . He had never seen nor heard of the idol , but having caused the Holy Mass to be offered up three times a week in his house , he was forbidden , by his superior to do so . He does not , however , state the reason for this , which might have been justifiable by the laws of
the Order , or because his house was under interdict . A great ground of complaint against the Templars was their celebrating mass in places lying under interdict oftener than the privileges granted to the Order by the Popes permitted .
Adhemar further deponed , that , being troubled in mind at this , he had intended going to Rome to confess , and receive absolution ; but although he had arranged with seven Knights to accompany him , he never made the voyage . *
It is . questionable if the Grand Master and the Grand Prior of France made any confession , for they afterwards denied having clone so , wich the excejofciou that the Grand Master stated that he confessed to some abuses which had crept into
the Order . In Iuibert ' s account , the confession runs , that the Grand Master declared that , at his reception , they made him three times renounce Jesus Christ , an avowal strangely opposed to his well known character , to the opinions held by all
of his worth—totally inconsistent with the speeches he made in defence of the Order , and with the tone of the conversations he had held with the