The Knights Templars.

of many crimes , and who had deservedly perished for these on the cross . They furthermore made him deny Christ three times , and forced him to spit upon the cross , and trample it under his feet . ff 8 . The chief officers of the Order Avere

heretical , cruel , and sacrilegious men . "Whenever any knight , on discovering the iniquity of the Order , desired to quit ifc , they pnt him to death , and buried him privately by night . They taught the women Avho were pregnant by them how to procure abortion , and secretly to murder the new-born infants .

" 4 . f he Templars-were infected with the errors of Fraticelli . They despised the Pope and the authority of the Church ] they contemned the sacraments , especially those of penance and confession , and feigned compliance with the rites of

the Church merely to escape detection . *• 5 . The superiors were addicted to the most infamous excessess of debauchery , to which , if any one expressed his repugnance , he Avas punished by perpetual imprisonment .

" 6 . The Temple House were receptacles of every crime and abomination that could be conceived or committed . That the VOAV of chastity was only meaufc as regarded women ; and that upon the reception of an aspirant the most

disgusting crimes were practised . " 7 . The Order laboured to put the Holy Land into the hands of the Saracens , whom they favoured more than they did the Christians . " 8 . The installation of the Grand Master took

place in secret , and few of the younger brethren were permitted to be present •whence there was a strong suspicion that he denied the Christian faith , or promised or did something contrary to what Avas right .

" 9 . Many of the statutes of the Order were unlawful , profane , and contrary to the Christian religion •the members were , therefore , forbidden , under pain of perpetual confinement , to reveal them to any one .

" 10 . No vice or crime committed for the honour or benefit of the Order was held to be a sin . " *

Such were the accusations sworn to by the two Templars against their noble Order , and their depositions Avere worth the liberty which they demanded . They received , besides , several marks of the king ' s favour , and they remained in Paris

The Knights Templars.

awaiting his further orders . Secrecy was strictly commanded them , and to those persone who had taken the depositions . The king , on consideration , found that his position was scarcely improved by this information , for ifc would be a most

difficult , not to say dangerous , task to bring the crimes home . The parties who had given evidence were not to be relied on as creditable

witnesses , and he was aware that the public would scout the idea of faith being placed in those who had confessed merely to save their lives . The Templars had been degraded on account of their crimes by an Order which they accused of every

villany , they themselves having been actors in the very crimes which they now denounced . How , then , could they be believed ? As for the citizens ' hearsay revelations , they do not merit a moment ' s consideration , and it probably would not have

been difficult to have procured others of a similar character from every condemned criminal in the kingdom . Against these witnesses there was the fame of the sanctity and holiness of the lives of the knights , their valour , heroism , and often

martyrdom in the cause of the cross . Surely the contradiction between their support of the Pope on all occasions , and the charge of . despising him , Avas sufficient to prove the falsity of the accusation . The king dreaded failure , and he resolved

to wait the tide of events , hoping to prevail upon the Pope to side with him in supressing the Order .

Chapter Ii.

CHAPTER II .

Benedict XL poisoned by Philip . —Disputes on the election of a successor . —The Archbishop of Bordeaux , the enemy of the King , proposed . —The King solicits cm interview - ivith the Archbishop . —Promises the tiara upon granting him six favours . —Acceded to by the Prelate . —The Archbishop elected Pope , under the title of Clement V . —

A . D . 1304—1305 . Benedict XI . had now succeeded in establishing himself firmly in the Papal chair , and although he did not approve of the violent measures of his predecessors , he still entertained respect for

his memory , and showed his resentment against those who had taken part inthe outrage at Agnani , in such a manner as to alarm the king . The king , prompted alike by fear of the Pope and a desire of destroying the Templars , * which he could only