The History of the Knights Templars, the Temple Church, and the Temple

by C. G. Addison

We must now unfold the dark page in the history of the order in England. All the Templars in custody in this country had been examined separately and apart, and had, notwithstanding, deposed in substance to the same effect, and given the same account of their reception into the order, and of the oaths that they took. Any reasonable and impartial mind would consequently have been satisfied of the truth of their statements; but it was not the object of the inquisitors to obtain evidence of the innocence, but proof of the guilt, of the order. At first, king Edward the Second, to his honour, forbade the infliction of torture upon the illustrious members of the Temple in his dominions—men who had fought and bled for Christendom, and of whose piety and morals he had a short time before given such ample testimony to the principal sovereigns of Europe. But the virtuous resolution of the weak king was speedily overcome by the all-powerful influence of the Roman pontiff, who wrote to him in the month of June, upbraiding him for preventing the inquisitors from submitting the Templars to the discipline of the rack.[384] Influenced by the admonitions of the pope, and the solicitations of the clergy, king Edward, on the 26th of August, sent orders to John de Crumbewell, constable of the Tower, to deliver up all the Templars in his custody, at the request of the inquisitors, to the sheriffs of London, in order that the inquisitors might be able to proceed more conveniently and effectually with their inquisition.[385] And on the same day he directed the sheriffs to receive the prisoners from the constable of the Tower, and cause them to be placed in the custody of gaolers appointed by the inquisitors, to be confined in prisons or such other convenient places in the city of London as the inquisitors and bishops should think expedient, and generally to permit them to do with the bodies of the Templars whatever should seem fitting, in accordance with ecclesiastical law. He directs, also, that from thenceforth the Templars should receive their sustenance at the hands of such newly-appointed gaolers.[386]

On the Tuesday after the feast of St. Matthew, (Sept. 21st,) the ecclesiastical council again assembled at London, and caused the inquisitions and depositions taken against the Templars to be read, which being done, great disputes arose touching various alterations observable in them. It was at length ordered that the Templars should be again confined in separate cells in the prisons of London; that fresh interrogatories should be prepared, to see if by such means the truth could be extracted, and if by straitenings and confinement they would confess nothing further, then the torture was to be applied; but it was provided that the examination by torture should be conducted without the PERPETUAL MUTILATION OR DISABLING OF ANY LIMB, AND WITHOUT A VIOLENT EFFUSION OF BLOOD! and the inquisitors and the bishops of London and Chichester were to notify the result to the archbishop of Canterbury, that he might again convene the assembly for the purpose of passing sentence, either of absolution or of condemnation. These resolutions having been adopted, the council was prorogued, on the following Saturday, de die in diem, until the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, A. D. 1311.[387]

On the 6th of October, a fortnight after the above resolution had been formed by the council, the king sent fresh instructions to the constable of the Tower, and the sheriffs of London, directing them to deliver up the Templars, one at a time, or altogether, and receive them back in the same way, at the will of the inquisitors.[388] The gaolers of these unhappy gentlemen seem to have been more merciful and considerate than their judges, and to have manifested the greatest reluctance to act upon the orders sent from the king. On the 23rd of October, further and more peremptory commands were forwarded to the constable of the Tower, distinctly informing him that the king, on account of his respect for the holy apostolic see, had lately conceded to the prelates and inquisitors deputed to take inquisition against the order of the Temple, and the Grand Preceptor of that order in England, the power of ordering and disposing of the Templars and their bodies, of examining them by TORTURE or otherwise, and of doing to them whatever they should deem expedient, according to the ecclesiastical law; and he again strictly enjoins the constable to deliver up all the Templars in his custody, either together or separately, or in any way that the inquisitors or one bishop and one inquisitor may direct, and to receive them back when required so to do.[389] Corresponding orders were again sent to the sheriffs, commanding them, at the requisition of the inquisitors, to get the Templars out of the hands of the constable of the Tower, to guard them in convenient prisons, and to permit certain persons deputed by the inquisitors to see that the imprisonment was properly carried into effect, to do with the bodies of the Templars whatever they should think fit according to ecclesiastical law. When the inquisitors, or the persons appointed by them, had done with the Templars what they pleased, they were to deliver them back to the constable of the Tower, or his lieutenant, there to be kept in custody as before.[390] Orders were likewise sent to the constable of the castle of Lincoln, and to the mayor and bailiffs of the city of Lincoln, to the same effect. The king also directed Roger de Wyngefeld, clerk, guardian of the lands of the Templars, and William Plummer, sub-guardian of the manor of Cressing, to furnish to the king’s officers the sums required for the keep, and for the expenses of the detention of the brethren of the order.[391]

On the 22nd of November the king condescended to acquaint the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of his faithful city of London, that out of reverence to the pope he had authorised the inquisitors, sent over by his holiness, to question the Templars by TORTURE; he puts them in possession of the orders he had sent to the constable of the Tower, and to the sheriffs; and he commands them, in case it should be notified to them by the inquisitors that the prisons provided by the sheriffs were insufficient for their purposes, to procure without fail fit and convenient houses in the city, or near thereto, for carrying into effect the contemplated measures; and he graciously informs them that he will reimburse them all the expenses that may be incurred by them or their officers in fulfilling his commands.[392] Shortly afterwards the king again wrote to the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of London, acquainting them that the sheriffs had made a return to his writ, to the effect that the four gates (prisons) of the city were not under their charge, and that they could not therefore obtain them for the purposes required; and he commands the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty, to place those four gates at the disposal of the sheriffs.[393]

On the 12th of December, all the Templars in custody at Lincoln were, by command of the king, brought up to London, and placed in solitary confinement in different prisons and private houses provided by the mayor and sheriffs. Shortly afterwards orders were given for all the Templars in custody in London to be loaded with chains and fetters; the myrmidons of the inquisitors were to be allowed to make periodical visits to see that the imprisonment was properly carried into effect, and were to be allowed to TORTURE the bodies of the Templars in any way that they might think fit.[394]

A. D. 1311.

On the 30th of March, A. D. 1311, after some months’ trial of the above severe measures, the examination was resumed before the inquisitors, and the bishops of London and Chichester, at the several churches of St. Martin’s, Ludgate, and St. Botolph’s, Bishopsgate. The Templars had now been in prison in England for the space of three years and some months. During the whole of the previous winter they had been confined in chains in the dungeons of the city of London, compelled to receive their scanty supply of food from the officers of the inquisition, and to suffer from cold, from hunger, and from torture. They had been made to endure all the horrors of solitary confinement, and had none to solace or to cheer them during the long hours of their melancholy captivity. They had been already condemned collectively by the pope, as members of an heretical and idolatrous society, and as long as they continued to persist in the truth of their first confessions, and in the avowal of their innocence, they were treated as obstinate, unreconciled heretics, living in a state of excommunication, and doomed, when dead, to everlasting punishment in hell. They had heard of the miserable fate of their brethren in France, and they knew that those who had confessed crimes of which they had never been guilty, had been immediately declared reconciled to the church, had been absolved and set at liberty, and they knew that freedom, pardon, and peace could be immediately purchased by a confession of guilt; notwithstanding all which, every Templar, at this last examination, persisted in the maintenance of his innocence, and in the denial of all knowledge of, or participation in, the crimes and heresies imputed to the order. They declare that everything that was done in their chapters, in respect of absolution, the reception of brethren, and other matters, was honourable and honest, and might well and lawfully be done; that it was in no wise heretical or vicious; and that whatever was done was from the appointment, approbation, and regulation of all the brethren.[395] From their statements, it appears that the Master of the Temple in England was in the habit of summoning a general chapter of the order once a year, at which the preceptors of Ireland and of Scotland were present. These were always called together to take into consideration the affairs of the Holy Land, and to determine on sending succour to their brethren in the East. At the close of their examination the Templars were again sent back to their dungeons, and loaded with chains; and the inquisitors, disappointed of the desired confessions, addressed themselves to the enemies of the order for the necessary proofs of guilt.

During the month of April, seventy-two witnesses were examined in the chapter-house of the Holy Trinity. They were nearly all monks, Carmelites, Augustinians, Dominicans, and Minorites; their evidence is all hearsay, and the nature of it will be seen from the following choice specimens.

Henry Thanet, an Irishman, had heard that Brother Hugh de Nipurias, a Templar, deserted from the castle of Tortosa in Palestine, and went over to the Saracens, abjuring the christian faith; and that a certain preceptor of the Pilgrim’s Castle was in the habit of making all the brethren he received into the order deny Christ; but the witness was unable to give either the name of the preceptor or of the persons so received. He had also heard that a certain Templar had in his custody a brazen head with two faces, which would answer all questions put to it!

Master John de Nassington declared that Milo de Stapelton and Adam de Everington, knights, told him that they had once been invited to a great feast at the preceptory of Templehurst, and were there informed that the Templars celebrated a solemn festival once a year, at which they worshipped a calf!