John de Eure, knight, sheriff of the county of York, deposed that he had once invited Brother William de la Fenne, Preceptor of Wesdall, to dine with him, and that after dinner the preceptor drew a book out of his bosom, and delivered it to the knight’s lady to read, who found a piece of paper fastened into the book, on which were written abominable, heretical doctrines, to the effect that Christ was not the Son of God, nor born of a virgin, but conceived of the seed of Joseph, the husband of Mary, after the manner of other men, and that Christ was not a true but a false prophet, and was not crucified for the redemption of mankind, but for his own sins, and many other things contrary to the christian faith. On the production of this important evidence, Brother William de la Fenne was called in and interrogated; he admitted that he had dined with the sheriff of York, and had lent his lady a book to read, but he swore that he was ignorant of the piece of paper fastened into the book, and of its contents. It appears that the sheriff of York had kept this dangerous secret to himself for the space of six years!
William de la Forde, a priest, rector of the church of Crofton in the diocese of York, had heard William de Reynbur, priest of the order of St. Augustine, who was then dead, say, that the Templar, Brother Patrick of Rippon, son of William of Gloucester, had confessed to him, that at his entrance into the order, he was led, clothed only in his shirt and trousers, through a long passage to a secret chamber, and was there made to deny his God and his Saviour; that he was then shown a representation of the crucifixion, and was told that since he had previously honoured that emblem he must now dishonour it and spit upon it, and that he did so. “Item dictum fuit ei quod, depositis brachis, dorsum verteret ad crucifixum,” and this he did bitterly weeping. After this they brought an image, as it were, of a calf, placed upon an altar, and they told him he must kiss that image, and worship it, and he did so, and after all this they covered up his eyes and led him about, kissing and being kissed by all the brethren, but he could not recollect in what part. The worthy priest was asked when he had first heard all these things, and he replied after the arrest of the brethren by the king’s orders!
Robert of Oteringham, senior of the order of Minorites, stated that on one occasion he was partaking of the hospitality of the Templars at the preceptory of Ribstane in Yorkshire, and that when grace had been said after supper, the chaplain of the order reprimanded the brethren of the Temple, saying to them, “The devil will burn you,” or some such words; and hearing a bustle amongst them, he got up to see what was the matter, and, as far as he recollects, he saw one of the brothers of the Temple, “brachis depositis, tenentem faciem versus occidentem et posteriora versus altare!” Being asked who it was that did this, he says he does not exactly remember. He then goes on to state, that about twenty years before that time! he was again the guest of the Templars, at the preceptory of Wetherby (query Feriby) in Yorkshire, and when evening came he heard that the preceptor was not coming to supper, as he was arranging some relics that he had brought with him from the Holy Land, and afterwards at midnight he heard a confused noise in the chapel, and getting up he looked through the keyhole, and saw a great light therein, either from a fire or from candles, and on the morrow he asked one of the brethren of the Temple the name of the saint in whose honour they had celebrated so grand a festival during the night, and that brother, aghast and turning pale, thinking he had seen what had been done amongst them, said to him, “Go thy way, and if you love me, or have any regard for your own life, never speak of this matter.” This same “Senior of the Minorites” declares also that he had seen, in the chapel of the preceptory of Ribstane, a cross, with the image of our Saviour nailed upon it, thrown carelessly upon the altar, and he observed to a certain brother of the Temple, that the cross was in a most indecent and improper position, and he was about to lift it up and stand it erect, when that same brother called out to him, “Lay down the cross and depart in peace!”
Brother John de Wederal, another Minorite, sent to the inquisitors a written paper, wherein he stated that he had lately heard in the country, that a Templar, named Robert de Baysat, was once seen running about a meadow uttering, “Alas! alas! that ever I was born, seeing that I have denied God and sold myself to the devil!” Brother N. de Chinon, another Minorite, had heard that a certain Templar had a son who peeped through a chink in the wall of the chapter-room, and saw a person who was about to be professed, slain because he would not deny Christ, and afterwards the boy was asked by his father to become a Templar, but refused, and he immediately shared the same fate. Twenty witnesses, who were examined in each other’s presence, merely repeated the above absurdities, or related similar ones.[396]
At this stage of the proceedings, the papal inquisitor, Sicard de Vaur, exhibited two rack-extorted confessions of Templars which had been obtained in France. The first was from Robert de St. Just, who had been received into the order by brother Himbert, Grand Preceptor of England, but had been arrested in France, and there tortured by the myrmidons of Philip. In this confession, Robert de St. Just states that, on his admission to the vows of the Temple, he denied Christ, and spat beside the cross. The second confession had been extorted from Geoffrey de Gonville, Knight of the Order of the Temple, Preceptor of Aquitaine and Poitou, and had been given on the 15th of November A. D. 1307, before the grand inquisitor of France. In this confession, (which had been afterwards revoked, but of which revocation no notice was taken by the inquisitors,) Sir Geoffrey de Gonville states that he was received into the order in England in the house of the Temple at London, by Brother Robert de Torvibe, knight, the Master of all England, about twenty-eight years before that time; that the master showed him on a missal the image of Jesus Christ on the cross, and commanded him to deny him who was crucified; that, terribly alarmed, he exclaimed, “Alas! my lord, why should I do this? I will on no account do it.” But the master said to him, “Do it boldly; I swear to thee that the act shall never harm either thy soul or thy conscience;” and then proceeded to inform him that the custom had been introduced into the order by a certain bad Grand Master, who was imprisoned by a certain sultan, and could escape from prison only on condition that he would establish that form of reception in his order, and compel all who were received to deny Christ Jesus! but the deponent remained inflexible; he refused to deny his Saviour, and asked where were his uncle and the other good people who had brought him there, and was told that they were all gone; and at last a compromise took place between him and the Master, who made him take his oath that he would tell all his brethren that he had gone through the customary form, and never reveal that it had been dispensed with! He states also that the ceremony was instituted in memory of St. Peter, who three times denied Christ![397]
Ferinsius le Mareschal, a secular knight, being examined, declared that his grandfather entered into the order of the Temple, active, healthy, and blithesome as the birds and the dogs, but on the third day from his taking the vows he was dead, and, as he now suspects, was killed because he refused to participate in the iniquities practised by the brethren. An Augustine monk declared that he had heard a Templar say that a man after death had no more soul than a dog. Roger, rector of the church of Godmersham, swore that about fifteen years before he had an intention of entering into the order of the Temple himself, and consulted Stephen Queynterel, one of the brothers, on the subject, who advised him not to do so, and stated that they had three articles amongst themselves in their order, known only to God, the devil, and the brethren of the Temple, and the said Stephen would not reveal to the deponent what those articles were.
The vicar of the church of Saint Clement at Sandwich had heard that a boy had secreted himself in the large hall where the Templars held their chapter, and heard the Master preach to the brethren, and explain to them in what mode they might enrich themselves; and after the chapter was concluded, one of the brothers, in going out of the hall, dropped his girdle, which the boy found and carried to the brother who had so dropped it, when the latter drew his sword and instantly slew him! But to crown all, Brother John de Gertia, a Minorite, had heard from a certain woman called Cacocaca! who had it from Exvalettus, Preceptor of London, that one of the servants of the Templars entered the hall where the chapter was held, and secreted himself, and after the door had been shut and locked by the last Templar who entered, and the key had been brought by him to the superior, the assembled Templars jumped up and went into another room, and opened a closet, and drew therefrom a certain black figure with shining eyes, and a cross, and they placed the cross before the Master, and the “culum idoli vel figuræ” they placed upon the cross, and carried it to the Master, who kissed the said image, (in ano,) and all the others did the same after him; and when they had finished kissing, they all spat three times upon the cross, except one, who refused, saying, “I was a bad man in the world, and placed myself in this order for the salvation of my soul; what could I do worse? I will not do it;” and then the brethren said to him, “Take heed, and do as you see the order do;” but he answered that he would not do so, and then they placed him in a well which stood in the midst of their house, and covered the well up, and left him to perish. Being asked as to the time when the woman heard this, the deponent stated that she told it to him about fourteen years back at London, where she kept a shop for her husband, Robert Cotacota! This witness also knew a certain Walter Salvagyo of the family of Earl Warrenne, grandfather of the then earl, who, having entered into the order of the Temple, was about two years afterwards entirely lost sight of by his family, and neither the earl nor any of his friends could ever learn what had become of him.
John Walby de Bust, another Minorite, had heard John de Dingeston say that he had heard that there was in a secret place of the house of the Templars at London a gilded head, and that when one of the Masters was on his deathbed, he summoned to his presence several preceptors, and told them that if they wished for power, and dominion, and honour, they must worship that head.
Brother Richard de Koefeld, a monk, had heard from John de Borna, who had it from the Knight Templar Walter le Bacheler, that every man who entered into the order of the Temple had to sell himself to the devil; he had also heard from the priest Walter, rector of the church of Hodlee, who had it from a certain vicar, who was a priest of the said Walter le Bacheler, that there was one article in the profession of the Templars which might not be revealed to any living man.
Gasper de Nafferton, chaplain of the parish of Ryde, deposed that three years back he was in the employ of the Templars for about six months, during which period William de Pokelington was received into the order; that he well recollected that the said William made his appearance at the Temple on Sunday evening, with the equipage and habit of a member of the order, accompanied by Brother William de la More, the Master of the Temple, Brother William de Grafton, Preceptor of Ribbestane and Fontebriggs; and other brethren: that the same night, during the first watch, they assembled in the church, and caused the deponent to be awakened to say mass; that, after the celebration of the mass, they made the deponent with his clerk go out into the hall beyond the cloister, and then sent for the person who was to be received; and on his entry into the church one of the brethren immediately closed all the doors opening into the cloister, so that no one within the chambers could get out, and thus they remained till daylight; but what was done in the church the deponent knew not; the next day, however, he saw the said William clothed in the habit of a Templar, looking very sorrowful. The deponent also declared that he had threatened to peep through a secret door to see what was going on, but was warned that it was inevitable death so to do. He states that the next morning he went into the church, and found the books and crosses all removed from the places in which he had previously left them; that he afterwards saw the knight Templar Brother William deliver to the newly-received brother a large roll of paper, containing the rule of the order, which the said newly-received brother was directed to transcribe in private; that after the departure of the said Brother William, the deponent approached the said newly-received brother, who was then diligently writing, and asked to be allowed to inspect the roll, but was told that none but members of the order could be allowed to read it; that he was then about to depart, when Brother William made his appearance, and, astonished and confounded at the sight of the deponent, snatched up the roll and walked away with it, declaring, with a great oath, that he would never again allow it to go out of his hands.