700 years ago today... March 18, 1314- A Solemn Anniversary
Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 8:24 am
700 years ago today... March 18, 1314- A Solemn Anniversary
700 years ago, on this very day, Jacques De Molai (DeMolay) was presented to the public near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Being held in chains by the French King for 7 years, De Molai was the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar; known then as the Holy Church's own warrior-monks. At that time, De Molai, who was by then quite elderly, was to publicly confess the many alleged and supposedly sordid "crimes" of the Templars, many of which had been admitted to under torture by the imprisoned knights.
As De Molai cleared his throat and began to speak, the world would never again be the same.
The tale began like this: On Friday, October 13, 1307, the Templars in France were rounded up, put into dungeons and chains. (which is where we got the Friday 13th "bad luck" legend) Within hours, and under torture, confessions were extracted from the imprisoned knights attributing all manner of horrible deeds and beliefs to the secret Templar organization.
As the tale continues, although incensed that his warrior-monks had been put into chains, the Pope was nonetheless persuaded to permit the arrests and investigations to proceed. Indeed, there was little that he could do in any case, as the French king had already moved the Seat of the Papacy from Rome to France.
High drama and politics were, of course, involved with all of this. The French king had supposedly sought the aid of the Templars and had been denied. The Templars, it seems, were a fairly independent bunch, even reportedly helping to force the English King John to sign the Magna Carta a century before. Back then, you did not push kings around, but the Templars, under the protection of the Church, were pretty independent for their time, and that was partly what got them into hot water.
Anyway, when the captive De Molai began to speak, he proclaimed that the Templars were completely innocent of all that they had been accused of. Being, at that point, a "relapsed heretic", De Molai was quickly ushered by the French soldiers over to an island in the Seine River where he was burned alive that same evening. As historians will tell you, those burnings could be slow or fast, and De Molai's burning was ordered to be as slow as possible. Legend had it that, from the stake, De Molai cried out for the French king and the Pope to join him before God that year for judgement, and indeed, both King and Pope died shortly afterwards.
What happened after De Molai's death, we do not know for certain. Some believe that the Freemasons were born out of the surviving Templars. (there is even a Masonic Knights Templar group) Others like to tell the tale later that year when the Scottish King, Robert the Bruce, was at the point of losing an important battle with the English, a group of Templars on horseback took the field to save the day. One Templar emblem, a skull with crossed bones, became a symbol of pirates, and indeed, the French king never captured the Templar fleet of ships, or for that matter, their treasures. There is a round stone building (Templar churches were often built in that manner) here in Rhode Island that some feel to have been a Templar edifice, and there is a chapel in Scotland built before Columbus' time, that shows a representation of corn shocks on the wall, only corn was supposedly unknown in Europe at that time. Many Templar questions remain unanswered.
There is one other legend that has been told time and again: When the last King of France met his death on the guillotine in the French Revolution many years later, a man supposedly jumped up from the crowd, hoisted aloft the King's head, and cried out "Jacques De Molai, thou art avenged!"
How true any or all of this is, we may never know for sure, although volumes have been written both in support of, and against the Templars. One thing we do know: Since the death of De Molai on this date, 700 years ago, and putting aside the question of Templar guilt or innocence, the absolute power of governments was shattered forever. From that point on, governments would have to be much more responsible and responsive to the people whom they served.
Into the birth of our own nation, from the Boston Tea Party forward, there have always been a group of people, (whether liberal or conservative or whatever else their personal political beliefs might be) who have been unwilling to stand for governmental injustice. Freedom of conscience and thought, protection for the weak, compassion for the less fortunate, protection for the virtuous, and a strong spirit of justice for all, continue to be timeless human goals that were brought into high public focus with the death of Jacques De Molai.
Lakewood's DeMolay organization, meeting at Lakewood's historic Masonic Temple, has been around for many years. Founded in Kansas City Missouri by Frank S. Land in the early years of the 20th Century, the DeMolay youth organization continues to honor the memory of Jacques DeMolai and his contribution to our world.
700 years ago, on this very day, Jacques De Molai (DeMolay) was presented to the public near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Being held in chains by the French King for 7 years, De Molai was the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar; known then as the Holy Church's own warrior-monks. At that time, De Molai, who was by then quite elderly, was to publicly confess the many alleged and supposedly sordid "crimes" of the Templars, many of which had been admitted to under torture by the imprisoned knights.
As De Molai cleared his throat and began to speak, the world would never again be the same.
The tale began like this: On Friday, October 13, 1307, the Templars in France were rounded up, put into dungeons and chains. (which is where we got the Friday 13th "bad luck" legend) Within hours, and under torture, confessions were extracted from the imprisoned knights attributing all manner of horrible deeds and beliefs to the secret Templar organization.
As the tale continues, although incensed that his warrior-monks had been put into chains, the Pope was nonetheless persuaded to permit the arrests and investigations to proceed. Indeed, there was little that he could do in any case, as the French king had already moved the Seat of the Papacy from Rome to France.
High drama and politics were, of course, involved with all of this. The French king had supposedly sought the aid of the Templars and had been denied. The Templars, it seems, were a fairly independent bunch, even reportedly helping to force the English King John to sign the Magna Carta a century before. Back then, you did not push kings around, but the Templars, under the protection of the Church, were pretty independent for their time, and that was partly what got them into hot water.
Anyway, when the captive De Molai began to speak, he proclaimed that the Templars were completely innocent of all that they had been accused of. Being, at that point, a "relapsed heretic", De Molai was quickly ushered by the French soldiers over to an island in the Seine River where he was burned alive that same evening. As historians will tell you, those burnings could be slow or fast, and De Molai's burning was ordered to be as slow as possible. Legend had it that, from the stake, De Molai cried out for the French king and the Pope to join him before God that year for judgement, and indeed, both King and Pope died shortly afterwards.
What happened after De Molai's death, we do not know for certain. Some believe that the Freemasons were born out of the surviving Templars. (there is even a Masonic Knights Templar group) Others like to tell the tale later that year when the Scottish King, Robert the Bruce, was at the point of losing an important battle with the English, a group of Templars on horseback took the field to save the day. One Templar emblem, a skull with crossed bones, became a symbol of pirates, and indeed, the French king never captured the Templar fleet of ships, or for that matter, their treasures. There is a round stone building (Templar churches were often built in that manner) here in Rhode Island that some feel to have been a Templar edifice, and there is a chapel in Scotland built before Columbus' time, that shows a representation of corn shocks on the wall, only corn was supposedly unknown in Europe at that time. Many Templar questions remain unanswered.
There is one other legend that has been told time and again: When the last King of France met his death on the guillotine in the French Revolution many years later, a man supposedly jumped up from the crowd, hoisted aloft the King's head, and cried out "Jacques De Molai, thou art avenged!"
How true any or all of this is, we may never know for sure, although volumes have been written both in support of, and against the Templars. One thing we do know: Since the death of De Molai on this date, 700 years ago, and putting aside the question of Templar guilt or innocence, the absolute power of governments was shattered forever. From that point on, governments would have to be much more responsible and responsive to the people whom they served.
Into the birth of our own nation, from the Boston Tea Party forward, there have always been a group of people, (whether liberal or conservative or whatever else their personal political beliefs might be) who have been unwilling to stand for governmental injustice. Freedom of conscience and thought, protection for the weak, compassion for the less fortunate, protection for the virtuous, and a strong spirit of justice for all, continue to be timeless human goals that were brought into high public focus with the death of Jacques De Molai.
Lakewood's DeMolay organization, meeting at Lakewood's historic Masonic Temple, has been around for many years. Founded in Kansas City Missouri by Frank S. Land in the early years of the 20th Century, the DeMolay youth organization continues to honor the memory of Jacques DeMolai and his contribution to our world.
