Write your abstract here. Vatican Reveals Details of the Knights Templar Trial After 700 Yrs of Secrecy.
The
Knights Templars, whose full name was "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of
Christ and of the Temple of Solomon", were founded in 1119 by knights
who had sworn to protect Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land
after the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099.The
documents being published of trials against the Templars between
1307 and 1312 had been closely guarded by the Vatican for over seven
centuries. The Knights are often portrayed as guardians of the
legendary Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper before
his crucifixion. Legends of their treasures and secret rituals have
been depicted in cinema and books such as "The Da Vinci Code". "This is a milestone because it is the first time that these
documents are being released by the Vatican," Professor Barbara Frale,
a medievalist at the Vatican''s Secret Archives, told Reuters. "Nothing
before this offered scholars original documents of the trials of the
Templars." Pope Benedict will be given the first set of the work, published by
the Vatican Secret Archives in collaboration with Italy''s Scrinium
cultural foundation. The highly controversial Templars were accused of
heresy and sexual misconduct. Although, their name maintained that they
were “Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ” the Knights Templar were anything
but poor. By amassing enormous wealth they were able to help finance
some of the wars of European monarchs. The Vatican expects most copies of the work to be bought up by
specialized libraries at top universities and by leading medieval
scholars. They will publish only 799 numbered copies. One controvesial aspect of the documents is the so-called Chinon
Parchment, which contains phrases in which Pope Clement V absolves the
Templars of charges of heresy. King Philip had relied largely on the
claim of heresy in his attempts to eliminate them. Templars were burned
at the stake by King Philip''s agents after they made confessions that
most
historians believe were forced. The parchment, also known as the
Chinon Chart, had been "misplaced" in the Vatican archives until Frale
came across it. "The parchment was catalogued incorrectly at some point in history.
At first I couldn''t believe my eyes. I was incredulous," she said.
"This was the document that a lot of historians were looking for." Historians point out that Philip certainly had his own motive to
kill off the Templars. The monarch was heavily indebted to them for
helping him finance his wars. Finding an excuse to get rid of them may
have been a convenient way of canceling his debts, believe some
historians. Frale confirms that according to the trial documents, Pope Clement
was convinced that the Templars had committed some grave sins, but that
they were not heretics as Phillip claimed. Templars were known to have strange customs and practices that were
generally frowned upon. Their initiation ceremony is believed to have
included spitting on the cross, but Frale said they justified this as a
ritual of obedience in preparation for possible capture by Muslims.
They were also said to have practiced sodomy. "Simply put, the pope recognized that they were not heretics but
guilty of many other minor crimes -- such as abuses, violence and
sinful acts within the order," she said. "But that is not the same as
heresy." Despite his conviction that the Templars were not guilty of the
charge of heresy, in 1312 Pope Clement nonetheless ordered the Templars
to be disbanded for what Frale called "the good of the Church"
following repeated clashes with the French king. Frale says the trials against the Templars between 1307 and 1312 was
also a battle of political wills between Clement and Philip, and said
that in light of the newly discovered documents, Clement''s position
will need traised by historians. Galaxy News Reported October 12th, 2007.