Chapter Thirteen THE CURSE GOLD OF THE ARMADA So, one of the most grandiose battles in the history of mankind is taking place in the English Channel. Ships and people are dying, guns are thundering, blood is flowing. But despite all this, many of the fighters were not thinking about how to win. They were thinking about gold. At

S. BUNTMAN: You and I will start the next program “Everything is so”, today together Alexey Venediktov Sergey Buntman, and Natalia Ivanovna Basovskaya, of course, is here.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Hello.

S. BUNTMAN: Today we will talk about Jacques De Molay, the twenty-third and last Grand Master of the glorious Order of the Poor Knights of Christ or the Order of the Temple of Jerusalem - the Templars. Very confusing, very scary, tempting, especially to all those who in childhood read Maurice Druon nonstop. Maurice Druon recently left us.

S. BUNTMAN: Yes. He prefaced the epigraph with the following quote: “History is a novel that actually happened.” Today we will try to see this novel by Jacques De Molay. Let's play a book on the topic. This book by Georges Bordonov is from the series “ Daily life" "Daily Life of the Templars in the 13th Century." It is important that in the 13th century, this last century life of the Templar Order.

N. BASOVSKAYA: It was abolished at the beginning of the 14th century.

S. BUNTMAN: And this is already a century that went from culmination to sunset. And for this, to get the book, we have nine copies, of course, not enough for everyone, but for those who answer correctly first, there will be enough. The question is this. The most enduring legend. Jacques De Molay, already when he was burning at the stake, he cursed several people. The main ones were the King of France and the Pope. Tell me the King of France and the Pope, whom Jacques De Molay specifically cursed and appointed a meeting with them no later than a year later. And so it happened. But is it because of the curse? Probably not.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Who knows!

S. BUNTMAN: Let's not rush to conclusions. +7-985-970-45-45, you answer this question, and then we will tell you.

Jacques De Molay. Let's get started.

N. BASOVSKAYA: The first thing I would like to say in general is that this is a person who, in the vast literature dedicated to the Order, has a lot of French books translated into Russian. These are books by the wonderful writer-historian Régine Pernu “The Templars”, Marcel Loba “The Tragedy of the Templars”, Jacques Bordonova, which our listeners can get, Guy Fau “The Trial of the Templars”. There is a huge, extensive literature, everything is there. But an individual biography, a full-fledged biography of Jacques De Molay, one might say, is missing. This is a man without a biography. Instead of a biography, there is his tragedy. The tragedy is real, enormous, not coming. This last master is an iconic figure precisely because of the way he died.

And people’s attitude towards him changed completely before his tragic death and after it. But let's try to restore what is possible. Who is he in history? The last master, most authors write that he is a stupid politician. I don’t know, maybe it’s the wrong expression, I’m not educated at all. That is, he wrote with difficulty, which was not surprising among the knights of that time. Perhaps not a stupid politician, but a person who is politically naive, inflexible and very convinced that the greatness of the Order is forever, and that greatness based on money is reliable.

A big misconception, we know, in all eras. He allowed himself to be deceived, deeply, seriously, thoroughly, to the end. And then yours martyrdom at the stake, changing the memory of himself. We know that he comes from Burgundy, from a knightly family. We do not know any details about his family. Until the age of 21, he does not appear on the historical stage in any way, except that we can guess that he did not receive an education. At the age of 21, in 1265, he was initiated into the spiritual knightly Order, a member of the spiritual knightly Order of the Templars in the presence of two high-ranking officials, representatives of the Order - Amber De Peiro, general visitor of the Order of England and France, a large position. And Amaury de La Roche, Master of France, i.e. European scale.

And Burgundy at that time, where he was from, had actually already reached the borders of an independent state. This was the time when Burgundy had a chance to stay in European history some kind of independent political entity.

S. BUNTMAN: Such an unestablished state, and in many of the characters that you have talked about and probably will talk about, we see this unestablished state almost from sea to sea.

N. BASOVSKAYA: The Dukes of Burgundy in the 14th and 15th centuries would actually be European sovereigns. And only towards the end of the 15th century, in fact in 1477, in the battle of Nancy with Louis XI, this page will be turned and Burgundy will not be destined to become independent. So, he is from there, from where during this period, he was born in 1244, and died in 1314, executed. So, in the middle of the 13th century, the traditions of Burgundian chivalry are wonderful, and after the Crusades in the 12th century, to the traditions of European chivalry, famous, vibrant traditions concerning both the rules of war and the rules of social, political behavior, and morality, and ethics, one more thing was mixed in.

Western European knighthood appropriated special status in European history - defenders of shrines, defenders of Christian shrines in the Middle East. Those Christian shrines that did not go to be conquered from the Seljuk Turks at the end of the 11th century in 1096 were the first Crusade, and in 1099 Jerusalem was stormed. It would seem that they accomplished an amazing mission - they returned to the Christian, namely the Catholic Church, the greatest shrines associated with the life, death and ascension, the entire earthly life cycle of Jesus Christ.

S. BUNTMAN: But that was just the beginning. Reconquered Jerusalem is only the beginning of a huge drama.

N. BASOVSKAYA: But people didn’t know this yet, it was this beginning that seemed happy, the assault on Jerusalem, the formation of several knightly states Western European, except for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, its vassal counties and the duchies of Tripoli and Desentiacia, such a success. And on the crest of this success, the Order of the Templars appears. Not only him, but in general the spiritual-knightly Orders and the idea of ​​knights fighting for a holy cause. The idea of ​​knights who defend, defend what was conquered in the east from the Muslims.

It is gradually transforming, the creators of the Templar Order were not monks, and then monastic vows are taken, there are several of these orders, but we are now talking about the Templar Order, which was apparently born in 1118 or 1119, about 20 years after the success of the first Crusade hike. According to legend, there were nine brave French. The mysticism of numbers! The property of the spiritual culture of the Middle Ages is to attach meaning to numbers. Trinity, number 4 – these are 4 evangelists, 12 apostles. There are 9 French knights here, led by Hugo De Payen, about whom all sorts of legends were created. They created a brotherhood to protect the pilgrims. They themselves are not monks.

And these 9 knights defended the roads of Palestine for 9 years and allowed pilgrims to calmly come to Jerusalem. There is already a fairy tale element here. And they didn’t invite anyone into their brotherhood of 9 people. In parallel with them, another Order was created, called the “Order of the Hospitallers,” in which not French, but Italian knights predominated. Experts debate whether these ethnic differences are significant, but from all further history we know that ethnic differences are always significant. In one form or another.

S. BUNTMAN: Although both Orders were largely international.

N. BASOVSKAYA: In theory, yes. But the core was some kind of ethnic group. And in essence they did the same thing, which over time was bound to give rise to some form of rivalry between them. And so it happened. So this very brotherhood, it received from the king Kingdom of Jerusalem, from the rulers a place for their placement. A certain church, a certain building that, according to legend, stood in place ancient temple Solomon. Hence the temple, the knights of the temple. Basically a Jewish temple. But now they reinterpret this into the mainstream of their confession, they are defenders of Christianity. What is known about the early Templars?

They were poor, their original sign, symbol was very interesting. These are two horsemen riding on the same horse. And the interpretation is that they were so poor that this sign emphasizes their poverty. And romantic historiography XIX centuries described them romantically. I will quote this from Jules Roy, Noble Blood. This is the appearance of the Templars: “With bare heads, cropped and bearded, in white cloaks, with a scarlet cross. Their cloaks fluttered behind their shoulders like the wings of angels. They rushed swiftly on low Arabian horses from battle to battle, died one after another, bleeding, and all this for the sake of the only goal rejected by society, for the sake of eternal salvation and the honor of Christianity.” Oh, if only it were so!

But in parallel, a different, popular image of the Templars was taking shape. The fact is that the Order was rapidly growing rich. By finding a variety of ways to accumulate wealth. They did not directly take money from poor pilgrims; this would have brought them down too low in the eyes of the religious community. But they accepted rich people into their brotherhood, into their Order, on the condition of donations to the Order, acquisition of land, and land is the main wealth. They introduced very strict rules; Bernard of Clairvaux, one of the strictest legislators of the church of the Middle Ages, had a hand in their charter.

There were strict rules; for some special reason, they took a lot of property from the brothers. But they really worked out...

S. BUNTMAN: And the rules were very similar to the Order founded by St. Bernard of the Cistercian, and sometimes considered it simply a military branch.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Or in such a way that this is a single root, this charter, and from this root, like branches on a tree, these spiritual knightly orders grow.

S. BUNTMAN: Very strict and clear regulations.

N. BASOVSKAYA: The rules are strict. There were regulations, for example - a Templar did not have the right to retreat in battle if there were no more than three people against him. One to three. I don’t know how to manage to count and then report during a battle, so they never retreated, just in case. It was believed that the Templars never retreated. They became famous for their consistent military position, individual. And I must say, they repeatedly showed desperate courage in the battles in the East. They participated in many biggest battles, for example, in the famous battle of Khotyn, they did not retreat, they bled. In the face of the threat of death, they, this is important for understanding the subsequent reflection, knew how not to flinch.

For example, captured by the Muslim rulers with the demand “Renounce and you will live,” they never renounced. And they were certainly subjected to endless executions, which are unpleasant to describe; I only emphasize that they had the spirit of people who were capable of not retreating. They did not retreat when faced with the threat of death. Whatever they will retreat to at the Templar trial, I will talk about this later.

They become very famous, in 1187 they participated in the Battle of Khotyn, where the Grand Master himself took part, although it was a defeat and the battle led to the loss of Jerusalem. Still, the battle evoked respect. In general, things were going from bad to worse in the East; Jerusalem was temporarily regained, then lost again. It is very interesting that Jerusalem was once again lost after being temporarily returned to Christian hands precisely in 1244, the year of the birth of Jacques De Molay.

Our character was born...

S. BUNTMAN: This is already the time of the latest and most unsuccessful Crusades.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Yes, the Crusades ceased to be successful, the first was the most successful, the fourth was successful in its own way, from 1199 to 1204 with the plunder of Christians and the acquisition of enormous wealth at the expense of the Orthodox Church. It's kind of luck. These were at least financial success. And then the complete extinction of the crusading movement, the fifth against Egypt in 1217-1221 did not produce any results, the sixth in 1228-1229, which was led by Frederick II, a very bright figure, leads to the temporary return of Jerusalem from 1229 to 1244, and in 1244, in the year At the birth of De Molay, the Muslims take it away again. And finally, the seventh and eighth, two Crusades, which were led by the amazing and attractive politician Louis IX the Saint, the French king, a man who fervently believed in the crusader idea, but they were completely ineffective and painful.

And yet, from the time of the death of Louis IX, who died in the process of preparing the Eighth Crusade in 1270, not much passed until the loss of Jerusalem in 1244. Thirty-five years. And people could well think that he was not completely lost, since they had already gained and lost, and found again. And they concluded treaties and stormed Jerusalem. It seemed to them that this was not final. Jerusalem can be returned. And so the Templars, by the middle of the 13th century, had significant military forces, about 15 thousand knights and 45 thousand infantry, this is an army, this is a serious army. Colossal for the Middle Ages.

They have ships, they have a lot of money, I will talk about the sources of their funds when I talk about the reasons for the process after the News. The hope that it is possible to return what was lost, it seems to them that this hope is very serious. They are trying to move towards her little by little. And Jacques De Molay is involved in this. At the age of about 30, around his 30th birthday, having already been a member of the Order for 10 years, he joined at the age of 21, this was the minimum age for entry into the Order.

S. BUNTMAN: This is how we calculate the vague year of his birth.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Yes. And such a vague outline biography, but one can guess that it was a matter of conviction that he came there as soon as it was possible to come there, probably believing with all his soul in the cause of the crusaders. It is known that after 10 years he participated in the campaigns of military orders, and no one could say whether this campaign was useless or would it give something? In the Holy Land, in the naval raids on Alexandria, it is the Egyptian Sultanate that supports the anti-Crusader movement in the Middle East. In Acre, on the island of Tartos, near Cyprus, he is trying to recapture. And yet, he captured, Jacques De Molay, captured the island of Ruad, it seemed that he could make a main base there.

S. BUNTMAN: This is despite all the confrontation of the Cypriot king.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Jealousy.

S. BUNTMAN: And he had intrigues, either with Lesser Armenia, or even a project for an alliance with the Mongols.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Whoever didn’t have it. Louis IX too. Someone told him that the Mongols could be converted to Christianity.

S. BUNTMAN: And they will fight against the Turks. And then look, on the one hand there is military insistence, on the other hand there are chimerical plans in which not only Jacques De Molay participates, but also the kings with whom he is familiar.

N. BASOVSKAYA: How could he know that they were chimerical? I often try, following the greatest advice of Marc Bloch, a brilliant historian of the French twentieth century, to try to understand what was in people's heads. We, loaded with our retrospective knowledge of what happened next, firmly knowing that after Louis IX the ideas of the Crusades and their practice died, that the XIII century was the zenith of the Middle Ages, and the XIV will already be its decline, we understand that it is chimerical. We might have thought that this would continue.

S. BUNTMAN: You are right. How many times have they seriously collected both money and troops for a new Crusade, and this was one of the main ideas under all the authorities.

N. BASOVSKAYA: And the main idea of ​​our character Jacques De Molay.

S. BUNTMAN: Jacques De Molay. Twenty-third and last Grand Master of the Order of the Temple. We asked the question who he cursed. Here, a myriad of things have come, and all are practically correct, with the exception of a few exotic pieces of information that are given to us, but everything is absolutely correct. Immediately after a short break, the correct answer will be given and the names of the nine winners will be announced. We also have nine books.

N. BASOVSKAYA: How mystical it turned out! Mysticism is always associated with the Templars.

S. BUNTMAN: I know why this is good.

NEWS

S. BUNTMAN: We have nine books “The Daily Life of the Templar Order.” It was an amazing organization, and the network was dense throughout Europe. This was a serious project. I will name the winners. Isabella - 906, Yuri - 935, Elena - 907, Pavel - 248, Ilya - 645, Mikhail - 306, Oleg - 903, Leonid Vasilyevich - 686, Sergei - 156. They correctly said that the king who was cursed according to legend by Jacques De Mole is Philip IV the Fair, and the Pope is Clement V. He cursed several more people.

N. BASOVSKAYA: We will celebrate, we will not miss.

S. BUNTMAN: This is key figures process and very unpleasant comrades. And we are returning. So, the end of the 13th century.

N. BASOVSKAYA: How does our character live? He takes part in military campaigns. God did not send him great military success, and probably at that time it was already impossible to expect success from the crusaders in the Middle East, he just did not know this, and fought, then in the bowels of the Order he makes some career, and a good one, in England, where he rose to become the Great Preceptor of England. This is a lot, this is a prominent position, he becomes a prominent person in the Order. And it is no coincidence that in 1293, after the death of his predecessor, he became the Grand Master of the Order; he was already 49 years old, i.e. This is a mature husband and not a very young man. However, during the 90s, until the mid-90s, Jacques De Molay tries to raise money for the Crusade.

And the papacy supports him in this. This is not Pope Clement yet, this is the predecessor of the Pope, this is Boniface VIII, there is talk of a crusade around the papal throne, how does he know that Louis IX is upside down? last page this movement. He is trying to raise money for the Crusade in Italy, France, England. He organized a shipment to Cyprus, where the residence of the Templar Order, ships with grain, weapons, and clothing moved. And he still does not understand that the departure of Christians from Palestine in the 90s is the final departure. He thinks it's temporary. Let's sit in Cyprus for a while and then return there.

But in Cyprus the Order is cramped. At first it is located in Limassol, a city in Cyprus, where there is a Templar castle. They are simply cramped, there are competitors all around. In general, these spiritual orders of knighthood are experiencing great drama. They were created to protect those lands that have been lost.

S. BUNTMAN: And they become a burden for many.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Of course.

S. BUNTMAN: Some may change their minds. There is also a third Order - the Holy Virgin Mary.

N. BASOVSKAYA: The Teutonic will rebuild very well, it will find objects in Europe for Christianization, long-term conquests, this has direct relation to the history of our country, to the history of the Baltic states. But these people simply have nowhere to go, there are Christians all around, the entire Western European region is Christian.

S. BUNTMAN: Perhaps in Spain and Portugal.

N. BASOVSKAYA: The reconquista is still underway in Spain and Portugal, but it has already entered a decisive phase; it is already essentially clear that the Christian peoples of the Iberian Peninsula will oust the Arabs anyway, and they do not need helpers.

S. BUNTMAN: The Spaniards believed that they were needed.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Somewhere before the second half of the 11th century, before the fall of Taled, they still willingly accepted volunteers, any support from the external church, but that’s how everything worked out inside. The Spanish Church is the banner, Catholicism in Spain is the banner of this struggle, and they are already winning. So they're looking for a use, the Templars quite obviously, and a location. In 1306 or early 1307, Jacques De Molay was invited French king appears in France. There they have a residence in Paris, the Temple Temple. He meets in Poitiers with Pope Clement V, who became Pope in 1305, who is completely dependent on the French king. The French king receives Jacques De Molay very kindly. Who is this French king?

Our radio listeners responded, I will remind everyone what kind of person he is. The very famous French ruler Philip IV, nicknamed the Handsome. It was believed that in fact he met the medieval standards of beauty - large, strong, warlike and very with an iron hand, Maurice Druon calls him the Iron King. Under him, the centralization of France increased terribly. He surrounded himself with jurists, they were called legalists, especially people like Guillaume de Nogaret, Enguerrand de Marigny, these were his right hands. There are no leftists. He annexed the crown of Navarre to himself through a dynastic marriage, did not include the kingdom in France, but the crown of Navarre, he was the king of France and Navarre.

He annexed the county of Champagne to the royal domain, annexed Angoumois, the city of Lyon with the district, i.e. he has success. He also has failures. He suffered a terrible defeat, which he did not immediately understand, in Flanders, which he could not absorb. Famous battle in 1302, first the Bruges Matins, when organized Flemish townspeople massacred the French garrisons, and then the Battle of the Spurs, where the Flemish Flanders militia defeated the French knights. That is, there are failures too. And yet, overall, he is strengthening his iron grip. He became famous for carrying out sudden, massive and very successful confiscations of Jewish property.

They lived, lived, lived, engaged in financial transactions, borrowed money from them, many took them, returned them, were praised for their financial activities, and suddenly everyone was gone.

S. BUNTMAN: And he has problems with money.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Problems all the time.

S. BUNTMAN: And no bankers...

N. BASOVSKAYA: They cannot completely solve this. Several of these evictions of Jews and terrible pogroms of Jews provide some income. And so he decided to tax the clergy. In essence, the preconditions for French absolutism are emerging. No one knows this word yet, quite a long time before the Sun King Louis XIV, but this Philip IV the Handsome is driving piles into French absolutism. And he decides to tax the clergy. In essence, this is not just a matter of money. On the path to absolute power, which he already feels in his gut, the only serious competitor is the church.

S. BUNTMAN: Well, Dad is now just in his pocket, almost on the territory.

N. BASOVSKAYA: He came into conflict with Pope Boniface VIII, a brutal conflict, incredible, which had never happened in Western Europe before. Still, there was some relative respect for dads, sometimes it was violated, but in general it was there. And this same Guillaume Nogaret became famous here. He went to Pope Boniface, who at that moment was in the French city of Anagni, and there inflicted some insult on the Pope. Sources write differently. He hit him in the face, the other one kicked open the door to his residence, into the hall, he talked ugly, an iron glove. As one naive study wrote, I really like it. “Unable to bear the humiliation, the proud old man soon died.”

S. BUNTMAN: This has always been said. This standard phrase end of the life of Boniface VIII.

N. BASOVSKAYA: That is, he brought the Pope of Rome to the grave, and put Clement V in his place. Thus, Clement V is the offspring of Philip IV the Fair, and he must be submissive to him in everything, in the process of the Templars he will be relatively submissive.

S. BUNTMAN: Good – relatively.

N. BASOVSKAYA: He will try to step back a little from the line. The fact is that the papal residence was moved to France after the events with Boniface VIII. Officially, the residence is the city of Avignon, their courtyard is located in the southwest of France. This is wildness! Suddenly the apostle See of St. Peter, who had been in Rome since the birth of early Christianity, moved to France for almost 70 years. It was in this environment that Jacques De Molay appeared in Paris. Well received. Personal meeting with the king, the king is very affectionate, and talks to him about the possibility that he will ask the Master of the Templar Order to become the godfather of one of his children.

This is such closeness, it couldn’t be closer! There was also a conversation with the Pope about preparations for the Crusade. True, De Molay showed some kind of disagreement and intransigence on one issue. He was asked to consider the issue of uniting the Templars and Hospitallers, because their goals are very close. He objects on many points. In fact, connecting these orders is a possible path to mastering these orders. Philip himself some time ago wanted to join the Templar Order. They very carefully did not accept him.

This is unforgettable! And then he decided to carry out a unification of the orders, this is like any reorganization, then a new master is needed. The version is that it’s more like a son. He has three sons, who will then begin to die due to the curse. He could hire one of them. And so De Molay resists; all his objections have been preserved in documents. Historians find them unconvincing, saying that he clings to trifles. What did he have to cling to? But he doesn’t feel the main trouble. The fact is that exactly on the eve of that sudden wild act, the arrest of all the Templars throughout France, the arrest of about 3 thousand people, a kind of forerunner of St. Bartholomew's Night. The day before 12.

N. BASOVSKAYA: And the day before, on October 12, Jacques De Molay attended the funeral of a person of the royal family, a relative of the king, Princess Catherine De Courtenay, wife of Charles De Valois. And he stood next to the king and held in his hand a piece of cord with which the coffin was edged. This was the way it was accepted. Much higher! And therefore, the sudden arrests that happened on the morning of October 13, Friday, were perceived as monstrous misunderstandings, as a monstrous mistake. Lord, yes, in the 20th century repression was perceived in the same way by people who seemed to be much more mature than the medieval ones.

For what reason were they all arrested? Some time ago, a certain informer, who exist at all times and are similar to each other, was expelled from the Templar Order for some offenses, and they expelled him for drunkenness, although there was a saying “Drinks like a Templar,” this is out of malice, out of envy their wealth. They were expelled for any disciplinary violations. And here is someone expelled named Equieu De Floiran, so the name has been preserved, so let it be! Some time ago, I already proposed at one of the church meetings to consider the issue, and expressed complaints that outrages were happening there, within the Order.

Then he went to Portugal to see King Jaime II of Aragon, and invited him to deal with the Templars, there were also a lot of them in Iberian Peninsula. King Hayem did not respond, although he gave him money just in case. Informers often lose money. And here he wandered, this persistent informer, to Philip IV the Fair. Philip probably simply accepted his denunciation with delight. And this is what he wrote, ordering the arrest of the Templars: “It’s a sad matter, a deplorable thing that terrifies you” - an example of hypocrisy. “...which is terrible to hear about, a disgusting crime, a heinous act. Through the reports of many people...” These many people did not exist, they were made later. "... trustworthy, was conveyed, brought to our ears, plunging us into deep amazement...” What was conveyed? Some kind of horror complex! “...that the Templars have secret rituals that they hide from all people, that when initiating another person into the Order, this person must spit on the cross or on the image of Christ.”

And very soon, when Jacques De Molay gives temporary slack, the torture of the Templars simply surpassed everything human limits, will tremble and sign everything that is prescribed to him, he will say: “I spat, but not on the cross, but on the floor.” This last one will be his milestone. So, these spitting, all sorts of obscene acts, which were considered as obscene and a visit from Satan, Satan comes to their meetings. This is already too much, whipping up passions.

S. BUNTMAN: They bow to Bophamet.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Bophamet is some kind of head, some kind of mysterious, an idol. They worship an idol. Satan sometimes comes to them, and these false witnesses describe what he looks like and how he smells of sulfur. But he looked at the walls of churches, he and his ancestors described it that way. Then some black cat appears, Bulgakov immediately comes to mind, and this is the appearance of Satan. It was on these charges that almost 3 thousand French Templars were captured. The investigation began. All these witnesses were prepared from among those expelled from the ranks of the Order. All these excluded, offended, they were also intimidated. Who was intimidated, who was bribed. And they agreed to give this monstrous testimony.

The process has begun. Pope Clement V initially insisted that only he could judge the Templars. According to the charter - yes. And the king should not have ordered their arrest. According to the charter of the Templars, only the Pope is above them, and above him only God.

S. BUNTMAN: Because he has not yet abolished the Order.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Of course.

S. BUNTMAN: Abolished in the twelfth year, two years before the execution and formally Jacques De Molay is considered a master until 1312.

N. BASOVSKAYA: And as a master, sitting in prison, he will spend seven years in prison under torture. So, Clement V had to conduct the investigation himself, and he began it, forgiving the king for these arrests. But the investigation was sluggish, Philip pushed him, the Pope tried to dodge, let's punish them, but not so severely. But in reality this is what happened. Rumors about the countless treasures of the Templars did their job. The entry of Jacques De Molay into Paris was truly solemn and they carried certain chests filled with treasures. But in order to deal with the Order like this, Philip IV had to spit, if not on the crucifix, then on his conscience completely.

Because about a year before this investigation, he took refuge with the Templars during a riot against his tax policy against coin defacement. He hid, the Templars saved his life. But, coming out of this hiding place, he said: “You yourself probably organized this riot.” That is, this man spat on his conscience, of course, very deliberately. He decided to renounce the fact that he invited him to be his godfather, the fact that they saved his life, the fact that they managed his financial affairs for a single year, and he had no complaints.

S. BUNTMAN: By the way, when this right was taken away from him for some time and a certain government agency finance department, finances have completely collapsed. The Templars are the inventors of the letter of credit.

N. BASOVSKAYA: They invented a letter of credit, people invested money or treasures in one monastery in one country, and received the paper and went to any other country, and could receive the Templars in another castle. And the Templars have a percentage. These were talented financiers, and not just bloodsuckers who sat and sucked out money. But talent also causes jealousy.

S. BUNTMAN: There is no percentage. They received if he died. And this happened very often.

N. BASOVSKAYA: And their services were paid too.

S. BUNTMAN: Usury was prohibited.

N. BASOVSKAYA: But it wasn’t called that. There was gratitude there.

S. BUNTMAN: There is a cunning system of donation and inheritance.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Contribution to the monastery. It was called gratitude. These were very smart, very talented financiers. And thus Philip IV spat on everything. He had an agreement with them on this financial cooperation. I don't care about the contract. They saved his life. Even that doesn't matter. And by stimulating Clement V in every possible way, he ensured that the process developed more and more intensively, and led to terrifying results. Most Templars, different numbers, but no less than 150 people, led by the Grand Master himself, signed the confession. Both orally and in writing. They gave confessions. And about the cat, and about the idol, and about indecent actions, and about spitting on the cross. This is scary!

What happened to Jacques De Molay himself, why did he falter? I don’t see anything else except terrible physical suffering, and it also seemed to him that if he admits this now, then using the absurdity of this fact he will achieve what he could not achieve in any way. Personal meeting with the Pope. And when he meets the Pope in person, he will definitely explain that this cannot happen, because it can never happen.

It was all in vain. The process continued. The volumes of accusations multiplied, the number of people who wavered was quite large. There were some indestructible people, but it is difficult to calculate. Different people give different information.

S. BUNTMAN: Several hundred refused their testimony.

N. BASOVSKAYA: First they gave it, then they refused.

S. BUNTMAN: Suddenly they rebelled.

N. BASOVSKAYA: And they began to execute them. The first executions took place, and again many who were ready to refuse testimony wavered; after the first executions in various French cities, not yet in Paris, a very difficult effect had on those who were ready to intercede for the Templars. And something terrible happened. This terrible execution was scheduled. Nogaret, who contributed a lot to this, Clement V, who wavered completely, Philip IV, who was the inspirer, they all came to see how Jacques De Molay and 2-3 other leaders of this Order would be executed.

It was on a small island in Paris, I think it was Reed Island, near the Ile de la Cité, now the central district of Paris, and on this small island they settled down to take a look. And here people, crippled by torture to terrible limits, which are hard to talk about, they were mutilated, disfigured, physically broken, in the last moments of their lives they somehow rose above everything earthly, realizing the inevitability of death, and Jacques De Molay uttered his famous curses .

It must be said that in order to increase his suffering, he was ordered to be executed by slow fire. As someone who has fallen into heresy for the second time, i.e. first he confessed, then he renounced, this was called falling into heresy for the second time, a grave crime, all this opened the doors of the Inquisition to France even wider than it was under Louis IX. He was ordered to be executed by slow fire. That is, cruelty infinite limit. And over low heat he had time to pronounce the curse that according to legend he uttered.

S. BUNTMAN: “I make an appointment for you, Philip, you, Pope Clement, you Guillaume De Nogaret, a meeting, no later than in a year.”

N. BASOVSKAYA: And it was justified. But before that he cursed himself. He named himself first. He said that he curses himself in the face of the Lord for his weakness, but believes in his forgiveness, and then he named this team. The island is small, I think they were close to each other. And if there was a curse, it could be heard perfectly. It came true. Pope Clement V died a month later, suddenly and mysteriously. Guillaume De Nogaret - a month after the Pope at the age of 43, also inexplicably why. Philip IV, 7 months later at the age of 46, fell from his horse and never recovered.

Then his sons ruled, and all invariably died, leaving no male offspring.

S. BUNTMAN: And it burst into flames Hundred Years' War after some time.

N. BASOVSKAYA: Quite related to this. The dynasty has changed. The Capetian dynasty ended there, and they were replaced by a side branch of their house in the person of Valois.

S. BUNTMAN: Natalya Basovskaya. Jacques De Molay, last, twenty-third Grand Master of the Order of the Temple. It was the “Everything is So” program.

Perhaps this was the first such large-scale and so brilliantly carried out police operation. To ensure that none of the Templars could leave, the French king Philip the Fair sent out instructions to his seneschals ahead of time Seneschal(from lat. Senex and Old Germanic. Scalc- senior servant) - one of the highest court positions in France in the 10th-12th centuries. Later, seneschals meant the military-administrative and military institution of royal officials. 1 all over the country. The orders were to be opened simultaneously at dawn on October 13, 1307 (this day fell on a Friday). The letters contained an order for the arrest of all Templars in the territory under their jurisdiction.

The destruction of the order was forced, although not unconditionally, supported by Pope Clement V, which is not surprising, because he came to the throne of St. Peter solely thanks to the French king Philip the Fair and was, in essence, his obedient puppet. Since Jacques de Molay was absent in France - in Cyprus he was preparing for war with the Saracens - Clement ordered him to come to France. Jacques de Molay obeyed, not realizing that he was walking into a trap.

There are quite a lot of sources about the life and work of Jacques de Molay. There are even more of them since after his arrest the master was interrogated several times and answered numerous questions about the activities of the order and his participation in it. However, the documents mainly cover the period of his biography after joining the Templar Order. Little is known about his youth.

Life before the order

Jacques de Molay was born in eastern France in a place that today is called Vitre-sur-Mance in Franche-Comté (population in 2010 was 291 people). The name Franche-Comté appeared only in 1478, and earlier this area was called the County of Burgundy. The county of Burgundy, we note, very often acted in opposition to the Frankish kings - first the Merovingians, and then the Carolingians.

Place where Jacques de Molay was born. The commune of Vitre-sur-Mance today.

maps.google.com

The exact date of birth of the future last master of the Templars is unknown. Historians estimate his birth to be between 1244 and 1249. All that is known about his family is that it was not the most distinguished noble family, that is, they were rather middle-class nobles.

There is little information about the initial period of Jacques de Molay's activities as a Templar. It is only known that he joined the order in 1265. The Holy Land was under attack by the Mamluks during this period. Mamluks- military caste in medieval Egypt. It was recruited from young slaves of predominantly Turkic origin. In 1250 the Mamluks seized power in Egypt. The Mamluk cavalry was considered one of the strongest in combat until Napoleon's campaign in Egypt. 2 . And the very next year Jacques de Molay went to the East. In 1291, the Mamluks launched a vigorous offensive against Frankish lands in the Holy Land. After a two-month stubborn siege, they took the last point of European chivalry - the fortress of Acre. The Templars, part of the Acre garrison, were the most stubborn defenders and remained on the walls until the last, covering the retreat to the sea of ​​the galleys evacuating women and children. During the siege, the 21st Master of the Templars, Guillaume de Beaujeu, fell wounded by an arrow. Barbara Frail, a historian of the Templars, believes that de Molay was a relative of Guillaume de Beaujeu. 3 . Jacques de Molay himself also fought on the walls, and then evacuated to Cyprus with the remnants of the Templars.

After the death of de Beaujeu, Thibault Godin was elected head of the order, but already in April 1292 he died. His early death demanded new elections. Hugo de Peyraud and Jacques de Molay competed for the post of master. However, Molay, having received the votes of the Burgundian, won.

Master of the Templar Order

In 1293, the new master went to Europe to put the affairs of the order in order and restore diplomatic relations with the most important courtyards. The situation was quite difficult. The fact is that initially the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, as the Templar Order was officially called, was created to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land and main meaning His activity was to protect the Holy Land. But with the loss of the last stronghold, the meaning of the Templars’ existence seemed to disappear. It was necessary to develop a new paradigm for development away from the Holy Land.

Jacques de Molay first visited Marseille, where he called the brothers to order and took measures to strengthen discipline. And this was necessary, because if in the Holy Land the Templars were the most combat-ready and bravest formation, then on the continent, far from battles, but close to temptations, many brothers became somewhat unscrewed. The saying “drinks like a Templar” was very popular in Europe at that time.

Pope Boniface VIII.

Fresco by Giotto in the Lateran Basilica.

Then de Molay went to Aragon to ensure the strong position of the order in this kingdom, which was extremely important from the point of view of transporting goods - King Jacques II of Aragon was also the king of Sicily. Jacques de Molay successfully resolved tensions between the local Templars and the King of Aragon and went to England to the court of Edward I to discuss the abolition of the heavy fines imposed English king to the Master of the Temple. After this, Jacques de Molay went to Rome, where he helped in the election of the Pope to take the throne of St. Peter to the new Pope Boniface VIII (December 1294). The help of Jacques de Molay consisted of a large number of gifts that he gave to the voters, hinting for whom they should give their balls during the vote.

In the autumn of 1296, after a long and successful tour, Jacques de Molay returned to Cyprus. Here he had to moderate the ardor of Henry II of Cyprus, who set his sights on the property and privileges of the Templars on the island. From Cyprus de Molay leads economic policy, designed to increase the income of the order, and also recruits new Templars. His goal was to organize an expedition to reconquer the Holy Land, because this was the raison d'être of the order.

The idea of ​​recapturing Jerusalem did not leave Jacques de Molay; he believed in the possibility of organizing a new crusade. However, the military-political situation contributed little to a new crusade, at least by the forces of European knighthood only. And then in the head of Jacques de Molay is born new plan, which still seems quite unusual today.

Brother Gerard, founder of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (Hospitaliers).

Engravings of Laurent's Automobiles, 1725.

Not only Cyprus, which the Templars made a stronghold, was under threat of Mamluk invasion, but also Armenia. We are talking about the so-called. The Armenian kingdom of Cilicia, located in the southeastern region of Asia Minor at approximately the point where modern Turkey borders Syria. Of course, the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia has nothing in common, except for the name, with modern Armenia. In 1298, the Mamluks captured the castle of Roche-Guillaume, which was located in the Armenian kingdom, but in 1237 it was owned by the Templars. The castle, built on a rock, occupied strategic position and controlled the road to Cilicia. In connection with this event, Jacques de Molay and the Grand Master of the Hospitallers Hospitallers or Ioannites, or Knights of Malta (French: Ordre des Hospitaliers) - founded in 1080 in Jerusalem as an Amalfi hospital, a Christian organization whose purpose was to care for the poor, sick or wounded pilgrims in the Holy Land, later developed into a military order. One of the Masters of the Hospitallers (Maltese) was the Russian Emperor Paul I. 4 Guillaume de Villaret visited the Cilician kingdom of Armenia.

Yellow Crusade

This poetic name was given to this cycle of events by Lev Gumilyov. But Lev Nikolayevich’s outstanding literary gift more often than allowed prevailed over him as a scientist. Unnecessarily romantic relationship The Mongols, unfortunately, sometimes forced him to insert descriptions into books that had little to do with reality. In the interpretation of Lev Gumilyov (in the book “In Search of an Imaginary Kingdom”), the matter looked like this.

At the kurultai of 1253, held in the upper reaches of the Onon, the Mongols allegedly decided to liberate Jerusalem from Muslims. It should be noted that the Onon is a river in Mongolia, that is, in a straight line it is located at a distance of approximately 6.5 thousand kilometers from Jerusalem. Unfortunately, Lev Nikolayevich, in support of his hypothesis, did not give at least one reason why the Mongols needed to organize a military campaign to such a distance to liberate a city that was completely unnecessary to them.

Further, Gumilyov continues, the Mongols sent Khan Hulagu, whose wife was Christian, to carry out this event. On his way to Jerusalem, Hulagu destroyed the Baghdad Caliphate, assumed supreme power over Georgia and brutally suppressed the uprising of the Georgians, who were not happy about this development of events. This undermined the liberation fervor of the Mongols, who, if the Georgians had not separated them from the liberation of the Holy Land, could have captured Palestine in 1259.

In addition, Gumilyov reports in his book, the Templars acted treacherously, who, instead of helping the Mongols, declared that they would not allow them into the Holy Land. For which, according to Lev Nikolaevich, they ultimately paid. This is what he writes: “Having betrayed the Mongols and Armenians, whom they did not allow to go on a counter-offensive until the end of 1263, the crusaders were left alone with the Mamluks... From 1307 to 1317 the terrible process of the Templars lasted... But did they remember in the intervals between tortures... that it was thanks to their order... that the Christian population of Syria was destroyed,... the goal of the Crusades - the Holy Land - was forever lost" L.N. Gumilyov, “In search of a fictional kingdom”, Partnership Klyshnikov, Komarov and Co., Moscow, 1992, pp. 162-163 5 .

Why such a conscientious scientist as Lev Gumilev composed this story is not very clear. Perhaps several factors combined here: insufficient awareness of the activities of the Templars of that period (after all, it is unlikely that Lev Gumilyov, who at one time was imprisoned twice in the camp, could freely travel to Europe to work in the archives, and many documents about the Templars became known after his death L.N. Gumilyov), and some kind of strange romantic attachment to the image of the Mongols, forcing him in any historical collisions to create the image of the Mongols as the noblest of people, and Gumilyov reproached everyone who did not rejoice at their arrival for short-sightedness, treachery, etc. .p. In fact, everything was somewhat different.

Khan Hulagu actually had a Nestorian wife Nestorianism- a branch of Christianity condemned at the Ephesian (Third Ecumenical) Council in 431. It received its name from its main apostle, the Antioch theologian Nestorius. The main principle of Nestorianism is that in the person of Christ, from his very birth, two natures are inextricably united - God and man. 6 , and in fact led the Mongol campaign in the Middle East. However, his goal was not the liberation of Jerusalem, but the capture of Persia. Lev Gumilyov is trying to pass off the usual border skirmishes between the new geopolitical players in the region - the Mongols and the Mamluks - as confirmation that Hulagu allegedly had plans for Palestine. But historical facts indicate that having received Persia, Hulagu no longer thought about any new conquests. In Persia, he founded the Ilkhanid (Hulaguid) dynasty, the Persian Mongols. And just entering the arena in end of XIII century, Jacques de Molay reshuffled the geopolitical maps.

At the time of Jacques de Molay's visit to Armenia, the Ilkhanid state was ruled by Khan Ghazan, a Muslim by religion. Jacques de Molay decided to organize a military alliance between Henry II of Cyprus, King Hethum II of Armenia, Khan Ghazan and the Templars. The purpose of the alliance was the mutual desire to drive the Mamluks out of Asia Minor.

Ghazan Khan on horseback.

Persian miniature

From December 1299 to 1300, the Mongols carried out a number of fairly successful military operations against the Mamluks. Jacques de Molay himself decided to act at sea (the Templars traditionally had a very strong fleet). Together with the Hospitallers and Henry II of Cyprus, the Templars equipped a fleet of sixteen galleys and a dozen smaller ships with the goal of attacking Egypt, that is, the main territory of the Mamluks. In July 1300, the Templar fleet sacked Rosetta and Alexandria, after which Jacques de Molay notified Khan Ghazan that he should intensify his actions against the Mamluks in Syria. Khan Ghazan had nothing against it and invited the allies to arrive with their troops in Armenia and begin offensive operations from there. The King of Cyprus sent 300 knights to Armenia.

The Templars captured the island of Arvad and held it until 1302, creating a base for future offensive operations. Ghazan, during his second campaign, took and plundered Damascus in September 1302, but as soon as his troops left Syria, Damascus again fell under the rule of the Mamluks. IN general situation was in a state of unstable parity: the alliance of the Templars, the king of Cyprus, the Armenian king and the Mongols had enough strength to inflict sensitive blows on the Mamluks, but did not have enough of these forces to maintain the success achieved for a long time. It is difficult to say how it would have ended, but in 1304 Khan Ghazan died and Jacques de Molay’s project to reconquer the Holy Land with the help of such an unusual alliance, one might say, ceased to exist.

Fall of the Grand Master

On November 14, 1305, the Gascon nobleman Raymond Bertrand de Gault became pope. He wore the tiara under the name of Clement V - he was the first pope to be crowned with a tiara Tiara- a triple crown, a tall egg-shaped headdress, topped with a small cross and three crowns and having two flowing ribbons at the back, which was worn by popes from the beginning of the 14th century to 1965. 7 . This pope was an obedient instrument for carrying out the ambitious policies of the French king Philip IV the Fair. Clement V became the first pope to leave Rome and move to the city of Avignon in southern France, giving rise to a historical period called the Captivity of Avignon Captivity of Avignon- the period from 1309 to 1378, when the residence of the heads of the Catholic Church was not in Rome, but in the French city of Avignon. 8 .

In 1306, Clement V (or perhaps Philip the Fair) decided to unite the Templar Order with the Hospitaller Order, which also found refuge in the Kingdom of Cyprus. Clement V motivated his decision by the fact that the united order would be able to more easily organize the liberation of the Holy Land from the Mamluks. Jacques de Molay very arrogantly rejected the idea of ​​a merger, saying that a new crusade could only be succeeded by the united forces of the entire European knighthood, numbering at least 20 thousand people. In response, Clement V summoned Jacques de Molay to France.

Philip IV the Handsome.

National French Library

Arriving in France, Jacques de Molay learned that the French king was collecting charges against the Templars, preparing something like a trial against them. Allegedly Philip the Handsome Philip IV the Fair(French Philippe IV le Bel, 1268-1314) - King of France from 1285, King of Navarre 1284-1305, Count of Champagne and Brie 1284-1305, son of Philip III the Bold, from the Capetian dynasty. 9 wants to accuse the Templars of depraved behavior, bribery, greed, illicit contacts with Muslims and - much worse - dangerous heretical practices. Jacques de Molay did not like Philip the Fair; he accused him of murdering Pope Boniface VIII, whose election he had contributed so much to in his time.

Boniface VIII in 1302 issued the bull “Unam Sanctam”, in which he set out the principles of the supremacy of the power of the popes over the temporal power of any king. The Master of the Templar Order, who reported directly to the Pope, liked this concept. But she was like a bone in the throat for the ambitious French king. The question was, in fact, about what force would rule the Christian world: the popes through the most powerful military alliance - the Order of the Templars, or Christendom submit to the earthly authority of the strongest king. In general, Boniface VIII was killed within a year after the appearance of this scandalous bull. Philip the Fair's intentions may not have included killing the pope, but the head of the detachment sent by the king to arrest the pope, Guillaume de Nogaret, overdid it. Boniface VIII was badly injured during the attempted arrest and died three days later. Of course, Jacques de Molay knew all this, but for the time being he left it without consequences.

Having received news of Philip the Fair's intentions regarding the order, Jacques de Molay, apparently not very afraid of the French king, in August 1307 demanded from Clement V a public investigation of the rumors. Here the countdown has already begun in days, if not hours. Philip the Handsome understood perfectly well that he was unlikely to stand openly against the power of the entire Templar Order. Was there a selfish undertone to his subsequent actions? Yes, the Templars were a very rich order and of course the French king could not help but remember their wealth. However, the main motive was precisely political - the question was who would rule Western Europe(although this term was not yet used in those centuries).

Maubucson Abbey, where on August 24, 1307, Philip the Fair discussed the problem of the Templar Order.

Modern photo

On August 24, 1307, Philip the Handsome convened a meeting with especially trusted representatives at Maubuisson Abbey. The meeting discussed the issue of how to deal with the Templars as quickly and painlessly as possible. As a result, a plan was developed, the implementation of which was entrusted to Guillaume de Nogaret, the royal lawyer and adviser to the king. He was quite a remarkable person. As mentioned above, the king entrusted him with the arrest of the Pope. Guillaume was the author of the royal decree of 1306 for the arrest and expulsion of all Jews from France and the confiscation of their property. In general, the man was tenacious and fearless.

De Nogaret approached the matter very carefully. On September 14, 1307, the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a sealed order drawn up by de Nogaret was sent to all seneschals and bailiffs of France. However, the contents of the packages were ordered to be examined only at dawn on October 13, 1307. This scheme was developed so that an operation to exterminate the Templar Order would begin simultaneously throughout France.

Knowing nothing about the preparations of Philip IV, Jacques de Molay arrived in Paris on October 12, 1307 for the funeral of the wife of Charles of Valois, the king's brother. The Grand Master was received with all the honors due to a person of his rank.

Early in the morning of October 13, 1307 - this day fell on a Friday - the responsible royal officials opened the sealed envelopes and found in them an order for the arrest of all Templars in the territory under their jurisdiction. The mousetrap slammed shut.

Charges against Jacques de Molay

It may seem strange that it was so easy and painless to carry out the operation to arrest almost all members of the most powerful and most militant European knightly union. This can be compared to how Captain von Stauffenberg Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (German: Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, 1907-1944) - Wehrmacht colonel, one of the main participants in the group of conspirators who planned the July 20 Plot and carried out the attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944. After the collapse of the conspiracy, he was shot on July 21 in Berlin. 10 On July 20, 1944, throughout Germany, he arrested all the top and middle leaders of the SS and everything would have gone smoothly for him. Of course, the Templar Order was not so numerous, but the royal forces thrown against them were also not many thousands. This was a medieval reality, when an army of three hundred knights already seemed large, and a thousand knights seemed like just a huge armada. Rather, it was something else.

Arrest of Jacques de Molay.

The Templars simply could not believe the scale of the king’s plan and were sure that they would soon be released, and therefore did not resist - they did not know that the action was taking place simultaneously throughout France. Moreover, it can be assumed that for some time the outcome of the entire operation was completely ambiguous. This assumption is supported, in particular, by the fact that Pope Clement V tried to distance himself as much as possible from the king’s actions. Upon learning of the arrests on October 13, he rushed to Poitiers and appointed a consistory Consistory, in the Roman Catholic Church - a special meeting of the Holy College of Cardinals under the Pope. 11 cardinals with the aim of creating a tribunal at which the pope and the cardinals were to hear the complaints and accusations of both sides. The consistory lasted several days, after which Clement V, as he was not dependent, opposed the king’s actions, writing a letter to Philip on October 27, 1307, protesting against the arrests of the Templars. Philip the Handsome poured cold contempt on the Pope's message. All Templars who escaped arrest on October 13, but appeared at the tribunal to testify, were arrested.

The exact number of Templars arrested is unknown to this day. Some documents speak of hundreds of those arrested, some even speak of more than a thousand arrested Templars.

Of course, Philip’s most important captive was Jacques de Molay, who so imprudently arrived in Paris literally on the eve of the arrests. He, like all Templars, was charged with stereotypical charges: denial of Christ, indecent kisses between brothers, sodomy, worship of the idol Baphomet. Jacques de Molay partially admitted the charges, but denied that he allegedly spat on the cross upon joining the order in 1265. De Molay's confession changes the vector of attitude towards the order. The kings of England and Aragon are inclined to follow the example of Philip the Fair.

Clement V also tries to participate in the interrogations of the Templars, but the French king obstructed him. Finally, under threat of excommunication, Philip the Fair finally allowed papal envoys to interrogate Jacques de Molay personally. This happened on December 27, 1307. Jacques de Molay declares to the cardinals that he is completely innocent, and his testimony was obtained under torture. Moreover, he gives them a document in which he orders all Templars who confessed to anything to renounce their testimony. Clement V decides to suspend the royal procedure, but the king is adamant and interrogations continue with partiality.

Chinon parchment

One of the most important documents related to the personality of Jacques de Molay is the so-called. parchment from Chinon Chinon- a city on the Vienne River in western France. Since 1205, Chinon has been listed as a royal estate. 12 , Chinon parchment. This document was kept in the secret archives of the Vatican Vatican Secret Archives officially founded on January 31, 1612 by Pope Paul V by separating particularly important documents directly related to the pastoral ministry of popes from the general collection of the Vatican Library. The archive contains millions of documents dating from the 8th to the 21st centuries. Total length storage shelves occupying two floors - 85 km. Since 1881, the archive has been open to scientists 13 . In 2002, Italian historian Barbara Freil, who studied the history of the Templars, discovered the existence of this document, and in 2007 its text became available to the public. Barbara Freil has studied many hundreds of documents relating to the Knights Templar. She, in particular, believed that Baphomet, known from many interrogation reports of the Templars, is nothing more than the Shroud of Turin Shroud of Turin- a piece of white fabric 4.3x1.1 m, on which there is a clearly visible imprint of a person’s head, visible as if in a negative image; it was believed that this was a piece of the shroud in which the body of Jesus Christ was wrapped after being taken down from the cross. After a study in 1988 based on radiocarbon method, it was recognized that the shroud was made no earlier than the 13th century. However, a number of other researchers point out that already in the Prayer Code of the 12th century there is supposedly a reference to the Shroud of Turin. 14 , which the members of the order worshiped.

As for the Chinon parchment itself, it says that in the period from August 17 to August 20, 1308, on the initiative of Pope Clement V, a commission of three authorized cardinals was formed for additional interrogation of Jacques de Molay and the arrested members of the General Staff of the Templar Order. The commission interrogated the following persons: brother Jacques de Molay, Master of the Order of the Templars, brother Rambo Carombe, brother Hugh de Peyraud (Jacques de Molay's main competitor for the post of head of the order), brother Geoffroy de Gonville, Geoffroy de Charnay (who was later burned along with Jacques de Molay). The purpose of the interrogations was to clarify the question of whether it was possible to cancel the excommunication in relation to these members of the order and, having absolved them of their sins, return them to the bosom of the Church.

Investigators focused primarily on charges that members of the fraternity admitted to commit against themselves: sodomy, condemnation of God, unnatural kissing between members of the order, spitting on the cross and worship of an idol (Baphomet). Jacques de Molay was the last to be questioned, on August 20, 1308.

The interrogation of each of the senior leaders of the order took place according to a uniform pattern: the Templar entered the hall where the commission was meeting, swore an oath to answer truthfully, then a list of accusations against him was read out, the protocols of their earlier interrogations were given, the denunciations against them were read out, a list of their requests for absolution and resolutions to these requests.

About Jacques de Molay in the Chion parchment it is said that he was asked whether he pleaded guilty for a promised reward, gratitude, out of hatred of any person or out of fear of being subjected to torture. Jacques de Molay answered negatively. When asked whether he had been subjected to torture after his arrest, he answered in the negative.

As a result of the interrogation of Jacques de Molay, the cardinals decided: “After this, we decided to grant the grace of absolution for his actions to Brother Jacques de Molay, Master of the Order; in the form and manner described above, he condemned in our presence the above heresies and any other heresies and swore personally on the holy Gospel of the Lord, and humbly asked for remission of sins. Therefore, he was again restored to unity with the Church and again received into the communion of believers and the sacraments of the Church.”

In relation to the remaining interrogated members of the Templar General Staff, the excommunication from the Church was also lifted and they were given absolution. However, this did not mean that the royal court was overturning its conviction. Everyone, including Jacques de Molay, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Interrogations, trial and execution

After receiving absolution, Jacques de Molay was left in Chinon. On November 26, 1309, he appeared before a new papal commission to investigate the activities of the Templars. The commission met in the presence of Guillaume de Nogaret, who developed the operation on October 13, 1307 for the lightning destruction of the Templar Order. For the brilliant implementation of this operation, de Nogaret received the title of Guardian of the Seal of France, that is, something like the Minister of Justice.

Jacques de Molay again tried to defend himself by dismissing the charges. He was reminded of the commission last year and that then he admitted the justice of the accusations, renouncing heresies. During interrogations, Jacques de Molay began to behave in a rather strange way, constantly changing his defense tactics. At some point, he stated that the “poor illiterate knight” (he meant himself) did not know Latin, and therefore could not fight the royal lawyers-hook-makers on equal terms, and in order to hire qualified defenders, he did not have enough funds. De Molay also recalled that no other structure shed as much of its blood in defense of Christ as the Templars did. In the end, he refused to speak any more with the commission and demanded a personal meeting with Pope Clement V. Of course, he did not receive this audience.

In December 1313, Clement V appointed a new commission of three cardinals to try Jacques de Molay, Hugh de Peyraud, Geoffroy de Gonville and Geoffrey de Charnay, Grand Prior of Normandy. In March 1314, Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay took back their words spoken in 1307 and again declared their complete innocence. The judges immediately accused them of recidivism. Relapse in the Catholic medieval Church meant a serious crime, implying that the accused, who repented of his sins, again returned to his heresy, that is, if initially he could fall into heresy unconsciously and, having sincerely repented, receive forgiveness, then in case of relapse he chooses heresy consciously.

Execution of Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay.

As a result, Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay were sentenced to be burned at the stake. On March 18, 1314, King Philip ordered a burning on the Jewish island. Jewish Island(French, Ile aux Juifs) - located in Paris to the west of the Ile de la Cité, near the Palace of Justice; got its name because of the executions of Jews carried out here in the Middle Ages. 15 .

ABOUT last minutes The life of Jacques de Molay is known from the memoirs of Geoffroy of Paris, a priest and clerk from the royal chancellery, who was near the fire during the execution. He describes the moment of execution as follows: Jacques de Molay climbed onto the fire wearing only his shirt, despite the cold weather. The guards were about to tie his hands, but he smiled and said: “Gentlemen, at least leave my hands free so that I can pray to God. I die freely and God knows of my innocence and knows who is to blame and sin and misery will soon fall on those who falsely condemned us. God will avenge our death. All those who are against us will suffer. In this faith I want to die. This is my faith and I ask you in the name of the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to our Lord, do not cover my face when you light the fire.” His request was granted and he never said another word, accepting death in silence, surprising everyone around him. Geoffroy de Charnay ascended the fire after his master and before his death, having delivered a laudatory speech in honor of Jacques de Mole, he also accepted martyrdom.

Another witness to the scene, a certain Florentin, claimed that on the night after the burning, certain adherents collected the bones of Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay and hid them in a sacred place for religious rites.

Curse

Such a tragic death and the very personality of those executed could not help but arouse the people's imagination. Already from the 14th century, the personality of Jacques de Molay and the Templars began to acquire romantic features. Thus, Boccaccio mentions de Molay in his “De casibus virorum illustrium” A series of stories, collected in nine books, telling about famous - real and mythical - heroes of the past. The cycle was written in the period from 1355 to 1373. 16 . What most impressed the imagination of subsequent generations was that the chief judges of the Templars, King Philip IV and Pope Clement V, died suddenly within a few months of the execution of Jacques de Molay. Moreover, the children of Philip the Fair also very quickly left the historical scene and the Valois dynasty reigned in France.

All this gave descendants the basis for creating the legend of the curse of Jacques de Molay. After all, he actually promised before his execution imminent death to all your tormentors. This idea was most fully developed by the French writer Maurice Druon. Maurice Druon(French, Maurice Druon), 1918-2009, French writer, member of the Resistance, Minister of Culture in the government of Georges Pompidou; in 2002 met with Vladimir Putin. 17 , in his famous series of novels “Cursed Kings”.

However, there is a more prosaic version. The Templars were a very extensive and most influential organization in medieval Europe. Despite the fact that the operation on October 13, 1307 was successful, it was clearly large number people who were not members of the order directly, but sympathized with it, remained free. They allegedly helped the curse of Jacques de Molay come true. After all, it was not difficult for a hidden supporter of the Templars from the retinue of Clement V and Philip the Fair to organize their murder and escape.

Whether this is true or not, we are unlikely to ever know. But it is known that on January 21, 1793, when the head of the French king Louis XVI fell under the blow of the guillotine knife, some unknown person separated from the crowd of onlookers, plunged his hands into the still warm blood of the king and, showing his outstretched bloody palms to the crowd, exclaimed: “ You have been avenged, Jacques de Molay! No one knows who this man was or where he then disappeared to.