Friday 20 April 2007

The demise of the Knights Templar


If you've read any of my posts thus far, which I doubt, you may have wondered why the site is called "The shroud of Jacques DeMolay". Well, you see, Jacques De Molay was the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, who in the 12th and 13th Century were world players in banking, finance, foreign travel etc. Unfortunately, come Friday 13th October 1307, having lost the Holy Land to the infidels, they had also aroused the jealousy of Phillip the Fair, King of France, who had the Pope (his cousin) denounce them as deviants and worse, heretics. Of course, Phillip just wanted the Templar treasure (not to mention getting rid of his massive debts to the Templars). He never found the treasure, and poor Jacques De Molay spent the next 5 years being tortured until he was finally burned to death in 1312. Part of his torture was being crucified, as one of the charges against the order was denouncing Christ, so his tormentors thought it just revenge. Now, as you might know, tests on the Turin shroud indicate it belonged to that precise period. No-one else was known to have been cruciofied at that time, so it's highly likely that it was the sheet on which Jacques De Molay was lain after he received that form of torture. And Phillip, he never got that treasure, and died 2 years after Jacques. However, for the treasure and the survival of the order, look no further than my own Scotland, where the King Robert the Bruce, who was excommunicat at the time would have accepted both readily.