Further Knights Templar Musing: Sir Richard Arcos
The King of France, as we have noted earlier, wanted to get his grubby little mitts on the treasure of the Templars, or, more properly, the IOUs he'd given them a little while beforehand. Why the Templars?
1. The Templars were getting too big for their boots. These men were the premiere millitary order. The Knights Hospitaller were like UN peacekeepers, so a bit pansy, the Teutonic Knights were basically a German rip-off of the Templars, while the Knights of St. Thomas were English and so wouldn't have anything to do with anyone else. The knights of St. Lazarus were all knights who'd got leprosy, so no-one really wanted anything to do with them.
2. The Knights Templar were suckers. The King of France asked all the leaders of the major millitary orders to come to a meeting with him to plan a new Crusade. The Master of the Hospital said he was too busy fighting Turks, while the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights told him to push off.He didn't invite the top man of the knights of St. Thomas, as he was English, or the Master of the Knights of St. Lazarus, as he was a leper.
3. The knights Templar's power was on the wane. The Teutonic Knights were carving out a state for themselves in Prussia and Livonia, while the Knights Hospitaller had Rhodes. Only the Templars had no independent enclave. It was the Hospitallers, not the Templars who were now providing the top men of chancelleries of Europe. The Templars were vulnerable and everyone knew this.
4. They were tax exempt. Always unpopular with governments, especially if they're French ones trying to get a handle on the public finances (France was, financially a mess).
5. See number two. Philip the Fair wanted to unite all the Crusading orders under himself. This would have given him access to immense millitary power as well as immense wealth. Why did the Pope agree? Given that the Pope was then resident in Avignon, a Papal enclave in France, he had very little choice but to condemn the Templars, unless he wanted the King of France to pop over to Avingnon and beat him up. Of course, the condemnation was actually very weak, most Templars were allowed to plead total ignorance and join other orders. Doesn't look like the Pope believed the accusations. Dr. Langdon talks about the Pope throwing the ashes of burned Templars into the Tiber. This is a wee bit difficult to do from Avingnon, unless one happens to be Superman.
6. Millitary orders were unpopular. The Templars, as the only purely millitary order (all of the other ones did medical care as well, especially the lepers), were accused particularly of losing the Holy Land as they should have been able to beat the Muslims all by themselves. Of course, after the challenge to trial by battle in Germany, the Knights Templar were not even arrested there. And I've already mentioned the Spanish Templars.
1. The Templars were getting too big for their boots. These men were the premiere millitary order. The Knights Hospitaller were like UN peacekeepers, so a bit pansy, the Teutonic Knights were basically a German rip-off of the Templars, while the Knights of St. Thomas were English and so wouldn't have anything to do with anyone else. The knights of St. Lazarus were all knights who'd got leprosy, so no-one really wanted anything to do with them.
2. The Knights Templar were suckers. The King of France asked all the leaders of the major millitary orders to come to a meeting with him to plan a new Crusade. The Master of the Hospital said he was too busy fighting Turks, while the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights told him to push off.He didn't invite the top man of the knights of St. Thomas, as he was English, or the Master of the Knights of St. Lazarus, as he was a leper.
3. The knights Templar's power was on the wane. The Teutonic Knights were carving out a state for themselves in Prussia and Livonia, while the Knights Hospitaller had Rhodes. Only the Templars had no independent enclave. It was the Hospitallers, not the Templars who were now providing the top men of chancelleries of Europe. The Templars were vulnerable and everyone knew this.
4. They were tax exempt. Always unpopular with governments, especially if they're French ones trying to get a handle on the public finances (France was, financially a mess).
5. See number two. Philip the Fair wanted to unite all the Crusading orders under himself. This would have given him access to immense millitary power as well as immense wealth. Why did the Pope agree? Given that the Pope was then resident in Avignon, a Papal enclave in France, he had very little choice but to condemn the Templars, unless he wanted the King of France to pop over to Avingnon and beat him up. Of course, the condemnation was actually very weak, most Templars were allowed to plead total ignorance and join other orders. Doesn't look like the Pope believed the accusations. Dr. Langdon talks about the Pope throwing the ashes of burned Templars into the Tiber. This is a wee bit difficult to do from Avingnon, unless one happens to be Superman.
6. Millitary orders were unpopular. The Templars, as the only purely millitary order (all of the other ones did medical care as well, especially the lepers), were accused particularly of losing the Holy Land as they should have been able to beat the Muslims all by themselves. Of course, after the challenge to trial by battle in Germany, the Knights Templar were not even arrested there. And I've already mentioned the Spanish Templars.
posted by Highland Host at
12:25 PM
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