Focus Essay

Jacques DeMolay

Most people nowadays have never heard of this great man named Jacques DeMolay. Being a prominent figure in medieval times and a warrior for both his faith and country, DeMolay spent his entire life trying to make his world a better place, and ended up forfeiting himself for his beliefs. His life story is one of hope and faith, betrayal and sacrifice. He is even said by some to be “the Second Messiah.
Jacques DeMolay was born to a family of minor nobles in Cote d’Ore, France in the year 1244. At the age of twenty, DeMolay made his life-altering decision of becoming a member of the most elite groups of warriors at the time: the Templar Knights. The Templar Knights were a large group of warriors who fought for God across England, France, Scotland and some other small European countries. Jacques DeMolay soon became a significant member of the Templar’s, and at about 44 years of age, ascended the highest honour he could attain; the rank of Grand Master. As Grand Master, DeMolay was leader and commander of all the Templar Knights across Europe. People all across Christendom looked up to Jacques DeMolay for inspiration and spiritual enlightenment as the Templar Knights were also known as God’s Warriors, answering only to the Pope himself; not even the King could command them. DeMolay lead his Knights into many glorious battles to keep back the Muslims “infidels” from the ancient holy city of Jerusalem as part of the Crusades.
Unfortunately, the Crusades were not achieving their desired goals, and the Knights Templar were forced to move to the small island of Cyrus to reorganize their strength and public support. It was during this time that the bankrupt French King, Philip the IV decided to take control of the Knights Templar, and set about to seize their wealth for his own gain. In 1307, the persecution and imprisonment of the Knights Templar began. It was in this year, on October the thirteenth, that Jacques DeMolay was arrested and thrown into prison under the orders of the King. For seven entire years, DeMolay suffered appalling living conditions and horrendous torture practices, yet still he managed to cling to life. The French king, seeing he could not break the fierce spirit of the celebrated Grand Master of the Knights, set about to corrupt the Pope, who was the only one who could ultimately end the lives of the Templar Knights, and blasphemes them in the eyes of the God they so dutifully served. So King Philip assumed control of the Pope, and forced him to sacrifice his loyal servants so that he himself could become richer. And so then, on March eighteenth, 1314, Jacques DeMolay along with his friend and fellow Knight Guy d’Auvergne was burned at the stake due to charges of homosexuality, heresy, trampling on the Cross in a Templar initiation ceremony and denying Christ as the son of God. DeMolay willing admitted to trampling and spitting on the cross, and denying Christ as the son of God, but denied absolutely the accusations of homosexuality.
As Jacques DeMolay slowly roasted over the smoldering fire, he cursed the Pope and the French King for condemning him to death under false charges. His exact words were said to be, “Let evil swiftly befall those who have wrongly condemned us - God will avenge us.” He cursed the two who betrayed him to appear before God in one’s years’ time, and receive their fates as seen fit. And so it was. Before the years’ end, both King Philip of France and Pope Clement IV passed away due to uncertain circumstances, fulfilling the last words of a dying man.

The Curse

It is said that Jacques de Molay cursed Philippe le Bel and his descent from his execution pyre. And, indeed, the rapid succession of the last Direct Capetian kings of France between 1314 and 1328, the three sons of Philippe IV, led many to believe that the dynasty had been cursed – thus the name of "The Accursed Kings" (Les Rois Maudits). Also, de Molay apparently challenged the king and the pope to meet him before the judgment of God before the year was over, although this story is recorded in no contemporaneous accounts of de Molay's execution. Philip and Clement V in fact both died in 1314. The 300 year old House of Capet collapsed during the next 14 years. This series of events forms the basis of Les Rois Maudits (the Accursed Kings), a series of historical novels by Maurice Druon. Ironically, King Louis XVI was a descendant of Philippe le Bel by his granddaughter Queen Joan II of Navarre.

Dec 12

-King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V seized and dissolved the Order of the Knights Templar
-That one of the French king's inquisitors, Guillame de Nogaret, tortured and crucified de Molay in a parody of the crucifixion of Jesus.
-One of the reasons the Knights Templar were suppressed was because they knew a secret true history of Jesus which had been distorted by the Roman Catholic Church. According to Knight and Lomas, Jesus considered himself not God, but a Jewish revolutionary working to establish God's kingdom on Earth, and that the Templars' initiation ceremony involved a denial of Jesus as God.
There is a connection in the provenance of the Shroud of Turin and the Templars.
-Geoffroi de Charny's widow Jeanne de Vergy is the first reliably recorded owner of the Turin shroud; his uncle, Geoffrey de Charney, was Preceptor of Normandy for the Knights Templar. This uncle is the same Geoffrey de Charney who was initially sentenced to lifetime imprisonment with de Molay, and was burned with de Molay in 1314 after both proclaimed their innocence, recanting torture-induced confessions.

Dec. 12

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns during the time of Medieval England against the Muslims of the Middle East. In 1076, the Muslims had captured Jerusalem - the most holy of place for Christians. Jesus had been born in nearby Bethlehem and Jesus had spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He was crucified on Calvary Hill, also in Jerusalem. There was no more important place on Earth than Jerusalem for a true Christian which is why Christians called Jerusalem the "City of God".
However, Jerusalem was also extremely important for the Muslims as Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim faith, had been there and there was great joy in the Muslim world when Jerusalem was captured. A beautiful dome - called the Dome of the Rock - was built on the rock where Muhammad was said to have sat and prayed and it was so holy that no Muslim was allowed to tread on the rock or touch it when visiting the Dome.
Therefore the Christian fought to get Jerusalem back while the Muslims fought to keep Jerusalem. These wars were to last nearly 200 years

December 11th

Last Words as recorded by a foremost Templar scholar:

"It is just that, in so terrible a day, and in the last moments of my life, I should discover all the iniquity of falsehood, and make the truth triumph. I declare, then, in the face of heaven and earth, and acknowledge, though to my eternal shame, that I have committed the greatest crimes but it has been the acknowledging of those which have been so foully charged on the order. I attest - and truth obliges me to attest - that it is innocent! I made the contrary declaration only to suspend the excessive pains of torture, and to mollify those who made me endure them. I know the punishments which have been inflicted on all the knights who had the courage to revoke a similar confession; but the dreadful spectacle which is presented to me is not able to make me confirm one lie by another. The life offered me on such infamous terms I abandon without regret."

His last words were, "Let evil swiftly befall those who have wrongly condemned us - God will avenge us." Guy of Advernge (burned alongside him) is reported to have added, "I shall follow the way of my master as a martyr you have killed him. You have done and know not. God willing, on this day, I shall die in the Order like him."

Appearence of the Templar Knights

17. We command that all the brothers' habits should always be of one colour; that is white or black or brown. And we grant to all knight brothers in winter and in summer if possible, white cloaks; and no-one who does not belong to the aforementioned Knights of Christ is allowed to have a white cloak, so that those who have abandoned the life of darkness will recognise each other as being reconciled to their creator by the sign of the white habits: which signifies purity and complete chastity. Chastity is certitude of heart and healthiness of body. For if any brother does not take the vow of chastity he cannot come to eternal rest nor see God, by the promise of the apostle who said: Pacem sectamini cum omnibus et castimoniam sine qua nemo Deum videbit. That is to say: 'Strive to bring peace to all, keep chaste, without which no-one can see God.'
18. But these robes should be without any finery and without any show of pride. And so we ordain that no brother will have a piece of fur on his clothes, nor anything else which belongs to the usages of the body, not even a blanket unless it is of lamb's wool or sheep's wool. We command all to have the same, so that each can dress and undress, and put on and take off his boots easily. And the Draper or the one who is in his place should studiously reflect and take care to have the reward of God in all the above-mentioned things, so that the eyes of the envious and evil-tongued cannot observe that the robes are too long or too short; but he should distribute them so that they fit those who must wear them, according to the size of each one.
19. And if any brother out of a feeling of pride or arrogance wishes to have as his due a better and finer habit, let him be given the worst. And those who receive new robes must immediately return the old ones, to be given to the squires and sergeants and often to the poor, according to what seems good to the one who holds that office.

December 5

About the Templar Knights:

The Templars were tortured and confessions were given. These confessions included:
Trampling and spitting on the cross
Homosexuality and Sodomy
Worshipping of an idol named Baphomet

The Knights Templar first came about in about 1118, and were created by Hugh de Payens. They offered themselves to the Patriarch of Jeruselum and were set to protecting Christian pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land. This was after the First Crusade where Jeruselum was taken back from Muslim hands. The Templars thrived only on alms given to them by the pilgrim travelers.

For the first nine years, the Order consisted of only 9 knights, maybe due to their strict rules of chastity, poverty, and obedience. But all this would change after the Cistercian abbott, Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a letter entitled "In Praise of the New Knighthood". This letter swept throughout the Christian kingdoms and noblemen of all sorts came to join the Templar Knights. Once they began gaining popularity, the Knights also began receiving gifts from the public which made them incredibly rich and powerful. Since the Templar's were not permitted to own much of anything themselves, they instead turned the gifts and land given to them over to the holdings of the total Order, which made them equally incredbily wealthy.

Little Known Fact:

The Templar's created the modern day banking service

- Each pilgrim turned their money into a post branch on the way to the Holy Land, and was given a password by a Knight. If they needed money on the way, all they had to do was give the password to a Knight and receive the amount of money they desired. (Of course the total amount they could withdraw was equal to that they originally put in at the first post)


The Grand Master

The Grand Master was the supreme authority of the Templar Order and answered to none save the pope. Once elected to the office, the Grand Master served for the remainder of his life. In several cases that lifetime was cut short. Several Grand Masters were killed in battle, showing that the position was far more than an administrative one.
While each country had its own Master, the Grand Master was above each of them. In addition to overseeing military operations, the Grand Master was also responsible for the business dealings of the Order.

Jacques DeMolay while about to burn to death, allegedly issued a curse to both Phillip IV and Clement V. The curse was that both men would meet him in heaven within a year to face God for their wrongful accusations. Whether this curse was actually spoken or not, will perhaps always remain a mystery. The fact is that both Phillip IV and Clement V did die within a year of de Molay. Clement V died on April 20th, 1314.


The Papal Bull that supressed the Order and officially disbanded the Knights due to alleged confessions by tortured knights after thier arrest on Oct. 13th, 1307
Vox In Excelso - Passed March 22nd 1312

Pope Clement V was completly under the powKing Philip of France, whose lust for power and wealth were apparent as he persecuted the Templar Knights due to "confessions" retrieved through torture for their considerable wealth and holdings

The Crusades

the first, 1095-1101;
the second, headed by Louis VII, 1145-47;
the third, conducted by Philip Augustus and Richard Coeur-de-Lion, 1188-92;
the fourth, during which Constantinople was taken, 1204;
the fifth, which included the conquest of Damietta, 1217;
the sixth, in which Frederick II took part (1228-29); also Thibaud de Champagne and Richard of Cornwall (1239);
the seventh, led by St. Louis, 1249-52;
the eighth, also under St. Louis, 1270.

The demand for a Crusade came with the preaching of Pope Urban II in 1095
The Royal Army arrived in Constantinople in Febuary and March 1097
Main reasons for the Crusades were:
- To drive the advancing Muslims out of Christian territory
- To reclaim Jeruselum for the Christian Empire
- To "cleanse" God's land of the infidel Muslims
- As many might believe, the Crusades were simply blood-thirsty knights and power mad popes raving about looking for more wealth and power
- That is not the case, the Muslims held onto their beliefs that they were meant to occupy all the land and claim it for their own uses
- The (First) Crusades were a defensive reaction meant to quell this Muslim uprising

December 3rd

As Grand Master DeMolay was also in a difficult position. The Crusades were not achieving their goals. The non-Christian Saracens defeated the Crusaders in battle and captured many vital cities and posts. The Knights Templar and the Hospitalers (another Order of Knights) were the only groups remaining to confront the Saracens.

(Get background info on Crusades)

-The Knights Templar decided to reorganize and regain their strength.
-They traveled to the island of Cyprus in hope that the public would support another Crusade
-Instead of public support, the Knights attracted the attention of powerful lords, who were interested in obtaining their wealth and power.
-In 1305, Philip the Fair, King of France, tried to take control of the Knights Templars.
- King Philip decided to do this because the Knights only answered to the church and he was interested in taking their wealth and power for himself (he was bankrupt)
-King Philip began arresting the Knights, along with Jacques DeMolay in 1307
-Jacques DeMolay and his Knights were subject to 7 years of dungeons, torture, and humiliation
-During this time, DeMolay remained true to his companions and refused to dicuss the whereabouts of the Order's funds that Philip so eagerly wished to seize
-On March 18, 1314, DeMolay was tried by a special court. As evidence, the court used a forged confession, allegedly signed by DeMolay
- DeMolay of course "disavowed" this confession and was then subject to the punishment for disavowing a confession, which was death
- Guy de Auvergne, anothe Knight also disavowed his confession
- On March 18th, 1314, Jacques DeMolay and Guy de Auvergne were sentenced to death by King Philip of France, and were burned at the stake

More Information

Born 1244
Initiated at the age of 21 in Beaune in the Cote d'Ore, France
Initiation conducted by Humbert of Pairaud, the English Master of the Temple
When initiated, went to serve in the Eat under Grand Master William of Beaujeu
Some believe he first became Master of the Temple in England before he became Grand master of the entire Order
Historian Malcolm Barbour belives that Jacques could have been elected to Grand Mastership between April 1292 and 8 December 1293
Was Godfather of Prince Robert, the son of King Philip the Fair of France
Was deemed to be in a "war" against the French King and his puppet Pope

What I Already Know

About Jaques DeMolay

- He was the 23rd (and last) Grand Master of the Templar Knights
- Was arrested on Oct. 13th, 14th century
- Burned at the stake on March 18th, 14th century
- Kept in a prison for 10 years before eventually being executed
- Entered the Templar Knights at age 20
- The Shroud of Turin is said to not actually be the burial cloth of Chirst, but actually the cloth that covered the face of Jaques DeMolay as he was led to his execution
- Date of birth was around 1485
- Born to family in the lower nobility of England
- Member of the Templar Knights -- The origins of modern day Freemasonry
- Execution order by Pope _____II as he commited "heresy" (wasn't practicing proper Chriastian beliefs)
- As he burned on the stake among his other fellow Knights, he cursed the Pope who ordered his death and the Pope died later in that year
- With his execution on March 18th, so ended the reign of the before powerful Templar Knights and their Order was vanquished forever