In 1307, the King of France issued orders to arrest all the Knights Templar in his kingdom. They were summarily rounded up, tortured in dungeons and confessions extracted. So what was the timeline to termination?
TEMPLAR TIMELINE TO TERMINATION
- 14 September 1307 – King Philip of France issues secret orders to the bailiffs and seneschals in his kingdom to round up the Templars and arrest them when given the signal
- 13 October 1307 – the signal is given and France’s Templars find themselves clapped in irons
- 19 October to 24 November 1307 – first round of trials with 138 Templars, most of them confessing to their alleged guilt
- 24 October 1307 – Grand Master Jacques de Molay makes his first confession of guilt
- 25 October 1307 – De Molay goes before the University of Paris to restate his confession of guilt
- 22 November 1307 – De Molay retracts his confessions to cardinals sent to interview him by Pope Clement V
- 22 November 1307 – Pope Clement V gives up trying to resist the French king and demands that all Christian rulers in Europe follow the French example and arrest their Templars as well as confiscating their property
- May 1308 – a letter arrives at Cyprus from Pope Clement V calling for the arrest of Templars on the island
- 28 June to 2 July 1308 – about 54 Templars tried at Poitiers where the pope was in residence
- August 1308 – the Chinon Parchment, revealed in recent times, appears to show the pope absolving the Templars but as a puppet of the French king there was little he could realistically do
- 13 September 1309 – Two inquisitors arrive in England to question Templars there
- December 1309 – Pope Clement V authorises the use of torture to gain rapid confessions
- 1310 – papal commission into the trials of the Templars
- 12 May 1310 – 54 Templars are burnt at the stake
- May 1310 – the Archbishop of Sens takes control of the trial process until 1316
- 22 March 1312 – Pope Clement V issues the papal bull Vox In Excelso suppressing the Knights Templar
- May 1312 – Pope Clement V issues the papal bull Ad Providam transferring the assets of the Knights Templar to the Knights Hospitaller
- 21 March 1313 – the Knights Hospitaller pay enormous compensation to the king of France most likely saving their order from the same fate as the Templars
- 18 March 1314 – Jacques de Molay and the preceptor of Normandy Geoffroi de Charney retract their confessions saying they were extracted under torture. They are burnt at the stake before Notre Dame as heretics
