In 1309, the papal nuncios – Dieudonné, abbot of Lagny, and Sicard de Lavaur, canon of Narbonne – arrived in England with a mission. They were going to root out the Templars, put them on trial, and turbo-charge the proceedings against the order. England had been seen as being something of a laggard, compared to France, when it came to rounding up and extorting confessions from the knights. All that was to change. The nuncios, experienced inquisitors, were determined to interrogate some of the English brothers.
The Archdeacon of London was instructed to read out the following proclamation during the Sunday high mass – and then ensure it was delivered in other churches:
“Since the brothers and individual persons of the Order of the knighthood of the Temple are said, according to popular opinion and public rumour, to have been infected with the horrible sin of apostasy and the detestable vice of idolatry, as well as various execrable heresies and errors, we, following the papal mandate and pastoral duty of our office, intend to proceed against and inquire into the brothers and individual persons of the aforesaid Order of the City and diocese of London and others living there or perhaps brought there, either wearing the aforesaid Order’s habit or walking about after throwing off their habit, as it is fitting on the aforementioned grounds.“
All Templars were ordered to appear before the nuncios in London’s episcopal hall on 20 October, 1309. Three days later, statements were taken from three Templars: William Raven, Hugh of Tadcaster, and Thomas of Chamberlain. These were three fairly young members of the order and inquisitors often worried that it was harder to wring a confession from a younger man than an older man.
DISCOVER: Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller – what is the difference?
First English Templars under interrogation reveal little
Raven had been admitted to the order five years before by the English grand master, William de la More. He had been arrested a year earlier at Temple Bruer, the wealthiest Templar preceptory in England, of which he was also preceptor, based in the Lincolnshire countryside. He was received into the order in front of a hundred secular people – so much for clandestine rituals. Though his oath was sworn only in front of other knights and a chaplain.
Hugh of Tadcaster was next. Dieudonné and Sicard had the list of charges they wanted to prove – spitting on crucifixes, sodomy, heresy, worshipping a demon, etc. They took a tougher stance with Hugh but didn’t get much information for their efforts. Then came Thomas whose testimony was almost identical to the other two Templars. This was getting incredibly frustrating for the nuncios.
After this disappointment, they insisted that other Templars should swear an oath on the bible. This was something recommended by leading inquisitors like Bernard Gui who sincerely believed that even heretics would not dare to lie after placing their hand on the good book.
But this does seem contradictory. Because if the church really believed that Templars were spitting on crosses and worshipping a demon called Baphomet – as the charges claimed in their trials – why on earth would they respect such an oath. Surely they would cheerfully lie – as dedicated Satanists?
Some Templars ignored the summons from Dieudonné and Sicard to appear in London. Who were these uppity clerics from across the sea daring to question their faith and honour? The nuncios responded by issuing arrest warrants for these knights. John of Stoke, and his brother Michael of Baskerville, were hauled down to London after snubbing the summons. By the time they arrived, it’s fair to say that their nerves were now slightly shredded. This made them easier targets for interrogation.
The killing of the grand master of Ireland: Walter le Bachelor
The Templar brothers were pressed on the strange death of the Irish Templar grand master, Walter le Bachelor who had led the order in Ireland between 1295 and 1301. He was brought to London in disgrace after being accused of stealing Templar property – robbing his own organisation. Le Bachelor was allegedly starved to death in a cell at the London Temple, so small that he couldn’t lie down in it. Standing up continuously for days on end, he eventually expired.
Astonishingly, John of Stoke admitted that he was one of two Templars – the other was Ralph of Barton – who carried Le Bachelor’s body out of his cell and buried him. Dieudonné and Sicard latched on to this to prove that the knights killed their own, not because they stole the order’s property but…they insisted…to punish those who threatened to expose their internal secrets. However, John of Stoke was adamant that Le Bachelor had ‘pilfered’ goods from his fellow brothers and was buried in an unmarked grave, stripped of the Templar mantle. Still, this was a brutal incident.
If you want to find out more about the Knights Templar – get a copy of The Knights Templar: History & Mystery – by Tony McMahon – published by Pen & Sword – available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, WHSmith, and Waterstones.
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