Did the Knights Templar know they were going to be arrested? It’s a key question because all those theories about the Templars burying secret treasure in various locations rests on the knights having advance knowledge that the French king’s forces were coming to round them up. Mainstream historians – and contemporary chroniclers – are almost in complete agreement that the arrests came as a bolt from the blue. But many Templar enthusiasts think otherwise. They believe the Templars knew in advance that they were going to be arrested.
Tipped off?
There is a widespread assumption that the Knights Templar knew the arrests were due for Friday the 13th, October 1304, and made for the port of La Rochelle with their treasure before the fateful day. That included the Holy Grail, other sacred relics, and untold amounts of gold, silver, and jewels. Centuries of riches were spirited away under cover of night, never to be seen again.
But – evidence that this actually happened is thin – if almost non-existent. Much rests on the testimony of one Templar knight who cracked under torture and confessed at a hearing during the Templar trials, held between 1307 and 1314. He spoke of the leadership bolting for the coast with horses and carts. La Rochelle had been used for the order’s commercial activities, such as making and exporting wine. So, it’s assumed that was the destination. There is no doubt that the Templars had access to ships for both military and business purposes so the idea of them having a fleet is not preposterous.
FIND OUT MORE: Templars arrested on Friday the 13th
What does stretch credulity is that nobody outside of the order saw what was going on. There were the Knights Templar busily carting heaps of treasure down the road to La Rochelle and boarding several ships – after loading their precious cargo. This could not have gone unnoticed. Surely the king had spies at all the major ports observing what was going on? Especially as France was in an almost continuous state of war with England.
However, there are good reasons to suppose the Templars could have been tipped off before being arrested. A huge number of warrants were sent out all over France. Are we to believe that in the month between the issue of the warrants and the serving of them – not a single royal official didn’t blab to somebody? Not least because there were probably ties of kinship and friendship between individual Templars and people in the royal administration.
This year – the first book in a trilogy about the Knights Templar is being published by Pen & Sword. I’m the author of all three books and in the first one – Knights Templar : History and Mystery – I tell the whole story of the Templars from their origin to their destruction. Order your copy today and also, watch my video below asking whether the knights knew they were going to be arrested.
