This is cool stuff – stashed away for seven centuries, we can now get access to the evidence that was used to destroy that famous order of Crusader Knights, the Knights Templar.

The Vatican has published secret archive documents about the trial of the Knights Templar, including a long-lost parchment that shows that Pope Clement V initially absolved the medieval Christian order from accusations of heresy, officials said Friday.

The 300-page volume recently came out in a limited edition -- 799 copies -- each priced at $8,377, said Scrinium publishing house, which prints documents from the Vatican's secret archives.

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The work reproduces the entire documentation on the papal hearings convened after King Philip IV of France arrested and tortured Templar leaders in 1307 under charges of heresy and immorality.

The military order of the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon was founded in 1118 in Jerusalem to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land following the First Crusade.

As their military might increased, the Templars also grew in wealth, acquiring property throughout Europe and running a primitive banking system. After the Templars left the Middle East with the collapse of the Crusader kingdoms, their power and secretive ways aroused the fear of European rulers and sparked accusations of corruption and blasphemy.

Historians believe that Philip owed debts to the Templars and seized on the accusations to arrest their leaders and extort confessions of heresy under torture as a way to seize the order's riches.

Of particular interest is the fact that Pope Clement was prepared to absolve the Templars of the heresy charge, only to relent later and suppress the order at the insistence of Phillip. Given that this is an area of history that IÂ’m not familiar with, IÂ’d love to know more.

However, I won’t be buying this book – at over $8000, it is well beyond my reach.

Posted by: Greg at 10:16 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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