A Brief History
On October 13, 1307, King Philip the Fair of France had hundreds of the Knights Templar arrested on trumped up charges of heresy, even though Pope Clement knew the charges were false!
Digging Deeper
King Phillip IV of France was known as “Phillip the Fair,” but the nickname was based on his good looks, not his equitableness . His critics called him “The Iron King” and perhaps less flattering epithets.
Reigning from 1284 to 1305, Phillip engaged in wars with England and with Flanders as well. Driving the country and the throne into financial straits, Phillip found himself in debt to the Knights Templar, an order of military monks that had turned to banking, creating a long list of powerful creditors. The order still exists in some form today.
Phillip tortured the Knights until they “confessed,” using this confession to get Pope Clement to disband the order and thus relieve Phillips debt. Not fair!
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Who is your favorite King?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Bauer, Conrad. The Knights Templar: The Hidden History of the Knights Templar: The Church’s Oldest Conspiracy. CreateSpace, 2015.
Strayer, Joseph. The Reign of Philip the Fair. Princeton University Press, 2019.
