Who Betrayed the Knights Templar?
The destruction of the Knights Templar in 1307 was the result of a long-running campaign by several forces, including a powerful king, a politically dependent pope, a number of disappointed former brothers, and a host of secular and ecclesiastical rivals. The question of “who betrayed” the Templars is, in fact, the question of which of these forces was most responsible for the Order’s destruction.
This article examines the enemies of the Order and the forces that brought it down. It is a companion to The Trial and Suppression of the Knights Templar and to Who Was Philip IV of France?.
Philip IV of France
The most important single force behind the destruction of the Templars was King Philip IV of France (r. 1285–1314). Philip had multiple motives for wanting to destroy the Order:
- Financial: Philip was deeply in debt to the Templars, and the destruction of the Order was a way to seize its French assets.
- Political: The Order was a powerful independent institution within his kingdom, and its destruction would strengthen royal authority.
- Personal: Philip was deeply suspicious of the Order, and he seems to have believed, at least in part, the charges of heresy.
Philip’s role. See Who Was Philip IV of France?. The story of the trial. See The Trial and Suppression of the Knights Templar.
Pope Clement V
The second most important force behind the destruction of the Order was Pope Clement V (papacy 1305–1314). Clement was politically dependent on Philip, and he was reluctant to confront the French king. Although he had been a supporter of the Order in the past, he eventually capitulated to Philip’s pressure and suppressed the Order by the bull Vox in Excelso in March 1312.
Clement’s role was, in effect, to provide legal cover for the political decision. The bull Vox in Excelso was a careful legal document that suppressed the Order by “apostolic provision” rather than by formal heresy conviction. The bull’s careful language was designed to protect the papacy from endorsing the trial’s findings.
The story of the bull. See The Papal Suppression: Vox in Excelso.
Guillaume de Nogaret
The principal minister behind Philip’s campaign was Guillaume de Nogaret (c. 1260–1313), a French lawyer and politician who served as Philip’s Keeper of the Seals. Nogaret was a brilliant and ruthless legal mind, and he was the architect of the legal strategy that led to the destruction of the Templars.
Nogaret had previously been responsible for the arrest of Pope Boniface VIII at Anagni in 1303, and he brought the same legal aggressiveness to the Templar case. He was the principal author of the charges of heresy, and he was the driving force behind the campaign of interrogations and confessions.
Enguerrand de Marigny
Another important figure in Philip’s government was Enguerrand de Marigny (c. 1250–1315), a French nobleman who served as Philip’s Chamberlain and Coadjutor. Marigny was a powerful figure in the French government, and he was one of the principal architects of the campaign against the Templars.
Marigny was executed in 1315, shortly after Philip’s death, on charges of corruption. His execution was a major political event, and it is sometimes cited as evidence of the political instability that followed Philip’s reign.
Squin de Flexian
The first person to bring formal charges of heresy against the Templars was a former Templar named Squin de Flexian (also spelled Squin de Floryan), who approached Philip IV in 1304 with accusations of heresy. Squin had been expelled from the Order for misconduct, and he bore grudges against the Order.
Squin’s accusations were the basis of the charges that were later brought against the Order. The accusations were amplified by other former Templars, including Imbert de Beauvoir and other disgruntled former brothers.
The Italian Moneylenders
A less obvious force behind the destruction of the Templars was the Italian moneylenders of France, including the Lombard bankers of Asti, Piacenza, and Florence. These bankers were rivals of the Templars in the money-lending business, and they had their own reasons to want the Order destroyed.
The role of the Italian moneylenders is less well documented than the role of Philip and Nogaret, but it is likely that they were an important influence on Philip’s decision.
The Secular Clergy
Another force behind the destruction of the Templars was the secular clergy of France, including the bishops and archbishops of the major sees. The secular clergy resented the Templars’ exemption from local ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and they had their own reasons to want the Order destroyed.
The secular clergy played an important role in the trial of the Order, and several of the most important interrogations were conducted by Dominican and Franciscan inquisitors who were associated with the secular clergy.
The Hospitallers
A more complex figure in the destruction of the Templars was the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (the Hospitallers). The Hospitallers were the direct rivals of the Templars, and they had their own reasons to want the Order destroyed. According to some accounts, the Hospitallers provided intelligence to Philip about the Templars’ affairs, although the extent of this is debated.
The Hospitallers were, in the end, the principal beneficiaries of the suppression, receiving the Templars’ assets by the bull Ad providam. In practice, however, the Hospitallers received only a small fraction of the Templars’ actual assets.
The relationship between the Templars and the Hospitallers. See Templars vs. Hospitallers.
The Sins of the Order
Finally, the Order itself was in some sense responsible for its own destruction. The Order had lost its military purpose with the fall of Acre in 1291, and it had become a wealthy, privileged, and politically isolated institution. The Order’s exemptions from local ecclesiastical jurisdiction had made it many enemies, and its political independence had made it a target for kings who wanted to assert their authority.
The story of the Order’s decline is told in The Knights Templar: A Complete History and in The Fall of Acre 1291.
Conclusion
The destruction of the Knights Templar was the result of a long-running campaign by several forces, including a powerful king, a politically dependent pope, a brilliant minister, a number of disappointed former brothers, and a host of secular and ecclesiastical rivals. The question of “who betrayed” the Order is, in fact, the question of which of these forces was most responsible. The most likely answer is that Philip IV of France was the principal force, with Clement V, Nogaret, and the various enemies of the Order playing supporting roles.