On the Extinction of the Order of the Templars

...could [hardly] be found a province that had not contributed its portion to this Order. original: "niri potuit provincia..." The word "niri" is the conclusion of "inveniri" (to be found) from the previous page. For they did not only hold certain houses scattered here and there across Europe; they also possessed cities and most strongly fortified towns. See Robert Gaguin, Compendium on the History of the Franks, book 7, under Philip the Fair at the year 1307; Gottfried in his Chronicle at the year 1307; The English Monasticism original: Monasticon Anglicanum, a famous 17th-century survey of British religious houses, volume 2, page 518; following Barthélemy de Chasseneuz, see Philipp Camerarius in Leisure Hours, page 340; Osiander, Compendium of Ecclesiastical History, Century 14, book 1, chapter 3; William of Tyre, page 820; James of Vitry, page 1084; Antoninus of Florence, part 3 of his History, folio 111. There was no cause for these most splendid riches other than their kindness toward pilgrims visiting Jerusalem. These pilgrims, returning from the Holy Land having fulfilled their vows and wishing to repay the benefit received with a benefit of their own, were accustomed to offer most ample gifts to the Templars The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. See Boccaccio, On the Fates of Illustrious Men.

The authority of the Templars was now great in the Christian world, and their possessions and wealth were great in every province. And although the Brothers of the military Order of the Temple did not leave Palestine for a long time, it was granted to them to enjoy the most devoted affection and love of all the faithful. For William of Tyre observes in The History of the Holy War, book 12, chapter 17, that the number of Templars was remarkably increased shortly after the Order’s confirmation. Hence they found fixed and most desirable seats almost everywhere. In England, they were treated most kindly, as is testified throughout the English Monasticism; in volume 2, it lists not only the monasteries granted to the Templars, but also recounts all their possessions in general, which you will find to have been quite extensive. It mentions especially the favor of King Henry of England Referring to Henry III, a major patron of the Order toward this order, who not only gave that most splendid building of the New Temple of London The Temple Church in London, which still stands today to the Templars, but also granted that his own body should be buried within it. The privilege regarding this burial from the King...