On the Extinction of the Order of the Templars

the grant, once given, sounded thus:

We wish it to come to the knowledge of all, that since we desire with pious longing to be healthy and safe, and having free will to arrange the place of our burial and to look forward to that day; We, because of the prerogative of love which we bear toward the Order and the brothers of the knighthood of the Temple, when it shall happen that we, having completed the course of this present life, enter the way of all flesh A common biblical idiom for dying; see Joshua 23:14., have granted and given our body to God and Mary, and to the house of the knighthood of the Temple.

Queen Eleanor Likely referring to Eleanor of Castile (1241–1290), wife of Edward I, though several English queens were patrons of the Order. made the same arrangement for her place of burial, as can be seen in the English Monasticism original: Monasticon Anglicanum, a major historical survey of British religious houses., volume 2, page 521. That France provided a most noble and majestic home for this order can be easily concluded from the immense riches they possessed there. To say nothing for now of other regions, the ruins of their possessions still standing here and there confirm that Germany also fostered this order. One further point must be noted concerning the Templars The Knights Templar, a Catholic military order founded in 1119. in general: by the special mandate of Pope Innocent, their houses were uniquely privileged. He commanded, under penalty of excommunication, that no one should lay violent hands upon those seeking refuge in the houses of the Templars This refers to the "Right of Sanctuary," where a fugitive could not be arrested if they reached the safety of the Order's property.. The Papal Bull written for this reason can be read in the English Monasticism, volume 2, page 522.

§. II.

But although virtue had greatly exalted the Order of the Temple, sloth and pride not only brought it low but utterly uprooted it, in the judgment of Hondorfius in his Historical Theater, page 753 of the Latin edition. For while the wealth of Christians flowed in from all sides to support the pious labor which they had remarkably performed in the defeat of the Saracens A medieval term for Muslims, particularly those in the Middle East and North Africa. and the Turks, the minds of those serving separately began to be invaded by luxuries and lusts. See Boccaccio original: "Bocatius"; refers to Giovanni Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium (On the Fates of Famous Men). regarding the treachery committed against Louis, King of France... original: "commissa" is the start of the word finished on the next page; the text likely refers to Louis IX or a conflict with the French crown.