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ORDO SUPREMUS MILITARIS TEMPLI HIEROSOLYMITANI®
The Magistral Grand Priory of The Holy Lands
(Notre Dame, Saint Mary of Magdalene)
Clement V - The Papal Bulls Which Attacked the Knights Templar
Vox In Excelso - March 22nd 1312
Clement, bishop, servant of the servants of God, for an everlasting record. A
voice was heard from on high, of lamentation and bitter weeping, for the time is
coming, indeed has come, when the Lord shall complain through his prophet: This
house has aroused my anger and wrath, so that I will remove it from my sight
because of the evil of its sons, for they have provoked me to anger turning
their backs to me, not their faces, and setting up their idols in the house in
which my name is invoked, to defile it. They have built the high places of Baal
in order to consecrate their sons to idols and demons. They have sinned deeply
as in the days of Gibeah. When I learnt of such deeds of horror, at the dread of
such notorious scandal -- for who ever heard of such infamy? who ever saw the
like? -- I fell down at hearing it, I was dismayed at seeing it, my heart grew
embittered and darkness overwhelmed me. Hark, a voice of the people from the
city! a voice from the temple! the voice of the Lord rendering recompense to his
enemies. The prophet is compelled to exclaim: Give them, Lord, a barren womb and
dry breasts. Their worthlessness has been revealed because of their malice.
Throw them out of your house, and let their roots dry up; let them not bear
fruit, and let not this house be any more a stumbling block of bitterness or a
thorn to hurt.
Not slight is the fornication of this house,
immolating its sons, giving them up and consecrating them to demons and not to
God, to gods whom they did not know. Therefore this house will be desolate and
in disgrace, cursed and uninhabited, thrown into confusion and levelled to the
dust, lowly, forsaken, inaccessible, spurned by the anger of the Lord, whom it
has despised; let it not be lived in but reduced to a wilderness. Let everyone
be astonished at it and hiss at all its wounds. For the Lord did not choose the
people on account of the place, but the place on account of the people.
Therefore the very place of the temple was made to share in the punishment of
the people, as the Lord proclaimed openly to Solomon when he built the temple
for him, to Solomon who was filled with wisdom like a river: But if your sons
turn aside from me, not following and honouring me but going instead after
strange gods and worshipping them, then I will cut them off from before me and
expel them from the land which I have given to them; and the temple which I have
consecrated to my name I will cast out of my sight, and it will become a proverb
and a byword among all peoples. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and
shall hiss, and shall say, "Why has the Lord done thus to this temple and
to this house?" And they will say : "Because they forsook the Lord
their God who bought and redeemed them, and followed instead Baal and other
gods, worshipping and serving them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this evil
upon them'".
Indeed a little while ago, about the time of our
election as supreme pontiff before we came to Lyons for our coronation, and
afterwards, both there and elsewhere, we received secret intimations against the
master, preceptors and other brothers of the order of Knights Templar of
Jerusalem and also against the order itself. These men had been posted in lands
overseas for the defence of the patrimony of our lord Jesus Christ, and as
special warriors of the catholic faith and outstanding defenders of the holy
Land seemed to carry the chief burden of the said holy Land. For this reason the
holy Roman church honoured these brothers and the order with her special
support, armed them with the sign of the cross against Christ's enemies, paid
them the highest tributes of her respect, and strengthened them with various
exemptions and privileges; and they experienced in many and various ways her
help and that of all faithful Christians with repeated gifts of property.
Therefore it was against the lord Jesus Christ himself that they fell into the
sin of impious apostasy, the abominable vice of idolatry, the deadly crime of
the Sodomites, and various heresies. Yet it was not to be expected nor seemed
credible that men so devout, who were outstanding often to the shedding of their
blood for Christ and were seen repeatedly to expose their persons to the danger
of death, who even more frequently gave great signs of their devotion both in
divine worship and in fasting and other observances, should be so unmindful of
their salvation as to commit such crimes. The order, moreover, had a good and
holy beginning; it won the approval of the apostolic see. The rule, which is
holy, reasonable and just, had the deserved sanction of this see. For all these
reasons we were unwilling to lend our ears to insinuation and accusation against
the Templars; we had been taught by our Lord's example and the words of
canonical scripture.
Then came the intervention of our dear son in
Christ, Philip, the illustrious king of France. The same crimes had been
reported to him. He was not moved by greed. He had no intention of claiming or
appropriating for himself anything from the Templars' property; rather, in his
own kingdom he abandoned such claim and thereafter released entirely his hold on
their goods. He was on fire with zeal for the orthodox faith, following in the
well marked footsteps of his ancestors. He obtained as much information as he
lawfully could. Then, in order to give us greater light on the subject, he sent
us much valuable information through his envoys and letters. The scandal against
the Templars themselves and their order in reference to the crimes already
mentioned increased. There was even one of the knights, a man of noble blood and
of no small reputation in the order, who testified secretly under oath in our
presence, that at his reception the knight who received him suggested that he
deny Christ, which he did, in the presence of certain other knights of the
Temple, he furthermore spat on the cross held out to him by this knight who
received him. He also said that he had seen the grand master, who is still
alive, receive a certain knight in a chapter of the order held overseas. The
reception took place in the same way, namely with the denial of Christ and the
spitting on the cross, with quite two hundred brothers of the order being
present. The witness also affirmed that he heard it said that this was the
customary manner of receiving new members: at the suggestion of the person
receiving the profession or his delegate, the person making profession denied
Jesus Christ, and in abuse of Christ crucified spat upon the cross held out to
him, and the two committed other unlawful acts contrary to christian morality,
as the witness himself then confessed in our presence.
We were duty-bound by our office to pay heed to the
din of such grave and repeated accusations. When at last there came a general
hue and cry with the clamorous denunciations of the said king and of the dukes,
counts, barons, other nobles, clergy and people of the kingdom of France,
reaching us both directly and through agents and officials, we heard a doleful
tale: that the master, preceptors and other brothers of the order as well as the
order itself had been involved in these and other crimes. This seemed to be
proved by many confessions, attestations and depositions of the master, of the
visitor of France, and of many preceptors and brothers of the order, in the
presence of many prelates and the inquisitor of heresy. These depositions were
made in the kingdom of France with our authorisation, edited as public documents
and shown to us and our brothers. Besides, the rumour and clamour had grown to
such insistence that the hostility against both the order itself and the
individual members of it could not be ignored without grave scandal nor be
tolerated without imminent danger to the faith. Since we though unworthy,
represent Christ on earth, we considered that we ought, following in his
footsteps, to hold an inquiry. We called to our presence many of the preceptors,
priests, knights and other brothers of the order who were of no small
reputation. They took an oath, they were adjured urgently by the Father, Son and
holy Spirit; we demanded, in virtue of holy obedience, invoking the divine
judgment with the menace of an eternal malediction, that they tell the pure and
simple truth. We pointed out that they were now in a safe and suitable place
where they had nothing to fear in spite of the confessions they had made before
others. We wished those confessions to be without prejudice to them. In this way
we made our interrogation and examined as many as seventy-two, many of our
brothers being present and following the proceedings attentively. We had the
confessions taken down by notary and recorded as authentic documents in our
presence and that of our brothers. After some days we had these confessions read
in consistory in the presence of the knights concerned. Each was read a version
in his own language; they stood by their confessions, expressly and
spontaneously approving them as they had been read out.
After this, intending to make a personal inquiry
with the grand master, the visitor of France and the principal preceptors of the
order, we commanded that the grand master, the visitor of France and the chief
preceptors of Outremer, Normandy, Aquitaine and Poitou be presented to us while
we were at Poitiers. Some of them, however, were ill at the time and could not
ride a horse nor conveniently be brought to our presence. We wished to know the
truth of the whole matter and whether their confessions and depositions, which
were said to have been made in the presence of the inquisitor of heresy in the
kingdom of France and witnessed by certain public notaries and many other good
men, and which were produced in public and shown to us and our brothers by the
inquisitor, were true. We empowered and commanded our beloved sons Berengar,
cardinal, then with the title of Nereus and Achilleus, now bishop of Frascati,
and Stephen, cardinal priest with the title of saint Cyriacus at the Baths, and
Landulf, cardinal deacon with the title of saint Angelo, in whose prudence,
experience and loyalty we have the fullest confidence, to make a careful
investigation with the grand master, visitor and preceptors, concerning the
truth of the accusations against them and individual persons of the order and
against the order itself. If there was evidence, it was to be brought to us; the
confessions and depositions were to be taken down in writing by a public notary
and presented to us. The cardinals were to grant absolution from the sentence of
excommunication, according to the form of the church, to the master, visitor and
preceptors -- a sentence incurred if the accusations were true -- provided the
accused humbly and devoutly requested absolution, as they ought to do.
The cardinals went to see the grand master, the
visitor and the preceptors personally and explained the reason for their visit.
Since these men and other Templars resident in the kingdom of France had been
handed over to us because they would freely and without fear of anyone reveal
the truth sincerely to the cardinals, the cardinals by our apostolic authority
enjoined on them this duty of telling the truth. The master, the visitor and the
preceptors of Normandy, Outremer, Aquitaine and Poitou, in the presence of the
three cardinals, four notaries and many other men of good repute, took an oath
on the holy gospels that they would tell the truth, plainly and fully. They
deposed one by one, in the cardinals' presence, freely and spontaneously,
without any compulsion or fear. They confessed among other things that they had
denied Christ and spat upon the cross at their reception into the order of the
Temple. Some of them added that they themselves had received many brothers using
the same rite, namely with the denial of Christ and the spitting on the cross.
There were even some who confessed certain other horrible crimes and immoral
deeds, we say nothing more of these at present. The knights confessed also that
the content of their confessions and depositions made a little while ago before
the inquisitor was true. These confessions and depositions of the grand master,
visitor and preceptors were edited as a public document by four notaries, the
master and the others being present and also certain men of good repute. After
some days, the confessions were read to the accused on the orders and in the
presence of the cardinals; each knight received an account in his own language.
They persisted in their confessions and approved them, expressly and
spontaneously, as they had been read out to them. After these confessions and
depositions, they asked from the cardinals absolution from the excommunication
incurred by the above crimes; humbly and devoutly, on bended knee, with hands
joined, they made their petition with many tears. Since the church never shuts
her heart to the sinner who returns, the cardinals granted absolution by our
authority in the customary form of the church to the master, visitor and
preceptors on abjuration of their heresy. On their return to our presence, the
cardinals presented to us the confessions and depositions of the master, visitor
and preceptors in the form of a public document, as has been said. They also
gave us a report on their dealings with these knights.
From these confessions, depositions and report we
find that the master, the visitor and the preceptors of Outremer, Normandy,
Aquitaine and Poitou have often committed grave offences, although some have
erred less frequently than others. We considered that such dreadful crimes could
not and should not go unpunished without insult to almighty God and to every
Catholic. We decided on the advice of our brothers to hold an enquiry into the
above crimes and transgressions. This would be carried out through the local
ordinaries and other wise, trustworthy men delegated by us in the case of
individual members of the order; and through certain prudent persons of our
considered choice in the case of the order as a whole. After this,
investigations were made both by the ordinaries and by our delegates into the
allegations against individual members, and by the inquisitors appointed by us
into those against the order itself, in every part of the world where the
brothers of the order have usually lived. Once made and sent to us for
examination, these investigations were very carefully read and examined, some by
us and our brothers, cardinals of the holy Roman church others by many very
learned, prudent, trustworthy and God-fearing men, zealous for and well-trained
in the catholic faith, some being prelates and others not. This took place at
Malaucene in the diocese of Vaison.
Later we came to Vienne where there were assembled
already very many patriarchs, archbishops, selected bishops, exempt and
non-exempt abbots, other prelates of churches, and procurators of absent
prelates and of chapters, all present for the council we had summoned. In the
first session we explained to them our reasons for calling the council. After
this, because it was difficult indeed almost impossible, for the cardinals and
all the prelates and procurators gathered for the council to meet in our
presence in order to discuss how to proceed in the matter of the Templars, we
gave orders as follows. Certain patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, exempt and
non-exempt abbots, other prelates of churches, and procurators from all parts of
Christendom, of every language nation and region, were concordantly chosen out
of all the prelates and procurators at the council. The choice was made from
those believed to be among the more skilful, discreet and apt for consultation
on such an important affair and for discussing it with us and the
above-mentioned cardinals. After this we had the attestations received during
the inquiry read publicly in the presence of the prelates and procurators. This
reading went on during several days, for as long as they wished to listen, in
the place assigned for the council, namely the cathedral church. Afterwards the
said attestations and the summaries made from them were considered and examined,
not in a perfunctory manner but with great care, by many of our venerable
brethren, by the patriarch of Aquileia, by archbishops and bishops of the
present sacred council who were specially chosen and delegated for the purpose,
and by those whom the whole council had chosen very carefully and earnestly.
We convoked therefore the said cardinals,
patriarchs, archbishops and bishops, the exempt and non-exempt abbots, and the
other prelates and procurators elected by the council to consider this affair,
and we asked them, in the course of a secret consultation in our presence, how
we should proceed, taking special account of the fact that certain Templars were
presenting themselves in defence of their order. The greater part of the
cardinals and nearly the whole council, that is those who were elected by the
whole council and were representing the whole council on this question, in short
the great majority, indeed four-fifths among every nation taking part, were
firmly convinced, and the said prelates and procurators advised accordingly,
that the order should be given an opportunity to defend itself and that it could
not be condemned, on the basis of the proof provided thus far, for the heresies
that had been the subject of the inquiry, without offence to God and injustice.
Certain others on the contrary said that the brothers should not be allowed to
make a defence of their order and that we should not give permission for such a
defence, for if a defence were allowed or given there would be danger to a
settlement of the affair and no small prejudice to the interests of the holy
Land. There would be dispute, delay and putting off a decision, many different
reasons were mentioned. Indeed although legal process against the order up to
now does not permit its canonical condemnation as heretical by definitive
sentence, the good name of the order has been largely taken away by the heresies
attributed to it. Moreover, an almost indefinite number of individual members,
among whom are the grand master the visitor of France and the chief preceptors,
have been convicted of such heresies, errors and crimes through their
spontaneous confessions. These confessions render the order very suspect, and
the infamy and suspicion render it detestable to the holy church of God, to her
prelates, to kings and other rulers, and to Catholics in general. It is also
believed in all probability that from now on there will be found no good person
who wishes to enter the order, and so it will be made useless to the church of
God and the carrying on of the undertaking to the holy Land, for which service
the knights had been destined. Furthermore, the putting off of a settlement or
arrangement of this affair of the Templars, for which we had set ourselves a
final decision or sentence to be promulgated in the present council, would lead
in all probability to the total loss, destruction and dilapidation of the
Templars' property. This has for long been given, bequeathed and granted by the
faithful for the aid of the holy Land and to oppose the enemies of the christian
faith.
There were therefore two opinions: some said that
sentence should immediately be pronounced, condemning the order for the alleged
crimes, and others objected that from the proceedings taken up to now the
sentence of condemnation against the order could not justly be passed. After
long and mature deliberation, having in mind God alone and the good of the holy
Land without turning aside to right or to left, we elected to proceed by way of
provision and ordinance, in this way scandal will be removed, perils avoided and
property saved for the help of the holy Land. We have taken into account the
disgrace, suspicion, vociferous reports and other attacks mentioned above
against the order, also the secret reception into the order, and the divergence
of many of the brothers from the general behaviour, way of life and morals of
other Christians. We have noted here especially that when new members are
received, they are made to swear not to reveal the manner of their reception to
anyone and not to leave the order; this creates an unfavourable presumption. We
observe in addition that the above have given rise to grave scandal against the
order, scandal impossible to allay as long as the order continues to exist. We
note also the danger to faith and to souls, the many horrible misdeeds of so
many brothers of the order, and many other just reasons and causes, moving us to
the following decision.
The majority of the cardinals and of those elected
by the council, a proportion of more than four-fifths, have thought it better,
more expedient and advantageous for God's honour and for the preservation of the
christian faith, also for the aid of the holy Land and many other valid reasons,
to suppress the order by way of ordinance and provision of the apostolic see,
assigning the property to the use for which it was intended. Provision is also
to be made for the members of the order who are still alive. This way has been
found preferable to that of safeguarding the right of defence with the
consequent postponement of judgment on the order. We observe also that in other
cases the Roman church has suppressed other important orders for reasons of far
less gravity than those mentioned above, with no fault on the part of the
brethren. Therefore, with a sad heart, not by definitive sentence, but by
apostolic provision or ordinance, we suppress, with the approval of the sacred
council, the order of Templars, and its rule, habit and name, by an inviolable
and perpetual decree, and we entirely forbid that anyone from now on enter the
order, or receive or wear its habit, or presume to behave as a Templar. If
anyone acts otherwise, he incurs automatic excommunication. Furthermore, we
reserve the persons and property for our disposition and that of the apostolic
see. We intend with divine grace, before the end of the present sacred council,
to make this disposition to the honour of God the exaltation of the christian
faith and the welfare of the holy Land. We strictly forbid anyone, of whatever
state or condition, to interfere in any way in this matter of the persons and
property of the Templars. We forbid any action concerning them which would
prejudice our arrangements and dispositions, or any innovation or tampering. We
decree that from now on any attempt of this kind is null and void, whether it be
made knowingly or in ignorance. Through this decree, however, we do not wish to
derogate from any processes made or to be made concerning individual Templars by
diocesan bishops and provincial councils, in conformity with what we have
ordained at other times. Let nobody therefore ... If anyone ...
Given at Vienne on 22 March in the seventh year of our pontificate.
Ad Providam May 2,
1312
For an everlasting record. It
belongs to Christ's vicar, exercising his vigilant care from the apostolic
watch-tower, to judge the changing conditions of the times, to examine the
causes of the affairs which crop up and to observe the characters of the people
concerned. In this way he can give due consideration to each affair and act
opportunely; he can tear out the thistles of vice from the field of the Lord so
that virtue may increase; and he can remove the thorns of false dealing so as to
plant rather than to destroy. He transfers slips dedicated to God into the
places left empty by the eradication of the harmful thistles. By thus
transferring and uniting in a provident and profitable way, he brings a joy
greater than the harm he has caused to the people uprooted; true justice has
compassion for sorrow. By enduring the harm and replacing it profitably, he
increases the growth of the virtues and rebuilds what has been destroyed with
something better.
A little while ago we suppressed definitively and
perpetually the order of the Knights Templar of Jerusalem because of the
abominable, even unspeakable, deeds of its master, brothers and other persons of
the order in all parts of the world. These men were spattered with indecent
errors and crimes, with depravity- they were blemished and stained. We are
silent here as to detail because the memory is so sad and unclean. With the
approval of the sacred council we abolished the constitution of the order, its
habit and name, not without bitterness of heart. We did this not by definitive
sentence, since this would be unlawful according to the inquiries and processes
carried out, but by apostolic provision or ordinance. We issued a strict
prohibition that nobody might henceforth enter the order or wear its habit or
presume to behave as a Templar. Anyone doing otherwise incurred automatic
excommunication. We commanded, by our apostolic authority, that all the property
of the order be left to the judgment and disposition of the apostolic see. We
strictly forbade anyone, of whatever state or condition, to interfere in any way
regarding the persons or property of the order or to act in prejudice of the
direction or disposition of the apostolic see in this matter, or to alter or
even to tamper; we decreed all attempts of this kind to be henceforth null and
void, whether made knowingly or in ignorance.
Afterwards we took care lest the said property,
which over a long period had been given, bequeathed, granted and acquired from
the worshippers of Christ for the help of the holy Land and to assail the
enemies of the christian faith, should be left without management and perish as
belonging to nobody or be used in ways other than those intended by the pious
devotion of the faithful. There was the further danger that tardiness in our
arrangements and dispositions might lead to destruction or dilapidation. We
therefore held difficult, lengthy and varied consultations and discussions with
our brothers, the cardinals of the holy Roman church, with patriarchs,
archbishops, bishops and prelates, with certain outstanding and distinguished
persons, and with the procurators at the council of the chapters, convents,
churches and monasteries, and of the remaining absent prelates, in order that,
through this painstaking deliberation, a wholesome and beneficial disposal of
the said property might be made to the honour of God, the increase of the faith,
the exaltation of the church, the help of the holy Land, and the salvation and
peace of the faithful. After especially long carefully thought out, deliberate
and complete consultations, for many just reasons, we and the said fathers and
patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, other prelates, and the outstanding and
distinguished persons, then present at the council, finally came to a
conclusion. The property should become forever that of the order of the Hospital
of saint John of Jerusalem, of the Hospital itself and of our beloved sons the
master and brothers of the Hospital, in the name of the Hospital and order of
these same men, who as athletes of the Lord expose themselves to the danger of
death for the defence of the faith, bearing heavy and perilous losses in lands
overseas.
We have observed with the fullness of sincere
charity that this order of the Hospital and the Hospital itself is one of the
bodies in which religious observance flourishes. Factual evidence tells us that
divine worship is fervent, works of piety and mercy are practised with great
earnestness, the brothers of the Hospital despise the attractions of the world
and are devoted servants of the most High. As fearless warriors of Christ they
are ardent in their efforts to recover the holy Land, despising all human
perils. We bear in mind also that the more plentifully they are supplied with
means, the more will the energy of the master and brothers of the order and
Hospital grow, their ardour increase and their bravery be strengthened to repel
the insults offered to our Redeemer and to crush the enemies of the faith. They
will be able to carry more lightly and easily the burdens demanded in the
execution of such an enterprise. They will therefore, not unworthily, be made
more watchful and apply themselves with greater zeal.
In order that we may grant them increased support,
we bestow on them, with the approval of the sacred council, the house itself of
the Knights Templar and the other houses, churches, chapels, oratories, cities,
castles, towns, lands, granges, places, possessions, jurisdictions, revenues,
rights, all the other property, whether immovable, movable or self-moving, and
all the members together with their rights and belongings, both beyond and on
this side of the sea, in each and every part of the world, at the time when the
master himself and some brothers of the order were arrested as a body in the
kingdom of France, namely in October 1308. The gift is to include everything
which the Templars had, held or possessed of themselves or through others, or
which belonged to the said house and order of Knights Templar, or to the master
and brothers of the order as also the titles, actions and rights which at the
time of their arrest belonged in any way to the house, order or persons of the
order of Knights Templar, or could belong to them, against whomsoever of
whatever dignity, state or condition, with all the privileges, indults,
immunities and liberties with which the said master and brothers of the house
and order of Knights Templar, and the house and order itself, had been
legitimately endowed by the apostolic see or by catholic emperors, kings and
princes, or by other members of the faithful, or in any other way. All this we
present, grant, unite, incorporate, apply and annex in perpetuity, by the
fullness of our apostolic power, to the said order of the Hospital of saint John
of Jerusalem and to the Hospital itself.
We except the property of the said former order of
Knights Templar in the kingdoms and lands of our beloved sons in Christ, the
illustrious kings of Castile, Aragon, Portugal and Majorca, outside the kingdom
of France. We reserve this property, from the said gift, grant, union,
application, incorporation and annexation, to the disposal and regulation of the
apostolic see. We wish the prohibition made a little while ago by other
proceedings of ours to remain in full force. Nobody of any state or condition
may intervene in any way as regards these persons and property in prejudice to
the regulation or disposition of the apostolic see. We wish that our decree
concerning these persons and property in the kingdoms and lands of the above
kings should remain in full force until the apostolic see makes another
arrangement.
Occupiers and unlawful detainers of the property,
irrespective of state, condition, eminence or dignity, even if this is
pontifical, imperial or royal, unless they abandon the property within a month
after it is called for by the master and brothers of the Hospital, or by any of
them, or by their procurators [. . .]. The property must be fully and freely
restored to the order of Hospitallers and to the said Hospital, or to the
master, priors, preceptors or brothers of the said Hospital, in any regions or
provinces, or to any of them individually, or to their procurator or
procurators, in the name of the said order of Hospitallers, even if the priors,
preceptors and brothers and their procurators or any one of them have no special
mandate from the master of the Hospital, provided that the procurators hold or
show a special commission from the priors and preceptors or from any one of
them, in the provinces or regions in which these priors and preceptors have been
delegated. The priors, preceptors and brothers are obliged to give a full
reckoning to the master concerning everything: conduct, actions, receipts and
negotiations. The procurators are to render a similar account to the priors and
preceptors, and to each one of them, by whom they were delegated. All who have
knowingly given counsel, aid or favour to the occupiers and detainers mentioned
above concerning such occupation or detention, publicly or secretly, lie under
excommunication. Chapters, colleges or governing bodies of churches and
monasteries, and the corporations of cities, castles, towns and other places, as
well as the cities, castles, towns and other places themselves which were at
fault in this, and the cities, castles and places in which the detainers and
occupiers hold temporal lordship, if such temporal lords place obstacles to the
giving up of the property and its restoration to the master and brothers of the
Hospital, in the name of the Hospital, not desisting from such conduct within a
month after the property is called for, are automatically laid under interdict.
They cannot be absolved from this until they offer full satisfaction. Moreover
the occupiers and detainers and those who have given them counsel, aid or favour,
whether individuals or the chapters, colleges or governing bodies of churches or
monasteries, as also the corporations of cities, castles, lands or other places,
incur, in addition to the above-mentioned penalties, automatic deprivation of
everything they hold as fiefs from the Roman or other churches. These fiefs are
to revert freely without opposition to the churches concerned, and the prelates
or rulers of those churches may dispose of the fiefs at will, as they judge will
be to the advantage of the churches.
Given at Vienne on 2 May in the seventh year of our
pontificate.
Considerantes
- 6 MAY 1312
Clement, bishop, servant of the servants of
God, for assurance in the present and for future record. The inquiries and
various processes commissioned not long ago by the apostolic see through all
parts of Christendom against the former order of Knights Templar and its
individual members, concerning accusation of heresies, brought them into grave
disrepute. In particular there was the accusation that the brothers of the
former order at, and sometimes after, their reception denied Christ and spat in
his dis-honour on a cross held out to them, and sometimes trampled it underfoot.
The master of the order, the visitor of France, the chief preceptors and many
brothers of the order confessed at their trial to these heresies. The
confessions cast grave suspicion on the order. In addition, the widespread
disgrace, the strong suspicion, and the clamorous charges of the prelates,
dukes, communes, barons and counts of the kingdom of France also gave grave
scandal which could hardly be allayed without suppression of the order. There
were many other just reasons mentioned in the legal process which influenced us.
We therefore, with the approval of the sacred council, our heart filled with
great bitterness and sorrow, suppressed and abolished the said former order of
the Temple and its constitution, habit and name and we forbade its restoration.
We did this, not by definitive sentence since we could not legally do this
according to the inquiries and processes mentioned above, but by apostolic
provision and ordinance. We reserved the persons and property of the order to
the decision and disposal of the apostolic see. In doing so, however, we had no
intention of derogating from the processes made or to be made concerning
individual persons or brothers of the said former order by diocesan bishops and
provincial councils, as we have ordained elsewhere.
Now therefore we wish to provide more suitably for individual persons or
brothers. We reserved lately for our own disposition the master of the former
order, the visitor of France and the chief preceptors of the holy Land,
Normandy, Aquitaine, Poitou and the province of Provence, as well as brother
Oliver de Penne, a knight of the said former order, whom henceforth we reserve
to the disposition of the apostolic see. We have decided that all the other
brothers should be left to the judgment and disposition of provincial councils,
as we have indeed done until now. We wish judgment to be given by these councils
in accordance with the different cases of individuals. Thus those who have been
legally acquitted, or will be acquitted in the future, shall be supplied with
the goods of the former order whereby they can live as becomes their state. With
those who have confessed concerning the above errors, we wish the provincial
councils prudently to temper justice with mercy: the situation of these men and
the extent of their confessions are to be duly weighed. With regard to those who
are impenitent and have relapsed, if any -- which God forbid -- be found among
them, justice and canonical censure are to be observed. As for those who even
when questioned have denied their involvement in the above errors, the councils
are to observe justice and equity according to the canons. With the approval of
the sacred council, we hereby cite those who have not yet been questioned and
who are not held by the power or authority of the church but are perhaps
fugitives, to appear in person before their diocesans within a year from today.
This we assign them as a precise and final limit. They are to undergo an
examination by their diocesans, receiving a just judgment from the said councils
according to their deserts. Great mercy however is to be shown and observed both
to these last and to those previously mentioned, except the relapsed and
impenitent. They should also be provided from the property of the order with the
necessities of life; all the brothers of the former order, whenever they return
to the obedience of the church and as long as they persist in that obedience,
shall be maintained as becomes the circumstances of their state. All of them
shall be placed in houses of the former order or in monasteries of other
religious, at the expense however of the former order itself according to the
judgment of the said provincial councils; but many of them shall not be placed
together at the same time in one house or monastery.
We order also and strictly command all those with whom and by whom the brothers
of the former order are detained, to surrender them freely whenever required to
do so by the metropolitans and the ordinaries of the brothers. If within the
year those cited do not appear before the diocesans, as stated above, they incur
automatically sentence of excommunication; and because in a case especially
concerning the faith, contumacy adds strong presumption to suspicion, the
contumacious who stubbornly remain excommunicate for a year are henceforth to be
condemned as heretics. This citation of ours is made of set purpose and we wish
the brothers to be obliged by it as if they had received a special citation
personally, for as vagabonds they can in no way be found or at least not easily.
In order, then, to prevent all subterfuge, we publish our edict in the present
sacred council. And in order to bring this citation more assuredly to the
knowledge of the brothers themselves and to the general knowledge of all, we
shall have papers or parchments containing the citation and sealed with our bull
hung or fastened to the doors of the principal church of Vienne. This will
secure a loud and widespread publication of this citation, so that the brothers
whom the citation concerns can claim no excuse that the citation has not reached
them or that they were ignorant of it, since it is improbable that what is so
openly made public to all can remain unknown or hidden to them. Furthermore, in
order to observe greater precaution, we order the local diocesans to make public
this edict of our citation, as soon as conveniently possible, in their
cathedrals and in the churches at the most conspicuous places in their dioceses.
Given at Vienne on 6 May 1312 in the seventh year.
Nuper
In Concilio - 16 MAY 1312
To all the administrators and guardians of the
property of the former house and order of the Knights Templar, delegated by
apostolic and any other authority. Recently we held, as the Lord so disposed, a
general council at Vienne. There we gave long and careful consideration to the
disposal of the former house and order of the Knights Templar. We thought it
more acceptable to the most High, more honourable to those who worship in the
true faith, and more useful for the aid of the holy Land, to grant this property
to the order of the Hospital of saint John of Jerusalem, rather than to give it
or even attach it to a new order to be created. There were some, however, who
asserted that it would be better to confer the property on an order to be newly
created than to attach it to the order of the Hospital, and so we were unable to
obtain the result we hoped for. At last, however, by God's favour, on 2 May of
this present month, with the approval of the sacred council, we judged that the
property should be granted and attached and even united to the said Hospital or
order. We made an exception, for certain reasons, of the Templars' property in
the kingdoms and lands of our beloved sons in Christ, the illustrious kings . .
. of Castile, of Aragon, of Portugal, and of Majorca', outside the kingdom of
France. We reserved this property for our disposition and that of the apostolic
see, until some other arrangement be made by us and the apostolic see for its
use to aid the Holy Land.
We therefore strictly command all of you, by apostolic ordinance, to restore in
full, in the name of the said Hospital and order, this property with the revenue
gathered from it, after all expenses have been paid, to the master and brothers
of the Hospital, or to restore individual items to the said Hospital's
individual priors or preceptors of the provinces or cities or dioceses or places
in which the property lies, or to the procurator or procurators of one or more
of them, according to the terms of your commission, within a month of being so
required. For this the master, brothers, priors and preceptors, or their
procurator or procurators, shall fittingly commend you, and we shall rightly
acknowledge your prompt and devoted obedience.
Given at Livron in the diocese of Valence on 16 May in the seventh year.
1 December 1312
Our redeemer, the only-begotten Son of God,
our Lord Jesus Christ, loved so much the daughter of Zion, the holy Land, that
he chose her as his inheritance and his own patrimony. He therefore, clothed
with our flesh, honoured her with his presence and consecrated her by the
shedding of his precious blood. But we mourn and bitterly lament that so noble
an inheritance of our redeemer has been turned over to strangers and laid low by
the frenzy of the Babylonian persecutor, trampled underfoot by the feet of the
defiled. She is dishonoured by the vile grasp of the unclean Saracens, faithless
enemies of the Christian name. She has been occupied and wretchedly retained,
the Christian people have been savagely slaughtered. To the insult of the
creator, to the outrage and sorrow of all Christendom, the name of Christ is
horribly blasphemed by the filthy and detestable conduct of the enemy. This sad
region therefore weeps under the lash and repeatedly laments to the vicar of
Christ about this intolerable persecution. Wounded by her disgrace, she pleads
with Christian princes and the catholic people. She uncovers her wounds to those
from whom she awaits the work of the healer. She demands liberation from those
for whose salvation the author of salvation bore within her borders the
suffering of the cross. All this and more besides, which the mind cannot fully
conceive nor the tongue tell, rose to our heart and roused our mind as soon as
we were called by divine favour, though unworthy, to the summit of apostolic
dignity. We gazed tenderly at the doleful state of the holy Land and we applied
ourselves to think out remedies by which, with the aid of heaven, that Land,
freed from the enemy's criminal hands, might see, after the darkness of so many
tribulations, the bright times of longed-for peace.
For this and other holy works acceptable to God, to be advanced by his almighty
power, we convoked a general council in the city of Vienne{3}. Then, together
with our brothers the cardinals of the holy Roman church, the patriarchs,
archbishops, bishops and other prelates and our beloved sons in Christ the
illustrious kings Philip of the Franks and Louis of Navarre, who were present at
the council, as also some other eminent men and the procurators of the remaining
absent prelates and of chapters, convents, churches and monasteries, assembled
at the council, we held a long, complete and careful discussion on bringing aid
to the holy Land. At last we resolved, with the council's approval, to succour
the holy Land by a general crusade. Intending to use our apostolic power
zealously to this end, and having duly weighed all we have said, we judged, with
the approval of the sacred council, that a tithe should be imposed by our
apostolic authority on all ecclesiastical revenues and incomes throughout the
world. Only the persons and places belonging to the Hospital of saint John of
Jerusalem and the other military orders were to be exempted. The tithe was to be
collected and paid for six years to be reckoned from 1 January last, in fixed
installments, as we should find best, and to be directed to helping the holy
Land and opposing the infidels and the enemies of the catholic faith.
But actually we reflected of late that our letters concerning the imposition,
collection and payment of the tithe had not reached you by 1 January, nor could
easily do so in a short time, on account of the great distance of those parts
from the Roman curia. Wishing, then, to consult your ease and convenience, we
have decreed that the six years are to begin in your region on 1 October next.
We therefore ask, admonish and earnestly exhort you, also commanding you
strictly by apostolic ordinance in virtue of obedience, to pay without
difficulty the tithe for six years beginning from 1 October. The tithe is to be
paid in the customary way, namely for the first half of the first year on 1
October next, and for the second half on 1 April immediately following, and in
the same way for each of the remaining five years. Each of you is to pay it in
full from your ecclesiastical revenues and incomes. If you fail to pay the tithe
within the above periods, each of you automatically incurs sentences similar to
those pronounced for nonpayment by you or by the suitable and trustworthy
persons delegated by you to collect the tithe in your cities and dioceses.
Furthermore, you are to collect the tithe from our beloved sons, the abbots,
priors, deans, archdeacons, provosts, archpriests and other prelates of
churches, the chapters, colleges and convents of the Cistercians, Cluniacs,
Premonstratensians, of saint Benedict and saint Augustine, of the Carthusians,
Grandmontines and other orders, and other non-exempt secular and regular
ecclesiastical persons, in your cities and dioceses, that is, each of you in
each city and diocese. The priors, preceptors, masters and other persons and the
places of the Hospital of saint John of Jerusalem and of the other military
orders are to be the only exceptions made. The tithe is to be collected by you
or by other suitable and trustworthy persons delegated by you for this service
in each of your cities and dioceses. It is altogether our wish and command that
you should delegate such persons. We entrust to them and command them by this
document to claim and collect it in full by our authority, in each of the cities
and dioceses where they are delegated, from our beloved sons the abbots, priors,
deans, provosts, archdeacons, archpriests and other prelates of churches, and
the exempt chapters, colleges and convents of the above-mentioned orders, in
your cities and dioceses. Only the priors, preceptors, masters, persons and
places of the Hospital of saint John of Jerusalem and of the said other military
orders are to be excepted.
The tithe is to be claimed and collected in full from the ecclesiastical
revenues and incomes, by our authority, in the customary way according to the
years and periods mentioned above. The delegates are to collect it from both the
exempt and the non-exempt: each is to hand over and assign it for each period to
the person among you by whom he was delegated, without delay or as soon as he
conveniently can. You are to compel them by ecclesiastical censure, without any
appeal, to give you an account of the money claimed and collected from the
aforesaid non-exempt persons, as well as to hand over and assign the tithe
claimed and collected from both the exempt and the non-exempt. Public
instruments are to be drawn up and other due precautions taken concerning the
handing over and assigning of the tithe. In this way, when needed, it can be
established how much, from whom, when and for what period the delegates received
the money and how much, when and for what period they handed over and assigned
it to each of you.
The money which has been duly claimed and collected by you and your delegates
from the exempt and non-exempt persons and has been handed over to you,
including that which has been claimed and collected by your delegates from the
said exempt persons, as mentioned above, and also the money which you will pay
from your own revenues and incomes, is to be put away by each of you, together
with your cathedral chapter, beneath the church or even elsewhere, as you think
best, in some more becoming and safe place. Here, at your expense and that of
the chapter, you will have it guarded carefully and faithfully, to be consigned
by each of you to our delegates as and when shall seem good to us, for the
business of the holy Land and the service of the faith.
In order that you may more easily and effectively collect this tithe, we grant
by this document full and unrestricted power to each of you to constrain by
ecclesiastical censure directly or through your delegates, disregarding any
appeal, the abbots, priors, deans, provosts and other aforesaid non-exempt
persons, in your cities and dioceses. We grant the same power to your delegates,
in each city or diocese for which they have been delegated, with regard to the
abbots, priors, deans, provosts and other aforesaid exempt persons. This power
may also be used to constrain any opponents and rebels. In addition, we grant
full and unrestricted power to you to absolve in your cities and dioceses, after
satisfaction has been made, the aforesaid non-exempt persons, and to your
delegates regarding the aforesaid exempt persons who, because of non-payment of
the tithe in due time, are bound by sentences of excommunication, suspension or
interdict; also to dispense from irregularity contracted by celebrating divine
worship or taking part in it while bound by one or more of the above sentences.
In order that you and your delegates may have a reward for the labours
undertaken, we enjoin on you the above things in remission of your sins.
The tithe is to be paid even if the apostolic see has granted an indult to you
or some of you, or to the abbots, priors and other aforesaid exempt or
non-exempt persons, or to anyone else, that you are not obliged and compelled to
pay, or that you cannot be laid under interdict, suspension or excommunication
by apostolic letters which have not made full and express mention of this indult
and its tenor word for word, or of the names of your orders, localities and
persons. The same applies to any privileges, indulgences, exemptions and
apostolic letters which have been granted generally or specially in any form of
words by the said apostolic see to any dignities, orders, places or persons, and
of which and their whole tenor there should be made in our letters word for
word, special, full and express mention. Consider, besides, that in these duties
you are engaged in God's business, and that you are acting in the sight of him
who sees all. You will therefore be obliged to render an account to him and to
us; we intend to use all diligence in this matter. You will receive due reward
from both him and us. You should therefore act prudently and carefully, not only
to avoid the danger of punishment and confusion, but also to gain the glory of
praise and well-deserved reward.
It is our wish also that each of you oblige the persons delegated by you for
collecting the tithe, to swear that they will be diligent and careful in their
work and to use this formula: "I swear by you, lord, who am delegated by
the authority of the apostolic see and by the same see itself to claim, collect
and receive a tithe of all ecclesiastical revenues and incomes from all exempt
and non-exempt ecclesiastical persons in your city and diocese, that I will
faithfully claim, collect, receive and guard this tithe which has been imposed
by the apostolic see for the business of the holy Land and of the catholic
faith. Only the priors, preceptors masters and other persons and places of the
Hospital of saint John of Jerusalem and of the other military orders are
excepted. I shall not give way in this to any person, of whatever dignity,
status or condition, whether from entreaty, fear, gratitude, favour or any other
cause. I shall restore and consign the full tithe to you at your order. I shall
render a final and integral account concerning everything in detail, namely to
you regarding what I have claimed, collected and received from non-exempt
persons, and to the delegate or delegates of the holy see regarding exempt
persons. If you lay down your office in this matter, I shall do the same
according to the orders of your successor. So may God help me and these holy
gospels of God.
Given at Avignon on 1 December in the eighth year.
Licet Dudum - 18
Dec 1312
For future record. Not long ago, in the
general council at Vienne, we transferred, with the approval of the sacred
council, the property, rights, privileges, indults, immunities and liberties of
the former order of the Temple to the order of the Hospital of saint John of
Jerusalem. For the sake of greater peace and concord between prelates of
churches and other clergy on the one hand, and the brothers of the order of the
Hospital on the other, as also for other justifiable reasons, we suspended, in
the last session of the council, all the privileges granted to the Hospital by
the apostolic see, and with them as a necessary consequence the privileges of
the former Temple, which should be thought of as belonging to the said Hospital
and transferred to it. We excepted the privilege of exemption, if they had any.
We wished these privileges to be suspended at our good pleasure. There are some,
however, who assert on insufficient grounds that the suspension of these
privileges of the Hospital does not extend to the privileges of the former order
of the Temple. Although there is not the faintest reason for such an assertion,
we wish to remove from their minds the slightest doubt that it was our
intention, by the said suspension of the privileges of the order of the
Hospital, to suspend the privileges of the former Temple, which have become by
the transference those of the Hospital itself. We declare therefore by our
apostolic authority and decree that these, like the other privileges of the
Hospital, are and remain suspended.
Indeed, before the suspension, it was said in general by some of our brothers
cardinals of the holy Roman church, to many of the prelates assembled at the
general council, that there would be a suspension of the Hospital's privileges
until everything that was still uncertain among the said prelates and other
clergy, with regard to concord, lawsuits and disputes, had been completely
settled. We observed, however, that if it was necessary to await the end of all
these lawsuits and disputes, one little case might generate grave prejudice
against the Hospitallers, and great loss might result from the continuing
suspension of their privileges. We reflected that this might provide material
for many misrepresentations. In the last session of the council, therefore,
wishing to obviate such greater dangers, we judged it fitting to make known
orally, clearly and openly, even for a third time, so that each and all might
clearly understand, that we wished the said suspension of the privileges of the
order of the Hospital to continue until we willed otherwise. We intend with the
Lord's help to consider what is good for both sides and to make provision for
both prelates and other clergy on the one hand, and the Hospitallers on the
other, so that neither will have reason for complaint but both will receive due
satisfaction. Let nobody therefore...
Given at Avignon on 18 December in the eighth year.
31 December 1312
For an everlasting record. Not long ago, under
the Lord's providence, we held a general council at Vienne, at which we
suppressed the former order of the Knights Templar of Jerusalem. We granted,
attached and joined the Templar possessions, with the approval of the sacred
council, to the order of the Hospital of saint John of Jerusalem, for the help
of the holy Land; with the exception, for certain reasons, of their property
lying in the kingdoms and lands of our beloved sons in Christ, the illustrious
kings ....of Castile, ....of Aragon, ....of Portugal and ....of Majorca, outside
the kingdom of France, which we reserved for our disposal and that of the
apostolic see until we made other arrangements. Then, in the same council, we
made some sound provisions for furthering the cause of the holy Land and others
by which quarrels, scandals and discord might be prevented, and continuous peace
and concord be established, between prelates of churches and other clergy on the
one hand and the brothers of the Hospital on the other. We also made provision
on other points relating to the reform of the order of the Hospital.
Actually, business has pressed upon us. It is like an ocean pouring into the
apostolic see. The waters of care constantly harass our heart. We have not been
permitted until now, and are still not permitted, to put into execution the
arrangements we desire. In order that the fruit of such sound proposals may not
perish through oblivion or pressure of business, but rather may be gathered up,
by the Lord's will, at the opportune time, we have had the headings of these
projected decrees inserted into the present document. Their drift is as follows.
We wish that the transfer of property of the former order of the Temple to the
order of the Hospital may, by our provision, be of advantage to the holy Land.
We also wish that quarrels, scandals and discord be prevented between prelates
and other clergy on the one hand and the brothers of the order on the other;
that lasting concord be established between them; and that the order and its
members be reformed, if and as this seems good. We have therefore made three
special provisions regarding the order of the Hospital.
The first has to do with the holy Land. We shall have an exact and careful
enquiry made into the past and present possessions of the order of the Hospital
and their exact annual value. We shall wish to know fully the annual value of
each old and new house of the order, and how much this represents each year in
terms of assistance to the holy Land. On completion of this valuation, and
taking into account the necessary local expenditure, we shall oblige the order
to maintain continuously in the holy Land a certain number of brothers and
knights. These brothers and knights are to labour effectively and strive to win
the holy Land and keep it, as far as God grants. We shall arrange and provide
that very few brothers of the order remain on this side of the sea. These shall
be only those required to govern the houses of the order and those who are old,
sick or unfit for war. The young and the strong, who are able to fight, shall be
required to go and stay overseas so that the holy Land may have its needs met.
The order will thus pursue the purpose for which it was instituted, as is only
right and fitting. In this way it will not reserve for itself great wealth or
many persons of quality. Rather, the order will lose all occasion for pride or
the prosecution of idle enterprises, since the brothers and knights who drag
their feet on this side of the sea will be far fewer than before. The property
remaining behind will also be heavily and more than usually burdened as a result
of our above-mentioned provisions.
We cannot impose on our successors the continuation of the above policy. Yet, in
order to make this course of action possible and easier for them, we shall have
the annual value of each house registered exactly in the Roman curia, and also
the service which it will be able to provide each year for the holy Land, and
the fixed number of brothers and knights required to stay overseas. We shall
arrange that the registered material be kept permanently with the papal
registers under our bull. Further, that there be no lack of carefulness or
caution in this matter, we shall send the registered material under our bull to
all Christian kings to be permanently kept by them in order that if it should
happen—though may it not—that this ordinance is not observed by the
Hospitallers, the kings themselves, being informed in the above manner, may more
quickly and fully know where the observance of this ordinance has ceased. As a
result, they will also be moved to take care that it is observed.
Secondly, in order to establish tranquility and peace, as was said above,
between the churches with their prelates and the order of the Hospital, we shall
see that all the privileges of the order are fully shown to us. And although we
have no intention whatsoever of taking away its exemption, if the order has
such, or of granting exemption, if the order has none, we shall altogether take
away any privileges, if such there be, which are odious or provide matter for
quarrels, discord or scandals. If we happen to find areas of uncertainty which
it is not advisable to remove, we shall clarify. In addition, we shall delegate
in each province two of its prelates and one of our clerics or another cleric to
provide more fully for concord, giving them full and unrestricted powers, so
that simply and easily, and without the din of a court of law, they may hear and
settle or make peace between the parties in all disputes and cases that have
arisen or might arise for any reason between the aforesaid order and the
churches and any ecclesiastics with regard to churches, tithes, first-fruits,
procurations and any property or rights whatsoever. This is to include questions
concerning the property and rights of the former order of the Temple. The
parties may be summoned or not as they wish; charges may be laid or not, as they
please. Before or after the delegates' decision there can be no appeal. Whatever
they do or decide shall altogether be regarded as done or decided by us.
We shall also grant to them the power of regulating the procurations owed by the
order to the bishops in different places so that, when and as seems good to
them, they are converted into an annual payment as money to be paid by the order
to the bishops. The bishops, on receiving such payments, are bound to visit at
their own expense, at a time suitable for them, the places making them. If this
regulation does not seem useful, the bishops will receive on visitation the
procurations owed to them by the churches of the order, if these are able to pay
them. If a church cannot pay the full procuration, the above delegates will make
an estimate of the amount payable to the bishop as the procuration for that
church. We shall also ordain that all churches which have annexed to them the
cure of souls and belonged to the order of the Hospital on account of any right
of the Temple, or even on account of any other rights which belong or shall
belong to the Hospital, shall be subject in all spiritual matters to their
diocesans, notwithstanding any privilege of exemption. Indeed, in order that
everything decreed above may be fulfilled more quickly and without evasion on
the part of the order, and that our good will may appear to everyone, we suspend
entirely from now all the privileges for long granted by the apostolic see to
the order, except for the privilege of exemption, if possessed, and we wish them
to remain suspended at our pleasure.
Thirdly, concerning the order of the Hospital itself, we shall be making decrees
regarding its regulation and reform. We shall be seeing and examining carefully
the rules, statutes, form of government and progress of the order itself and of
its members. We shall approve and confirm what is good. We shall clarify
doubtful points that we find in need of revision in the order itself and in its
personnel, both head and members. We shall restore the norm of truth, justice
and regular observance with the equilibrium of reason and equity, to the
advantage and welfare of the order and for the help of the holy Land. In this
way the order itself will be preserved from decay and kept in a healthy and
prosperous condition.
The prelates of France, after the above intentions had been explained to them,
petitioned that we should take away the privilege of exemption, if the order of
the Hospital possessed it, or at least suspend such exemption, just as we have
decreed the suspension of the order's other privileges. These prelates also
declared that, as long as the unlettered and simple brothers of the order remain
under the care of their simple priests, and the prelates themselves are
unacquainted with the brothers' deeds and consciences, they can be in grave
danger of losing their souls through having the privilege of exemption, if they
do in fact possess it. Our reply is that because of shortness of time we are
unable here to formulate a full and determinate decree. As soon as we can
conveniently do so we shall with the Lord's help decree and provide in this
matter. Also, as these prelates earnestly petitioned us, it is our will and
decree that just as individual catholic kings shall receive in writing the
valuation of the order's revenues and the other relevant information, so each
province ought to have and shall have the same document.
Also, in accordance with the petition of these prelates, we decree and determine
that the compositions pending or made within the last ten years, which were
extorted from churches and ecclesiastics through fear of the order of the
Hospital and the order of the former Temple, do not disadvantage or harm the
said churches and ecclesiastics in any way, and that if two prelates and a
non-prelate delegated by us cannot reach agreement, then whatever is decided by
one of the prelates and the non-prelate, or decreed by them by way of
composition or agreement, shall have effect and full validity. Also, we wish to
be as gracious as possible to the said prelates. Therefore we shall allow the
two prelates delegated by us to raise in ready money the procurations of their
dioceses while absent, and we shall have the non-prelate provided for in money
from the property of the former order of the Temple. We shall also decree in
accordance with the petition of the prelates of France, that Hospitallers who
publicly receive excommunicated persons or those under interdict or notorious
usurers for ecclesiastical burial, or for solemnizing their marriages or having
them solemnized or permitting them to be solemnized in their churches against
the law, or for administering the sacraments to outside parishioners or
permitting this in their churches, incur automatic excommunication. And we
strictly forbid the Hospitallers to trouble anyone unduly by use of apostolic
letters. We shall also decree, in accordance with the petition of the same
prelates, against the building of new churches or chapels, the erecting of
bell-towers and the making of cemeteries; we shall provide adequate laws on
these subjects to be observed by the Hospitallers.
Given at Avignon on 31 December in the eighth year of our pontificate.
Licet Pridem - 13
Jan 1313
For an everlasting record. Some time ago, in
the general council held at Vienne under the Lord's inspiration, we suppressed
the former order of the Temple for certain good reasons as explained in the
letter of suppression. After long and careful deliberations with our brothers
and the whole council, we bestowed on the order of the Hospital of saint John of
Jerusalem, on the Hospital itself and on our beloved sons, the master and
brothers of the Hospital, in the name of the Hospital and of the order of these
men, who as the Lord's athletes expose themselves unfailingly to the danger of
death in defence of the faith and have borne and still bear heavy loss overseas,
the house of the Knights Templar and their other houses, churches, chapels,
oratories, cities, castles, towns, lands, granges and all their other movable,
immovable and self-moving property, together with all the members and rights and
all that belongs to them, beyond and on this side of the sea and in all parts of
the world, which the former order and its master and brothers had and comprised
at the time when the master himself and some of the brothers were arrested as a
body in the kingdom of France, namely in October 1308.
The property includes that which the Templars had of themselves or through
others, and anything belonging to them in any way, with all their rights,
privileges, indults, immunities, liberties, honours and charges. We donated and
united all this forever to the Hospital and incorporated it into the Hospital,
with the approval of the sacred council and from the fullness of our apostolic
power, for the help of the holy Land. However, whatever rights belonged to
kings, princes, prelates, barons, nobles and any other Catholics, before the
arrest of the master of the former order of the Temple and of some other
brothers, were to remain. We excepted from the said donation, union and
incorporation the property of the former order of the Temple in the kingdoms and
lands of our beloved sons in Christ, the illustrious kings ... of Castile, of
Aragon, of Portugal, and of Majorca, lying outside the kingdom of France, which
we reserved with good reason for the disposal of the apostolic see.
In the letter of donation, union and incorporation, however, through the
carelessness, neglect or engagements of the scribe or secretary, mention was
omitted of the non-violation of the rights of kings, princes, prelates and other
persons concerned. Lest therefore any doubt arises in the future from such an
omission concerning these charges and rights, and any prejudice be generated
against the said kings, princes, prelates, barons, nobles and other persons, we,
who desire that everyone retains his rights unimpaired, wishing to provide a
suitable remedy in the matter for the said kings, princes, prelates, barons,
nobles and any other Catholics, declare that we have made the above donation,
union and incorporation to the order of the Hospital of saint John of Jerusalem,
and to the Hospital itself and its master and brothers, in the name of the said
Hospital and order, in the way expressed above. We determine and decree of our
certain knowledge that, without violation of the property of the former order of
the Temple donated to the order of the Hospital, together with all its
privileges, indults, immunities, liberties, rights, honours and charges, for the
help of the holy Land, nevertheless whatever rights belonged to kings, princes,
prelates, barons, nobles and any other Catholics, at the time of the said arrest
of the master and some brothers of the Temple, remain intact, unimpaired and
exactly as they would be in everything as if they had been distinctly and
expressly mentioned in the said letter of donation, union and incorporation.
Given at Avignon on 13 January in the eighth year.
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