Author writes first book SPY GODDESS: LIVE AND LET SHOP. Gets great reviews. A nomination from Mystery Writers of America for Best Young Adult Mystery. Fans rejoice.

Author writes second book SPY GODDESS: TO HAWAII, WITH LOVE. More great reviews. More fan rejoicing.

Author writes third book SPY GODDESS: THE SPY WHO TOTALLY HAD A CRUSH ON ME and…the publisher says “Sorry no more Spy Goddess novels.”

Ouch.

We try a couple of Manga versions of Spy Goddess to see if that will work. It doesn’t. And I get angry letters from readers who ‘hate’ manga and actually ‘curse’ me for turning their beloved novels into ‘cartoons’.

So the manuscript sits there lonely on my hard drive, yearning to breathe free. Fans continue to email and send letters. Actual hand-written letters, asking me when the next book will be out. And all I can tell them is there won’t be another book.

Except now there is. While all of this time passed, these things like I-Pads and Nooks and Kindles and Kobo’s and Lions and Tigers and Bears started cropping up all over the place. And I started thinking, I bet if I could put SPY GODDESS: THE SPY WHO TOTALLY HAD A CRUSH ON ME out as an ebook, people would buy it. So will they? Time will tell. But if you’ve been waiting for more adventures of Rachel Buchanan and Mr. Kim and Blackthorn Academy this new book picks up right where SPY GODDESS: TO HAWAII, WITH LOVE left off. For all intents and purposes the Manga never happened. Never. Happened.

I’m considering this as an experiment. If it works, then more Spy Goddess books could follow. I hope you’ll pick up…err…download a copy (I’ll never get used to saying that) and let me know what you think.

And tell all your friends!

Your authorness!

Michael P. Spradlin

PS For those of you who don’t have an e-reader, fear not, follow this link and you can download a PDF that you read on a computer!

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/98104

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Neither the Green Arrow or Hawkeye are what could be considered major characters in the Marvel or DC Universes. As I’m always saying, anyone can be a Superman or Spiderman fan but it takes real dedication to favor the Red Tornado or Nightwing. And for a long time the only place where I could find the Green Arrow or Hawkeye was when they teamed up with another more popular character or they went to the Justice League (Green Arrow) or Avengers (Hawkeye) meetings. In those cases my two favorite archers might get off a wise crack or two and that would be it.

I was thrilled, when I found that Marvel had started a new four issue series called Hawkeye: Blindspot. And when I read it, I was even more thrilled, not just because it’s a great story, but it’s also a great introduction for young readers to learn about a member of the Avengers. And remember how I’ve said that we have an opportunity to use the power of popular culture to inspire kids to read? Hawkeye: Blindspot is a great place to start because next summer we’ll see him in the Avengers Movie in theatre’s everywhere and Hawkeye will have a major role. Reading Blindspot will give your young reader an introduction to Hawkeye and his role in the Avenger universe as well a summary of his life story and how he became a hero and an Avenger whom Captain America himself said “might be the very best of us.” (Also, if you’ve seen the Thor movie, you’ve already seen a cameo by Jeremy Renner who will star as Hawkeye in the Avengers movie).

So here are four reasons why you should try out Hawkeye: Blindspot on your reluctant reader.

1) It tells Hawkeye’s story, so you need not have read anything about him before you read Blindspot

2) It’s a great story filled with action and a great premise. Hawkeye is the worlds greatest archer. But on a mission he is injured and is losing his vision. Not a good thing if you’re an archer.

3) A villain from Hawkeye’s pasts shows up and Hawkeye, like all heroes and despite his handicap, most find a way to stop this evil person from wreaking havoc on the innocent.

4) As mentioned next summer The Avengers will be the biggest movie events of the summer. Hawkeye will help your young reader get up to speed on what is sure to be a fantastic movie event. And who knows. They just might want to read more!

And that’s the point of it all, isn’t it!

Your authorness,

Michael Spradlin

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Lately, I’ve been on a crusade to encourage kids to read more comics. I’ve also been trying to inspire teachers, librarians and parents to let kids read more comics. I think we now have a tremendous opportunity with Hollywood cranky out so many movies based on comics and graphic novels, to use this medium as a tool to help reluctant readers, especially boys, get hooked on reading.

If you’re a parent who loved comics as a kid, why not start reading them again ? After all kids pay more attention to what you do, than what you say. Rediscover the love of Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman or Supergirl that you had as a kid. If  you start reading comics, I’ll bet your kids will too. And I’ll be willing to bet, once they start reading comics, they’ll start reading other things. Like, you know, books. Take them to a comic shop and let them look around. Tell them they can’t have an action figure, but they can have a comic book! (You can come back later and get them the action figure!) Note: If your community doesn’t have a comic shop, there are a ton of online comic sellers, so let your child browse their selection and find one they like.

I really believe we have a golden opportunity now to use the power of popular culture to inspire our kids to read more. And don’t just take my word for it. There is a ton of research showing that comics are a great way to get reluctant readers hooked on reading. Here is just one article.

And to encourage more kids, parents, teachers and librarians I’m going to do my part by reviewing comics on a regular basis. And trying to give you some of my recommendations of what I think you or your young reader might like. I think it’s a worthwhile experiment. Trust me. Reading comics as a kid, made me want to read other things. And I know a lot of my writer friends say the same thing.

So to kick things off, this week, I’m recommending FLASHPOINT #1. In brief, the original Flash, Barry Allan was killed a long time ago and replaced by the original Kid Flash, Wally West. But now Barry Allan is back from the dead. And as usual, when someone comes back from the dead, things have a tendency to go wrong. Way wrong. Like Universe altering wrong. And this story is a suspenseful page-turner as ‘back from the dead Barry’ is trying to figure out what the heck is going on and why the world is upside down. Things really get weird when Barry discovers that all of a sudden the world he knew is completely changed. There is no Superman. There is no Justice League. There is a Batman, but he is not the Batman you think he is. Intrigued? I was. And I think you will be. Flashpoint #1 is on sale now and I believe this is a good way for you and your child to connect over a book. It might not be a traditional book, but remember this:

Reading is reading.

More later

Your authorness

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I grew up in a one stoplight town in Michigan. A little farming community of about 1500 people. A place where everyone knew everyone else. Before I get all maudlin

Layne and I with actor Barry Corbin

talking about how life was better then, simpler, less hectic and all the other things I find myself saying more often these days, as I slide ever closer to curmudgeonhood, let me just say, one of the fondest memories of my childhood were the TV and movie westerns that I loved. In my opinion, there is very little that can compete with a classic oater. Bonanza, Gunsmoke, High Chaparral, The Big Valley, these were the shows I cut my teeth on as a youngster. And I grew up with an appreciation of western history and all things ‘cowboy’.

My Wrangler Award enjoys the after party at the Marriott

And my love of the west didn’t stop with movies and television. In college, my specialty within my history major was American Westward Expansion. I learned the Turner thesis and studied the scholarship of western scholars. My love of western history is plainly evident in many of the books I’ve written like TEXAS RANGERS: Legendary Lawmen and OFF LIKE THE WIND! The First Ride Of The Pony Express! And to this day I still study and consume books and movies and documentaries on the American West.

This weekend, I found myself in Oklahoma City to receive the Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. The award was given for Best Juvenile Book for OFF LIKE THE WIND! The First Ride Of The Pony Express. The award was presented at a black tie gala and hosted by actors Ed Harris and Rex Linn. Some call it the “Cowboy Oscars” and having gone through it, I’d say that’s a pretty close description. From the red carpet arrival at the museum to having my award presented to me (along with illustrator Layne Johnson) by Patrick Wayne, (that’s right The Duke’s son!) seeing cowboy stars like Robert Fuller and Stuart Whitman and Barry Corbin…all I can say is what a night!

The Wrangler Award at the Black Tie Gala. That's me in the background

Not only was the event a fabulous evening, being able to share with my wife and daughter and with Layne and his family made it all the more enjoyable. I hope I’ll get to write and publish more books on the Great American West. And while my childhood dream of becoming a cowboy never became a reality, I think maybe this was the next best thing.

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Now I get to go to the awards ceremony in Oklahoma City this April and pick up my ‘Wrangler,’ a bronze sculpture, designed by western artist John Free. I get to wear a tuxedo attend all kinds of fancy soirees and watch lots of famous performers like Sam Elliott and others get their awards. I might nearly faint from the excitement. Especially if Sam Elliott is there again because he’s just about the coolest cowboy ever.

Folks say it’s always just as great an honor to be nominated for an award as it is to actually win it. Those folks are wrong. Winning is soooo much better. And of course, with OFF LIKE THE WIND! being such a collaborative effort, I must thank my friend, Layne Johnson for his incomparable talent in bringing this book roaring to life through his beautiful paintings. Congratulations to you Layne! And thanks to my wife and family and my editor Stacy Cantor at Walker Books For Young Readers and my agent Steven Chudney for actually suggesting the book!

But mostly I would like to thank you. All of you: readers, librarians, booksellers, teachers and educators for supporting me and my work. If you don’t read my books, if you don’t buy my books, if you don’t recommend my books to your customers, students and patrons, then I simply don’t get published. And then winning an award is moot.

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. And if you’ll forgive me for asking one more time, if you haven’t purchased your copy of OFF LIKE THE WIND! yet, will now is the time! Because baby… it’s an award winner!

Your authorness!

Michael P. Spradlin
Award Winning Author!

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Check out the Preview Video for Off Like the Wind! The First Ride of the Pony Express below.

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

When did you know that you first wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t. I must have started thinking about how I could get published when I was still in the womb.

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What book or writer/artist do you feel influenced you the most?

That is really a tough question because there are so many. My earliest influences of the joy of storytelling were definitely the Brothers Grimm and Lewis Carroll. Those were the first books I read and they delight influence me still.

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What book or books are you currently reading or have recently read that you’d recommend to others?

Rock ‘n roll biographies are my main guilty pleasure, reading-wise, so I was very excited to read Life, the new Keith Richards memoir. I just finished reading it and it was terrific – truly a cut above the rest. I highly recommend it!

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If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

Don’t do it for the money! On a related note; don’t quit your day job. But ultimately, if you must write; meaning, if it truly calls you, then there’s nothing for it – you must do it. And if you must do it, then READ – as much as you can.

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Can you share with us your next project or any information about the next book you’re working on?

I am currently at work on another novel – again in the area of psychological suspense – but there are other ideas brewing too.

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Were there really only nine?

By Stephen Dafoe

For the past few installments, we have been taking a close look at the final days of the Knights Templar and the myths connected to that part of their story. But the origins of the Order are equally clouded in legend.

Though we may not be able to recite all of their names by heart, most people who have studied the Templars know there were nine men who formed the original Order in the early years of the twelfth century.

But were there really nine?

The traditional list of founding members of the Knights Templar comes to us, not from the time of the Templars, but from the writings of the French historian Charles du Fresne du Cange (1610-1688) who recorded them in his book Les familles d’outre-mer, published nearly two centuries after his death. In fact, the Templars kept no minutes or records of their early days, at least none that have survived, so to form a picture of those early days we must examine what contemporary chroniclers wrote about them and their humble beginnings.

Our notion that Hugh de Payens and Godfrey de St. Omer were joined by seven valiant knights comes to us largely from the writings of William, Archbishop of Tyre (1130 – 1190), however, William does not tell us that there were nine at the start, but rather that in their first nine years of existence, the Templars could raise no more than nine men. Although William was born in the Holy Land, he was not an eyewitness to the formation of the Templars. In fact, the Templars had already existed for more than a decade when William was born, and his chronicle was written many years later around the time of the Battle of Hattin (1187) when the Templars were well established.

Another medieval chronicler contemporary with the time of the Templars was Michael the Syrian, Patriarch of Antioch. In Michael’s account of the Templars’ beginnings we are told that Hugh de Payens had travelled to the Holy Land and vowed to never return to France. After serving in King Baldwin II’s army for a period of three years, de Payens, along with the thirty knights who had accompanied him east, accepted the king’s advice to continue to serve the cause. According to Michael, Baldwin granted the knights a portion of the al Aqsa Mosque, believed to be Solomon’s Temple, and thus the Templars were born.

Although Michael the Syrian’s account has received less attention outside historical circles, it is certainly a more plausible account of the formation of the Templars than William’s assertion of just nine knights in nine years.

But there is another, more fanciful account of the early days of the Order that is worthy of mention; the story presented by Walter Map, the Archdeacon of Oxford and a clerk in the court of King Henry II of England. While both Michael the Syrian and William of Tyre credit Hugh de Payens as the leader, Walter introduces us to a Burgundian knight named Paganus, who single-handily took on the task of defending Christian pilgrims. In Walter’s story (more in keeping with Arthurian legend than medieval history) Paganus was troubled to see Christians regularly attacked at a horse pool near to Jerusalem. It was only after his opponents became too numerous for him to handle on his own that he petitioned for assistance. However, that assistance was not to come from the king of Jerusalem, but rather from the monks of the Temple of the Lord (Church of the Holy Sepulchre). Like the traditional account, Map’s story tells us that the canons of the Lord’s Temple granted Paganus a base of operations from which to draw more knights to the cause.

After several centuries, we will perhaps never know precisely how many Templars there were in those early days, but what remains important is the fact that the Order grew over the years to serve the cause of Christianity for nearly two centuries.

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

It’s a fascinating story. Be sure to visit www.templarhistory.com and learn even more about the fascinating history of The Knights Templar.

The Templar’s Demise – a three-part series on the demise of the Knights Templar

Part Three: The Curse of Jacques de Molay

By Stephen Dafoe

In August of 1308, Pope Clement V had issued a papal bull calling for a general church council to be held at Vienne in October of 1310. The purpose of the council was to try the matter of the heinous charges levelled against the Templars by King Philip IV of France. However, the council was postponed a year – not out of any procrastination, but because the papal commission who had been given the task of collecting evidence was having difficulties. Witnesses and testimonies contracted one another or, in many cases, even themselves.  When all was said and done, the commission determined that the Templars and their Rule of Order were orthodox, but that some peculiar and unworthy aspects had been allowed to creep into the Templar initiation ceremonies. Those who had acknowledged these errors were absolved of their sins and reinstated with the Church, as was the case at Chinon in Tours. It was this conclusion that was to be presented to the Council of Vienne, a matter that, had it been brought to full light, would have changed the face of Templar history.

But such was not to be the case. Although the church fathers who had gathered at the council were, for the most part, doubtful of the Orders’ guilt, King Philip had no intention of letting the matter go in the Order’s favor. On 20 March, 1312, Philip, along with a sizeable portion of his army arrived at Vienne. Within two days, Clement called a special meeting with his commissioners and a number of cardinals, who, in a four-fifths majority, voted to dissolve the Order of the Temple. The result was the papal bull Vox in Excelso, penned on 22 March and read publicly on 3 April. With so much evidence in support of the continuation – albeit modified – existence of the Templars, Clement knew that his report would be met with resistance. To this end, a clerk announced that anyone who rose to speak to the matter without permission would be excommunicated. Of course, with Philip sitting in the council chambers and his army sitting outside, there was little that could be done. After all, Clement did not wish to suffer the same fate as his predecessor Boniface VIII, in whose death, Philip had played a prominent role.

But even in the bull dissolving the Templars, a document of far greater important than the Chinon Parchment, we see that it was not the Order’s guilt, but reputation that was the cause.

“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.”

Of course, this was but the first of several papal bulls dealing with the dismantling of an Order that had served Christendom for nearly two centuries. A short time later, Clement issued the bull Ad Providam, which transferred Templar properties and assets to the Hospitallers, who were further authorized to pay the former Templars a pension. In the end, Philip had succeeded in destroying the Templars, but failed to acquire any of their assets for himself. But it would not be his last dealing with the now defunct Order or its members; for de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Templars, was still in prison.

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The Death of de Molay

The story of Jacques de Molay’s final hours is an important one to Masonic Templars; for we see in his martyrdom a great act of resolve in the hour of danger, and a human parallel to the sufferings of Christ on the Cross. But de Molay’s execution, while a matter of historical record, has been greatly embellished over the years to include the notion that the last Grand Master cursed the king and pope, who died soon after. Although this story has formed the pinnacle of the Templar mythos for many years, early chroniclers mentioned de Molay’s execution in passing. The most reliable of the contemporary accounts comes to us from the continuation of the chronicles of Guillaume de Nangis. The writer tells us that on the Feast of St. Gregory (March 18) de Molay and other Templar leaders were brought to the steps of Notre Dame de Paris to hear the final decision of three cardinals, who had been charged with determining their fate. According to the chronicle, de Molay and Geoffrey de Charney – upon learning that they were to remain in prison for the rest of their lives – interrupted the cardinals in protest, retracting their pervious confessions. When Philip learned of the matter, he moved swiftly and ordered the same fate for the Templar leaders that he had issued to the fifty-four knights he’d burned at the stake in 1310. That evening de Molay and de Charney were taken to a little isle on the Seine and executed.

And this is where the curse myth begins, for the writer of the chronicle tells us that “They were seen to be so prepared to sustain the fire with easy mind and will that they brought from all those who saw them much admiration and surprise for the constancy of their death and final denial…” Beautiful and poetic words that should have been sufficient to solidify de Molay’s memory in the heart of all Templars; however, others would add to the story. In the popular tale, told in many Masonic templar settings over the years, de Molay did not suffer his fate with resolve and calm mind, but pronounced that before the end of the year Philip and Clement would meet him before God to answer for their crimes. While is certainly true that both men followed de Molay in death; Clement on April 20, as a result of his long suffered illness and Philip on November 29, after being thrown from a horse while hunting, it was not the curse that was responsible for the timing of their deaths, but the timing of their deaths that was responsible for the curse.

The closest contemporary source to the curse story comes from the words of Geoffrey de Paris, a clerk in Philip’s court who wrote in a poem that de Molay said God would avenge the Templars, for he knew who was truly in the wrong. It is not until 1330 that the curse legend begins to truly take form in the works of an Italian chronicler named Feretto de Ferretis, who puts the curse, not in de Molay’s mouth, but in the mouth of an anonymous Templar. Not until the sixteenth century, do we see the words actually ascribed to de Molay, when the French historian Paul Émile became the first to make the claim in his De rebus gestis francorum, published in 1548. Unfortunately, Émile was not the last and the myth of de Molay’s dying words has continued long after the Order he led has vanished into the pages of history and legend.

Having spent the past few installments covering the end of the Templars, the next article in this series will jump back to the beginning and examine the history and mythology surrounding the origins of the Templars in the years that followed the First Crusade.

Check back next week for another exciting Templar Tuesday!

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Be sure to visit the fabulous website at www.templarhistory.com and his numerous volumes on a variety of Templar related topics.

The Templar’s Demise – a three-part series on the demise of the Knights Templar

Part Two: Revenge Destroys Everything

By Stephen Dafoe

They spit on the Holy Cross, these Knights Templar. Not only do they deny the divinity of Christ during their reception, they do not even worship God Almighty, but a graven idol instead.

These accusations, well known to many Templars, were the words of a renegade member of the Order named Esquin de Floryan, who – according to some accounts – had been imprisoned and subsequently made his claims known to his fellow inmates out of revenge. But sharing rumours with cellmates is of little benefit to a man longing for freedom. As such, de Floryan was eager to share the juicy gossip with Philip IV. The French King was not his first choice, for he had previously told the story to the King of Aragon, James II, who dismissed the rumours as the rubbish they were. Whether he actually believed the accusations, Philip was all too willing to make use of them to his full benefit, and immediately informed Clement V of all that had come before his ears.

Clement responded to Philip in a letter of 24 August, 1307 letting the king know that he was planning to launch a formal investigation into the accusations in October. Philip, of course, had no intention of letting the matter wait another two months and issued a letter to his bailiffs on 14 September, authorizing them to arrest the Templars 30 days later.

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The Arrest of the Templars

On October 13, Philip’s men acted on the arrest orders, launching a series of raids on Templar properties throughout France. One of the more popular myths regarding this period of Templar history is that the Templars learned of the arrest orders early on and escaped in large number. The consensus among modern historians is that the Templars had little to no advance notice, although it is generally agreed that de Molay was aware of the rumours in circulation. Official records record twelve members of the Order who managed to escape and most of these were ultimately captured. Among them was Gérard de Villiers, the former Master of France and Imbert Blanke, the Master of Auvergne, who crossed over into England with a handful of brethren. Blanke was later captured and went on to play a role in defending the English Templars.

Regardless of just how many French Templars snuck away in the quiet of the night, no myth regarding their escape has gained more currency than the notion that the Templar fleet set sail from the French port of La Rochelle. According to the popular tale, the Templars loaded 18 galleys with men and treasure and pulled anchor, sailing for points unknown. The source of this myth comes from the testimony of Jean de Châlons, a serving brother, who said that he had heard that de Villiers had set sail with 18 galleys. De Châlons’s testimony regarding the Templar galleys was not based on first hand knowledge; rather it was merely a repeated rumour. Given that the rest of his testimony was damning of the Order, it is doubtful that there was any truth to his claims. The fact remains that the Templars simply did not have that sort of naval presence at the time. After the dissolution of the Templars in 1312, the Hospitallers became more involved in naval warfare as a result of their occupation of Rhodes; however, at that time they are recorded as having only four galleys. As such, the idea that the Templars had so large a fleet stretches credulity.

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The Interrogation of the Templars

De Floryan had told Philip but a handful of lies about the Order, but by the time the French King had the Templars in custody, the laundry list of heresies had expanded to some 87 articles of accusation, including sodomy and the worship of a bearded head. In Paris, 138 members of the Order were put through a series of interrogations beginning on 19 October. Even in this Philip showed his cunning, as the depositions were to be sent to the king in sealed envelopes, but the details were to be widely circulated to help sway public opinion. Of course, it was equally important to make sure that the enclosures had just the right information. The Templars were kept isolated form one another and informed that both king and pope were aware of the scandalous activities of the Order; pardoned awaited the confessed, while certain death awaited the unrepentant. Of course, a little medieval torture was thrown in for good measure; for nothing will make a man say things that are untrue like the crack of a whip. It is hard to imagine how a group of knights who had remained on the field of battle despite incredible odds could cave to such measures, but it is important to remember that the majority of incarcerated Templars were not battle toughened warriors, but serving members of the Order. In all 36 Templars succumbed to the torments of their jailers and died before testifying.

On 27 November, Clement issued the bull Pastoralis praeminentiae, authorizing the arrest of the Templars throughout Christendom. The bull was not met with enthusiasm and even in countries that followed the papal orders, torture was not generally used and the arrests were with great reluctance.

Clement was not at all pleased with Philip’s handling of the matter and suspended the trial in February of 1308, demanding that it be handled by the Church. The pope capitulated to the king’s pressure and resumed the trials in July; however, he insisted that they remain under the Church’s control. In August, Clement issued another bull, Regnans in coelis, calling for a general council to be held at Vienne in October of 1310.

To prepare for the council, a new set of interrogations was commenced by the Church with a true desire to get to the bottom of the matter without the use of torture. Among the many interrogations were those conducted at the castle of Chinon in Tours, which have been made famous with the recent exaggerated claims about the discovery of the Chinon Parchment. In actual fact, the document is well known to historians, having been published in Étienne Baluze’s Lives of the Popes of Avignon in 1693. The papal commission who interviewed de Molay and other Templar leaders at Chinon absolved them from excommunication, but despite recent claims, did not find the Order innocent.

A call was sent out requesting those Templars who wished to defend the Order to assemble at Paris.  By February 1310, 600 Templars came forth with a desire to testify, but in so doing they set up a catch-twenty-two for themselves with respect to Philip. Having previously confessed during the first set of interrogations, Philip argued that any subsequent recantations would mark them as lapsed heretics – an offence punishable by death.

On 12 May, 1310, fifty-four Templars were turned over to the king’s men and burned at the stake in Paris. They would not be the last.

Check back next week for another exciting Templar Tuesday!

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

The Templar’s Demise – a three-part series on the demise of the Knights Templar

By Stephen Dafoe

Part One: The End Is The Beginning Is The End

On 28 May, 1291 the Templars relinquished their fortified compound to the Mamluks who had been besieging the port city of Acre for the past six weeks. The Mamluks had actually breached the city walls ten days earlier, but the Templars were the last to leave the field, a situation that was a long-standing tradition with the Order.

The loss of Acre was not merely another crusader defeat, for the port had been home to the Templars and Hospitallers for nearly a century; having been captured by Richard the Lionheart on 12 July, 1191. Although the capture of Acre marked the passing of the era of the Crusader States for Christendom, the Templars suffered as well. Not only had they lost their headquarters in the east, they also lost their grand master, William de Beaujeu, who was killed during the battle.

De Beaujeu was replaced by Theobald Gaudin, who was elected by his brethren at the Templar fortress at Sidon, 60 miles north of Acre. One of Gaudin’s first actions as head of the Order was to remove himself to the Island of Cyprus to recruit assistance for his brethren. No help was to be received and on 12 July, the knights abandoned their last fortress on the mainland, joining their brethren on Cyprus.

When Pope Nicholas IV learned of the Christian defeat at Acre, he immediately made arrangements to take back the Holy Land. Part of his plan was to unite the military Orders into one cohesive unit. Of course the idea was not an original one, having been tossed around as early as 1274. Although Nicholas appointed a committee to investigate the idea, he died before their report was completed. A year later, Jacques de Molay, who had succeeded de Beaujeu as grand master, left the Island of Cyprus on a three-year tour of England, France, Aragon and Italy in the hopes of drumming up support for his own plan to recapture the Holy Land. De Molay wasn’t looking for fresh bodies to fight the enemies of Christendom, but to look for arms and aide for the cause. Pope Boniface VIII accommodated the Templars by issuing the Order a series of papal favours in 1297. The fact that the Holy Church was willing to continue its support of the Templars discredits the notion that after the loss of Acre, the Templars lost favour with the Holy See.

Although de Molay returned to Cyprus in 1296, the Templars did not involve themselves in many military campaigns; however, they seem to have become immersed in Cyprian political intrigue at the turn of the century, culminating in a change of Cyprian crowns in 1306.

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De Molay and the pope

In the fall of that year, de Molay was once again on the move to France, having been summoned by Pope Clement V, who had resuscitated Nicholas’s idea of uniting the military Orders. It is at this point in the story where some popular Templar mythology needs to be debunked. Many modern works on the Templars make the claim that the real reason for Clement summoning de Molay to France was to lead him into a trap. This notion is apocryphally based on the unfortunate events that followed de Molay’s arrival. To understand the matter, we should understand a bit about Clement V and King Philip IV.

Philip became King of France at the age of 17, was the eleventh in a continuous line of male heirs to occupy the throne and, perhaps most importantly, was the grandson of a saint.  But the Capetian Dynasty’s rich lineage had left young Philip with far more than big shoes to fill – massive war debt accumulated by his father’s battles in Aragon had left the country strapped for cash. Philip tried a variety of remedies – fiddling with the currency and even taxing the clergy, the latter of which created a long-standing riff between the king and Pope Boniface VIII. Philip’s remedy for that strife was to have the pope arrested; this was the same man who had proclaimed his grandfather King Louis IX a saint. It would be no surprise when Philip would turn on the Templars, who had helped bail his grandfather out of Egypt when he was captured during the crusades.

But while much of what has been written about Philip and the Templars is accurate, the story of Bertrand de Got – latterly known as Pope Clement V – is not. Although Bertrand and Philip had been childhood friends, their paths departed considerably in later life, de Got supporting Boniface VIII in his struggles with the French king. Many accounts of this period of Templar history have made the claim that Clement’s choosing to fulfil his papal duties from France rather than Rome was directly connected to the marionette strings of his king and master, Philip IV. This is certainly not the case. Clement was a Frenchman by birth and chose Avignon because political conflicts in Rome made Rome an unsafe place to do papal business. This was certainly nothing new, for Pope Urban II, who launched the First Crusade, had experienced similar problems during his rein, forcing his into exile for several years.

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Uniting the Orders

From the safety of his Avignon throne, Clement V could focus part of his attention on the concept of uniting the crusading Orders into one all-powerful unit. In 1292, a man named Raymond Lull, who had written several treatises on recapturing the Holy Land, had put forth the idea of uniting the Orders under a Rex Bellator or war king. It was a position that Philip IV was willing to relinquish his monarchy to obtain, perhaps looking to live up the ideals of his crusading grandfather.

Although Philip, longing for the hot Levantine sun, may have loved the concept, de Molay, who had spent many years in the east, was less positive about the notion. In his report to Clement V, de Molay expressed his doubts on the grounds that the Templars and Hospitallers had existed separate for many years and the rivalry between the two Orders had benefited Christendom. Additionally, uniting the two Orders would require a new Rule of Order to be drafted. The Templar master feared that the less strict Hospitaller way of life would pollute that of the Templars.

With such important matters to Christendom being contemplated, it was understandable that the streets of Paris were rife with rumors. But they were not the only rumors involving the Templars – there was also the talk of heresy.

Check back next week for another exciting Templar Tuesday!

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