Chapter X.

Examinfttian of the raplive Kni|;lil9 — Difineut kinds of Tor- turo— CniUKS of CoDfesbion— Wliat Confeubna wcro made —Templars brought befpru the Pope— Their DBcliirnlioua— Papal Commissioa — MoUy brought before it — Fonsard de Gisi- Defeoden of the Older— Act of Accusntion- Headl of Defance— Witnesses against the Order— Fifty-four Tem- plars committed (o the flames at Paris— EBiraikable words of Ayineric ie ViUars-U -Due— Templars burnt in other Places — Further EKamin&tlDns — The Head worshipped by the Templars— John de Pollincourt- Petur de hi Palu.
The charge of conducting (he inquiry against the society was commilteii by Philip, without askiiif? or waiting for the Pope's approbation, to Imbert, who lost no time in proceeding to action. He wrote to all the inquiaitors of his order, direcling Ihem to proceed against the Templars, as he had already done himself; and, incase of ascertaining the truth of the charges, to communicate it to the Minorite Friars, or some other order, that the people might take no olfence at the procedure ; and to send the declarations as soon as possible to the king: and himself. They were to use no cruelty towards the prisoners ; but, if necessary, they might employ the torture. On the 19th October, six days after their seizure, Imbert commenced his examinations at the Temple of Paris. Otic hundred and forty prisoners were examined; -' i"n, by promises and by the aid of the torture, con- 'n abundance were procured. Thirty-six of '•jhts expired under the gentle method em-
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ployed to extract the truth from them. The zealous Imberl then proceeded to Bayeun, MetK, Toul, and Verdun ; io all which places examinations were held and confessions estorted in thR same way. It was, however, carefully slated in each deposition, that the witness had spoken without any constraint.
As nur readers fortmiately cannot be supposed familiarly acquainted with the mild and gentle modes employed by the brethren of St. Daminic, for eUcit- ing the lruth,we will present ash^ht sketch of some of them, tliat Ihey may be able to form some idea of the value of rack-entorled testimony.
Sometimes ihe patient was stripped naked, his hands were tied behind hi.s back, heavy weights were fastened to his feet, and the cord which confined fab hands passed over a pulley. At a ^iven signal he was hoisted into the air, where he hung suspended hy his arms, which were thus drawn out of their natural position : then suddenly the coi^ would be let run, but checked before the patient reached the ground, and thus a tremendous shock given to his frame. Another mode of torture was to fasten the feet of the patient on an instrument, wbich prevented his drawing thern back; they were then rubbed with some unclious substance, and set belbre a flaming lire; a board was occasionally placed between his feet and the fire, and withdrawn again, in order to increase his pain by intervals of cesEation, The heel of the patient was at times enclosed in an iron heel, wbich cnuld be tightened at pleasure, and thus caused ekcruciating pain. What was regarded as a very gentle mode, and only indulged to those who had not Btrenj;th to undergo the preceding tortures, was to place round sticks between their liiigers, and compress them till the bones of the fingers were cracked. The teeth of Ihe Templars were occasion- ally drawn, their fect^oasted, weiglils suspended
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from all parts of their bodies; and lliua tliey gave their testimony without const r:i i ii t '.
What IB understood as testimony or confession, by inquisitors, is an affirmative answer to sucb questions as they ask, They usually assume the guilt of the accused ; and no witnesses for the defence are heard. It is useless to prove the absurdity and unreasonable- ness of the charges ; for that would be impugning the sense and judgment of those who gave ear to them ; and promises are always held out that, if full and free confession is made, ihe criminal will he gently dealt with. The accused is, moreover, always coQ- fined in a solitary cell ; he has none to console and cheer him ; he feeb abandnned by the whole world; conscious innocence is of no avail ; his only hope is in the mercy of his judge. The Templars, we must recollect, were seized towards the coromeuoe- ment of winter ; and at that season u dungeon of the middle ages must have been cheerless beyond de- scription. They were barely allowed the necessaries of life ; they were stripped of the habit of the order, and denied the eousolations of religiuu, for they were treated as heretics; and they were shown a real or pretended letter of their Master, in which he cou- fessetl the crimes of the order, and exhorted them to do the same. Enthusiasts in religion or politics are supported by the consciousness of rectitude, aud bear up against privations or torture in firm reliance on the favour of the Divinity, or the praise and esteem of a grateful and ailmiring posterity. But the great majority of the Templars were far from beiujn; such characters; they were illiterate knights, who had long lived in luxury and indulged in arrogance ; they knew themsetves to be objects of dislike to many, and felt that their power was gone. Need we then be sur- prised that, beguiled by the hopes held out, immberti of them readily acknowledged all the charges made
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against their order? and must we not so much the more admire the conslancy of those who, uuseduced by flatttrin^ hopes, and undismayed by menaces and torture, yielded up llieir breath rather thau confess a. falsehooil?
At Paris the kniglits who confessed acknowledged the denial of Christ (this ntis the point which the inquisitors were most anxious to establish), but in an uncertain, contradictory mauner. as what was said uti one examination was retracted on another, or was eular an idol was adored in their chapters, .^t Ntmes, in November, 1307, forty-five knisihts confessed the (tuilt of the order. They aflerwurds retracted ; but in 1311 the torture made them reyert to their original declaration. At Troyes two knights confessed every- thing that was required of them. At Pont de I'Arche seven confessed. These and six others were ap;ain examined at Caen ; they terminated (heir declarations byimploring the mercy of the Church, and entreating with tears lo be spared the torture. Those examined at Carcassonne all deposed to the worship of the ima^e ; but some of them afterwards retracted that admission, and died maintaining the innocence of the order. Sin Templars at Bigorre * and seven at Cahors confessed ; but several of them afterwards retracted.
Philip and his creatures were at this stage of their career, when the pope began to testify some little dissatisfaction at the irregularity of the pro- ceedings. The king instantly wrote to upbraid him
■ In the church of the romantic hamlet of GaTaraie, a few leagues from Bareges, on the road to Spain, in the heart of the Hautes Vp^ai^a, are sliuwa twelie skulls.which are said to have been Ihoae of Templan who vrere beheatled in that place. The tradition ta, in all probability, incorrect ; but the Templars had poiieinoEu in Bigoire.
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with his lukewarmness in the cause of reh'fpon. He stated that the bisliops, who were his (the king's) helpers in the ijoverrinient oi' the Church, were the fittest persons to carry on the business, on account of their local ItnowledRe ; and added that neitlier he nor they could comply with the desires of the pope : '' he acted,'' he said, " as the servant of God, and must render to God his account." Clement could not venture to impede the pious labours of such a. xealous servant of the Lord ; he cancelled the bull tvhicli he had prepared on the subject, only requiring; that each bishop's inquisitors should be confirined by a provincial council, and that the examination of the heads of the order should he reserved for himself. Philip then condescended to offer to put the captives into the hands of the papal judges, and to devote the goods of the order to the profit of the Holy Land. The clergy declined taking charge of the linighis, and Ihe king and pope managed the pro- perty of the order in common.
In the beginning of the year 1308, we are told", the Master of tlie Templars, the preceptor of Cyprus, the visiter of France, and the great-priors of Aqui- laine and Normandy, were brought before the pope at Chinon, where they voluntarily, and without the application of any torture, confessed the truth of the enormities laid to the charge of the order. They abjured their errors, and the cardinals implored the king in their favour.