The Curse Of Jacques de Molay—The Last Grand Master of the Templars

After being tortured and humiliated, along with other Knights of the Order of the Temple, on March 18, 1314, Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Templars, was burned upon a scaffold. Jacques de Molay successfully organized between 1293 and 1305 a number of expeditions against the Muslims and managed to enter Jerusalem in 1298, defeating the Sultan of Egypt, Malej Nacer, in 1299 near the city of Emesa. In 1300 de Molay organized an incursion into Alexandria and was about to recover the city of Tartus, on the Syrian coast, but was eventually defeated. In 1307, Pope Clement V, Beltran de Goth and the king of France, Felipe IV, ordered the arrest of Jacques de Molay and that of the other knights under the accusation of sacrilege against the Holy Cross, simony, heresy and idolatry towards Baphomet and Lucifer. Molay declared and recognized, under torture the charges that had been imposed on him; although he subsequently retracted them. This led to his death as he was eventually burned upon a scaffold in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, where he recanted one more time, in public of all the accusations he had been forced to admit. [caption id="attachment_33911" align="aligncenter" width="1005"] Interrogation of Jacques de Molay. 19th-century print. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain[/caption] Before dying, proud of the loyalty to France with which he and his men had triumphed in whatever mission was entrusted to them, and aware that the king of France had conspired to destroy the Templars, he cast a curse on all those involved in the flagrant betrayal. Before dying, Jacques de Molay proclaimed the innocence of the Order and, according to legend, cursed the guilty of the conspiracy: “God knows who is in the wrong and has sinned. Misfortune will soon befall those who have wrongly condemned us; God will avenge our deaths. Make no mistake, all who are against us will suffer because of us. I beseech you to turn my face towards the Virgin Mary, of whom our Lord Christ was born.” (Geoffroi de Paris) Some say his curse came true as Pope Clement died only a month later, and King Philip died in a hunting accident before the end of the year. The Order of the Temple was born in 1129 and was quickly established as one of the most prestigious organizations of medieval Christendom. They were relentless fighting in the Crusades and their expert management as an innovator of finance laid the foundations of the modern banking system. Over time, they gained a lot of money and power, to such an extent that they came to lend money to several states. One of their creditors was Philip IV himself, King of France. With the double intention of keeping the money and ending the order, he is believed to have conspired with Pope Clement V to bring an end the Templars, in 1307.