The Knights Templar had been the final Christian defenders of Acre in 1291. Although little is known of Jacques de Molay’s early life he was almost certainly among the troops that defended the city. He was elected Grand Master the following year, but struggled to build support among Europe’s leaders for a new Crusade to reconquer the Holy Land.
By early 1307 Molay had travelled from the Templar base in Cyprus to France, where he had been invited to attend a meeting with Pope Clement V. However, this coincided with a series of accusations of sacrilege levelled against the Templar Knights regarding their initiation ceremony. On 13 October, the day after he served as a pallbearer at the funeral of King Philip’s sister-in-law, Catherine of Courtenay, Molay and a number of other Templar knights were arrested on the orders of the King.
The knights were tortured into confessing to various sacrilegious acts, but then began a protracted period of confession and retraction that lasted for a number of years. Finally on 18 March 1314 Molay and three other senior Templars were sentenced to indefinite imprisonment. However Molay and fellow Templar Geoffroi de Charney then professed their innocence, causing King Philip to declare them relapsed heretics and condemn them to death. They were burnt at the stake later that day.
The Knights Templar was formally abolished by Pope Clement V, but Molay's execution secured his place as one of the Order’s most famous members.
