July 26, 1309: Heinrich VII of Luxembourg is recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V

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Heinrich VII is recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V, Henry of Luxembourg, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, King Philip IV the Fair of France, Pope Clement V

Heinrich VII (c. 1273–August 24, 1313), also known as Heinrich of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of the Romans (or Rex Romanorum) from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emperor of the House of Luxembourg.

Born around 1273 in Valenciennes, he was a son of Count Henri VI of Luxembourg and Béatrice from the House of Avesnes. Raised at the French court, he was the lord of comparatively small properties in a peripheral and predominantly French-speaking part of the Holy Roman Empire.

It was symptomatic of the empire’s weakness that during his rule as the Count of Luxembourg, he agreed to become a French vassal, seeking the protection of King Philippe IV the Fair of France. During his rule of Luxembourg, he ruled effectively, especially in keeping the peace in local feudal disputes.

Heinrich of Luxembourg became caught up in the internal political machinations of the Holy Roman Empire with the assassination of King Albrecht I on May 1, 1308. Almost immediately, King Philippe IV of France began aggressively seeking support for his brother, Charles of Valois, to be elected the next King of the Romans.

Philippe IV thought he had the backing of the French Pope Clement V (established at Avignon), and that his prospects of bringing the empire into the orbit of the French royal house were good. He lavishly spread French money in the hope of bribing the German electors.

Although Charles of Valois had the backing of Heinrich, Archbishop of Cologne, a French supporter, many were not keen to see an expansion of French power, least of all Clement V. The principal rival to Charles appeared to be Rudolph, the Count Palatine.

Given his background, although he was a vassal of Philippe IV the Fair, Heinrich was bound by few national ties, an aspect of his suitability as a compromise candidate among the electors, the great territorial magnates who had lived without a crowned emperor for decades, and who were unhappy with both Charles and Rudolph.

Heinrich’s brother, Baldwin, Archbishop of Trier, won over a number of the electors, including the Archbishop of Cologne, in exchange for some substantial concessions.

Consequently, Heinrich skillfully negotiated his way to the crown, elected with six votes at Frankfurt on November 27, 1308. The only elector who did not support him was Heinrich, King of Bohemia. Heinrich was subsequently crowned at Aachen on January 6, 1309.

In July 26, 1309, Pope Clement V confirmed Heinrich VII’s election as King of the Romans.

Heinrich VII in exchange, swore an oath of protection to the Pope, agreed to defend the rights and not attack the privileges of the cities of the Papal States, and also agreed to go on Crusade once he had been crowned emperor.

Pope Clement V agreed to crown Heinrich emperor at Candlemas in 1312. Heinrich VII was the first emperor since the death of Friedrich II on December 13, 1250, ending the Great Interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire.

Heinrich VII was married in Tervuren July 9, 1292 to Margaret of Brabant, who was the daughter of Johann I, Duke of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders, the daughter of Guy of Dampierre and his first wife Matilda of Béthune.

Marriage

Her marriage to Heinrich VII was arranged to settle a long-standing dispute with the Duke Johann of Brabant over the Duchy of Limburg, with the duke abandoning his claim to Limburg at the time Margaret’s marriage took place. By all accounts, the marriage proved to be happy.

July 15, 1291: Death of Rudolf I, German King

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Alfonso X of Castile, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, House of Habsburg, Ottokar II of Bohemia, Pope Clement V, Rudolf I of Germany, Rudolf I of Habsburg, The Great Interregnum

On this date in history cam the death of Rudolf I, King of the Germans, King of the Romans..”Holy Roman Emperor,” Although technically he did not hold the imperial title he is counted as one of the Holy Roman Emperors.

In this blog entry I will examine his rise to power and title as German King.

Rudolf I (May 1, 1218 – July 15, 1291) was the first German King from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death.

Rudolf’s election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which had begun after the death of the Hohenstaufen Emperor Friedrich II in 1250. Originally a Swabian count, he was the first Habsburg to acquire the duchies of Austria and Styria in opposition to his mighty rival, the Přemyslid King Ottokar II of Bohemia, whom he defeated in the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld. The territories remained under Habsburg rule for more than 600 years, forming the core of the Habsburg Monarchy and the present-day country of Austria. Rudolf played a vital role in raising the comital House of Habsburg to the rank of Imperial princes.

Early life

Rudolf was born on May 1, 1218 at Limburgh Castle near Sasbach am Kaiserstuhl in the Breisgau region of present-day southwestern Germany. He was the son of Count Albert IV of Habsburg and of Hedwig of Kyburg, daughter of Count Ulrich of Kyburg. Around 1232, he was given as a squire to his uncle, Rudolf I, Count of Laufenburg, to train in knightly pursuits.

Count of Habsburg

At his father’s death in 1239, Rudolf inherited from him large estates around the ancestral seat of Habsburg Castle in the Aargau region of present-day Switzerland as well as in Alsace.

Great Interregnum

The term Great Interregnum is used for the period between 1250 (the death of Friedrich II) and 1273 (the accession of Rudolf I).

After the deposition of Emperor Friedrich II by Pope Innocent IV in 1245, Heinrich Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia was set up as anti-king to Friedrich’s son Conrad IV (d. 1254). Heinrich Raspe was killed in 1247 and succeeded as anti-king by Willem II of Holland (died 1256). After 1257, the crown was contested between Richard of Cornwall, who was supported by the Guelph party, and Alfonso X of Castile, who was recognized by the Hohenstaufen party but never set foot on German soil. Richard of Cornwall was the second son of John, King of England, and one of the wealthiest men in Europe. After Richard’s death in 1273, Rudolf I of Germany, a minor pro-Staufen count, was elected. He was the first of the Habsburgs to hold a royal title, but he was never crowned emperor. After Rudolf’s death in 1291, Adolf and Albert were two further weak kings who were never crowned emperor.

As mentioned, Rudolf was not crowned emperor, nor were his successors Adolf and Albert. The next emperor was Heinrich VII, crowned on June 29, 1312 by Pope Clement V. Not receiving the imperial title was unusual bot not unprecedented. Several rulers were crowned king of the Romans (king of Germany) but not emperor, although they styled themselves thus, and are counted among the Holy Roman Emperors, among whom were: Conrad I and Hienrich I the Fowler in the 10th century, and Conrad IV, Rudolf I, Adolf and Albert I during the aforementioned Great Interregnum of the late 13th century.

The disorder in Germany during the interregnum after the fall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty afforded an opportunity for Count Rudolf to increase his possessions. His wife was a Hohenberg heiress. Rudolf was married twice. First, in 1251, to Gertrude of Hohenberg and second, in 1284, to Isabelle of Burgundy. All children were from the first marriage.

Gertrude was born in Deilingen, Swabia to Count Burkhard V of Hohenberg (died 1253) and his wife Matilda (Mechtild), daughter of Count Palatine Rudolf II of Tübingen. The comital Hohenberg dynasty, a cadet branch of the Swabian House of Hohenzollern, then ruled over extended estates in southwestern Germany. Isabella of Burgundy (1270 – August 1323), Lady of Vieux-Château, was the second and last Queen consort of Rudolf I of Germany.

On the death of his childless maternal uncle Count Hartmann IV of Kyburg in 1264, Rudolf seized Hartmann’s valuable estates. Successful feuds with the Bishops of Strasbourg and Basel further augmented his wealth and reputation, including rights over various tracts of land that he purchased from abbots and others.

These various sources of wealth and influence rendered Rudolf the most powerful prince and noble in southwestern Germany (where the tribal Duchy of Swabia had disintegrated, enabling its vassals to become completely independent). In the autumn of 1273, the prince-electors met to choose a king after Richard of Cornwall had died in England in April 1272. Rudolf’s election in Frankfurt on October 1, 1273, when he was 55 years old, was largely due to the efforts of his brother-in-law, the Hohenzollern burgrave Friedrich III of Nuremberg. The support of Duke Albert II of Saxony and Elector Palatine Ludwig II had been purchased by betrothing them to two of Rudolf’s daughters.

As a result, within the electoral college, King Ottokar II of Bohemia (1230–1278), himself a candidate for the throne and related to the late Hohenstaufen king Philipp of Swabia (being the son of the eldest surviving daughter), was almost alone in opposing Rudolf. Other candidates were Prince Siegfried I of Anhalt and Margrave Friedrich I of Meissen (1257–1323), a young grandson of the excommunicated Emperor Friedrich II, who did not yet even have a principality of his own as his father was still alive. By the admission of Duke Hienrich XIII of Lower Bavaria instead of the King of Bohemia as the seventh Elector, Rudolf gained all seven votes.

King of the Germans

Rudolf was crowned in Aachen Cathedral on October 24, 1273. To win the approbation of the Pope, Rudolf renounced all imperial rights in Rome, the papal territory, and Sicily, and promised to lead a new crusade. Pope Gregory X, despite the protests of Ottokar II of Bohemia, not only recognised Rudolf himself, but persuaded King Alfonso X of Castile (another grandson of Philipp of Swabia), who had been chosen German (anti-)king in 1257 as the successor to Count Willem II of Holland, to do the same. Thus, Rudolf surpassed the two heirs of the Hohenstaufen dynasty whom he had earlier served so loyally.

Rudolf died in Speyer on 15 July 1291 and was buried in Speyer Cathedral. Although he had a large family, he was survived by only one son, Albert I. Most of his daughters outlived him, apart from Catherine who had died in 1282 during childbirth and Hedwig who had died in 1285/6.

Rudolf’s reign is most memorable for his establishment of the House of Habsburg as a powerful dynasty in the southeastern part of the realm. In the other territories, the centuries-long decline of Imperial authority since the days of the Investiture Controversy continued, and the princes were largely left to their own devices.

In the Divine Comedy, Dante finds Rudolf sitting outside the gates of purgatory with his contemporaries, characterizing him as “he who neglected that which he ought to have done”.

July 15, 1291: Death of Rudolf I Count of Habsburg and King of Germany. Part I.

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Counts of Habsburg, Emperor Frederick II, Gertrude of Hohenberg, King of Bohemia, King Rudolf of Germany, Ottokar II, Ottokar of Bohemia, Pope Clement V, Pope Innocent IV, The Interregnum

Rudolf I, also known as Rudolf of Habsburg (May 1, 1218 – July 15, 1291), was Count of Habsburg from about 1240 and King of Germany from 1273 until his death.

Rudolf was born on May 1, 1218 at Limburgh Castle near Sasbach am Kaiserstuhl in the Breisgau region of present-day southwestern Germany. He was the son of Count Albrecht IV of Habsburg and of Hedwig, daughter of Count Ulrich of Kyburg. Around 1232, he was given as a squire to his uncle, Rudolf I, Count of Laufenburg, to train in knightly pursuits.

Count of Habsburg

At his father’s death in 1239, Rudolf inherited from him large estates around the ancestral seat of Habsburg Castle in the Aargau region of present-day Switzerland as well as in Alsace. Thus, in 1240 in order to quell the rising power of Rudolf and in an attempt to place the important “Devil’s Bridge” (Teufelsbrücke) across the Schöllenenschlucht under his direct control, Emperor Friedrich II, granted Schwyz Reichsfreiheit in the Freibrief von Faenza.

Rudolf I, Count of Habsburg and King of Germany

In 1242, Hugh of Tuffenstein provoked Count Rudolf through contumelious expressions. In turn, the Count of Habsburg had invaded his domains, yet failed to take his seat of power. As the day passed on, Count Rudolf bribed the sentinels of the city and gained entry, killing Hugh in the process. Then in 1244, to help control Lake Lucerne and restrict the neighboring forest communities of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, Rudolf built near its shores Neuhabsburg Castle.

In 1245 Rudolf married Gertrude, daughter of Count Burkhard III of Hohenberg. He received as her dowry the castles of Oettingen, the valley of Weile, and other places in Alsace, and he became an important vassal in Swabia, the former Alemannic German stem duchy. That same year, Emperor Friedrich II was excommunicated by Pope Innocent IV at the Council of Lyon.

Rudolf sided against the Emperor, while the forest communities sided with Friedrich II. This gave them a pretext to attack and damage Neuhabsburg. Rudolf successfully defended it and drove them off. As a result, Rudolf, by siding with the Pope, gained more power and influence.
Rudolf paid frequent visits to the court of his godfather, the Hohenstaufen emperor Friedrich II, and his loyalty to Friedrich and his son, King Conrad IV of Germany, was richly rewarded by grants of land.

In 1254, he engaged with other nobles of the Staufen party against Bertold II, Bishop of Basle. When night fell, he penetrated the suburbs of Basle and burnt down the local nunnery, an act for which Pope Innocent IV excommunicated him and all parties involved. As a penance, he took up the cross and joined Ottokar II, King of Bohemia in the Prussian Crusade of 1254. Whilst there, he oversaw the founding of the city of Königsberg, which was named in memory of King Ottokar.

Rise to power

The disorder in Germany during the interregnum after the fall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty afforded an opportunity for Count Rudolf to increase his possessions. His wife was a Hohenberg heiress; and on the death of his childless maternal uncle Count Hartmann IV of Kyburg in 1264, Rudolf seized Hartmann’s valuable estates. Successful feuds with the Bishops of Strasbourg and Basel further augmented his wealth and reputation, including rights over various tracts of land that he purchased from abbots and others.

Arms of the Counts of Habsbourg.

These various sources of wealth and influence rendered Rudolf the most powerful prince and noble in southwestern Germany (where the tribal Duchy of Swabia had disintegrated, enabling its vassals to become completely independent). In the autumn of 1273, the prince-electors met to choose a king after Richard of Cornwall had died in England in April 1272.

Rudolf’s election in Frankfurt on October 1, 1273, when he was 55 years old, was largely due to the efforts of his brother-in-law, the Hohenzollern burgrave Friedrich III of Nuremberg. The support of Duke Albrecht II of Saxony and Elector Palatine Ludwig II had been purchased by betrothing them to two of Rudolf’s daughters.

As a result, within the electoral college, King Ottokar II of Bohemia (1230–1278), himself a candidate for the throne and related to the late Hohenstaufen King Philip of Swabia (being the son of the eldest surviving daughter), was almost alone in opposing Rudolf. Other candidates were Prince Siegfried I of Anhalt and Margrave Friedrich I of Meissen (1257–1323), a young grandson of the excommunicated Emperor Friedrich II, who did not yet even have a principality of his own as his father was still alive. By the admission of Duke Heinrich XIII of Lower Bavaria instead of the King of Bohemia as the seventh Elector, Rudolf gained all seven votes.

The interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire is taken to have lasted from the deposition of Friedrich II by Pope Innocent IV (1245, alternatively from the death of Friedrich II in 1250 or the death of Conrad IV 1254) to the election of Rudolf I of Germany (1273). Rudolf was not crowned emperor, nor were his successors Adolf and Albrecht. The next emperor was Henry VII, crowned on 29 June 1312 by Pope Clement V.

The Tour de Nesle Affair: Conclusion.

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Kingdom of France, Margaret of Burgundy, Philip IV of France, Philip the Fair, Philip V of France, Pope Clement V, Pope John XII, The Tour de Nesle, The Tour de Nesle affair

Due to the gap in the papacy between the death of Clement V in 1314 and the election of John XXII in 1316, Margaret’s marriage to Louis could not be annulled, and she was imprisoned in an underground cell at Château Gaillard castle. Louis succeeded to the throne later that year after the death of Philippe IV, being officially crowned in August 1315. Margaret, however, was still alive but promptly died under suspicious circumstances, possibly murdered, on August 14, whilst still imprisoned. Louis remarried five days later to Clementia of Hungary, the niece of Louis’ own uncle and close advisor, Charles of Valois. Louis himself died a year later after falling ill following a challenging game of tennis.

Jeanne was placed under house arrest at Dourdan in the aftermath of the Parlement acquittal amidst suggestions that she might also have been having an adulterous affair herself, but enjoyed the continuing support of her husband, Philippe. Philippe campaigned for her release, which was forthcoming the next year and Jeanne returned to court. It is unclear why Philippe stood by her in the way that he did. One theory has been that he was concerned that if he was to abandon Jeanne, he might also lose Burgundy, which he had gained through their marriage. Another theory suggests that he was in truth very deeply in love with her. With the death after a few days of the baby King Jean I of France, Jeanne served as her husbands, Philippe V, queen consort for several years; after Philippe’s death, she inherited the County of Artois from her mother and finally died in 1330.

Blanche remained in prison at Château Gaillard as well for eight years until 1322, when Charles assumed the throne. Upon becoming king, Charles IV still refused to release Blanche, instead annulling their marriage and having Blanche consigned to a nunnery. Charles remarried immediately afterwards to Marie of Luxembourg; Blanche died the next year, her health broken from the years spent underground.

Aftermath and legacy

The affair badly damaged the reputation of women in senior French circles, contributing to the way that the Salic Law was implemented during subsequent arguments over the succession to the throne. When Louis died unexpectedly in 1316, supporters of his eldest daughter Jeanne found that suspicions hung over her parentage following the scandal and that the French nobility were increasingly cautious over the concept of a woman inheriting the throne – Louis’ brother, Philippe took power instead. Philippe died unexpectedly young as well, and his younger brother Charles did not live long after remarrying after his coronation, similarly dying without male heirs. The interpretation of the Salic Law then placed the French succession in doubt. Despite Philippe of Valois, the son of Charles of Valois, claiming the throne with French noble support, Edward III of England, the son of Isabella was able to press his own case, resulting in the ensuing Hundred Years War (1337–1453).

The affair would also have an impact in European culture. Scholars studying the theme of courtly love have observed that the narratives about adulterous queens die out shortly after the Tour de Nesle scandal, suggesting that they became less acceptable or entertaining after the executions and imprisonments in the French royal family. The story of the affair was used by the French dramatist Alexandre Dumas as the basis for his play La Tour de Nesle in 1832, “a romantic thriller reconstructing medieval crimes on a grand scale”. The Tour de Nesle guard-tower itself was destroyed in 1665. Le Roi de fer (1955), the first novel of Maurice Druon’s seven-volume series Les Rois maudits (The Accursed Kings), describes the affair and the subsequent executions in lurid and imaginative detail.

Knightfall and the history of the fall of the Knights Templar.

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Avignon, Charles IV of France, Clericis Laicos, Edward I of England, Guillaume de Nogaret, History Channel, Jews, Joan I of Navarre, Kingdom of France, Kingdom of Navarre, Knightfall, Knights Templar, Papal Bull, Philip the Fair, Philippe IV of France, Pope Boniface VIII, Pope Clement V, Roman Catholic Church, Unam Sanctam

Knightfall is an upcoming historical fiction drama television series on the History Channel. The 10-episode series is set to premiere on December 6, 2017. It recounts the fall, persecution, and burning at the stake of the Knights Templar as orchestrated by King Philippe IV of France on October 13, 1307. The series focuses on Templar leader Sir Landry, a brave warrior discouraged by the Templars’ failures in the Holy Land who is reinvigorated by news that the Holy Grail has resurfaced.

While I love historical fiction it contains just that, fiction. So here is some historical background that goes into the events of the series Knightfall. 

The King

Philippe IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), also known as Philippe the Fair and the Iron King was King of France from 1285 until his death in 1314. Through his marriage to Joan I, Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne 1274-1305, (daughter of King Henri I of Navarre and Blanche d’Artois) he was also Philippe I, King of Navarre from 1284 to 1305. Though his wife was Countess of Champagne in her own right, Philippe IV briefly took the reigns of government into his own hands by Right of his wife. Philippe IV was known as handsome, however, his obstinate character won him from friends and enemies. His fierce opponent, Bishop Bernard Saisset of Pamiers, said of the king, “He is neither man nor beast. He is a statue.”

The mounting Crisis.

In 1290, King Edward I of England (1272-1307) had ordered the Jews to leave England. In turn, Philippe IV, the Iron King, also expelled the Jews from France in July of 1306. With the Jews out of France, Philippe IV had to appoint royal guardians to collect the loans made by the Jews, with the money being passed to the Crown. These actions did not go well in France. The Jews were looked upon as honest and good businessmen who not only satisfied their customers but were held in high esteem by the general populace. In contrast the king’s money collectors were universally reviled.

In 1315 the people of France complained and complained loudly, to the point where the Jews were invited back to France and were given a guarantee of 12 years free from government interference. In 1322, the Jews were expelled once again by the King Charles IV of France and Navarre 1322-1328, third son of King Philippe IV, who did not honour his fathers commitment after the great leper scare of 1321.

Philip IV’s financial treatment of the Jews was anti-semitic, but Christians, the wealthy and poor, clergy and lay people alike all suffered due to the Kings actions. Another prominent group wounded by Philippe IV’s policies were wealthy abbots and Lombard merchants. The merchants, who had made extensive loans on the pledge of repayment from future taxation, were expelled from France and their property sized. To further demonstrate his cruelty Philippe IV reduced the value of French coinage. In 1306 these policies which had a harsh impact on all less-wealthy people of France, led to a two-thirds loss in the value of the livres, sous and deniers in circulation. This financial crisis led to rioting in Paris which forced Philippe IV to briefly seek refuge in the Paris Temple – headquarters of the Knights Templar.

Philippe IV vs. Boniface VIII.

Pope Boniface VIII 1294-1303 condemned Philippe IV for his damaging policies along with his spendthrift lifestyle and his treatment of the Jews. The king levied taxes on the French clergy, calling for at least half their annual income, causing a major conflict with the Roman Catholic Church and the papacy, prompting Pope Boniface VIII to issue a Papal Bull, Clericis Laicos (1296), which forbade the transference of any church property to the French Crown.

In response to the Papal Bull, Philippe IV convoked an assembly of bishops, nobles and grand bourgeois of Paris in order to condemn the Pope. This assemble was a precursor to the Etats Généraux, appeared for the first time during his reign. This assembly was viewed as a measure of the professionalism, order and legitimacy that his ministers were trying to implement into the government. This assembly gave support to Philippe IV’s condemnation of the pope. Pope Boniface VIII retaliated and escalated the conflict with the ground breaking Papal Bull, Unam Sanctam* (1302) which declares papal supremacy.

King Philippe IV emerged as the victor in the conflict. Philippe sent his agent Guillaume de Nogaret to arrest Pope Boniface VIII at Anagni. Prior to the arrival of the French garrison Boniface excommunicated both Philippe IV and Nogaret. However the pope was able to escape, after being beaten, but died soon afterward. With the Holy See vacant French archbishop Bertrand de Goth was elected pope as Clement V beginning the Babylonian Captivity of the papacy (1309–77), during which the official seat of the papacy moved from Rome to Avignon, an enclave surrounded by French territories, and was subjected to French control and became a virtual puppet of the French monarchy.

Suppression of the Knights Templar

With the aid and refuge given to Philippe IV by the Knights Templar the king was substantially indebted to them. The Knights Templar were a monastic military order whose original role was that of protectors of Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land during the Crusades. By the time of Philippe IV’s war against Pope Boniface VIII the influence and need for the Knights Templar had waned. In order to free himself from his indebtedness to the Knights, Philippe IV used a disgruntled complaint of heresy ** against the Knights Templar as an excuse to move against the entire organization and destroy both its religious and financial power and influence in France.

Another prime motive for Philippe to squash the Knights Templar was in order to consolidate power into a royal theocracy where the monarchy had both secular and spiritual power/authority in France. This foundation was built upon the Franco-papal rift at the time of Boniface VIII. With the Papacy now a fixture in France, Philippe IV saw himself as the ultimate defender of the Catholic faith, and felt empowered with a Christlike function giving him authority above the pope. This places the need for the Papal Bull Unam Sanctam of 1302 by Boniface VIII, in a proper historical context.

At daybreak on Friday, October 13, 1307, hundreds of Templars in France were simultaneously arrested by agents of Philippe IV, and were later tortured into admitting heresy into the Order. In their view the Knights rejected the spiritual authority claimed by Philippe IV and believed they were only answerable to only the Pope. With Pope Clement V under the direct control of the French king, ordered the Knights Templar to disband. At first Pope Clement V did attempt to hold proper trials, but Philippe IV used previously forced and coerced confessions to condemn the Knights Templars who were promptly burned at the stake before a proper defense could be made.

* The Bull lays down dogmatic propositions on the unity of the Catholic Church, the necessity of belonging to it for eternal salvation, the position of the pope as supreme head of the Church, and the duty thence arising of submission to the pope in order to belong to the Church and thus to attain salvation. The pope further emphasizes the higher position of the spiritual in comparison with the secular order.

** The heresy levied against the Knights Templar stem from claims that were made that during Templar admissions ceremonies recruits were allegedly forced to spit on the Cross, deny Jesus Christ, and engage in indecent kissing. The Nights were also accused of worshipping idols, and the order was said to have encouraged homosexual practices. None of these claims have ever been historically verified.