Philip went to the trick. He asked to be accepted into the order. But Grand Master Jean de Male politely but firmly refused him, realizing that the king wanted to take his place in the future. Then the Pope (who was placed on the throne by Philip) suggested that the Knights Templar unite with their eternal rivals - the Hospitallers. In such a case, the independence of the order would be lost. But the master again refused.
Then in 1307, Philip the Beautiful ordered the secret arrest of all the Templars in the kingdom. They were accused of heresy, of serving the devil and of witchcraft. (This was due to the mysterious rites of initiation into members of the order and the subsequent preservation of the secrecy of its deeds.)
The investigation lasted seven years. Under torture, the templars confessed to everything, but during a public trial they retracted their testimony. On March 18, 1314, the Grand Master de Male and the Prior of Normandy were burned at a slow fire. Before his death, the Grand Master cursed the King and the Pope: “Pope Clement! King Philip! In less than a year, I will call you to the judgment of God!” The curse came true: the Pope died two weeks later, and the king in the fall. Most likely they were poisoned by the templars, skilled in the manufacture of poisons.
Although Philip the Handsome failed to organize the persecution of the Templars throughout Europe, the former power of the Templars was undermined. The remnants of this order were never able to unite, although its symbols continued to be used. Christopher Columbus discovered America under the flag of the Templars: a white flag with a red eight-pointed cross.
HOSPITALLERS. The official name is the “Order of the Riders of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem” (gos-pitalis - guest (Latin); originally the word “hospital” meant “hospital home”). In 1070, a hospital for pilgrims to holy places was founded in Palestine by the merchant Mauro of Amalfi. Gradually, a brotherhood was formed there to care for the sick and wounded. It grew stronger, increased, began to have a fairly strong influence, and in 1113 was officially recognized by the Pope as a spiritual and knightly order.
The knights took three vows: poverty, chastity and obedience. The symbol of the order was an eight-pointed white cross. It was originally placed on the left shoulder of the black robe. The mantle had very narrow sleeves, which symbolized the monk's lack of freedom. Later, the knights began to wear a red robe with a cross sewn on the chest. There were three categories in the order: knights, chaplains and serving brethren. From 1155, the Grand Master, who was proclaimed Raymond de Puy, became the head of the order. The general chapter met to make the most important decisions. Members of the chapter gave the Grand Master a purse with eight denarii, which was supposed to symbolize the refusal of the knights from wealth.
Initially, the main task of the order was to care for the sick and wounded. The main hospital in Palestine had about 2,000 beds. The knights distributed gratuitous aid to the poor, arranged free meals for them three times a week. The Hospitallers had a shelter for foundlings and infants. For all the sick and wounded, there were the same conditions: clothes and food of the same quality, regardless of origin. From the middle of the XII century. the main duty of the knights is the war with the infidels and the protection of pilgrims. The order already has possessions in Palestine and southern France. The Johnites begin, like the Templars, to acquire great influence in Europe.
At the end of the 12th century, when the Christians were driven out of Palestine, the Johnites settled in Cyprus. But this situation did not suit the knights. And in 1307, the Grand Master Falcon de Villaret led the John-Nites to storm the island of Rhodes. The local population, fearful of losing their independence, fiercely resisted. However, two years later, the knights finally fortified themselves on the island and created strong defensive structures there. Now the Hospitallers, or, as they began to be called, the "Rhodian knights", became the outpost of Christians in the East. In 1453, Constantinople fell - Asia Minor and Greece were completely in the hands of the Turks. The knights were expecting an attack on the oszhra. It was not slow to follow. In 1480, the Turks attacked the island of Rhodes. The knights survived and repulsed the attack. The Joainites simply "an eyesore to the Sultan" with their presence at its very shores, preventing them from managing the Mediterranean Sea. Finally, the patience of the Turks was exhausted. In 1522, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent swore to expel Christians from his dominions. The island of Rhodes was besieged by a 200,000-strong army on 700 ships. The Johnites held out for three months before Grand Master Villiers de Lille Adan surrendered his sword to the Sultan. The Sultan, respecting the courage of the opponents, released the knights and even helped them with the evacuation.
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