Knights Templar History: Medieval torture methods applied to the Knights Templar

Thomas Keightley in his Secret Societies of the Middle Ages provides this perhaps too vivid account of torture methods that the Templars were likely to have undergone prior to their "confessions":

As our readers fortunately cannot be supposed familiarly acquainted with the mild and gentle modes employed by the brethren of St. Dominic, for eliciting the truth, we will present a slight sketch of some of them, that they may be able to form some idea of the value of rack-extorted testimony. Sometimes the patient was stripped naked, his hands were tied behind his back, heavy weights were fastened to his feet, and the cord which confined his hands passed over a pulley. At a given signal he was hoisted into the air, where he hung suspended by his arms, which were thus drawn out of their natural position : then suddenly the cord 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, which prevented his drawing them back ; they were then rubbed with some unctious substance, and set before a flaming fire ; a board was occasionally placed between his feet and the fire, and withdrawn again, in order to increase his pain by intervals of cessation. The heel of the patient was at times enclosed in an iron heel, which could be tightened at pleasure, and thus caused excruciating pain. What was regarded as a very gentle mode, and only indulged to those who had not strength to undergo the preceding tortures, was to place round sticks between their fingers, and compress them till the bones of the fingers were cracked. The teeth of the Templars were occasionally drawn, their feet roasted, weights suspended from all parts of their bodies ; and thus they gave their testimony without constraint!

What is understood as testimony or confession, by inquisitors, is an affirmative answer to such 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 unreasonableness 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, the criminal will he gently dealt with. The accused is, moreover, always confined in a solitary cell ; he has none to console and cheer him ; he feels abandoned 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 commencement of winter; and at that season a dungeon of the middle ages must have been cheerless beyond description. They were barely allowed the necessaries of life ; they were stripped of the habit of the order, and denied the consolations of religion, for they were treated as heretics ; and they were shown a real or pretended letter of their Master, in which he confessed the crimes of the order, and exhorted them to do the same. Enthusiasts in religion or politics are supported by the consciousness of rectitude, and bear up against privations or torture in firm reliance on the favour of the Divinity, or the praise and esteem of a grateful and admiring posterity. But the great majority of the Templars were far from being such characters; they were illiterate knights, who had long lived in luxury and indulged in arrogance ; they knew themselves to be objects of dislike to many, and felt that their power was gone. Need we then be surprised that, beguiled by the hopes held out, numbers of them readily acknowledged all the charges made against their order? and must we not so much the more admire the constancy of those who, unseduced by flattering hopes, and undismayed by menaces and torture, yielded up their breath rather than confess a falsehood?

See also:

Divine judgment upon Clement V and Philip the Fair

"Templar Route" - I plan to spend more time on this site, it's definitely worth it:

http://templariusze.org

I found this in a list of heraldic devices on the internet.

Gradatim vincimus - We conquer by degrees

Degrees, of course, being the operative word :)

Now that I got Netflix, the plan is to become familiar with the various cinematic depictions of the Knights Templar Order. I am compiling my little list now. Surely, this list will be revisited, as more movies come to my attention.

Kingdom of Heaven (already own this one, of course)
Da Vinci Code. I have to include this one.
Code of the Templars (2004). A German flick, apparently not the best.
Arn - Tempelriddaren (Arn: The Knight Templar). A very recent movie, I hope to see it on DVD soon.
National Treasure. The connection to the Templars is rather marginal, but a pretty good movie.
Night of the Templar. Principal photography completed in December, 2007:
A Medieval Knight resurrects to fulfill his vow and bestow a blood-thirst vengeance upon the kindred spirits of those who betrayed him long ago. In the course of one night, identities will be revealed, destinies met, and a poetic justice of the macabre maniacally served.

Sounds like a nice romantic date movie, uh?

It aught to be mentioned that the image at the top of this page actually depicts a real Templar vault! It is a sketch of the vault of the Templar chapel in Moret-sur-Loing, by Bergeron ("Crypte de la chapelle des Templiers").

The color scheme of the site uses traditional Templar white, red and black.

Started a new page where I plan to publish a few typical documents that shed light on how the Knights Templar acquired their legendary wealth. These documents will demonstrate that vast amounts of donations (money, land etc) that literally started to pour into the coffers of the Order soon after its establishment. Of course, it is also important to remember that Papal bull Omne Datum Optimum created a special status for the Knights Templar, allowing this wealth to be kept and increased without interference.


Sources of the Knights Templar wealth

Seems as if this is being done for the Maltese television. They sure are trying to make the Templars look as if they were weird blood-drinking sorcerers. Can this interpretation be due to the still lingering rivalry between the Templars and the Knights of St. John (a.k.a Hospitallers)? :)

The fortified city of Mdina came under siege over the weekend as the Knights Templars engaged took on the Turks, under the scorching sun... and the cameras.

The football ground in Mdina doubled as the set for a scene from the last episode of the TV series Miriana Coljerò, which will air on One TV in the coming weeks.

About 40 extras in period costumes defended the old city, taking breaks from the "gruelling battle" that lasted several hours.

The TV series recounts how the Templars, whose privilege was that the first-born child inherited immortality, used to drink human blood as part of their ritual. The story continues that the Templars became evil people when they started killing innocent victims and drinking their blood to become more powerful, the scriptwriter and director of the series, Mark Doneo, explained.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/vi ... t-in-mdina