Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
Person 1244-1314 · about 70 years old · show in timeline

Jacques de Molay (c. 1244 to 1314): Last Grand Master of the Templars, arrested in 1307, confessed probably under torture, retracted in 1314 and was burnt

Jacques de Molay entered the Templars at Beaune in 1265 and was Grand Master from about 1298. On 13 October 1307 all Templars in France were arrested. According to the Britannica, he confessed to part of the charges, probably under torture. In 1314 a commission of cardinals was to pronounce life imprisonment, when he withdrew his confession. The king had him burnt as a relapsed heretic. The sources give the date as 11, 18 or 19 March 1314.

Life dates
1244-1314 (about 70 years old)
Country
France
Institutions
Knights Templar
Holy See
Category
Torture, Heresy trials
Level of evidence
B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

  1. In 1314 a commission of cardinals and others was to pronounce life imprisonment. Molay withdrew his confession. The king ordered him and another dignitary burnt as lapsed heretics. The Britannica gives 11 or 19 March 1314, the Catholic Encyclopedia 18 March.
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Molay, Jacques de
    „De Molay withdrew his confession“
    Molay, Jacques de, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 18, Artikel Molay, Jacques de. Original
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Molay, Jacques de
    „The sentence was carried out on the 11th (or 19th) of March 1314.“
    Molay, Jacques de, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 18, Artikel Molay, Jacques de. Original
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Jacques de Molai
    „d. at Paris, 18 March, 1314“
    Jacques de Molai, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), Bd. 10, Artikel Jacques de Molai. Original

How were they charged and sentenced?

  1. On 13 October 1307 all Templars in France were arrested. According to the Britannica, Molay confessed, probably under torture, that some of the charges were true. Before the commission of 1309, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, he rejected the charges.
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Molay, Jacques de
    „De Molay, probably under torture, confessed that some of the charges brought against the order were true.“
    Molay, Jacques de, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 18, Artikel Molay, Jacques de. Original
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Jacques de Molai
    „he answered that he had never heard of anything of the kind“
    Jacques de Molai, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), Bd. 10, Artikel Jacques de Molai. Original

Background

Course of events

  1. Molay was born about 1244, entered the order at Beaune in 1265 and is named as Grand Master from 1298.
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Jacques de Molai
    „Born at Rahon, Jura, about 1244“
    Jacques de Molai, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), Bd. 10, Artikel Jacques de Molai. Original
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Jacques de Molai
    „is mentioned as Grand Master of the Templars as early as 1298“
    Jacques de Molai, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), Bd. 10, Artikel Jacques de Molai. Original

See also

Scholarly literature and reference works

  1. Reference work
    Cambridge University Press (Wikisource): Molay, Jacques de, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 18, 1 January 1911. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
  2. Reference work
    Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource): Jacques de Molai, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), Bd. 10, 1 January 1911. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
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Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.