Launch of the Suppression of the Knights Templar (1310)

Timeline

1. 1307–1309Louvre, Paris (court of interrogation) · ParisOn 13 October 1307 Philip IV ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar in France, accusing them of heresy, sacrilege, and corruption. The pope allowed ecclesiastical courts to intervene in the interrogations; Grand Master Jacques de Molay and other leaders were imprisoned, and the trials continued until 1309, paving the way for the verdicts and executions of 1310.
2. 1310Île de la Cité, Paris · ParisIn March 1310, fifty-four Knights Templar who refused to confess or retracted their confessions were burned at the stake in Paris, the most shocking public execution of the suppression. The act was intended to intimidate the remaining imprisoned knights and the Order's branches across Europe, forcing more to accept guilty pleas.
3. 1310Kingdom of France and the Papal States (Avignon) · Papal StatesAfter the burnings, Philip IV intensified the confiscation of the Order's property and estates; Pope Clement V, though initially hesitant, gradually leaned toward the king's position after 1310. Other European monarchs watched or followed suit, the Order's branches collapsed, the pope formally dissolved it in 1312, and Grand Master Molay was executed in 1314, bringing the suppression to a close.