The Trial of the Templars in Cyprus: A Complete English Edition (review)

Reviews 211 Gilmour-Bryson, Anne, The Trial of the Templars in Cyprus: A Complete English Edition (The Medieval Mediterranean 17), Leiden, Brill, 1998; cloth; pp. xiii, 502; 2 maps, 14 b / w illustrations; R.R.P. US$168.00; ISBN 9004100806. The suppression of the Order of the Temple between 1307 and 1312 was one of the most dramatic events of the later Middle Ages. Founded in the early twelfth century to protect the kingdom of Jerusalem, the Templars soon became a wealthy and powerful religious order, with houses throughout Western Europe. Their suppression, initiated by King Philip IV of France, was based on accusations of blasphemy and immorality, but argument about the truth of these charges has raged ever since. The consensus among scholars today is that the charges were almost certainly false, though Philip's motives remain the source of considerable disagreement. A substantial body of evidence relating to the t r i a l of the Templars and the suppression of their order still survives, including the testimony of over 900 Templars in at least eight countries. One of the fullest collections of evidence is that from the trial of the Templars in Cyprus, which was by then the order's headquarters in the Eastern Mediterranean. The trial records survive in four manuscripts in the Archivio Vaticano Segreto, which are n o w in a very poor condition and very difficult to read. The Latin text w a s edited by Konrad Schottmuller in 1887, but he abridged it in several places, and m a d e numerous minor transcription errors. Anne Gilmour-Bryson has n o w produced the first English translation of this material, while at the same time restoring the full text and correcting Schottmuller's mistakes. She has also compared these documents with a resume of this trial which appears in the papal registers for the first year of Benedict XII's pontificate (1334), and has used it to verify personal and place names. There has been considerable disagreement among scholars about the date of the trial in Cyprus. The manuscripts show that hearings were definitely held in M a y and June of 1310, but the witnesses include four non-Templars w h o are known to have been absent from Cyprus at that time. But a second hearing, in M a y 1311, has also been suggested—partly to account for these witnesses and partly because Schottmuller thought he saw the date 1311 in one manuscript (which has subsequently become illegible). After a careful review of all the evidence, Gilmour-Bryson rightly concludes that no definite proof either way is possible. 212 Reviews The records of the trial in Cyprus are a very valuable source, particularly because they include the testimony of 56 non-Templars. These nobles, clerics and officials spoke at length about their knowledge and perception of the order. They were almost unanimous in their insistence on the orthodoxy of the Templars, the only exception being the prior of the rival order, the Hospitallers, w h o m a d e some vague allegations based on hearsay. This collective testimony from non-Templars is unique. At only one other trial, in London, was this kind of evidence recorded and there the witnesses recounted unsubstantiated rumours and hearsay against the order. O n Cyprus, in contrast, there were many witnesses prepared to testify to the bravery, loyalty and piety of the Templars. The Templars of Cyprus themselves were unanimous in asserting their innocence. A total of 76 (more than half of them knights) gave evidence about their reception into the order, and all but one of these were then questioned at length on 123 separate charges based on those attached to the papal bull of 1308. None admitted any serious charges, and all insisted that their order was entirely innocent and orthodox. In contrast to most of the other trials in Western Europe, there is no indication that the witnesses had been tortured. Gilmour-Bryson concludes that the evidence clearly demonstrates the innocence of the Templars in Cyprus, but she is more cautious in extrapolating from this to the order as a whole. The testimony given in Cyprus does not...