The Knights Hospitaller, an opposing monastic order, was the order's greatest contenders. The rivalry between the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller reached a crescendo in 1241 when members of the order came to blows . With the fall of Acre, the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land, in 1291, the monastic orders lost their justification and withdrew to Cyprus . Combining the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller had been discussed in 1274 but had been rejected by the leaders of the orders. Now that the orders had lost their raison d"etre the calls for an amalgamation became more forceful and numerous . In 1306, Clement V wrote to the leaders of the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller and requested that they meet in France to discuss the merger of the two orders . After discussions with the pope, Jacques De Molay, the current grandmaster of the order lingered in France. On October 13th, 1307, King Philip had all the Templars arrested . The Templars were tortured and as a result, ridiculous confessions were given. King Philip was successful in divesting the Templars of their power and wealth and urged all fellow Christian leaders to do the same. On March 19th, 1314 the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake . De Molay is said to have cursed King Philip and Pope Clement, as he burned, inviting both men to join him within a year. Whether he actually uttered the curse or if it was simply an apocryphal tale; Clement died only one month later and Philip IV seven months after that.
The charges presented against the Knights Templar were ludicrous. The Knights Templar were a devout Christian order. They took vows of chastity, obedience and poverty . Why would such a pious organization require its initiates to spit on the cross, renounce God, worship a pagan idol and engage in carnal relations . They would not commit such horrendous acts.
