Examining the administration of assets during the trial of the French Templars, as well as the settlement process that took place after the Order's dissolution, this book focuses on material aspects of the proceedings in France that have never been analysed in detail. These include the conflicts that accompanied the seizure of property, the actions of administrators, and the thefts and abuses that occurred at every stage of the process. The actions of Philip the Fair's sons to finalise the takeover of the Templars' property by the Hospitallers are also discussed. This book draws on documents that have not been used in previous research, including the report on the investigation conducted between 1322 and 1325 as part of the agreements concluded by Louis X and Philip V with the Hospitallers. This document is unknown to modern scholars and contains valuable information about the recovery of Templar property and the prosecution of abuses committed during this process.
This book adopts a new approach that departs from the dominant view that considers the Templar affair through the lens of the political aspirations of its most important participants, and this allows new insights into the circumstances and consequences of the Templar trial.
Of particular interest to scholars and students of the history of the Knights Templar, this book will also appeal to historians of the Knights Hospitaller, France under the last Capetians, and the papacy at the beginning of the 14th century.