In 1307, a dozen ships of the Order of the Knights Templar left France to escape the persecution of King Philip IV. No one has ever seen them again, and their fate continues to raise many questions from historians to this day.
The order was founded in 1118 with the aim of protecting pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. Since then, the Templars have been surrounded by an aura of dark mystery. Legends around them began to arise after, after almost two centuries of existence, the Order was persecuted and destroyed due to the envy that aroused its power and wealth in European monarchs and clergy.
And although much of what is said about them is sheer fiction, the knights of the Order have left in history a number of mysteries that experts still cannot solve. One of them dates from October 13, 1307, when, fleeing the pursuit of the French king Philip IV, many members of the Order left the port of La Rochelle (France) on twelve ships so as not to be caught. This flotilla, heading to the Atlantic under sails, on which the red crosses of the Knights Templar were depicted, disappeared without a trace, and nothing is known about its fate to this day. It is believed that she could even reach America earlier than Columbus's expedition.
Birth of the Knights Templar
For a certain period, long before many legends and rumors arose around the Templars, they were just simple knights ready to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land. The 12th century was then in the courtyard, and the holy city of Jerusalem, in which Christ died and rose again, was under the rule of Muslims (they also considered this city sacred). However, this was only a matter of prestige, since the followers of Mohammed, as a rule, did not prevent pilgrims of other faiths from visiting cities and worshiping their shrines.
Yet, as the Seljuk Turks spread, this atmosphere of apparent calm began to change, and it became increasingly difficult for Europeans to reach the borders of modern Israel. The Seljuk Turks did not miss an opportunity to rob and kill travelers in order to seize their luggage. In addition, they at the same time sought to subjugate those kingdoms where the Christian faith was professed.
All these circumstances, as well as other aggressive actions (both territorial and political), led to the fact that in 1095 the Pope announced a Crusade to liberate the Holy Land. Fascinated by the idea of the campaign and the intention to raise their religion above the beliefs of those whom they called "infidels," hundreds of knights began to unite in military detachments to go to Jerusalem and take this city by force. And this intention came true on July 15, 1099, when the army, which was based on heavy cavalry (more than four thousand soldiers left from Europe), accompanied by the same number of infantry, took the city by storm. Militarily, their plan was completely successful, but, unfortunately, soon enough the locals hated them.
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And there were reasons for this. Fueled by their thirst for revenge, the crusaders committed numerous atrocities - mostly massive robberies and murders - when they entered the city. This caused many problems for the Christians who remained in the city after their armed defenders left. Lacking a reliable military shield to defend against Saracen attacks, hundreds of Christians were killed and persecuted in every way. “After the massacre, detachments of Templar warriors returned to their homes, leaving their brothers face to face with difficult problems, who decided to settle there and were subjected to severe persecution. The descriptions they leave are terrifying,”writes history popularizer Víctor Cordero García in his book“Historia real de la Orden del Temple: Desde el S XII hasta hoy”).
In an effort to protect the pilgrims from constant attacks, several groups of knights living in Jerusalem, went with weapons on the "infidels." One of them, consisting of nine people, in 1118 pledged to protect the roads and lives of Christians from Muslim attacks. She became the basis of the Templar Order. At the moment, the names of its two founders have survived: Hugo de Payens, who later became the first Grand Master of the Order, and Gottfried of Saint-Omer (Godofredo de Saint-Aldemar). “This was the time of the reign of Tsar Baldwin I, who gave a warm welcome to the“poor soldiers of Christ,”as they called themselves. They spent nine years in the Holy Land, housed in that part of the palace allocated to them by Baldwin I, which was located just above the former Temple of Solomon (hence the name Knights of the Temple) ",writes in his book explorer Rogelio Uvalle in his book "The Complete History of the Order of the Knights Templar" ("Historia completa de la Orden del Temple").
The rise and fall of the Templars
In the years that followed, Hugo Payensky turned the Templars into one of the most important organizations of his era. After several trips to Europe, he was able to secure funding and, as a result, an influx of new forces into the Order. And in 1139 he obtained a number of tax breaks. “In addition to generous monetary donations, the Order was provided with various benefits through papal letters. The Templars received real autonomy in relation to the bishops, remaining only subordinate to the Pope. They no longer fell under ordinary civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction. They were given the right to collect and receive money in various ways, including the right to receive donations to churches once a year,”narrates the popularizer of history, José Luis Hernández Garvi, in his work "Crusaders in the Kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula" ("Los Cruzados de los reinos de la Península Ibérica").
As a result, as the author points out, they were also granted the exclusive right to build churches and castles wherever they deem necessary, without prior permission from the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Although at first glance, these benefits may not seem very significant, they led to the fact that the Templars concentrated in their hands huge financial resources and property in Jerusalem and Europe. To this should be added the significant wealth and possessions of the knights who joined the Order, as well as the money received from the sale of surplus agricultural products, which accumulated from year to year. All this led to the fact that in the XIII century the Order of the Knights Templar became a kind of state. By 1250, he numbered, as Uvalier writes, 9 thousand lands and houses in the countryside, an army of thirty thousand (not counting the gunsmiths,servants and artisans), more than fifty castles, its own fleet and the first international bank.
Their wealth was so incalculable that some monarchs, in particular the French king Philip IV, asked for money from the Order and became its debtors. In the end, it ended sadly for the Templars. Tired of the enormous military and financial power that the "poor soldiers of Christ" were concentrating in their hands (as well as of his own debt to them), in 1307 the monarch decided to put an end to them. “Philip IV believed that the original idea of returning the sacred places for Christianity lost its relevance, given the extent to which the positions of Islam in the East were strengthened at that time. Besides, he owed a lot to the Templars. For all of the above reasons, Philip IV ordered the dissolution of the Order and the arrest of its members, who were charged with blasphemy, heresy, sodomy … ",tells ABC the writer and lecturer at the University of Correspondence (UDIMA) Madrid, María Lara Martínez, winner of the National Award for thesis in history and author of the book "Enclaves templarios".
But Philip IV understood that without religious support he could not defeat the powerful Order. “Since the Pope had just died, he began to look for an indecisive cardinal who would completely obey his will. And he found the candidate he needed in the person of the Archbishop of Bordeaux. In the modern era, as in the first centuries of Christianity, the choice of the head of the Holy See was passed on to the hands of the Holy Spirit. Both in the Middle Ages and in the modern era, many interests are intertwined around the Roman See. Be that as it may, the French monarch managed to put him at the head of the Roman Catholic Church under the name of Clement V and start with him a real raid on the Templars,”the expert continues. Seven years later, in 1314, they put an end to the Templars, decreeing that all their property should be turned into the income of the French treasury. Subsequently, more than 15 thousand knights were arrested. Grand Master Jacques de Molay was arrested, interrogated and burned alive along with his closest associates across from Notre Dame Cathedral. After 200 years of greatness, the Order was liquidated in the most brutal way.
The Lost Fleet Mystery
Regardless of the legends, it is safe to say that as its purchasing power increased, the Order acquired a number of ships that could sail from Europe to the Holy Land. It is also known that the Templars used these vessels to sell their surplus agricultural products. Doctor of Historical Sciences Lara Martinez believes that over the years, warrior monks have paved a number of sea routes, which originated from a number of European ports. “These ships were engaged in trade and fighting. The Templars controlled sea communications, thanks to which, having an inquisitive mind, they learned the basics of Phoenician navigation. They had at their disposal a large armada, which entered the ports of the Mediterranean and Atlantic (its French part). This ability to travel such great distancesand the availability of the appropriate infrastructure gave the Order a significant superiority, especially considering that, according to the views prevalent at that time, the Columns of Hercules stood in the Strait of Gibraltar, that is, the land ended there,”the author concludes.
According to Maria Lara, the Templars managed to establish control over the ports of Flanders, Italy, France, Portugal and Northern Europe. The most significant were La Rochelle (the main stronghold of the Templars in the Atlantic), as well as Marseille and Collioure in the Mediterranean. It should be noted that the warrior monks scrutinized the ports where their ships entered in order to be able to protect them in case of attack. “The Port of La Rochelle, for example, was defended by 35 commanders within a radius of 150 kilometers, as well as a stronghold directly in the port,” writes Lara Martinez.
And yet, when did they start building this fleet? According to a number of researchers, in particular the historian Juan G. Atienza, the Knights Templar began acquiring ships several decades after it received benefits from the Pope. Evidence of this is that the Templars offered Richard the Lionheart himself their ships so that he would return home after the end of the crusade against Muslims, which he led in 1191 (during which he was unable to win Jerusalem from the enemies of Christianity). Something similar happened to Jaime I the Conqueror, to whom the knights provided the ships that they had in Barcelona and Collioure, so that he began to reclaim the Holy Land.
Carrying goods and pilgrims, the fleet operated until 1307, when the persecution of the Order began. Then the ships (according to most sources, there were 13 of them) set sail and left the port of La Rochelle before the French authorities sent their captains and passengers to jail. This day gave rise to a great mystery, because, although historical documents claim that the ships left the French port under the flags of the Order, it is still unknown where they docked. “When on October 13, 1307, Philip IV began his pursuit against the Templars, the fleet eluded the monarch, leaving no trace. This mysterious veil still shrouds the history of the Templars. It is unclear whether they dispersed at sea or regrouped at another port. There is a hypothesis that the Templars left the Mediterranean Sea,seeking to find an unknown, safe place and political asylum. But where?”Maria Lara asks.
Where did the fleet land?
The disappearance of this wandering fleet over the decades has given rise to dozens of speculations as to where the Knights of the Order might have gone with their cargo. Some conspiracy theorists believe that the Knights Templar loaded the vast wealth they had accumulated over the decades on these ships to keep them from falling into the hands of Philip IV. Some sources even claim that the Grand Master Jacques de Molay himself was hiding on the sailing ships, who was captured only when he returned to Europe on a secret mission. Be that as it may, what is known is that after a warning from the Templars (probably from the Vatican or members of the French court), the ships managed to avoid what was about to happen.
The ships could go to the following parts of the world:
1. Portugal
One of the most likely routes, as the Portuguese royal court maintained generally good relations with the Knights Templar. In those days, the reconquista in this country had already come to an end, which could have contributed to the fact that the Templars would devote themselves primarily to self-education, and not to wars. “They could have participated in the creation of the Order of Christ,” Lara said. For their part, such Portuguese navigators as Vasco da Gama could use the knowledge of the Templars during their geographical discoveries.
This could explain the fact that at the beginning of the 15th century, the Grand Master of this Order, the Infante of Portugal, Henry the Navigator, sent the proceeds of the Order of Christ to sea voyages. Pope Calixtus III gave them ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all territories "from Cape Bohador and Cape Nun, including all of Guinea to the southern coast of the West Indies," said the papal bull Inter caetera (1456). As the researcher points out, the Templars very diligently studied all areas of knowledge, including maritime affairs. This explains the high authority of the Sagres navigation school, founded by Heinrich the Navigator.
2. Scotland
“Perhaps the Templars made it to Scotland. In this case, they would have to moor in Argyll and unload their cargo there at Kilmory or Castle Suite,”writes Maria Lara. In this regard, some researchers, in particular Ernesto Frers, point out that the Knights of the Order came into contact with the famous leader Robert Bruce, who, like them, was anathematized for insubordination. "He generously received the Templars, who in turn offered him help in the fight against England and her allies," the author writes.
3. Sicily
The third route can be considered one of the most acceptable. Oddly enough, it is the least viewed. We are talking about the shores of Sicily, in the southern part of Italy. This area was conquered in the eleventh century by the Norman Count Roger I, whose relationship with the papacy (and that of his successors) was sometimes very difficult. According to Frers, one of the standards that this family used on their ships was subsequently adopted by the Knights of the Knights Templar, so that after leaving La Rochelle, they could well head to these lands.
4. America
The last and most intriguing hypothesis is that the ships of the Order of the Knights Templar crossed the Atlantic and reached the shores of America, and almost 100 years before the discovery of this continent by Columbus. “Legend has it that when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Yucatan Peninsula, they learned that white people had already visited there and passed on their knowledge to the local residents. Another hypothesis is that, according to the testimony of the monks who accompanied Columbus, the locals were not surprised to see the crosses on the soldiers, since they already knew them. In addition, in the cultures of the pre-Hispanic period, the idea that "the day will come when white people dressed in iron will come from the sea and change our life for the better." It is also known that the Mayan tribes worshiped the white and bearded deity Kukulkan. This in itself is very amazingbecause, due to genetic and natural factors, the Maya were beardless,”notes Maria Lara.