Others escaped, and some even joined other Holy Orders. The Order did mount a powerful defense, and in fear the men might gain public sympathy, the French government executed 54 of them by publicly burning them at the stake.
A few were found innocent, and these men received pensions. Some were punished by remaining jailed for long periods of time, and some actually gained their freedom and actually returned to a "normal" life, marrying and raising families. The leaders were burned at the stake in 1314, and that marked the end of the trials, the executions, and the Knights Templar, themselves.
In conclusion, the Knights Templar organization served a vital role in Middle Age Christian society. They helped guard pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land, they engaged in Holy Crusades to rid the Middle East and Europe of "infidels," and they provided many services to the Catholic Church. The power they gained as they became more popular ultimately led to their downfall and the disillusion of the Order. Today, the Knights are remembered as pious men who chose to live their lives fighting for the God they believed in and innocent men who were wrongly accused of heresy and executed. Perhaps that is one reason...
They were powerful, pious, and proud, and they paid for their devotion with their lives.
References
Cavendish, Richard. "Knights Templar Arrested in France: October 13th, 1307." History Today Oct. 2007: 60+.
Dafoe, Stephen. "A History and Mythos of the Knights Templar." TemplarHistory.com. 2008. 4 July 2008. http://www.templarhistory.com/
The Templars: Selected Sources. Trans. Malcolm Barber and Keith Bate. New York: Manchester University Press, 2002.
Stephan Defoe. "A History and Mythos of the Knights Templar." TemplarHistory.com. 2008. 4 July 2008. http://www.templarhistory.com/
The Templars: Selected Sources, trans. Malcolm Barber and Keith Bate (New York: Manchester University Press, 2002) 1.
Richard Cavendish, "Knights Templar Arrested in France: October 13th, 1307," History Today Oct. 2007, 60.
The Templars: Selected Sources, 2.
Dafoe.
The Templars: Selected Sources, 8.
Cavendish, 60.
The Templars: Selected Sources, 17.
Cavendish, 61.
The Templars: Selected Sources, 19-21.
