Templars in Art: The Ordination of Jacques de Molay

The ordination of Jacques de Molay in 1265

Little is known of the early years of Jacques de Molay, but he was probably born in Molay, Haute-Saône, in the County of Burgundy, at the time a territory ruled by Otto III as part of the Holy Roman Empire, and in modern times in the area of Franche-Comté, northeastern France.  His birth year is not certain, but judging by statements made during the later trials, was probably around 1240-1250.

He was born, as most Templar knights were, into a family of minor or middle-ranking nobility. It is suggested that he was dubbed a knight at age 21 in 1265 and is known that he was executed in 1314, aged about 70. His year of birth is not known and Alain Demurger finds it probable that he was born in the period 1244/45 to 1248/49 or even between 1240 and 1250.

In 1265, as a young man, he was received into the Order of the Templars in a chapel at the Beaune House, by Humbert de Pairaud, the Visitor of France and England. Another prominent Templar in attendance was Amaury de la Roche, Templar Master of the province of France. Around 1270, De Molay went to the East (Outremer), although little is recorded of his activities for the next twenty years. 

source text Wikipedia, Illustrations shows the Ordination of Jacques de Molay in 1265 at the Beaune commandery by François Marius Granat (1775-1849), collection Calvet Museum, Avignon. source Wikimedia, Public Dimain.

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