France, fall 1307: Templar arrests, interrogations, confessions and royal-papal power struggle

"On October 12, 1307 Jacques de Molay went to Paris specifically to attend the funeral of Catherine, wife of Charles de Valois, brother of the king. He resides, of course, within the Temple enclosure. It's a coincidence that he's here. Does this mean that he knows nothing of what is going on and that he has unconsciously thrown himself into the den of the wolf? 

The true motifs behind the Templar arrests, October 13, 1307

As argued earlier, financial affairs, often suggested as the major trigger for the arrests, can only be a marginal reason for conflict between the Templars and the King of France. Alternatively, rumors against te Order of the Temple were. Rumors that led to the request of Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Temple, to Pope Clement V to open an investigation into the charges weighing on the order. In a letter to the King of France dated August 24, 1307 the Pope granted this request.

The run-up to the Templars' arrest, October 13, 1307

"On October 13, 1307, in the early morning, throughout the kingdom of France, the Templars were arrested and transferred to royal prisons. (...) During most of the reign of Philip the Fair, practically until the year 1305, relations between the Order of the Temple and the royalty, without being warm, were not conflictual. What had happened? 

Medieval fairs - birth ground of multinational enterprise

The Medieval fairs of Northern France, which were already well-organized at the start of the 12th century, were one of the earliest manifestations of a linked European economy, a characteristic of the High Middle Ages.