For the general public Jacques de Molay is mainly known as the last Grandmaster of the Knights Templar. But there is more to the man and the various stages of his life deserve more attention. His youth has been dealt with in an earlier post. The present post follows De Molay in his early years as a common Templar. What did the witnesses, mainly those that testified at the Templar trials after 1307, see before he became master?
On the 28th of May, 1291, the Templar fortress of Acre fell to the Mamluks. All of its inhabitants were killed. After Acre fell, the rest of the Templar fortresses quickly evacuated. There were no more troops with which to defend them. With the desertion of Atlit, the Templars' great castle on the coast, the Franks were driven completely out of Palestine. What happened then?
