October 13, 1307 - the Templars' demise remembered and retold

On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France, also known as Philips the Fair, had all of the Templars throughout the domains of France arrested in one surprising campaign. This was done on the basis of the King's secret orders to his baillis and sénéchaux throughout France, dated September  14, 1307. 

Friday, 13 October 1307 - an affair of state

The arrest of the French Templars on Friday 13 October 1307 left its mark on the minds of contemporaries. It even gave rise to myths and superstition linked to the choice of the date of Friday the 13th, which today has become both a day of misfortune for the superstitious and a day of luck for the French national lottery. Unlike often thought, the arrests were an initiative of the French King Philip the Fair, without consent of or cooperation by Pope Clement V who alone held supreme authority over the Templar Order.

October 13 - Templar Anniversary

 "This date in Templar history - the 13th of October is the day, in the year 1307, that the arrests of this great Order began. The arrest and the subsequent trials, based on false charges as was recently admitted by the Vatican, lead to the deaths of many noble Knights Templar. Amongst them the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay.

Dr Karen Ralls, medieval historian and curator consultant (Oxford, England), and Trustee, Templar Heritage Trust UK offers a short historical 'statement' about Grand Master de Molay. "

read further on www.osmth.org; illustration source (FairUse intended)