![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-14-at-6.56.59-PM.png\")
The seal of the Vatican secret archives is shown on a replica document in which Pope Clement V absolved the Knights Templar of charges of heresy, in Rome October 9, 2007. A reproduction of the Latin-language minutes of trials against the Knights Templar in 1308, lost until its rediscovery in 2001, is being published by the Vatican Secret Archives at the end October. The documents, a book and parchments, costs 5,900 euros and its 799 numbered copies are destined for top libraries and medieval scholars. Picture taken October 9, 2007. REUTERS\/Alessandro Bianchi<\/p><\/div>\n
The seal of the Vatican secret archives is shown on a replica document in which Pope Clement V absolved the Knights Templar of charges of heresy, in Rome October 9, 2007. A reproduction of the Latin-language minutes of trials against the Knights Templar in 1308, lost until its rediscovery in 2001, is being published by the Vatican Secret Archives at the end October. The documents, a book and parchments, costs 5,900 euros and its 799 numbered copies are destined for top libraries and medieval scholars. Picture taken October 9, 2007. REUTERS\/Alessandro Bianchi<\/p>\n
A reproduction of the minutes of trials against the Templars, \u201c\u2018Processus Contra Templarios \u2014 Papal Inquiry into the Trial of the Templars\u2019\u201d is a massive work and much more than a book \u2014 with a 5,900 euros ($8,333) price tag.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a milestone because it is the first time that these documents are being released by the Vatican, which gives a stamp of authority to the entire project,\u201d said Professor Barbara Frale, a medievalist at the Vatican\u2019s Secret Archives.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing before this offered scholars original documents of the trials of the Templars,\u201d she told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of the official presentation of the work on October 25.<\/p>\n
The epic comes in a soft leather case that includes a large-format book including scholarly commentary, reproductions of original parchments in Latin, and \u2014 to tantalize Templar buffs \u2014 replicas of the wax seals used by 14th-century inquisitors.<\/p>\n
Reuters was given an advance preview of the work, of which only 799 numbered copies have been made.<\/p>\n
One parchment measuring about half a meter wide by some two meters long is so detailed that it includes reproductions of stains and imperfections seen on the originals.<\/p>\n
Pope Benedict will be given the first set of the work, published by the Vatican Secret Archives in collaboration with Italy\u2019s Scrinium cultural foundation, which acted as curator and will have exclusive world distribution rights.<\/p>\n
The Templars, whose full name was \u201cPoor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon\u201d, were founded in 1119 by knights sworn to protecting Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land after the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099.<\/p>\n
They amassed enormous wealth and helped finance wars of some European monarchs. Legends of their hidden treasures, secret rituals and power have figured over the years in films and bestsellers such as \u201cThe Da Vinci Code\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Knights have also been portrayed as guardians of the legendary Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper before his crucifixion.<\/p>\n
The Vatican expects most copies of the work to be bought up by specialized libraries at top universities and by leading medieval scholars.<\/p>\n
BURNED AT THE STAKE<\/h3>\n
The Templars went into decline after Muslims re-conquered the Holy Land at the end of the 13th century and were accused of heresy by King Philip IV of France, their foremost persecutor. Their alleged offences included denying Christ and secretly worshipping idols.<\/p>\n
The most titillating part of the documents is the so-called Chinon Parchment, which contains phrases in which Pope Clement V absolves the Templars of charges of heresy, which had been the backbone of King Philip\u2019s attempts to eliminate them.<\/p>\n
Templars were burned at the stake for heresy by King Philip\u2019s agents after they made confessions that most historians believe were given under duress.<\/p>\n
The parchment, also known as the Chinon Chart, was \u201cmisplaced\u201d in the Vatican archives until 2001, when Frale stumbled across it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe parchment was catalogued incorrectly at some point in history. At first I couldn\u2019t believe my eyes. I was incredulous,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was the document that a lot of historians were looking for,\u201d the 37-year-old scholar said.<\/p>\n
Philip was heavily indebted to the Templars, who had helped him finance his wars, and getting rid of them was a convenient way of cancelling his debts, some historians say.<\/p>\n
Frale said Pope Clement was convinced that while the Templars had committed some grave sins, they were not heretics.<\/p>\n
Their initiation ceremony is believed to have included spitting on the cross, but Frale said they justified this as a ritual of obedience in preparation for possible capture by Muslims. They were also said to have practiced sodomy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimply put, the pope recognized that they were not heretics but guilty of many other minor crimes \u2014 such as abuses, violence and sinful acts within the order,\u201d she said. \u201cBut that is not the same as heresy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite his conviction that the Templars were not guilty of heresy, in 1312 Pope Clement ordered the Templars disbanded for what Frale called \u201cthe good of the Church\u201d following his repeated clashes with the French king.<\/p>\n
Frale depicted the trials against the Templars between 1307 and 1312 as a battle of political wills between Clement and Philip, and said the document means Clement\u2019s position has to be reappraised by historians.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will allow anyone to see what is actually in documents like these and deflate legends that are in vogue these days,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Rosi Fontana, who has helped the Vatican coordinate the project, said: \u201cThe most incredible thing is that 700 years have passed and people are still fascinated by all of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe precise reproduction of the parchments will allow scholars to study them, touch them, admire them as if they were dealing with the real thing,\u201d Fontana said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut even better, it means the originals will not deteriorate as fast as they would if they were constantly being viewed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n