the Temple, and there perished;
the Grand Master had already fallen; a handful of the knights only
escaping to Cyprus.

The persecution of the now corrupt and useless Order commenced sixteen
years afterwards. In 1306, both in London and Paris, terrible murmurs
arose at their infidelity and their vices. At the Church of St.
Martin's, Ludgate, where the English Templars were accused, the
following charges were brought against them:--

1. That at their first reception into the Order, they were admonished by
those who had received them within the bosom of the fraternity to deny
Christ, the crucifixion, the blessed Virgin, and all the saints. 5. That
the receivers instructed those that were received that Christ was not
the true God. 7. That they said Christ had not suffered for the
redemption of mankind, nor been crucified but for His own sins. 9. That
they made those they received into the Order spit upon the cross. 10.
That they caused the cross itself to be trampled under foot. 11. That
the brethren themselves did sometimes trample on the same cross. 14.
That they worshipped a cat, which was placed in the midst of the
congregation. 16. That they did not believe the sacrament of the altar,
nor the other sacraments of the Church. 24. That they believed that the
Grand Master of the Order could absolve them from their sins. 25. That
the visitor could do so. 26. That the preceptors, of whom many were
laymen, could do it. 36. That the receptions of the brethren were made
clandestinely. 37. That none were present but the brothers of the said
Order. 38. That for this reason there has for a long time been a
vehement suspicion against them. 46. That the brothers themselves had
idols in every province, viz., heads, some of which had three faces, and
some one, and some a man's skull. 47. That they adored that idol, or
those idols, especially in their great chapters and assemblies. 48. That
they worshipped them. 49. As their God. 50. As their saviour. 51. That
some of them did so. 52. That the greater part did. 53. They said those
heads could save them. 54. That they could produce riches. 55. That they
had given to the Order all its wealth. 56. That they caused the earth to
bring forth seed. 57. That they made the trees to flourish. 58. That
they bound or touched the heads of the said idols with cords, wherewith
they bound themselves about their shirts, or next their skins. 59. That
at their reception, the aforesaid little cords, or