Jacques de Molay, thou art cleared!

[Cain]

Found this whilst Googling around for something totally different:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL093422320071012

The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian military order accused of heresy and sexual misconduct, will soon be partly rehabilitated when the Vatican publishes trial documents it had closely guarded for 700 years.

A reproduction of the minutes of trials against the Templars, "'Processus Contra Templarios — Papal Inquiry into the Trial of the Templars'" is a massive work and much more than a book — with a 5,900 euros ($8,333) price tag.

"This 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," said Professor Barbara Frale, a medievalist at the Vatican's Secret Archives.

"Nothing before this offered scholars original documents of the trials of the Templars," she told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of the official presentation of the work on October 25.

The epic comes in a soft leather case that includes a large-format book including scholarly commentary, reproductions of original parchments in Latin, and — to tantalize Templar buffs — replicas of the wax seals used by 14th-century inquisitors.

Reuters was given an advance preview of the work, of which only 799 numbered copies have been made.

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.

Pope Benedict will be given the first set of the work, published by the Vatican Secret Archives in collaboration with Italy's Scrinium cultural foundation, which acted as curator and will have exclusive world distribution rights.

...

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.

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's attempts to eliminate them.

Templars were burned at the stake for heresy by King Philip's agents after they made confessions that most historians believe were given under duress.

The parchment, also known as the Chinon Chart, was "misplaced" in the Vatican archives until 2001, when Frale stumbled across it.

"The parchment was catalogued incorrectly at some point in history. At first I couldn't believe my eyes. I was incredulous," she said.

"This was the document that a lot of historians were looking for," the 37-year-old scholar said.

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.

Frale said Pope Clement was convinced that while the Templars had committed some grave sins, they were not heretics.

[Richter]

Why 799 copies?

[Adios]

Is this the same guy the Order of de Molay is named after?

[Mangrove]

Is this the same guy the Order of de Molay is named after?

Yes.

For some strange reason back in the 18th century, some people got the idea in their heads that the Templars and the Freemasons were intimately related. Thus, there are Templar degrees in Masonry and sub orders for the children of masons like the De Molay Boy and the Rainbow girls. Also, it ended up producing Dan Brown.

[Adios]

Is this the same guy the Order of de Molay is named after?

Yes.

For some strange reason back in the 18th century, some people got the idea in their heads that the Templars and the Freemasons were intimately related. Thus, there are Templar degrees in Masonry and sub orders for the children of masons like the De Molay Boy and the Rainbow girls. Also, it ended up producing Dan Brown.

Cool, thanks.

For even further ridicule I like reading Dan Brown.

[Mangrove]

Is this the same guy the Order of de Molay is named after?

Yes.

For some strange reason back in the 18th century, some people got the idea in their heads that the Templars and the Freemasons were intimately related. Thus, there are Templar degrees in Masonry and sub orders for the children of masons like the De Molay Boy and the Rainbow girls. Also, it ended up producing Dan Brown.

Cool, thanks.

For even further ridicule I like reading Dan Brown.

Reading Dan Brown -> not a problem.
Believing Dan Brown is a 'historian'....now that's another matter entirely!

[Doktor Howl]

Why 799 copies?

In case one gets misplaced.

[Adios]

Is this the same guy the Order of de Molay is named after?

Yes.

For some strange reason back in the 18th century, some people got the idea in their heads that the Templars and the Freemasons were intimately related. Thus, there are Templar degrees in Masonry and sub orders for the children of masons like the De Molay Boy and the Rainbow girls. Also, it ended up producing Dan Brown.

Cool, thanks.

For even further ridicule I like reading Dan Brown.

Reading Dan Brown -> not a problem.
Believing Dan Brown is a 'historian'....now that's another matter entirely!

Historian?  

Entertaining, yes.

[Mangrove]

Dear Vatican.

First you annhiliate the Templars. Then you 'lose' inconvenient paperwork in your vast private archive. And if that's not enough, you release the info in a limited edition of 799 for $8000+. Real helpful. Thanks.

[Richter]

Stands to make them pretty small change, I'd think, compared to the whole church's bottom line.

Why 799 copies?

In case one gets misplaced.

[Cain]

But it's just enough to put it out of budget for various historians.

[Elder Iptuous]

you don't think it will get scanned and leaked?

[Cain]

Been out for three years now.  You seen a scan?

[Adios]

Been out for three years now.  You seen a scan?

I would imagine the controls are pretty tight.

[Elder Iptuous]

i missed that....
i guess they probably vetted the prospective buyers since it was such a limited run, huh?
cuts down on the probability that one would be, i dunno, 4chan, or something just wanting to bust chops....