To have a better understanding of the Temples actions when they started gathering intelligence on the intentions of Pope Clement V and King Philippe the fair, their interpretation of this information was confusing at best. The way they responded to it was unusual for an institution of their fierce reputation.
The order was about 212 years old at his time, just as a comparison the United States is 236 years old in 2012. The Temple had become a force to be dealt with. It was an elite armed force, the special forces of the middle ages. They had become an economic force, they had invented international banking. They were the bankers of both the English and French crown. They also served most of the Nobel families and families of means in Europe and funded all Six of the Crusades.
They were very involved in spice and textile production, trade and distribution of fabric, linen, and tapestries throughout Europe and the Holy Land. They were the primary shippers of mechantise not only by sea but also by land using their 9,000 properties throughout Europe. They were very involved in every level of commerce from small farming, to small business like blacksmith shops to bakeries and meat markets. They of course were also involved with large business and with the government run entities.
When the warrior monks went to the mattresses in 1307 there was a vast network throughout Europe of Templar controlled properties and businesses for them to blend into . They didn't do it over night they did it over time slowly and orderly so that nobody was aware of it.
However before this was to take place they had to look like they were conducting business as usual from the various precepretories excursions frequently with small loads of the Treasury and documents and a delivery system was developed to transfer assets to the Paris Preceptories and from there on to Flanders to the Cistercian farm at Cambron.
When I say knights I am making reference to the whole support system that goes along with each knight. Seven horses, a sergeant, a vet/ medical person, chaplain, and four to six squires per knight. This entourage is frequently referred to as “Gentlemen” of the Temple. Frequently these knights were unaware of their cargo, they didn't have a need to know.
Flanders and France had been at war from 1297 to 1305, in 1302 France was defeated at the Battle of the Golden Spurs. However two years later they were again under the rule of the French crown. At the Peace treaty of Athis, Flanders had won its independence and was to exist as a fief to the crown of France, with the exception of Lillie, Douai, and Bethune which were surrendered to France.
In 1300 the Count of Flanders Robert de Bethune along with his father Guy de Dampierre who were both Knights of the warrior monks were imprisoned and King Philippe seized the southern portion of Flanders. They weren't released until 1305 after the Peace treaty of Athis.
In 1307 on the 26th of March a very strange occurrence took place. King Philippe summoned Count Bethume to Tours the Palace of King Philippe the fair. He was advised of the King's plan to persecute and arrest the Templar's on Oct 13th of that year. He was requested to cooperate in this event, this occurred 6 month's prior to the arrests taking place. The count bore a great grudge against the French King bordering on homicidal hatred.
King Philippe eldest son was not well respected by the King, Prince Louis X le Hutin, who married Marguerite de Bourgogne, while his third son Prince Charles IV, was married to her sister. They were both the daughters of Richard II, the duke of Burgundy, and his wife duchess Mahaut d' Artois. Philip didn't have any use or respect for these two sons only his middle son Prince Philippe V le Long was in the graces of the King. Although he considered these two sons to be fools they were at best Royal fools. They had all the privileges of Prince's in the Royal Court and sat on the King's council and kept abreast of the business of state including military action and covert operation well before they happened like the pending arrests of the Templar's.
Prince Louis X, being a fool, while having pillow talk with his unfaithful wife, relayed the going on's of State business. Like the pending arrest of the Templar's. This of course was relayed directly to her mother duchess Mahaut!
Duchess Mahaut was very involved in the textile and fabric industry, and her bankers, distributors, and shippers were the Templar's.
When the Flemish Knight gave the signal it was obeyed by every knight except one which was attested to in documents. The bailey of the lower valley of the Rhone, was accused of treason along with the hierarchy of the Order by the Flemish Knight.
The hierarchy of the Temple although aware well in advance of King Philippe intentions, didn't act prudently. They didn't realize the intentions of their own corrupt Pope. They were counting on the rivalry between the Vatican and the crown of France. Perhaps they didn't realize that the King had assassinated the two previous Popes. Perhaps they didn't realize that Pope Clement V, and the King were boyhood friends.
Grand Master Jacques Molay felt that the Vatican would come to their rescue not the other way around. The Temple felt that the Pope would threaten the King with excommunication and the entire state of France also. If this were to be the case then the warrior monks could have gone for their weapons because the Army of France wouldn't have been considered christen. This was a fatal mistake that Jacques de Molay had made and dealt a fatal blow to the order.
The vile Pope Clement V, betrayed the warrior monks based on self interest, greed, and political gain. Pope Clement V gave the properties of the Order to his mistress, his son, and to his nephews before the abolition of the order.
When the Flemish Knight gave the word, their was an automatic tightening of security throughout the Temple, every monk knew not to speak of any of the Temple's business. In navy speak we would say they went to “General Quarters”. They went to battle stations from the island of Cyprus and throughout Europe. They were instructed to destroy all records of Temple doctrine, daily routine, documents pertaining to finances that weren't forwarded to the Paris Preceptory.
The warrior monks were bankers not misers. Therefore their money and assets were kept in motion, and not kept in one place. They were not hoarding monetary assets in their castles, it doesn't make money there. A significant amount of their assets were lent out to the Nobel families and to the crown of both England and France to build villages, infrastructure, Gothic Cathedrals, castles, and the financing of battles, wars and crusades.
Under torture a knight confessed to an inquisitor, he described a orderly departure of knights associated with the orders treasury. There wasn't a panicked evacuation at the last moment. The same knight under torture testified that the Master of the Paris Preceptory departed by sea with fifty horses.
The Temple, with the exception of the Vatican, was the central pillar of western Christendom.
The Temple was the most powerful, most important, most prestigious, most unshakable institution of its time.
I think you could make the same analogy of the United States. I think it is important to take a look at this to understand what was about to happen to the Temple Treasury.
Imagine that in today's world during a time of peace a government official, a middle manager so to speak, not a cabinet secretary, perhaps a glorified clerk in the agriculture department. The clerk gives an order for all the cash reserves in the National Bank, all the important documents used in running the country, to be collected and turned over to him.
He then asks that all the money, the Fort Knox gold, priceless art pieces from the White House and the Smithsonian to be turned over to him so he can hide it in a secret location that only he knows of, Without question this happens. It happens without the knowledge of the Executive branch or any of the cabinet secretaries. But with their approval! He was obeyed on the spot!
No one would believe that this could ever happen, but that's exactly what happened at the Temple. In this case the glorified clerk in the Department of Agriculture, was the Flemish Knight of the Knight Templar's.
When information came to the Flemish Knight of the plans of King Philippe and Pope Clement V, while the Grand Master and the upper echelon of the order were in denial the Flemish knight took action.
Just like in a modern office building, or a large corporation, General quarters on a Navy ship, the order to scramble a squadron of fighter interceptors with a signal from NORAD. The Flemish Knight gave the signal!
He gave the signal and certain knights in the Temple took action without question, without discussion and without letting other brother monks know what was happening.
The Flemish Knight departed for the Abbey of Cambron at Wodecq in Flanders immediately after receiving the information of King Philippe's intentions. At the monastery he met with a relative who happened to be the Abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Cambron and a brother monk.
Abbot Jacques de Plusquit, after a short discussion with the Flemish knight, summoned an elderly monk from the abbey's farm and by doing so interrupted his writings of the day. He was a well known scientist and intellectual who joined the Cistercian monastery late in life.
The old monk's name was Yves le Lessines he came at the Abbot's request, and with a two minute discussion it was decided to take immediate action and left with the Flemish Knight at once.
When they arrived at the Paris preceptory the Flemish knight gave the signal and certain knights took action like a well oiled machine. Immediately the signal was sent to every preceptory in Europe, the knights went to a heightened state of security, all knights were instructed not to discuss any of the orders business with anyone. They immediately started an audit of all assets, started to call in debts, and destroying records, documents pertaining to the order, daily routines, financial records were all destroyed except for audit records which were to be transferred to the Paris preceptory, along with the assets of the treasury from each preceptory. The Masters of the preceptories throughout Europe started making excursion with small caravans, transferring farm goods, hay, livestock and normal looking barrels and chests on horse drawn carts from one location to another throughout the 9,000 properties under the order of the Temple. The knights making the trips weren't aware of what was in the barrel's and chests, they didn't have the need to know.
The Temple had learned a lesson from seventy years ago when brother warrior monks were persecuted by yet an other corrupt King. Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen (1194-1250) Had made the warrior monks his scapegoats for his horrendous behavior during the 6th Crusade in 1229. He had persecuted the pilgrims he was suppose to protect then turned his wrath on the Italian Templar's after they had rescued him from the fortress of Jean de Arc that he had taken refuge in and was kept under siege for over a month. They delivered him under an armed escort to a Templar ship. However he had treated the men of the meat trade poorly and they were waiting for him on the pass through the village on the way to the ship and pelted him with excrement and animal waste. He arrived at the ship humiliated, stinking and seeking revenge.
To show his gratitude he persecuted the Italian Templar's raiding their preceptory and stealing their assets and property. The warrior monks had long memories they never again trusted any monarch and they made preparation for future assault’s against the Order.
Seventy years later when the church and the Crown of France was preparing to persecute them they were prepared. They had decided that if they were ever in a crisis in the future they would not obey a brother monk but a signal. This would protect them in case they were infiltrated by a traitor. Select monks, not part of the Grand Masters leadership would each have select responsibilities to perform.
When you hide a treasure it is to be retrieved at a later date not necessarily by the same knights who had hidden it. It needed to be placed in a safe place where it wouldn't be noticed. The area needed to be politically stable, security and compartmentalized information was of utmost importance. Only a few people should know the location and these people shouldn't be in a position of leadership but have eyes on the ground. Be aware of whats going on, in a position to observe the daily happenings, who's coming and going the general gossip Such as a modern day cab driver.
The area needed to be Templar friendly, a place where they don't attract attention and have had a good relation with the local's. Someplace not in France, England, Germany, Italy, or Spain. This left Scotland, Portugal, Flanders or America. The Templar's knew about America for quite some time the Norse roots of the Temple run deep.
Question: Where would you hide a pebble? Answer: On the beach!
Today Flanders is a political community with in Belgium. In the middle ages Flanders was one of the most urbanized and richest parts of Europe. This was because of the textile industry. The Temple was very involved in this industry. They produced wool from their farms, they weaved it into textile, they distributed it not only on their ships but also on overland caravans into France, Germany and the Netherlands. They of course were also the bankers to the industry.
Warrior monks were both a common site and well respected in Flanders. The Abbey of Cambron was outside of Wodecq Flanders, which was a very unique area due to a Papal Decree making it exempt from any civil or religious rule. The local bishop didn't have any rights in that area and he wasn't allowed to excommunicate any of the Cistercian monks or citizens of Wodecq.
The Cambronchaux a very large Cistercian farm outside of Wodecq had an extremely large barn. This was an ideal site for the destination of the Treasure. No one would question monks going about normal farming activities. Warrior monks escorting carts of hay, wool, livestock, and other agricultural items also would not have attracted attention. This also would be a common sight because of frequent thefts and pillaging from soldiers in the area from the frequent battles with France over the last several years.
The Flemish Knight and brother Yves and their work cut out for them in the back of a distillery on the grounds of the Paris preceptoy they had acquired 21 large barrels and had transferred the gold, silver, jewels, precious stones, and documents to the barrels and covered them with a thick coat of grease.
One at a time they were loaded onto a cargo vessel in the Seine River and they made their way to the Atlantic. At a property close to the mouth of the Seine river they were transferred with other cargo to ships from the seaport at le Rochelle which in turn delivered their cargo without a lot of pomp and splendor to Luys Flanders where they were again met by brother warrior monks who assumed they were just transferring agricultural products to the barn at Cambronchaux.
They were escorted in company of knight Templar's in full battle dress, to protect them from the highway robbers, unemployed soldiers, laying around waiting for another war, pillaging the local fields and farmers to survive.
With a large frame in the barn other young monks were waiting to unload the barrels and set them along the side of the interior of the barn one at a time, under the supervision of brother Yves. The young monks thought it strange that such a man of intellect was doing mundane chores around the barn, but the old monk just smiled and said he has writers block from time to time.
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