All corrections
Wikipedia July 20, 2026 at 07:02 PM

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar

3 corrections found

1
Claim
The Knights Templar were disbanded in 1309.
Correction

The order was not formally suppressed in 1309. Pope Clement V dissolved it on March 22, 1312, in the bull *Vox in excelso*.

Full reasoning

This date is incorrect by about three years. Authoritative historical references place the formal suppression of the Knights Templar in 1312, not 1309.

  • The Catholic Encyclopedia states that at the Council of Vienne, Clement V "decreed the dissolution, not the condemnation of the order ... (Bull of 22 March, 1312)."
  • Encyclopedia.com likewise says that in the bull Vox in excelso of March 22, 1312, Clement "suppressed the order by papal provision."

So while the trials and political campaign against the Templars were underway before then, the order was not disbanded in 1309; its formal suppression came in 1312.

2 sources
2
Claim
shows that Clement absolved the Templars of all heresies in 1308
Correction

The Chinon Parchment was not a blanket clearing of the whole order. It records absolution/reconciliation for Jacques de Molay and a small group of top Templar dignitaries after confession.

Full reasoning

This overstates what the Chinon Parchment says.

The Chinon document concerns the Templar leadership, not all Templars as a whole. An official Vatican/Scrinium summary describes parchment D217 as "the final acquittal granted to Jacques de Molay and to other high dignitaries of the Order" and also as "the original absolution deed granted ... to the Great Master of the Temple, Jacques de Molay and the high templar dignitaries at Chinon castle." Likewise, the Fortress of Chinon’s historical summary says King Philip detained "the five dignitaries of the order", after which the pope sent three cardinals to question the dignitaries "in order to reinstate them in the Catholic Church."

So the Chinon Parchment does not show that Clement simply "absolved the Templars of all heresies" in a blanket sense. It records the reconciliation/absolution of a limited group of senior leaders after their interrogations.

2 sources
  • Processus contra Templarios - Scrinium

    The fourth parchment (D217) ... turned out to be the final acquittal granted to Jacques de Molay and to other high dignitaries of the Order ... The fourth parchment (217) ... includes the original absolution deed granted ... to the Great Master ... Jacques de Molay and the high templar dignitaries at Chinon castle.

  • 1308 | Forteresse de Chinon

    the king had the five dignitaries of the order, including the grand master Jacques de Molay, detained ... The pope then decided to send three cardinals to Chinon to question the dignitaries in order to reinstate them in the Catholic Church.

3
Claim
In 1305, the new Pope Clement V, based in Avignon, France
Correction

Clement V was elected in 1305, but he was not yet based in Avignon then. He resided at various places in France from 1305 to 1309 and only later took up residence at Avignon.

Full reasoning

This is an anachronism. Clement V became pope in 1305, but he did not establish himself at Avignon until 1309.

A standard Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Clement V says that from 1305 to 1309 he "resided at different places in France (Bordeaux, Poitiers, Toulouse), but finally took up his residence at Avignon." A separate Council of Vienne entry also notes that Clement designated Avignon as the place for proceedings against Boniface VIII in 1309, matching the later move.

So describing Clement V as already "based in Avignon" in 1305 is historically incorrect.

2 sources
Model: OPENAI_GPT_5 Prompt: v1.16.0