THE TEMPLARS. 289 Among the bulls of August 12, 1308, therefore, there was one creating a commission, with the Archbishop of Narbonne at its head, authorized to summon before it all the Templars of France, to examine them, and to report the result. Subsequent bulls of May, 1309, directed the commission to set to work, and notified Philippe concerning it. August 8, 1309, the commission assem- bled in the abbey of Sainte-Genevieve, and by letters addressed to all the archbishops of the kingdom cited all Templars to ap- pear before them on the first working-day after Martinmas, and the Order itself to appear by its syndics and procurators at the Council of Yienne, to receive such sentence as God should decree. On the appointed day, November 12, the commissioners reassem- bled, but no Templars appeared. For a week they met daily, and daily the form was gone through of a proclamation by the ap- paritor that if any one wished to appear for the Order or its mem- bers the commission was ready to listen to him kindly, but with- out result. On examining the replies of the prelates they were found to have imperfectly fulfilled their duty. Philippe evident- ly regarded the whole proceeding with distrust, and was not in- clined to aid it. A somewhat peremptory communication on No- vember 18 was addressed to the Bishop of Paris, explaining that their proceedings were not against individuals, but against the wmole Order ; that no one was to be forced to appear, but that all who so chose must be allowed to come. This brought the bishop before them on November 22, w T ith explanations and apologies ; and a summons to Philippe de Vohet and Jean de Jamville, the papal and royal custodians of the Templars, brought those officials to promise obedience. Yet the obstacles to the performance of their task did not disappear. On the 22d they were secretly in- formed that some persons had come to Paris in lay garments to defend the Order, and had been thrown in prison. Thereupon they sent for Jean de Plublaveh, prevot of the Chatelet, who said that by royal order he had arrested seven men said to be Tem- plars in disguise, w T ho had come with money to engage advocates in defence of the Order, but on torturing two of them he had found this not to be the case. The matter proved to be of little significance except as manifesting the purpose of the king to con- trol the action of the commission.*
- Joann. de S. Victor (Bouquet, XXI. 654).— Proces, 1. 1-31.
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