Page:A history of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, volume 3.djvu/330

314 POLITICAL HERESY. — THE STATE. Jay me I. of Majorca was in no position to resist the pressure brought upon him by Philippe le Bel and Clement. His little kingdom consisted of the Balearic Isles, the counties of Koussillon and Cerdagne, the Seignory of Montpellier and a few other scat- tered possessions at the mercy of his powerful neighbor. He promptly therefore obeyed the papal bull of Kovember 22, 1307, and by the end of the month the Templars in his dominions were all arrested. In Eoussillon the only preceptory was that of Mas Deu, which was one of the strongholds of the land, and there the Templars were collected and confined to the number of twenty- five, including the Preceptor, Eamon Sa Guardia, the gallant de- fender of Miravet, who after his surrender was demanded by the King of Majorca and willingly joined his comrades. AVe know nothing of what took place on the islands beyond the fact of the arrest, but on the mainland we can follow with some exactness the course of events. Roussillon constituted the diocese of Elne, which was suffragan to the archbishopric of Xarbonne. May 5, 1309, the archbishop sent to Ramon Costa, Bishop of Elne, the ar- ticles of accusation with the papal bull ordering an inquest. The good bishop seems to have been in no haste to comply, but, plead- ing illness, postponed the matter until January, 1310. Then, in obedience to the instructions, he summoned two Franciscans and two Dominicans, and with two of his cathedral canons he pro- ceeded to interrogate the prisoners. It is evident that no torture was employed, for in their prolonged examinations they substan- tially agreed in asserting the purity and piety of the Order, and their chaplain offered in evidence their book of ritual for recep- tions in the vernacular, commencing, " Quan oleum proom requer la eompaya de la May so P With manly indignation they refused to believe that the Grand Master and chiefs of the Order had con- fessed to the truth of the charges, but if they had done so they had lied in their throats — or, as one of them phrased it, they were demons in human skin. With regard to the cord of chastity, an humble peasant serving brother explained not only that it was procured wherever they chose, but that if it chanced to break 61.— Regest. Clement. PP. V. T. IV. pp. 435 sqq.— La Fuente, Hist. Ecles. de Espana, II. 369-70. — Ptol. Lucens. Hist. Eccles= Lib. xxiv. (Muratori S. R. I. XL 1228).— Concil. Tarraconens. aim. 1312 CAguirre, VI. 233-4).