316 POLITICAL HERESY.— THE STATE. receiving pensions allotted on the Preceptory of Mas Deu, though most of them had retired to their houses, for they do not appear to have been restricted as to their place of residence. By this time the indomitable Ramon Sa Guardia's name had disappeared. One by one they dropped off, until in 1350 there was but a single survivor, the knight Berenger dez Coll.* In Castile no action seems to have been taken until the bull Faciens misericord imn of August 12, 1308, was sent to the prel- ates ordering them to act in conjunction with the Dominican, Eymeric de Xavas, as inquisitor. Fernando IV. then ordered the Templars arrested, and their lands placed in the hands of the bishops until the fate of the Order should be determined. There was no alacrity, however, in pursuing the affair, for it was not until April 15, 1310, that Archbishop Gonzalo of Toledo cited the Master of Castile, Rodrigo Ybafiez, and his brethren to appear be- fore him at Toledo. For the province of Compostella, comprising Portugal, the archbishop held a council at Medina del Campo, where thirty Templars and three other witnesses were examined, all of whom testified in favor of the Order ; a priest swore that he had heard the confessions of many Templars on their death- beds, as well as others mortally wounded by the infidel, and all were orthodox. Xo better success attended inquests held by the Bishop of Lisbon at Medina Celi and Orense. The only judicial action of which we have notice was that of the Council of Sala- manca for the province of Compostella, where the Templars were unanimously acquitted, and the cruel orders to torture them issued the next year by Clement seem to have been disregarded. After the Order was dissolved the Templars for the most part continued to lead exemplary lives. Many retired to the mountains and ended their da} T s as anchorites, and after death their bodies remained in- corruptible, in testimony of the saintliness of their martyrdom.f
- Allart, op. cit. pp. 34, 42, 66, 69, 72-4, 79, 81-4, 86, 93-8, 105.— Proces, II. 424-
515. — Yaissette, IV. 153. I have met with no details as to the treatment of the Templars of Navarre; but as Louis Hutin, son of Philippe le Bel, succeeded to that kingdom in 1307, of course the French methods prevailed there, and the papal Inquisitor, Jean de Bourgogne, had full opportunity to procure testimony in what manner was most effective. t Regest. Clement. PP. V. T. III. pp. 289, 299.— Llorente, Ch. in. Ait. 2, No.
