The Templars' Last Days (3 page)

Neither the Master nor I spoke during the meal, our thoughts consumed by the much larger and more immediate issues which had brought us to Avignon. At the end of the meal, the Master, Jon and myself retired to the security of his quarters, where we discussed what tomorrow’s meeting with the Pope might bring.

I attended mid-night prayers and returned to my room, more in hope of sleep than certainty as my mind was still troubled with the forthcoming and imminent crisis.

Still whatever may happen tomorrow will, by God’s grace, happen and with that thought I drifted into a light but restful repose.

Chapter 2

William of Nogaret had ridden hard through the previous day and night so that he could deliver the latest developments in his negotiations with the Pope and his legate to King Philip IV, but, despite all his efforts and discomforts, he still did not arrive at the outskirts of Fontainebleau until the early hours of the morning. The news was not good, and he felt it better to get some sleep, refresh himself and face the King later in the morning.

Besides, he was in no fit state to present himself before his Monarch, being roughly attired in riding garbs and covered in the dust and grime that a hard ride across the country roads would cover both horse and rider in.

He therefore headed to his home to rest, reflect on the last few days and how he could best tell the King the result of his latest negotiations, or, to be more exact, the lack of any meaningful progress.

William's servants were unprepared for their master to be arriving at such a late hour. The large torches that illuminated the gates to his estate were almost flickering their last. The gatekeeper, however, managed to recognise the horse and rider approaching him at speed and opened the gates so that the horse did not have to break its stride.

Now he was within the security of his own grounds, William allowed himself to slow down and upon reaching the front of his chateau dismounted, removed his all important saddle-bag and strode meaningfully, though somewhat tiredly, through the impressive front doors.

The palatial hallway and staircase were dimly lit, but William was too tired and distracted with the matters in hand to be bothered. He barked out his orders to the butler regarding the time he was to be woken, the clothes he would need and the breakfast he would have.

To William the stairs seemed to have doubled in number since he last ascended them to reach his sleeping quarters, or was this an illusion due to the time spent in the saddle? Either way, his bed looked extremely inviting and he fell immediately into a much needed deep sleep.

It seemed to William that he had only just closed his eyes, when he was being woken by his butler. Although the tiredness of his body yelled at him to remain in bed and sleep some more, William knew that today was no day for a lie in. Fighting the instincts of his body to remain where it was, he ignored those feelings and rose. Once out of bed William shook off all thoughts of more sleep and lost no time in making himself ready for the tasks that lay ahead of him.

His butler had, as commanded, laid out William’s finest black tunic and surcoat, white shirt and hose and his best black shoes. His gold chain of office was ready to be placed over his shoulders before he left. He took a few moments to admire himself in the long mirror which stood in the corner of his lavishly fitted bedroom. Satisfied that all was correct, he nodded a sign of approval to himself and headed down to the dining room for his breakfast.

William deliberately took his time over breakfast, mentally reviewing his actions and reassuring himself that he had not failed in any aspect of the negotiations he had been involved in over the last few days. For he knew only too well that the King would ask him for every detail and fully expect to be answered without hesitation. As his mind mulled over all this information, he heard the sound of his coach pulling up at the front of his chateau. It was time for him to go.

William's purposeful strides to his carriage were stopped by his butler at the front entrance. After placing over William’s head the solid gold chain of his office as Chancellor and Keeper of the Seals, he adjusted it until it was perfectly symmetrical on his shoulders. The butler then draped over his master’s shoulder his cloak before finally handing to him his black hat and the scrolls which William had brought back with him last night; Satisfied that his master was now perfectly dressed and with a curt bow, he took his leave of his master.

Finally William strode out into the bright July sunshine .The four dapple grey horses pulling the coach all wore a black caparison onto which was embroidered William’s coat of arms, as were the two horses which would follow behind. The two coachmen driving his coach, and the two outriders, all wore the uniform identifying them as part of William’s household.

As William settled into the comfort of the cushioned seat of his coach, he could not help but reflect on what a contrast this was to the hardness of the leather saddle he had endured over the previous 48 hours. As William looked out of the windows of his coach, he allowed himself a moment’s reflection on his current status. Not bad for a school teacher, he mused, but today was not a day to sit on past glories.

Although the ride from his chateau to the King’s palace was no more than 15 minutes, it gave William enough time to settle in his own mind, once again, that all that he could have done had been done. It was now up to the King to decide how he wished to proceed.

The grounds of the Palace reflected in size the ambitions of King Philip IV and although he had made this journey many times, as he approached the royal household William could not help but be impressed by its size and splendour. The long drive, which led from the high guarded gates up to the plateau upon which sat the palace, dissected the magnificent lawns. These were surrounded by mature forest, which covered many hundreds of acres, and held game in abundance. William allowed himself the luxury of a moment’s reflection on the times in which he and the King had enjoyed many a good day’s hunting and sport in those woods.

To reach the main entrance the coach would have to cross the large kidney-shaped lake that dominated the access to the front of the royal residence. The lake was traversed at its narrowest point by an arched bridge, and as the coach quickly moved across the bridge William nervously adjusted his chain of office and renewed his grip on the all important scrolls he had with him.

The coach drew to a halt at the main entrance, and, as always, the King’s butlers and servants appeared to be everywhere. The coach door was opened and William was helped down by a hand of one of the King’s many footmen.

Each of the 12 steps which led from the road level up to the wide piazza at the front entrance of the Palace, had a footman on either side, forming a guard of honour. Their tunics were made of finest linen, and their blue tunic and white braies and hose were a fitting prelude to the opulence that lay within the Palace itself.

On reaching the top of the stairs, the full width of the piazza could be grasped, as could the imposing size and splendour of the Palace itself. However, today William was in no mind to dawdle and admire the wonders of the architecture, for he broke into a purposeful stride which brought him quickly to the large main doors.

The two uniformed doormen bowed in acknowledgement of William’s chain of office as they swung open the doors to reveal the opulent splendour of the cavernous hallway. Yet another butler now accompanied William across the marble floor towards one of the many doors which led off the main hall.

They now entered the main gallery which led to the music room. The wall to the left was decorated with huge portraits of King Philip's family, and between each of the portraits were large, wall mounted, seven-stemmed gold candlesticks; whilst the right wall was dominated by a series of large windows, allowing the morning sunlight to dart its rays to show off the finery of the furniture that occupied the gallery. The windows were dressed from floor to ceiling with magnificent heavy curtains, which threw long shadows across the highly polished wooden floor.

As William approached the centre of the gallery, the left wall of which was dominated by a huge marble fireplace, he chanced a quick glance up at his favourite portrait which hung over it. It was a portrait of Philip and his wife Joan upon their marriage some 23 years ago. The marriage was initially made by Philip as a means of acquiring the lands of Champagne and Brie, thus expanding his lands, influence and income. Surprisingly love blossomed and they were blessed with a happy and fruitful union.

By the time this thought had gone through William's mind, he had reached the door to the music room. Protocol demanded that he now made his presence known and await the King’s pleasure before he could enter. After what seemed an intolerably long time, the doors to the music room swung open, and the butler announced the presence of William to the King.

Taking this as his cue, William stepped purposely into the music room, gave the requisite bow to acknowledge the King, and was about to speak when he noticed that the King was accompanied by his Queen. William quickly offered a second bow to her, and now awaited the King’s instructions.

The music room, in keeping with the rest of the Palace, was decorated to the highest of standards. It was a large square room, dominated by a magnificent chandelier which hung majestically from the centre of the ceiling. The floor was adorned with several couches and chairs upon which William had spent many enjoyable evenings listening to the finest troubadours of the land as they sought royal patronage.

The large expanse of windows which filled most of the wall opposite to the doors was the usual place for the troubadours to sit and play their latest offerings, and to William's right was the large private area reserved for the King and Queen, their family and personal guests.

Today, the tall figure of the King was dressed in the drabness of a black linen tunic, in acknowledgement of today being 11th July, with this year being the fifth anniversary of the death of his close companion Pierre Flotte. A large jewel mounted within a silver brooch shone from his left breast as did the silver buckle of the belt around his waist, as the sun’s rays darted off them.

Pierre Flotte had been brutally slaughtered during Philip's first attempt to annex Flemish lands on 11 July 1302. It was during this battle that many of France's finest noblemen perished, and the mighty French army suffered a major defeat. This unexpected setback caused King Philip to vow that he would take his revenge – not only because of the humiliating manner in which the defeat was inflicted on the pride of French nobility, but in the name of his dear friend Pierre. Besides which, Philip was still desperate for the much needed money he could raise from the acquisition of such a wealthy population.

It was to be a further two years before King Philip was able to exact his vow of revenge on the Flemish army at the battle of Mons-en-Pévèle on 18th August 1304. Although sustaining some personal injuries in the battle, he finally succeeded in taking back the lands that had been lost. As was the King's way, he then ruthlessly proceeded to tax and pillage the population of these regained lands to pay for the war and to build up his Treasury.

William was pleased that the King too had remembered the importance of today, and wished that he could have been able to convey better news than that he was about to deliver.

Protocol dictated that the King would not discuss matters of state in the Queen’s presence. William's patience was now really being put to the test when the King gestured for him to sit whilst the Queen proceeded to play her harp, which she had been learning how to play. Both the King and William listened politely, yet both knew they had more important matters to discuss.

As the tones of the harp filled both the room and William's ears, his eyes were drawn to the painting which dominated the wall above the large fireplace, that of Philip's father, King Philip III dressed in full armour and sat astride his magnificent war horse. William allowed his thoughts to reflect on the history behind the painting.

Upon his father's death, Philip IV had inherited the position and possessions which he now enjoyed; unfortunately, he had also inherited all of his father’s debts which had been incurred through his many wars. Philip IV had made this precarious financial position even worse, with his ambition to make France the premier empire in Europe and the costly wars and necessary alliances such a desire brought with it.

King Philip IV of France had been supreme ruler over his ever growing empire since inheriting the throne at the tender age of 17. However, unlike his father, this tall, handsome ruler had no interest or time for the day-to-day business of managing his lands. Instead he preferred to rely on the strength and guile of his civil servants, some of whom had served his family for many years, to be responsible for the management of his territories, and more especially in the collection of taxes.

He had initially spread his influence amongst the ruling class in Europe and England through a series of family marriages, gaining him important alliances and sources of income, which he then ruthlessly exploited to his advantage. If needed, he was not slow to call his countrymen to war in order to expand his boundaries.

This of course all required vast amounts of money, a commodity which the King was desperately short of, ever since his father’s campaigns of war had bled the Royal Treasury all but dry of any reserves it had. Although Philip was acutely aware of his lack of finances, he in no way allowed this minor detail to interfere with his expansive ambitions. Unfortunately for the King, current circumstances meant that he was now more desperate than ever before to find alternative ways of raising money.

Although, looking around this home, you would never have guessed just how close to financial ruin the royal household really was.

The Queen's rendition finally came to a close and was rewarded with a polite acknowledgement from both the King and William. The King went over to his Queen, kissed her left hand and, after offering his apology to her for his need to talk with William in the library, led the way to the doors of the music room. William offered to the Queen a respectful bow of his head before quickly following the King out into the gallery. Once alone together in the gallery, the mood of the King noticeably changed and although no words would be spoken in public areas, the need to reach the sanctity which the library offered now became paramount.