Jacques De Molay, the last Grand Master of the Order of Knights Templar, was a martyr for his beliefs. De Molay endured the cruel suppression of his Order at the hands of royalty and the Church. Consequently, the monastic austerity, chivalry, and martial prowess of De Molay and the Knights Templar has become legendary.
Little is known about De Molay's early life. He was born about 1240 in France. He entered the Order of Knights Templar as a young man and was elected its twenty-second Grand Master about 1295.
De Molay inherited the leadership of an Order undergoing a period of change. The Knights Templar was a military organization that had participated in the Crusades and earned a name for valor and heroism. The Knights were sanctioned by the Catholic Church and revered by the lay population. Both ecclesiastical and secular authorities lavished the Knights with material and legal privileges. For example, the Knights' immense property was exempt from all taxation and even from church tithes. The Knights were accountable only to the Church, and popes in Rome steadfastly upheld the Order's power and prestige. The unprecedented privileges bestowed upon the Knights soon resulted in growing animosity from certain segments of the clergy and the monarchy.
By the time De Molay assumed the position of Grand Master, it was clear that the Crusades were not achieving their goals. The lives of thousands of Knights had been lost in battle in the Holy Land. The non-Christian Saracens defeated the Crusaders and captured many vital cities and posts. The Knights Templar and the Hospitalers (another Order of knights) were the only groups remaining to confront the Saracens. The Templars decided to reorganize and regain their strength: "De Molay tried sincerely to re-establish the Christians on the Palestinian mainland. In 1294 and 1295 he visited Italy, France and England in a desperate attempt to gather new supplies and men ...