Tracing the theoretical Templar treasure throughout France (Part-1)
- Charlotte Wheatley
- 9 hours ago
- 8 min read
We regularly see the Knights Templar and their treasure being referenced in connection to Oak Island, whether it be on the COOI show or in numerous books that have appeared on the shelves over the last years, but The Templar’s lost treasure is not only associated with the Oak Island legend. There are also many places around Europe that claim similar stories. In France the Order of the Temple was the wealthiest and most influential religious order of the High Middle Ages. There are numerous legends about the brotherhood that still have their importance today. Many place names in France were influenced by the Order, La Ville Dée, Blanc Mouton, Le Temple, La Croix-Rouge are some examples of references to the knights, when we examine the history of these places, we usually find a stronghold of some type that once belonged to the Templar.
There are also many places in France where the Templar supposedly stashed their treasure; from castles to standing stones, from churches to lakes, in every region of France there are legends of hidden Templar booty. Is there any truth in these legends or are they just stories? If indeed the Order did hold some amazing treasure, what was this supposed treasure composed of? Was it purely of financial value? And very importantly, did the Templar manage to spirit-away the treasure before their arrest?
Stories of treasure:
On the 13th of October in the year 1307, Philippe Le Bel (Philip the Handsome), the reigning king of France, issued a sweeping decree that commanded the immediate arrest of all members of the Knights Templar across the entirety of France. This order did not merely focus on the apprehension of individuals; it explicitly stated that any and all valuables or assets possessed by the Knights Templar were to be placed into royal sequestration, meaning that they would be temporarily held by the crown for the benefit of the monarchy. Given that the Knights Templar were the wealthiest order in the country at that time, this decision ensured that vast riches would fall into the hands of King Philippe, thereby significantly bolstering his own financial resources. Following their arrests, the Knights Templar faced severe accusations, being charged with heresy, a serious offense that held immense weight in a deeply religious society. In the months that followed these dramatic arrests, many of the knights, under intense pressure and duress, reportedly confessed to a variety of unholy practices, including acts that were considered blasphemous. It's important to note that these confessions were often obtained through methods that involved threats of torture; and tragically, in many cases, these acts of torture actually took place, leading to a grim atmosphere of fear and coercion surrounding the trials of the accused.
In the 1962 book Les Templiers sont Parmis Nous (The Templar are among us) Gerard de Sède publishes a supposed account from Jean de Chalon, Templar knight from Nemours, who after the general arrest of the brotherhood confesses to seeing a group of Templar flee with three carts laden with straw and 50 horses. Though De Sède gives the archive reference to Jean de Chalon’s declaration his version has been debated by many researchers and its existence has even been doubted, but other authors had previously mentioned this text, including Finke who is well respected as a medievalist and religious historian. In his book Papsttum und Untergang des Templerordens, Finke details in Latin, Jean de Chalon’s declaration.
“He also said that the powerful men of the order had foreseen the confusion, and he met brother Girard de Villarii (the Parisian Preceptor) with fifty horses, and heard the news that he had entered the sea with 18 boats, and that brother Hugo de Cabilone had fled with all the treasure of brother Hugo de Peraud…” (translated from Latin).
It seems that Gérard De Sede added a few details to this declaration; in the original version there is no mention of carts and straw! But Finke’s research can certainly be considered as serious, and the archive reference of this account certainly seems genuine. A French group of researchers did their homework properly and contacted the Vatican with the specific reference. In a reply letter, the Vatican’s archivist confirmed that the precise account is in Finke’s book. From that, we can only conclude that the account made by Jean de Chalon does exist and seems authentic, though nothing proves he was telling the truth at the time.
In his account he specifies that “18 boats” “entered the sea”, suggesting that the getaway was made from a large enough port to accommodate such a fleet. Though there is speculation about which port this could be, many believe that this brave and rebellious group of Knights left from the port of La Rochelle, where they held a key commanderie. Interestingly, there are still many places in La Rochelle that reflect the importance of the Templar in the city. Including two monuments bearing symbols connected to Oak Island - the four-dot-cross!
So where did they take this hypothetical treasure? As mentioned above there are multiple places that have been associated with Templar treasure. it seems impossible to enumerate every location in France that has been suspected, there are far too many. In this article we will look at some of the most popular.
La Forêt d’Orient (The Forest of Orient):
The Forest of Orient has an intriguing history that can be found in various guidebooks and articles on the internet. Local Templar legends here are certainly wilder than average, ranging from simple hidden treasure to enchanted ponds, and magical doorways leading to other dimensions. Originally known as Der Forest, which actually means Oak Forest (the word Der stemming from the Gaulois word Dervos: Oak), it is situated in the “Templar region” of France: l’Aube, which is located in the Champagne area. Orient Forest is located between Troyes and Clairvaux where the important Cistercian abbey of Clairvaux was founded by Bernard de Clairvaux, a keen supporter of the Temple Order. The forest is just 20 km away from the city of Troyes where in 1128, under the supervision of Bernard de Clairvaux, a special council established the rules of the Order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon (the Order of The Temple). Troyes is also very close to where the first Templar Grand-master and founder of the order, Hugues de Payns originated from.
The Templar were not the first religious group to make an establishment in Orient Forest, the Cistercians, and the Knights Hospitaller were already implanted in the Forest when the Order of the Temple created a first stronghold or "commanderie" in a hamlet called Bonlieu. However, they were the first to be very successful, and in 1255 they bought a large part of the forest which was named Temple Forest, it was actually the largest forestland acquired by the Templar in Europe.
Not only did they exploit this area for hunting, wood and farming they also created walled areas and various large ponds with a network of ditches for channeling water. From certain accounts we learn that they created a labyrinth of streams. Managing water was of upmost importance for the Templar Order, the records show that the size of Bonlieu lake doubled under their influence. They also built tile kilns, mills and other structures that helped maintain their self-sufficiency and generate trade. The revenues generated from the forest helped finance their missions in the Holy-land.
All of us have heard of King Arthur and the stories of the round table. Medieval Arthurian literature is mainly attributed to a man called Chrétien de Troyes (though the original “legend” is earlier). From his name we can see that he probably originated from or around the city of Troyes or at least lived there for a time. As mentioned before Troyes is close to Orient Forest. Chrétien de Troyes had connections to the nobles of Troyes, and he had two very influential patrons in Mary of Champagne, mother of the king of Jerusalem and Philippe d’Alsace, to whom Chretien de Troyes dedicated his novel “Perceval, The Story of The Grail”. This is one of the first texts that mentions the Grail and it was certainly influenced by Chrétien’s knowledge of chivalry and the crusades.
In the Story of the Grail, the hero Percival is the son of a knight killed in a tournament. Worried about her son’s future, his mother takes him to live in a forest, where he becomes estranged from courtly life. However, at the age of fifteen, Perceval meets three knights in the forest and decides to leave with them. Percival then goes on to become the guardian of the Grail.
Percival is quite a unique name, it's generally accepted as being composed of two words : “Perce” (which means to pierce) and “Val” (which is the singular form of “vaux” meaning valley). However, some researchers have suggested that "Perce" comes from the adjective "Pers" (possibly meaning "clear" or "limpid" in old French), implying that Perceval could literally mean the clear valley - which is strangely similar to “Clairvaux” (clear valleys), the name of the abbey close to Orient Forest and founded by Bernard de Clairvaux, a strong supporter of the Templar Order. This could lead to speculate that “Percival” the guardian of the grail is in fact the abbey Clairvaux itself, suggesting that the grail was in fact kept in the abbey. This is only speculation, as nothing proves this to be the case.
But what about that magical doorway? Local legend says that when Philippe Le Bel ordered the arrest of the Templar Knights in 1307, some of the knights escaped to Orient Forest with their famous treasure. They supposedly disappeared through a door that took them to another place or possibly another dimension. For those of you who are familiar with the TV show Stargate, the magic doorway seems to be a very similar device. Of course, no one has ever proved this story to be true or even located this magical passageway, but there might be a hint as one of the ponds in Orient is called “The pond of the door”.
Various researchers and paranormal enthusiasts have tried to locate the doorway. A certain Claude Burkel has done extensive research and suggests that a fountain called Fontaine des Oiseaux (Fountain of Birds) could be the key to finding the door. This fountain was at one point housed in a modern construction and unfortunately since 2004 is submerged in water due to the creation of a new lake. Burkel has theorised that the ground surrounding the fountain is radioactive. He also suggests that the Forest authorities claim that the water level drops consequentially every so often, and they have supposedly installed a system to see where the water is disappearing. Burkel suggests that the doorway opens on certain dates which would explain the drop in water.
But is this a possibility? It seems difficult to be convinced about the magical portal (though it’s important to remain open minded) this idea seems farfetched to say the least. However, Orient Forest would certainly have been an excellent place to store any valuables that were supposed to stay hidden, it was a huge place which was easily reachable from their general headquarters in Paris. The Order established many strongholds around the forest, and they certainly created a labyrinth of streams and marshland with complicated access for outsiders. And from an Oak Island point of view, the work undertook by the Templar Order in Orient Forest is proof that they knew how to move water, to drain it and to use it to their advantage.
In the next part of this series, we’ll track down more Templar treasure legends throughout France – next stop: the mysterious castle of Gisors.
Good day from Charlotte of the Compendium!
Sources for this article:
Le Procès des Templiers, Presses univ. de Rennes, coll. « Histoire » - Malcom Barber (translation Sylvie Deshayes)
Les Templiers sont parmis nous - Gérard de Sède
Papsttum und Untergang des Templerordens, vol. 2, 1907 - Heinrich Finke
Les templiers dans la forêt d'Orient - GILET François and Valérie Alanièce