THE TRIAL OF THE TEMPLARS IN ENGLAND 283
and had been instituted by St. Bernard for this reason. A
number of the Templars readily confessed that no brother
was allowed to disclose what happened at a chapter, but all
scoffed at the suggestion that anything irregular took place
at such assemblies.
This preliminary examination of the English Templars
lasted until November i7th and produced not a scrap of real
evidence. The tribunal then proceeded to hear witnesses
who were not members of the Order. Their testimony,
however, was either favourable to the Order or based only
on rumours of irregularities in the brotherhood. Much play
was made by the court of the mystery which surrounded the
ceremonies of the Temple. One brother, asked why the chap-
ters had been held in secret,1 answered, " because of our own
foolishness ". Folly was not an explanation that a tribunal
of the Church could easily accept and the investigators con-
sidered that men who did not submit their actions to the
light of day must have something disgraceful to hide. The
outcome of the enquiry was communicated to the king.
Edward was deeply interested in the proceedings, but he felt
it better that he should not be too closely identified with
them. The bishops, he agreed, might deal with the prisoners
according to the canons of the Church, but the king absolutely
forbade the use of torture.
The papal commissioners, the bishops of London and
Winchester and other prelates opened a new enquiry in
January, 1310. They produced the papal Bull in which the
charges against the Templars were specified, declared that
de Molay, the Grand Master, had confessed to some of the
graver crimes, and tried to induce the brethren to admit that
the accusations were denied only because every Templar had
sworn a great oath never to reveal the secrets of the Order.
The enquiry was designed not to prove the guilt of individual
1 The chapters were probably held secretly in the early days of the Temple to
prevent the leakage of information regarding military operations, and the practice
survived when the origin was forgotten.