THE TRIAL OF THE TEMPLARS IN FRANCE 293
by the deponents as entirely or partially false, the commission
intended to use the statements as the basis for their investiga-
tion. Templars who admitted the accusations were to be
witnesses against the Order $ Templars who denied the
charges were joined as parties to the defence. While the
commission was in session, all brethren involved in the pro-
ceedings were to be under the custody of Philip de Vohet,
Provost of Poitiers, and John de Jamville, an officer of the
royal court.
On August 7th, 1309, the full commission of seven
members met in the palace of the Bishop of Paris. The
commissioners presented their credentials, proclaimed the
authority vested in them by Pope Clement, and issued an
invitation to all Templars in France who wished to defend the
Order to appear on November I2th. The invitation was to
be posted on cathedrals and churches and otherwise published
widely for the information of the clergy and people, and
special care was to be taken that Templars in custody were
advised of the proceedings. When the commission sat again
on November 12th, however, not a single brother came before
it to defend his Order. It has been suggested that over-
zealous gaolers wished to prevent the Templars from giving
testimony, or that Philip the Fair and his ministers
deliberately withheld the news of the commission's invitation
from the prisoners. Neither explanation seems credible.
The Templars were distributed among a number of prisons,
and it is highly unlikely that the gaolers of all the prisons
were in league. Philip and his ministers for their part had
nothing to gain by keeping the Templars in ignorance, as it
was obvious that the commissioners would be suspicious if no
defenders came forward. Other suggestions are that the
Templars feared to offend the king by venturing to defend
the Order, that no arrangements had been made for the
transport of the brethren, and that the Templars thought the
new tribunal merely intended to review the evidence already