On 18 March 1314, Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and final Grand Master of the Knights Templar, met a brutal fate as he was burned at the stake by order of King Philip IV of France.
Accused of heresy and other fabricated crimes, de Molay steadfastly maintained the innocence of his order, cursing his persecutors as the flames consumed him.
His execution marked the tragic end of the once-powerful Templars, whose vast wealth and influence had drawn the ire of both the French monarchy and the Papacy.
Legend holds that de Molay’s dying curse foretold the deaths of Philip IV and Pope Clement V within the year—an eerie prophecy that soon came to pass.
