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imported>Piero.schiavone1994
I highly doubt that: the mnemonic set from PL matches Jesus, Jacques, Geoffroy and Cesare Borgia, but nowhere it is said that Cesare handed SOE 1, and Jesus' shroud wasn't SOE 1. Hence, it is by no mean certain Jacques handled SOE 1, either.
 
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{{Era|Individuals|Templars}}
{{Era|Individuals|Templars}}{{WP-REAL}}
{{WP-REAL}}
{{Quote|This was the truth de Molay died for: the Divine Right of Kings is nothing but the reflection of sunlight upon gold. When the Crown and Church are ground to dust, we who control the gold will decide the future.|François-Thomas Germain's reflections on de Molay, 1793.|Assassin's Creed: Unity|The Temple}}
{{Quote|A symbol can inspire fear, and fear can inspire control - but men inevitably lose their fear of symbols. [...] This was the truth de Molay died for: the Divine Right of Kings is nothing but the reflection of sunlight upon gold. When the Crown and Church are ground to dust, we who control the gold will decide the future.|François-Thomas Germain, 1793.|Assassin's Creed: Unity}}
{{Character Infobox
{{Character Infobox
|name = Jacques de Molay
|image = ACU De Molay Render.png
|image = ACU De Molay Render.png
|birth = 1244<br />{{Wiki|Molay, Haute-Saône|Molay}}, {{Wiki|County of Burgundy}}, [[Holy Roman Empire]]
|birth = 1244<br>{{Wiki|Molay, Haute-Saône|Molay}}, {{Wiki|County of Burgundy}}, [[Holy Roman Empire]]
|death = 18 March 1314 (aged c. 70)<br />[[Paris]], [[France|Kingdom of France]]
|death = 18 March 1314 {{C|aged c. 70}}<br>[[Paris]], [[France|Kingdom of France]]
|species = [[Human]] ([[Sage]])
|species = [[Human]] {{C|[[Sage]]}}
|database = [[Database: Jacques de Molay|Jacques de Molay]]
|database = [[Database: Jacques de Molay|Jacques de Molay]]
|affiliates = [[Templars]]
|affiliates = [[Templars]]
*[[Parisian Rite of the Templar Order|French Rite]] {{c|1265 – death}}}}
*[[Parisian Rite of the Templar Order|French Rite]] {{C|1265 – death}}
'''Jacques Bernard de Molay''' (1244 – 1314) was the 23rd and last [[Grand Master of the Templar Order|Grand Master]] of the [[Templars|Knights Templar]], and a [[Sage]]. As a consequence of his deliberate sacrifice during the [[Persecution of the Templars|disbanding of the Knights Templar]], the Order could nonetheless survive, although it had once again to operate secretly.
}}
'''Jacques Bernard de Molay''' (1244 – 1314) was the 23rd and last [[Grand Master of the Templar Order|Grand Master]] of the [[Templars|Knights Templar]], and a [[Sage]]. As a consequence of his deliberate sacrifice during the [[Persecution of the Templars|disbandment of the Knights Templar]], the Order was forced into hiding in order to survive.


==Biography==
==Biography==
===Early life===
===Early life===
Jacques de Molay was born a Sage in 1244 in {{Wiki|Molay, Haute-Saône|Molay}} in the {{wiki|County of Burgundy|Free County of Burgundy}} (today in [[France]]'s Haute-Saône department). In 1265, de Molay was inducted into the Templar Order in {{Wiki|Beaune}}. After the fall of [[Acre]], the Order met in [[Cyprus]] in September 1291. On 20 April 1292, de Molay was elected [[Grand Master]], leading the Templars to the height of their power.<ref name="Database">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[Database: Jacques de Molay]]</ref> Around this time, he possessed the [[Shroud of Eden 1|Shroud of Eden]], which later wound up in the possession of a fellow French Templar, [[Geoffroy de Charny]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy]]''</ref>
Jacques de Molay was born a Sage in 1244 in {{Wiki|Molay, Haute-Saône|Molay}} in the {{Wiki|County of Burgundy|Free County of Burgundy}}. In 1265, de Molay was [[Initiation into the Templar Order|inducted]] into the Templar Order in {{Wiki|Beaune}}. After the {{Wiki|Siege of Acre (1291)|fall}} of [[Acre]], the Order met in [[Cyprus]] in September 1291. On 20 April 1292, de Molay was elected Grand Master, leading the Templars to the height of their power.<ref name="Database">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[Database: Jacques de Molay]]</ref> Around this time, he possessed the original [[Shroud of Eden 1|Shroud of Eden]], which later wound up in the hands of a fellow French Templar, [[Geoffroy de Charny]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy]]'' – [[Holidays: Chapter 1 – Ghosts of Christmas Past]]</ref>


In 1305, Pope [[Clement V]] asked the leaders of various military orders for their opinions on a new crusade and the merging of the orders. While de Molay opposed a merge, King [[Philip IV of France]] favored it, specifically wishing to merge the orders into a force under his command.<ref name="ReferenceA">''[[Assassin's Creed Unity: Abstergo Entertainment – Employee Handbook]]''</ref>
In 1305, [[Papacy|Pope]] [[Clement V]] asked the leaders of various military orders in Europe for their opinions on a {{Wiki|Crusade of the Poor|new crusade}} and the merging of three main knightly orders of the [[Knights Hospitalier]]. While de Molay opposed the merge, King [[Philip IV of France]] favored it, specifically wishing to merge the orders into a force under his command.<ref name="ReferenceA">''[[Assassin's Creed Unity: Abstergo Entertainment – Employee Handbook]]'' – [[Historic Personage Sheets]]: Jacques de Molay</ref>


===Grand Master===
===Grand Master===
At some point, de Molay wrote the ''[[Codex Pater Intellectus]]''. With the Templars already serving as an economic power through banking, he envisioned in the Codex that the Templars should control humanity through the middle class and [[capitalism]], rather than through the aristocracy and monarchy.<ref name="ACU">''Assassin's Creed: Unity''</ref>
At some point during his tenure as Grand Master, de Molay wrote the ''[[Codex Pater Intellectus]]'', a journal detailing his thoughts on the Templars, as well as his knowledge of the [[Isu]] gained through visions of his past life as the Isu scientist [[Aita]]. With the Templars already serving as an economic power through their banking, de Molay suggested in his Codex that the Order should control humanity through finances rather than through the aristocracy and monarchy.<ref name="TheTemple">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[The Temple]]</ref>


Even as the Templars entered a Golden Age, Philip, strongly indebted to the Order, sought to disband it and claim its wealth. In the meantime, the [[Assassins|Assassin Order]] had begun to weaken the Templars. Philip unknowingly served the Assassins through his advisor [[Guillaume de Nogaret]], [[Mentor]] of their [[Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins|French Brotherhood]].<ref name="ACU" />
Even as the Templars entered a Golden Age, King Philip sought to disband the Order and claim its wealth, partly to erase his immense financial debts to them. In the meantime, the [[Assassins]] had begun to weaken the Templars in Europe. Philip unknowingly served the Assassins through his advisor [[Guillaume de Nogaret]], the [[Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins|French Brotherhood]]'s [[Mentor]].<ref name="AncestralVengeance">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[Ancestral Vengeance]]</ref>


===Capture===
===Capture===
{{Quote|The Assassins are far older than [[Masyaf]], my friend. Their anarchic delusions are virulent as the plague, and less easily eradicated. We will not prevail this night. But if you make haste, we may yet save our Order.|De Molay to his advisor, 1307.|Assassin's Creed: Unity}}On 13 October 1307, raids were carried out across France with the intent of arresting all Templars. The Templar headquarters at the [[Temple (Paris)|Temple]] were also raided by Assassins disguised as Flemish [[mercenaries]], led by [[Esquieu de Floyrac]] and the [[Master Assassin]] [[Thomas de Carneillon]].<ref name="ACU" />
{{Quote|The Assassins are far older than Masyaf, my friend. Their anarchic delusions are virulent as the plague, and less easily eradicated. We will not prevail this night. But if you make haste, we may yet save our Order.|De Molay to his advisor, 1307.|Assassin's Creed: Unity|The Tragedy of Jacques de Molay}}
On 13 October 1307, Templars across France were arrested in a series of coordinated [[Persecution of the Templars|raids]]. Led by [[Esquieu de Floyrac]] and the [[Master Assassin]] [[Thomas de Carneillon]], Assassins disguised as [[Belgium|Flemish]] [[Mercenary|mercenaries]] also attacked the Templar headquarters at the [[Temple, Paris|Temple]]. As the attack commenced, de Molay spoke with his [[Jacques de Molay's advisor|advisor]] and deduced that the Assassins were responsible.<ref name="TheTragedy">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[The Tragedy of Jacques de Molay]]</ref>


As the attack commenced, de Molay spoke with his [[Jacques de Molay's advisor|advisor]], and deduced that the Assassins were responsible. The advisor expressed his belief that the Brotherhood's power had been broken with the [[fall of Masyaf]]. De Molay told him that the Assassins were indeed not destroyed, and instructed the advisor to hide the Codex and the Templars' [[Swords of Eden|Sword of Eden]], before leading his men in battle.<ref name="ACU" />
[[File:Tragedy of Jacques de Molay 12.png|thumb|left|250px|King Philip's men arresting de Molay]]
The advisor expressed his belief that the Brotherhood had collapsed after the [[fall of Masyaf]] to the [[Mongol Empire]] decades earlier, but de Molay told him that the Assassins had not been destroyed, only driven to the shadows. Subsequently instructing the advisor to hide his Codex and the Templars' [[Swords of Eden|Sword of Eden]], de Molay led his men into battle. While the advisor successfully hid the Codex and Sword, he was killed before he could rescue the Grand Master from being captured.<ref name="TheTragedy" />


[[File:Tragedy of Jacques de Molay 12.png|thumb|right|250px|Philip's men arresting de Molay]]
As a result of the raids, nearly every Templar in France was arrested.<ref name="TheTragedy" /> In 1312, Pope Clement officially dissolved the Templar Order in his papal bull ''{{Wiki|Vox in excelso}}'', and all of their assets were seized and gifted to the Knights Hospitalier.<ref name="Database" />
While the advisor was able to hide the Codex and Sword, de Molay was arrested, and the former was assassinated by de Carneillon before he could rescue the Grand Master. As a result of the raids, nearly every Templar in France was arrested.<ref name="ACU" />


In 1312, the Templar Order was officially dissolved by Pope Clement in his papal bull, ''{{Wiki|Vox in excelso}}'', and all of its assets were gifted to the [[Knights Hospitalier]].<ref name="Database" />
===Trial and execution===
{{Quote|Pope Clement, hear me! Before this year is out, you will answer for your crimes before God almighty. And you, King Philip, no punishment is too heinous for the great evil you have inflicted upon the Temple. I curse you! Curse you to the thirteenth generation of your blood! You shall be cursed!|De Molay's dying words, 1314.|Assassin's Creed: Unity|The Tragedy of Jacques de Molay}}
Following the Templars' arrest, de Nogaret levelled charges against them, including heresy, blasphemy, and the worship of a deity known as [[Father of Understanding|Baphomet]]. During his imprisonment, de Molay was tortured by de Nogaret, [[Philippe de Marigny]], and [[William of Paris]], and was forced to confess to these charges.<ref name="AncestralVengeance"/>


===Trial and execution===
As their Grand Master, de Molay understood that the Templars could no longer survive in a public image and decided to make the ultimate sacrifice. Before his death, he sent nine of his most trusted men—each of whom possessed vital knowledge of the Templars, the Isu, and the Assassins—out into the [[Earth|world]] to continue the [[New World Order|Templars' work]] in secret.<ref name="ACR">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[Abstergo Files]]: "File.0.06\Hst_VoxInExcelso"</ref>
{{Quote|Pope Clement, hear me! Before this year is out, you will answer for your crimes before God almighty. And you, King Philip, no punishment is too heinous for the great evil you have inflicted upon the Temple. I curse you! Curse you to the thirteenth generation of your blood! You shall be cursed!|Jacques de Molay's dying words, 1314.|Assassin's Creed: Unity}}Following the arrest of the Templars, de Nogaret levelled charges against them, including heresy, blasphemy, and the worship of a deity known as [[Father of Understanding|Baphomet]]. During his imprisonment, de Molay was tortured by de Nogaret, [[Philippe de Marigny]] and [[William of Paris]], and was forced to confess to these charges. As their Grand Master, de Molay understood that the Templars could no longer survive in a public image, and decided to make the ultimate sacrifice. Before his inevitable death, he sent nine of his most trusted men - who possessed knowledge of the Templars, the [[Isu|First Civilization]], and the Assassins - out into the world to continue his work. The Templars would fade from public awareness and secretly influence leaders.<ref name="ACR">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref>


[[File:Tragedy of Jacques de Molay 13.png|thumb|right|250px|De Molay cursing King Philip]]
[[File:Tragedy of Jacques de Molay 13.png|thumb|250px|De Molay cursing King Philip in his final moments]]
On 18 March 1314, de Molay allowed himself to be burned at the stake alongside [[Geoffroi de Charney]]. As he burned to death, he cursed Philip to the "thirteenth generation of [his] blood".<ref name="ACU" /> By allowing himself to be executed, de Molay saved the lives of his remaining brethren, and made their enemies believe that the Order had died along with him.<ref name="ACR" />
On 18 March 1314, de Molay allowed himself to be burned at the stake alongside [[Geoffroi de Charney]]. As he burned to death, he vowed divine retribution upon his enemies, including King Philip, whom he cursed to the "thirteenth generation of [his] blood".<ref name="TheTragedy"/> By allowing himself to be executed, de Molay saved the lives of his remaining brethren and made their enemies believe that the Order had died along with him.<ref name="ACR"/>


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
In the late 18th century, Jacques' descendant, [[Anne de Molay]] murdered two of the descendants of his interrogators. She failed to murder the third, which resulted in the Assassin [[Arno Dorian]] handing her over to the the police.<ref name="ACU" />
In 1429, while in the same prison cell that had once held de Molay, the Assassin [[Jean de Metz]] told [[Gabriel Laxart]] to use his [[Eagle Vision]] to decipher de Molay's scribbles, but Laxart proved unable to do so.<ref name="ACH ch11">''[[Assassin's Creed: Heresy]]'' – Chapter 11</ref>
 
In the late 18th century, de Molay's Codex would be uncovered by the [[silver]]smith and Sage [[François-Thomas Germain]], who used de Molay's writings about controlling the world through finance rather than oligarchy to help bring about the [[Reign of Terror]] during the [[French Revolution]].<ref name="TheTemple"/> Also during the Revolution, de Molay's descendant [[Anne de Molay|Anne]] murdered two descendants of his interrogators. She failed to murder the third, which resulted in the French Assassin [[Arno Dorian]] handing her over to the authorities.<ref name="AncestralVengeance"/>
 
De Molay was later commemorated in 1937 by the Templars' new public front, [[Abstergo Industries]]. A portrait of him was displayed prominently in a room accessible only to members of the Order's [[Inner Sanctum of the Templar Order|Inner Sanctum]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[21st century conversations#Assassin's Creed: Revelations|Modern day]]</ref><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia]]'' – [[21st century conversations#Assassin's Creed Chronicles|Modern day]]</ref>


De Molay was later commemorated in 1937 by the Templar Order's new public front, [[Abstergo Industries]]. There, an image of him was displayed prominently in the room accessible only to members of the Order's [[Inner Sanctum of the Templar Order|Inner Sanctum]].<ref name="ACR" />
In 2001, researchers at the Vatican Secret Archives uncovered the {{Wiki|Chinon Parchment}} written in 1308 by Pope Clement which absolved de Molay of all charges.<ref name="Database"/>


In 2001, researchers at the Vatican Secret Archives uncovered a {{Wiki|Chinon Parchment|parchment}} written in 1308 by Pope Clement which absolved de Molay of all charges.<ref name="Database" />
In 2016, while reliving the memories of his ancestor Gabriel Laxart, the [[Master Templar]] [[Simon Hathaway]] sent a record of de Molay's scribbles to Abstergo cryptologist [[Zachary Morgenstern]] for deciphering.<ref name="ACH ch11"/>


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*Contrary to other known Sages, Jacques de Molay did not appear to be affected with {{Wiki|Heterochromia iridum|heterochromia}}. However this was probably an oversight of the development team.<ref name="McDevitt">[https://twitter.com/DarbyMcDevitt/status/538398632706584576 Darby McDevitt's Twitter]</ref>
*Contrary to other known Sages, Jacques de Molay did not appear to be affected with {{Wiki|heterochromia}}, though this was an oversight by the development team.<ref name="McDevitt">{{Twitter|DarbyMcDevitt|status/538398632706584576|Darby McDevitt|quote=@Assassins_M Probably just an oversight. (See what I did there?) At one point there was a "DeMolay Relic" collectible planned but... alas.|image=File:ACU - Darby McDevitt Twitter - LP Garneau.png}}</ref>
*One of his real-life portraits showed his cape having a black cross though this was actually the symbol of the Teutonic Order.
*One of de Molay's real-life portraits showed his cape having a black cross though this was actually the symbol of the [[Knights Teutonic|Teutonic Order]].
*It was generally believed or it was a myth, that de Molay cursed both Philip IV and Clement V. Philip himself died when he suffered a stroke while hunting and Clement had succumbed to a long illness at the same year de Molay was executed. Also, Philip's family, the House of Capet, had ended less than thirty years after his death.
*According to some myths,{{Cite|29 Dec 2025}} de Molay cursed both Philip IV and Clement V. The former died when he suffered a stroke while hunting, with his family's, the {{Wiki|House of Capet}}, rule over France coming to an end less than 30 years later, while Clement succumbed to a longtime illness the same year that de Molay was executed.
*Jacques de Molay is revered as a figurehead and a hero among the Templars, similar to [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]] among the Assassins. For it was due to his actions that the Templars who were being hunetd down by the public were able to survive and return to secrecy. 
*[[Alan Rikkin]] was of the opinion that de Molay's view of the Templars' role was idealistic and misguided, seeing his failure as proof that the Order was meant to follow a different path in the 21st century.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Heresy]]'' – {{Fact|9 June 2021}}</ref>
*[[Alan Rikkin]] was of the opinion that de Molay's view of the Templars' role was idealistic and misguided, seeing his failure as proof that the Order was meant to follow a different path.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Heresy]]''</ref>
*Jacques de Molay, along with [[Robert de Sablé]] and [[Armand Bouchart]], is one of the only three characters in the games that historically were Templars.


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" spacing="small" widths="180">
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" widths="180">
De Molay - Concept Art.jpg|Concept art of de Molay
De Molay - Concept Art.jpg|Concept art of de Molay
ACU De Molay's Execution - Concept Art.jpg|Concept art of de Molay's execution
Tragedy of Jacques de Molay 4.png|De Molay giving the task to his advisor
ACM Jacques de Molay.jpg|''[[Assassin's Creed: Memories]]'' art of de Molay
ACM Jacques de Molay 2.png|''Memories'' art of de Molay
Molay.jpg|An illustration of de Molay
Molay.jpg|An illustration of de Molay
Ordination of Jacques de Molay .jpg|A painting of de Molay's ordination
Ordination of Jacques de Molay.jpg|A painting of de Molay's ordination
InterrogationOfJacquesDeMolay.jpg|An illustration of de Molay being tortured
InterrogationOfJacquesDeMolay.jpg|An illustration of de Molay being tortured
AEBookTemplarsBurning.jpg|A miniature of de Molay's execution
AEBookTemplarsBurning.jpg|A miniature of de Molay's execution
Molay execution.jpg|An illustration of de Molay's execution
Molay execution.jpg|An illustration of de Molay's execution
ACU De Molay's Execution - Concept Art.jpg|Concept art of de Molay's execution
ACM Jacques de Molay.jpg|''Memories'' art of de Molay
ACM Jacques de Molay 2.png|''Memories'' art of de Molay
AC Heresy hidden link.jpg|De Molay's engravings on the wall of his cell
Jacques de Molay tombstone.jpg|De Molay's tombstone
Jacques de Molay tombstone.jpg|De Molay's tombstone
AC Heresy hidden link.jpg|De Molay engraved the walls of his cell
</gallery>
</gallery>


==Appearances==
==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy]]'' {{1stm}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' {{c|painting only}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Initiates]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' {{Io|painting}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed Unity: Abstergo Entertainment – Employee Handbook]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed Unity: Abstergo Entertainment – Employee Handbook]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Memories]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Memories]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia]]'' {{Io|paint}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Templars]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Heresy]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Heresy]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game]]'' {{Mo}}


==References==
==References==
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{{ACM}}
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Latest revision as of 03:05, 11 May 2026

"This was the truth de Molay died for: the Divine Right of Kings is nothing but the reflection of sunlight upon gold. When the Crown and Church are ground to dust, we who control the gold will decide the future."
―François-Thomas Germain's reflections on de Molay, 1793.[src]-[m]

Jacques Bernard de Molay (1244 – 1314) was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and a Sage. As a consequence of his deliberate sacrifice during the disbandment of the Knights Templar, the Order was forced into hiding in order to survive.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Early life[edit | edit source]

Jacques de Molay was born a Sage in 1244 in Molay in the Free County of Burgundy. In 1265, de Molay was inducted into the Templar Order in Beaune. After the fall of Acre, the Order met in Cyprus in September 1291. On 20 April 1292, de Molay was elected Grand Master, leading the Templars to the height of their power.[1] Around this time, he possessed the original Shroud of Eden, which later wound up in the hands of a fellow French Templar, Geoffroy de Charny.[2]

In 1305, Pope Clement V asked the leaders of various military orders in Europe for their opinions on a new crusade and the merging of three main knightly orders of the Knights Hospitalier. While de Molay opposed the merge, King Philip IV of France favored it, specifically wishing to merge the orders into a force under his command.[3]

Grand Master[edit | edit source]

At some point during his tenure as Grand Master, de Molay wrote the Codex Pater Intellectus, a journal detailing his thoughts on the Templars, as well as his knowledge of the Isu gained through visions of his past life as the Isu scientist Aita. With the Templars already serving as an economic power through their banking, de Molay suggested in his Codex that the Order should control humanity through finances rather than through the aristocracy and monarchy.[4]

Even as the Templars entered a Golden Age, King Philip sought to disband the Order and claim its wealth, partly to erase his immense financial debts to them. In the meantime, the Assassins had begun to weaken the Templars in Europe. Philip unknowingly served the Assassins through his advisor Guillaume de Nogaret, the French Brotherhood's Mentor.[5]

Capture[edit | edit source]

"The Assassins are far older than Masyaf, my friend. Their anarchic delusions are virulent as the plague, and less easily eradicated. We will not prevail this night. But if you make haste, we may yet save our Order."
―De Molay to his advisor, 1307.[src]-[m]

On 13 October 1307, Templars across France were arrested in a series of coordinated raids. Led by Esquieu de Floyrac and the Master Assassin Thomas de Carneillon, Assassins disguised as Flemish mercenaries also attacked the Templar headquarters at the Temple. As the attack commenced, de Molay spoke with his advisor and deduced that the Assassins were responsible.[6]

King Philip's men arresting de Molay

The advisor expressed his belief that the Brotherhood had collapsed after the fall of Masyaf to the Mongol Empire decades earlier, but de Molay told him that the Assassins had not been destroyed, only driven to the shadows. Subsequently instructing the advisor to hide his Codex and the Templars' Sword of Eden, de Molay led his men into battle. While the advisor successfully hid the Codex and Sword, he was killed before he could rescue the Grand Master from being captured.[6]

As a result of the raids, nearly every Templar in France was arrested.[6] In 1312, Pope Clement officially dissolved the Templar Order in his papal bull Vox in excelso, and all of their assets were seized and gifted to the Knights Hospitalier.[1]

Trial and execution[edit | edit source]

"Pope Clement, hear me! Before this year is out, you will answer for your crimes before God almighty. And you, King Philip, no punishment is too heinous for the great evil you have inflicted upon the Temple. I curse you! Curse you to the thirteenth generation of your blood! You shall be cursed!"
―De Molay's dying words, 1314.[src]-[m]

Following the Templars' arrest, de Nogaret levelled charges against them, including heresy, blasphemy, and the worship of a deity known as Baphomet. During his imprisonment, de Molay was tortured by de Nogaret, Philippe de Marigny, and William of Paris, and was forced to confess to these charges.[5]

As their Grand Master, de Molay understood that the Templars could no longer survive in a public image and decided to make the ultimate sacrifice. Before his death, he sent nine of his most trusted men—each of whom possessed vital knowledge of the Templars, the Isu, and the Assassins—out into the world to continue the Templars' work in secret.[7]

De Molay cursing King Philip in his final moments

On 18 March 1314, de Molay allowed himself to be burned at the stake alongside Geoffroi de Charney. As he burned to death, he vowed divine retribution upon his enemies, including King Philip, whom he cursed to the "thirteenth generation of [his] blood".[6] By allowing himself to be executed, de Molay saved the lives of his remaining brethren and made their enemies believe that the Order had died along with him.[7]

Legacy[edit | edit source]

In 1429, while in the same prison cell that had once held de Molay, the Assassin Jean de Metz told Gabriel Laxart to use his Eagle Vision to decipher de Molay's scribbles, but Laxart proved unable to do so.[8]

In the late 18th century, de Molay's Codex would be uncovered by the silversmith and Sage François-Thomas Germain, who used de Molay's writings about controlling the world through finance rather than oligarchy to help bring about the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.[4] Also during the Revolution, de Molay's descendant Anne murdered two descendants of his interrogators. She failed to murder the third, which resulted in the French Assassin Arno Dorian handing her over to the authorities.[5]

De Molay was later commemorated in 1937 by the Templars' new public front, Abstergo Industries. A portrait of him was displayed prominently in a room accessible only to members of the Order's Inner Sanctum.[9][10]

In 2001, researchers at the Vatican Secret Archives uncovered the Chinon Parchment written in 1308 by Pope Clement which absolved de Molay of all charges.[1]

In 2016, while reliving the memories of his ancestor Gabriel Laxart, the Master Templar Simon Hathaway sent a record of de Molay's scribbles to Abstergo cryptologist Zachary Morgenstern for deciphering.[8]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • Contrary to other known Sages, Jacques de Molay did not appear to be affected with heterochromia, though this was an oversight by the development team.[11]
  • One of de Molay's real-life portraits showed his cape having a black cross though this was actually the symbol of the Teutonic Order.
  • According to some myths, [citation needed] de Molay cursed both Philip IV and Clement V. The former died when he suffered a stroke while hunting, with his family's, the House of Capet, rule over France coming to an end less than 30 years later, while Clement succumbed to a longtime illness the same year that de Molay was executed.
  • Alan Rikkin was of the opinion that de Molay's view of the Templars' role was idealistic and misguided, seeing his failure as proof that the Order was meant to follow a different path in the 21st century.[12]
  • Jacques de Molay, along with Robert de Sablé and Armand Bouchart, is one of the only three characters in the games that historically were Templars.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

  • Concept art of de Molay
    Concept art of de Molay
  • An illustration of de Molay
    An illustration of de Molay
  • A painting of de Molay's ordination
    A painting of de Molay's ordination
  • An illustration of de Molay being tortured
    An illustration of de Molay being tortured
  • A miniature of de Molay's execution
    A miniature of de Molay's execution
  • An illustration of de Molay's execution
    An illustration of de Molay's execution
  • Concept art of de Molay's execution
    Concept art of de Molay's execution
  • Memories art of de Molay
    Memories art of de Molay
  • Memories art of de Molay
    Memories art of de Molay
  • De Molay's engravings on the wall of his cell
    De Molay's engravings on the wall of his cell
  • De Molay's tombstone
    De Molay's tombstone

Appearances[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Assassin's Creed: Unity – Database: Jacques de Molay
  2. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy – Holidays: Chapter 1 – Ghosts of Christmas Past
  3. ↑ Assassin's Creed Unity: Abstergo Entertainment – Employee Handbook – Historic Personage Sheets: Jacques de Molay
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Assassin's Creed: Unity – The Temple
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Assassin's Creed: Unity – Ancestral Vengeance
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Assassin's Creed: Unity – The Tragedy of Jacques de Molay
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Abstergo Files: "File.0.06\Hst_VoxInExcelso"
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Assassin's Creed: Heresy – Chapter 11
  9. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Modern day
  10. ↑ Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia – Modern day
  11. ↑ Darby McDevitt (@DarbyMcDevitt) on Twitter "@Assassins_M Probably just an oversight. (See what I did there?) At one point there was a "DeMolay Relic" collectible planned but... alas." (screenshot)
  12. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Heresy – [citation needed]

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