Square du Vert-Galant - Paris, France
N 48° 51.440 E 002° 20.443
31U E 451640 N 5411805
This historical marker about the Square du Vert-Galant mentions the execution of Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the order of the Knights Templar, and Guy, Commander of Knights Templar of Normandy, that took place here in 1314.
Waymark Code: WMV4DP
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 02/21/2017
Views: 21
Inscription:
Square du Vert-Galant
Jusqu’à la construction du Pont-Neuf, l’île de la Cité se terminait par le Jardin du Roi, où fut édifiée la place Dauphine. La pointe actuelle de l’île est constituée de la réunion de trois îlots à la Cité, assise centrale du nouveau pont. L’îlot du nord, nommé île du Patriarche, se prolongeait à l’est par un minuscule îlot portant un moulin, dit de la Gourdaine puis de la Monnaie, car son énergie hydraulique était utilisée pour battre le monnayage royal. Celui du sud, le plus grand, était dit île aux Bureau, car il appartenait à Hugues Bureau à la fin du XVe siècle. Le 11 mars 1314, Jacques de Molay, grand maître de l’order du Temple, et Guy, commandeur des Templiers de Normandie, y furent brûlés vifs.
(English translation by Google Translate with modifications:)
Square of the Green Lover
Until the construction of the Pont Neuf, the Ile de la Cité ended in the Jardin du Roi, which was built in the Place Dauphine. The current peak of the island consists of a combination of three islands in the City, central seat of the new bridge. The island's north island named Patriarch, extended to the east by a tiny island with a mill, called the Gourdaine, then the Mint, because its waterpower was used to power the royal mint. The South, the largest, was called Bureau Island, because it belonged to Hugh Bureau at the end of the fifteenth century. On 11 March 1314, Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the order of the Knights Templar, and Guy, Commander of Knights Templar of Normandy, were burned alive.
The following information about Jacques de Molay is from Wikipedia (
visit link) :
"Jacques de Molay (c. 1243 – 18 March 1314), also spelt Molai, was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, leading the Order from 20 April 1292 until it was dissolved by order of Pope Clement V in 1307. Though little is known of his actual life and deeds except for his last years as Grand Master, he is one of the best known Templars.
Jacques de Molay's goal as Grand Master was to reform the Order, and adjust it to the situation in the Holy Land during the waning days of the Crusades. As European support for the Crusades had dwindled, other forces were at work which sought to disband the Order and claim the wealth of the Templars as their own. King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt to the Templars, had Molay and many other French Templars arrested in 1307 and tortured into making false confessions. When Molay later retracted his confession, Philip had him burned upon a scaffold on an island in the River Seine in front of Notre Dame de Paris in March, 1314. The sudden end of both the centuries-old order of Templars and the dramatic execution of its last leader turned Molay into a legendary figure."