Friday the 13th and the Knights Templar

At dawn on Friday, 13 October 1307—a date sometimes incorrectly linked with the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition—King Philip IV ordered de Molay and scores of other French Templars to be simultaneously arrested. The arrest warrant started with the words: Dieu n’est pas content, nous avons des ennemis de la foi dans le Royaume” (“God is not pleased. We have enemies of the faith in the kingdom”).Claims were made that during Templar admissions ceremonies, recruits were forced to spit on the Cross, deny Christ, and engage in indecent kissing; brethren were also accused of worshipping idols, and the order was said to have encouraged in homosexual practices. These allegations, though, were highly politicised without any real evidence. Still, the Templars were charged with numerous other offences such as financial corruption, fraud, and secrecy.

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