Jacques de Molay (French: [dÉ™ mÉ"lÉ›]; c. 1240â€"1250 â€" 11 or 18
March 1314), also spelled "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 1312. 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. Both
the sudden end of the centuries-old order of Templars and the dramatic
execution of its last leader turned Molay into a legendary
figure.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. Both the sudden end of the
centuries-old order of Templars and the dramatic execution of its last
leader turned Molay into a legendary figure.Little is known of his
early years, but Jacques de Molay was probably born in Molay,
Haute-Saône, in the County of Burgundy, at the time a territory ruled
by Otto III as part of the Holy Roman Empire, and in modern times in
the area of Franche-Comté, northeastern France. His birth year is not
certain, but judging by statements made during the later trials, was
probably around 1240â€"1250.He was born, as most Templar knights were,
into a family of minor or middle-ranking nobility. It is suggested
that he was dubbed a knight at age 21 in 1265 and is known that he was
executed in 1314, aged about 70. His year of birth is not known and
Alain Demurger finds it probable that he was born in the period
1244/45 to 1248/49 or even between 1240 and 1250. Jacques de Molay Top Movies & Young Movies