It could have been this 'treasure' that Philip the Fair of France coveted and the desire for which caused him to suppress the Order. But the treasure was never found. Some knights escaped to Portugal and Scotland. In Portugal the Order continued under the name of Knights of Christ. In Scotland their activities remained unmolested. Some believe that Rosslyn Chapel holds Templar secrets yet undiscovered. There are endless theories about what the treasure was and where it might have been hidden. It remains a mystery.
The names of the other seven original knights were: Andre de Monthard; Andre de Gundomare; Payen (Nivard) de Montdidier (Montdesir); Archambaud de Saint-Aignan; Geoffrey Bissor (Bisol); Godefroy; Roffal (Roral)
At the time of the Crusades to the Holy Land in 1118, nine knights led by Hughes de Payns travelled to Jerusalem. They saw that the crusaders kept only a few strongholds and that local bandits often attacked the pilgrims. These knights decided to devote themselves to protect these pilgrims. They formed a religious order called at first "Poor Knights of Christ" and in 1128 the Pope Honorius II granted them a Constitution. Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem, gave them some quarters in the royal palace, the ex Solomon's Temple. Their full name became the Knights of the Temple of Solomon and their symbol two men riding one horse. Their constitution foresaw four types of members: the Knights from noble origin were doing the fighting, the Sergeants were helping the Knights, the Priests were in charge of the religious duties and the servants or helpers were doing the menial jobs.
The Templars' devotion to the order and their independence from secular authority made it difficult for the king of Jerusalem to control them. Often, they were accused of putting their own interests before those of the kingdom. Eventually, the Templars became involved in international banking, particularly with the French monarchy's revenues.
Within two centuries they had become powerful enough to defy all but the Papal throne. Feared as warriors (they were at times called the "Warrior Knights"), respected for their charity and sought out for their wealth, there is no doubt that the Templar knights were the key players of the monastic fighting orders. Due to their vast wealth and surplus of materials the Templars essentially invented banking, as we know it. The church forbade the lending of money for interest, which they called usury. The Templars, being the clever sort they were, changed the manner in which loans were paid and were able to skirt the issue and finance even kings.
In his efforts to obtain greater control of the French government, Philip IV took the financial offices away from the Templars. To evade the crown's debt to them, he attacked them with charges of heresy and iniquitous behaviour. In 1312, he obtained the support of the pope, the order was condemned and dissolved at the Council of Vienna with their fiefs transferred to the Hospitaliers.
On October 13th, 1307 (this is where the origins of Black Friday came from), King Philip had all the Templars arrested on the grounds of heresy, since this was the only charge that would allow the seizing of their money and assets.
Philip was successful in ridding the Templars of their power and wealth and urged all fellow Christian leaders to do the same thing. On March 19th, 1314 the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake. De Molay is said to have cursed King Philip and Pope Clement as he burned asking both men to join him within a year. Whether there really was a curse or if it was a tale, what remains as fact is that Clement died within a month, and Philip IV seven months after that.
However it is believed that not all the Templars died. Some believe that the Templars were forewarned of the impending disaster to their order, and escaped in their fleet, which was stationed at La Rochelle. Further, it would seem, many escaped to the West Coast of Scotland, where they were guaranteed sanctuary because Robert the Bruce had been excommunicated by the Pope. It is also believed that these escaped Templar Knights rode at the forefront of the army and turned the Battle of Bannockburn in Bruce's favour guaranteeing victory and independence for Scotland.
