page_title: Paris in the Middle Ages
section_title: Religious Orders and the Templars
hierarchical_section_title: Paris in the Middle Ages / The Cathedral and the Clergy / Religious Orders and the Templars
caption_attribution_description: English: Burning of Templars. (British Library, Royal 14 E V f. 492v) Deutsch: Verbrennung von Templern. (British Library, Royal 14 E V f. 492v)
context_page_description: In the 10th century Paris was a provincial cathedral city of little political or economic significance, but under the kings of the Capetian dynasty who ruled France between 987 and 1328, it developed into an important commercial and religious center and the seat of the royal administration of the country. The Île de la Cité became the site of the royal palace and the new cathedral of Notre-Dame, begun in 1163. The Left Bank was occupied by important monasteries, including the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Abbey of St Genevieve. In the late 1100s, the collection of colleges on the left bank became one of the leading universities in Europe. The Right Bank, where the ports, central markets, artisans and merchants were located, became the commercial center of the city, and the merchants assumed an important role in running the city. Paris became a center for the creation of illuminated manuscripts and the birthplace of Gothic architecture. Despite civil wars, the plague, and foreign occupation, Paris became the most populous city in the Western world during the Middle Ages.
context_section_description: In the 13th century, new religious orders arrived in Paris with the mission of fighting heresies that had appeared inside and outside the church. The Dominican Order was the first to arrive in 1217, charged with teaching orthodox church doctrine both within the university and to the Parisians. They established their headquarters on the Rue Saint-Jacques in 1218. The Franciscan Order came in 1217–1219 and established chapters at Saint Denis, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, and, with the support of King Louis IX, at Saint-Germain des Prés.
  Another important religious order arrived in Paris in the mid-12th century: the Knights Templar, who established their headquarters at the Old Temple on the Right Bank next to the Seine near the churches of Saint-Gervais and Saint-Jean-en-Grève. In the 13th century, they built a fortress with a high tower on what is now the Place du Temple. The Knights Templar owned a considerable amount of land in the city and were the guardians of the treasury for King Louis IX, Philip III, and Philip IV at the beginning of his reign. Philip IV was resentful at the power of the Templars and had their leaders arrested in 1307, then condemned and burned. All the belongings of the Templars were seized and handed over to another military order, the Knights Hospitaller, which was more closely under royal control.
  In the late Middle Ages, the Confrèries (Confraternities) played an important role. They were societies of wealthy merchants in each parish who contributed to the church and its activities. The most prestigious was the Grande Confrérie de Notre-Dame, which had its own chapel on the Île-de-Cité. It had an enormous treasury, which was governed during one period by Étienne Marcel, the provost of the merchants and the first mayor of Paris.
  By the end of the 15th century, the prestige of the church in Paris was in decline, due largely to financial scandals and corruption. This set the stage for the arrival of Protestantism and the French Wars of Religion that followed the Middle Ages.
caption: The leaders of the Knights Templar were burned at the stake on 18 March 1314 on the orders of Philip IV, shown at right
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