Bull of Pope Clement V on the transfer of the rights and privileges of the Order of the Temple to the Order of the Hospital, part 2, 1312

Nuper in Concilio

To all defenders and guardians of the house and order of the Knights Templar. Recently we held a general council at Vienne. There we examined the deeds of the order of the Templars. We decided that those who are in the true faith and are more useful in the Holy Land ought to be favoured, therefore we grant the rights and powers of the Templars to the order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, which is far better than transferring them to a new order that would be created. There were, however, some who argued that it would be better to transfer them to an order that would be created than to give them to the order of the Hospital. Finally, in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, on the 2nd of May of this year, with the approval of the sacred council, we decided that the rights and privileges must be transferred to the aforesaid order of the Hospital. We made exceptions, for certain reasons, for the order of the Templars in the kingdoms and lands of our beloved sons in Christ, the renowned kings of Castile, Aragon, Portugal and Majorca, outside the kingdom of France.

Therefore, we, in accordance with the decree, in order to complete the transfer of powers to the aforesaid order of the Hospital, have decided that you shall pay all the expenses and, after all the expenses have been paid, the master, priors or preceptors of the regions or cities or dioceses, within the space of a month, must send to us a proxy or proxies. After that we will justly confirm your privileges.



Given at Livron, diocese of Valence, on the 16th of May, in the seventh year of our pontificate.


16 May 1312

The translator is unknown