A fair solution to the European debt crisis from Philip the fair

It was a time of early autumn in Europe. The year was 1307. The time was around mid night. A European king was pacing back and forth in his personal-chamber. The soft and fading light of the lamp was enough only for the King to continue his tireless walk. The night was a beautiful one and even in his tensed mind he was longing to be united with one of his wives even if it was possible as a relief from his worries. But his thoughts kept him awake.

Philip the fair, King of France, was thinking about a possible solution to find enough funds to ensure he could continue to fight his enemies. After fighting for years, not only his coffers were almost empty but he owed a lot of money to the main financer of the day, the templar Knights.

King Philip had tried other methods to gather the funds. He had kicked out the Jews from his Kingdom and seized their properties. He over taxed his nobles. He even offered the Knights templar to unite with a group of Knights favorable to him and join together in a larger group with him at the top, only to be rejected by the Knights.

What was most problematic for him was being in neck deep in debts. He owed so much to the templar Knights that not even he, one of the most powerful monarchs in Christendom could think about repaying them in his lifetime.

He could not do much against the templar Knights since they were protected under the Pope’s authority. “Ohh … papacy, those old monks from that abomination called Rome, ruling the whole World through the turning of their rosaries. Why should a sovereign King send his best men to fight and die on behalf of those old men? So that those old men would continue to demand more tributes from the Monarchs who must as a result burden his nobles and barons with more taxes? Is that the reason those old men continue to blackmail the sovereign monarchs with hell till eternity?” He continued to be agitated as he continued to think on those lines.

He never liked either those templar Knights or those half-baked, old popes. He had refused to fight the enemies of pope before. He even had went as far as publicly burning the bull of one of the popes some years back.

Thankfully he had played his hands right. He was sure that no other monarch would come to the aid of that pope Bonafice whose bull he burnt in public , once he attacked him , since no one was ready to shed their bloods for a conspiring , delusional old man like that Pope Bonafice VIII.

He acted on what his instinct was and he was right. When his men kidnapped the pope Bonafice VIII and locked him up, no significant European Monarch send armies to fight him.

How empty was the last look of that Bonafice VII, that old haggard who had the temerity to excommunicate him, Philippe le Bel. That old monk, had threatened that he will burn in hellfire till eternity yet that representative of God on earth could not protect himself to be kidnapped and locked away, like a child.

That last look of that pope reminded him of himself, once when he was young; he had fallen inside a well while riding a new white stead. He was thinking about riding through those lush, green fields for conquering Jerusalem and suddenly he heard a large thud and the next moment he could only remember, he was inside that well. No lights, there. Knee deep in water he could not think about anything for seconds. He never knew before what it meant to be knee deep in cold water. Thank heavens, his riding aides were behind.

He chuckled and clenched his fist upwards as if he was gesturing to the Almighty about how he treated that pope Bonafice, God’s representative on earth. He thought he had returned a favor to that Monarch up in the heavens.

He knew he needed to do something about those templar Knights if he wanted the money for fighting his wars. His legal advisors had been advising him to do something exactly on that regard. How right was he to select as his advisors real legal experts and not those old monks whom Rome was always willing to impose upon him. “Choose from those who know about the subject best, my son. Never mind about those old men that Rome will send to spy on you.” He remembered the last words of his father. “And, never ever think twice before taking a decision that you think is right”.

These advisors were the ones who advised him to support that ambitious French Bishop Bertrand de Got as pope when everyone else was asking him to support the Italian pretender. They assured that in his way, a Frenchman would reign over the holy sea, and he would reign over that Frenchman. In short, he would reign over the papacy, the dream of every monarch in Europe.

That is why he was thinking so hard at this lovely night, when every noble of his realm enjoying their mistresses. In the end, he wiped his forehead, and massaged his blonde beard. He had thought about it long and hard and it was the time to take a decision. “Loumierre”, he shouted as he came out of his room. The head of his palace guards came rushing to him, “Your command is equal to the command of Christ to us, My Lord”. “Ask Guy to come to me. I have a letter to send to the holy sea.”

That was one of the moments that would change the history of Europe. Philip the fare, King of France, neck deep in debts to the templar Knights who happened to be the biggest bankers and financiers in the Western World at the time, would ensure that his creditors would cease to exist.

King Philip the fare, in his letter, accused the templar Knights of heresy which included accusations of rejecting the divinity of Jesus and taking part in satanic worshipping rituals. The pope who owed his throne to that of Philip, had to remove the protection of papacy that had saved the templar Knights from the wrath of many sovereigns in Europe in the past.

Within days the Templar Knights will be arrested, tortured, forced to accept the charges against them and later being burnt at the stakes. All their properties and lands and title deeds which they had accumulated throughout decades would be confiscated. This will happen not only in France but later all over Europe. Within decades, a prestigious and rich order like the templar Knights will largely be swept into the dust grains of history.

Now looking at the current financial troubles in Europe, one wonders whether a troubled leader may rekindle the spirit of Philip the fare, if he wants so desperately to get out of his debts.