''Vox in excelso'' is the name of a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

issued by

Pope Clement V Pope Clement V ( la, Clemens Quintus; c. 1264 – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his de ...

in 1312. The directives given within the bull were to formally dissolve the Order of the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

, effectively removing papal support for them and revoking the mandates given to them by previous popes in the 12th and 13th centuries.Malcolm Barber, ''The Trial of the Templars''. Cambridge University Press, 1978. The issue of this bull followed a five-year period of suppression and trials of the Templars during which time they were accused of a variety of blasphemous and heretical crimes. However, the confessions were extracted with the use of torture and other methods developed by the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

. Other bulls involving Templars include '' Pastoralis Praeeminentiae'' and ''

Ad providam ''Ad providam'' was the name of a Papal Bull issued by Pope Clement V in 1312. It built on a previous bull, '' Vox in excelso'', which had disbanded the order of the Knights Templar. ''Ad providam'' essentially handed over all Templar assets t ...

''.

References

Knights Templar 1312 works 14th-century papal bulls Documents of Pope Clement V {{RC-Canon-law-stub

See also

References