Friday the 13th

Today, in honor of this day's superstitious traditions, I thought I would dust off my historian's hat.  Having begun my college career in pursuit of a history degree, my brain is full of various random trivia with roots in historical events and/or traditions.  According to my college professor, the association with ill fortune that occurs on Friday the 13th is often related to events surrounding a warrant for the arrest of the Knights Templar issued on Friday, October 13 in the early fourteenth century.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Knights Templar I will provide some brief background.  The Knights Templar was a medieval French religious military order founded in the early twelfth century with the purpose of defending pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem.  It became one of the wealthiest and most popular Roman Catholic orders and have been largely associated with the Crusades; the Templars participated in several of them to varying and disputed degrees.  The white tunic bearing a red cross worn by the Knights Templar has become rather iconic, and often brings to mind Crusaders.

The story goes that fueled by rumors that the papacy was going to launch an investigation into the Knights Templar, King Philip IV of France capitalized on the opportunity to discredit the order.  Apparently, the king had accrued significant outstanding debt to the Templars in his war against England.  Although investigations into the Knights Templar have determined that the charges against them were false and ill-founded, the resultant arrest and persecution that occurred certainly did not make Friday the 13th an auspicious day for the order, which hitherto had regarded themselves as heroes and protectors of Christendom.

Undoubtably an unfortunate day in the history of the Knights Templar, such an event hardly seems significant enough to create such a strong association with ill luck on any Fridays bearing the number thirteen for the general population.  It is only that there must also have existed some sort of previous connotations with the number thirteen to indicate that the date serves as a foreboding portend.  Suffice it to say that across multiple cultures there is a long-standing correlation between the number thirteen and trepidation that there is an increased likelihood of encountering misfortune.

Personally, I have never felt any increased concern or anxiety on the thirteenth day of any given month, regardless of whether or not it falls on a Friday, yet I will admit to enjoying sharing one of the presumed origins behind the superstition.  I have always enjoyed pondering the reasons behind beliefs people may have, as it makes it easier to understand others and regard them with greater compassion and respect, even if their superstitions are not ones I myself choose to hold.  Furthermore, I believe knowledge is power, and finding an explanation for irrational fears I carry often makes it possible to become unburdened by my disquiet.

Special thanks to Brian Peña and Vertical Bison for the amazing graphic design work!