Friday the 13th ... unlucky for some

The arrest of the Knights Templar on Friday, October 13, 1307 is often cited as the origin of the superstition that Friday the 13th is unlucky:

King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar on Friday, October 13, 1307.

The Templars were tortured and executed in several European countries. The arrests were part of a plan by Philip to get the Templars' money and avoid paying back debts he owed them.

Some believe that the arrests on Friday the 13th helped popularize the superstition that the date is unlucky. However, the origins of the superstition remain unclear.

The Knights Templar were a medieval religious order that fought in the Crusades and served as early bankers. They were closely tied to the Crusades, but lost support when they were unable to secure their holdings in the Holy Land.

The Knights Templar were an elite fighting force of their day, highly trained, well-equipped, and highly motivated; one of the tenets of their religious order was that they were forbidden from retreating in battle, unless outnumbered three to one, and even then only by order of their commander, or if the Templar flag went down.