Read this account of the execution
of Jacques de Molay, the last
Grand Master of the Knights
Templar.  Not much is really
known about the Knights Templar. 
We do know that the order was
founded during the Crusades
and was, for a time, under the
protection of the popes.  Later,
however, the order came under
criticism,  and its members were
persecuted as heretics by the
Inquisition, a Church tribunal of
the Middle ages. 

Print out this account for your
notebook.  When you finish reading
The Crucible, discuss in your
notebook any similarity you found
between Jacques de Molay's last
statement before his execution and
John Proctor's actions at the end
of the play.