Knights Templar in 250 Facts

[RolandVT]

В данной ветке я буду выкладывать главы книги "Knights Templar in 250 Facts", над которой сейчас работаю (христианские мученики подождут). Книга вполне соответствует теме форума, ибо и пытки во время "следствия" по "делу" тамплиеров "французское НКВД" под руководством Гийома де Ногарэ (вполне себе "Ежов XIV века") юзало налево и направо, и живьём сожгли минимум 56 тамплиеров, 55 из которых были не виновны вообще ни в чём.

[RolandVT]

After writing two books on business management, one non-fiction history book, one self-help, one alternative medicine and twelve fiction books (with one more waiting to be assembled from completed pieces), I firmly decided to stick to writing non-fiction history books… pretty much for the rest of my life (I am 58).

My training and experience in knowledge management allows me to write quality books on just about any topic in history, so I put together a list of 87 books that I intend to write (ultimately, it will be about 100 or so).

Every book will be written in “blog format” – any topic in X facts, where X can be anywhere from 100 to 1,000. Each fact will be up to 2,500 words long and will tell a separate story. A collection of facts (sections) will tell the story of a chapter and a collection of chapters will tell the story of a book.

I chose “Knights Templar in 250 facts” (actual number of facts will most likely be different) as a pilot project for a number of reasons. First, the story of (in)famous Knights Templar is very popular and such book will inevitably be in high demand.

The latter is true (I consider my book to be the best book on Templars in existence) because none of the books in existence is sufficiently comprehensive and easy to read (the ones that are easy are, well, fiction – even if they pretend not to be).

Worse, none of the theories about Knights Templar explain all the facts in a fascinating and highly mysterious story (drama, actually) of that military-religious-financial-business organization – absolutely unique in human history (they leave the reader with far more questions than answers). And none is written in an easy-to-read (and digest) “blog format”.

My book will be free of all these deficiencies and thus become highly valuable to its readers in terms of both functional (information and knowledge) and emotional value. So, I am firmly convinced that it will become a global bestseller and will be made into TV series – both fiction and non-fiction. Hopefully, it will get an award or two (or even more – who knows).

And, finally, every writer (of fiction and non-fiction) always writes the book that he/she wants to read but can not find – and I am no exception. I was fascinated with the Templar story from the age of ten… and finally got the chance to solve this mystery once in for all.

And that’s exactly what I will do in this book.

[RolandVT]

I have neither an academic degree nor even any formal education in history (which actually is a good thing because formal education in history is… well, not highly valuable, to put it mildly).

And I wrote just one non-fiction history nook so far (actually, a collection of articled on Stalinist USSR and Nazi Germany). However, I still believe that I am perfectly qualified to write a non-fiction history book on Knights Templar and the Ark of the Covenant.

I am perfectly qualified – first and foremost – because every history book is a knowledge management project. More specifically, knowledge mining project. Its objective is to mine (extract) knowledge about relevant individuals, organizations, decisions, actions and events from a pile of raw data and information.

More specifically, historian (whether “amateur” of “professional”) working on non-fiction history book (whether academic of popular) must (1) collect all relevant raw data and information – relevant being the key word; (2) extract the necessary knowledge from them; (3) structure this knowledge in the most efficient and digestible way; and (4) present this knowledge in his or her book.

Hence, this is the job for the knowledge management professional. Which is exactly my key area of expertise. Knowledge management tools, methods and technologies are applicable to any and every subject matter – and Knights Templar and the Ark of the Covenant are no exception.

Neither is any kind of history – hence my objective of writing 87 or so history books in “… in 250 facts” series.

However, there is one more reason why I am perfectly qualified to write this particular book. Templars were both a unique venture project and a highly complex organization (complex system) which was heavily involved in all kinds of business activities.

Hence, their historian must have experience in venture projects and systems analysis or businesses and other organization. And this is another of my areas of expertise – I have an MBA in Information System from one of the best business schools in the world at that time and extensive experience as a business analyst in a major European investment bank.

So I am, indeed, perfectly qualified to write this book – and any other non-fiction history book, for that matter.

[RolandVT]

I intend to make my book a genuinely comprehensive story of Knights Templar – because no other book is, not even close (and anything other than comprehensive has a very limited value). Hence, I have to provide my reader with a lot of information. A lot. Consequently, my book will be inevitably quite long.

250 facts at 2,000 words per fact – my rough estimate for the size of this book equals 500,000 words. Roughly the size of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – or Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.

Obviously, a non-fiction book that size (fiction is a different story entirely) can sooner or later become… well, boring. Which I can not afford – this book is popular history, not an “academic” one.

Another important consideration is that readers worldwide years ago got accustomed to reading blog posts and social media posts with each post being no more than 2500 words long and telling a complete story.

Consequently, to prevent this book from being boring, I decided to break it down into 250 “blog posts” with each “post” telling a complete story (a separate fact about Knights Templar) and all stories together making a coherent, comprehensive narrative – the highly dramatic story of Knights Templar.

Due to its “blog post” structure, you can start reading the book pretty much anywhere and still obtain valuable knowledge. However, if you want to get a comprehensive picture of Knights Templar and their story – and I hope you do – I strongly suggest that you read it cover to cover – from the beginning to the end.

[RolandVT]

My background is in investment banking (corporate finance), so the book begins with Executive Summary that provides key information about Knights Templar and their highly dramatic story. Executive Summary is followed by Timeline that presents key events in the Templar drama.

Timeline is followed by seven parts/chapters of the book core. The first chapter presents key information about key players (actors) in Knights Templar drama: three that created and built Knights Templar (Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Hugh of Champagne and Hugues de Payens) and three that destroyed it: (Philip IV the Fair, Guillaume de Nogaret and Pope Clement V).

As you will see in Executive Summary, the primary, core, fundamental Divine Mission of Knights Templar was to be the keepers and protectors of Ark of the Covenant that they discovered beneath Temple of Jerusalem sometime in 1118.

Consequently, the second chapter of the book presents key information about this mysterious object: what it was, how it was hidden (and used) for over 600 years; how it was lost for over a millennium and discovered by Templars.

As you will (again) see in Executive Summary, de-facto ownership of Ark of the Covenant resulted in their conversion to Ark Templar – unitarian religion (and a Christian heresy) based on Old Testament (with Jews replaced by Knights Templar – the New Israelites). Hence the third chapter will investigate in detail this new religion (which became the basis for bogus charges by French inquisitors).

The next five chapters will be pretty straightforward, mainstream and “orthodox”. The fourth chapter will cover well-known Templar activities (organization, battles, everyday life, etc.) as the professional standing army of Latin Kingdom in 1138-1291.

The fifth chapter will deal with ostensibly supporting activities of European Knights Templar (supporting their war with Muslims in the Holy Land that is). Essentially it will present key information about structure and operation of Templar Inc. – the first ever pan-European multinational corporation.

The sixth chapter will cover (uncover, actually) the royal conspiracy (of Philip IV the Fair and Guillaume de Nogaret) to destroy Knights Templar as the institution that for various reasons they could not tolerate. Conspiracy that in the process expanded into conspiracy to commit serial mass murder – by burning Knights Templar that dared to resist the King and his henchmen.

The seventh chapter will present key information about the only organization that was the successor of Knights Templar (Order of Christ in Portugal) and various secular organizations that claimed to be – but weren’t.
Freemasons; certain groups in temperance movement (unbelievable, but true); Sovereign and Military Order of the Temple; Ordo Templi Orientis; Order of the New Templars; Renewed Order of the Temple, etc.

And the final, eighth chapter, will discuss (and debunk) popular myths and legends associated with Knights Templar. Their (allegedly) enormous treasure that they managed to hide from King’s henchmen; their (purported) involvement with Holy Grail and Shroud of Turin; alleged De Molay’s curse; claims of hidden survival; their participation in battle of Bannockburn; Rosslyn Chapel; their alleged travel to the New World; Priory of Sion; etc.

The book will end with Conclusions, Appendices and Bibliography - and my AI-generated Templar art.

[RolandVT]

1. Protecting pilgrims in the Holy Land was NEVER the objective of Knights Templar – it was their side job

2. Their true Mission (Divine Mission, in fact) was to be the keepers and protectors of Ark of the Covenant which they found out below The Temple in Jerusalem sometime in 1119

3. By extension, their Divine Mission was to protect the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Holy Land

4. The real founder of Knights Templar was Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

5. From his very first days at Clairvaux Abbey (and possibly earlier), Saint Bernard was obsessed with acquiring all of the most valuable Christian relics

6. Saint Bernard wanted the Ark of the Covenant to become the crown jewel in his collection of Christian relics

7. Somehow, Saint Bernard zeroed in on the location of Ark of the Covenant hidden in a cave below the remains of The Temple for over 500 years

8. In 1118 or so, Saint Bernard tasked his friend and sponsor (well-acquainted with Jerusalem) Hugh of Champagne with finding the Ark of the Covenant

9. Using his already formidable influence, Saint Bernard provided Hugh and his hand-picked team with all resources and support they needed to find the Ark

10. Initially, military order was but a cover for their digging activities

11. Hugh and his team found the Ark sometime in 1119

12. All unwanted witnesses were most likely ruthlessly murdered

13. After the Ark was found, Saint Bernard decided that public announcement of the find would do more harm than good – and that it should remain a well-protected secret

14. So, Saint Bernard tasked the team with keeping and protecting the Ark and, by extension, the whole Kingdom of Jerusalem

15. To make it possible, he arranged for the fledgling order to be officially recognized at Council of Nablus by local ecclesiastic and secular lords and then by the Church at Council of Troyes – and for a powerful financial and other backing from the Church and secular lords in Christian Europe

16. So, a ragtag team of amateur treasure hunters and relic diggers became a mighty regular professional standing army – one of the best there was

17. For 67 years, Ark was kept in Jerusalem with only a few knowing about it

18. In about 1120, newly minted leaders of brand-new order of Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon created a new religion centered around the Ark of the Covenant

19. For all practical purposes, it was a return to Old Testament with Knights Templar replacing the Jews as the new God’s Chosen People (New Israelites)

20. Hence, Knights Templar from its very first year became a secret society… a secret religious society, to be more precise. A religious sect – Ark Templar

21. At any time, there were most likely 12 members in the Ark Templar – all other members of Knights Templar were blissfully unaware about the existence of heretical unitarian sect right in their midst

22. To practice their religion, Knights Templar built a secret underground chapel under the Temple… or simply converted the room where the Ark was found

23. Hence their semi-official (and generally used) names: Order of Solomon's Temple and Knights Templar which announced to the world their divine connection to the Temple of Solomon and Ark of the Covenant

24. In their religious practices, Knights Templar most likely used Jewish rituals of the Old Testament

25. With the return to the Old Testament, Jesus Christ was out of the picture; consequently, Knights Templar did reject Christ (treating Him more like Muslims than like Catholics whom they officially were)

26. Ark of the Covenant was – for all practical purposes – the Unitarian heresy as Knights Templar dealt directly with God the father and de-facto rejected Trinity

27. To become a member of Ark of the Covenant, the knight had to perform certain rituals, essentially rejecting Christ and Holy Trinity and establishing a direct connection/relationship with God the Father

28. Rumors about these rituals – there are always rumors – became the basis for the charges invented by French inquisitors

29. Right before the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187, Knights Templar shipped the Ark of the Covenant to their European headquarters in Paris – and possibly created the exact replica to be used locally

30. They used this replica in their religious ceremonies until 1291 when they were finally forced out of the Holy Land for good by the Muslims

31. However, Knights Templar refused to give up – they were very serious about getting Holy Land back and bringing the Ark to its home

32. However, to make it happen, they needed enormous financial and military resources

33. To accumulate the former, Knights Templar created the first pan-European multinational corporation, including the first global bank

34. They intended to use their enormous financial and economic resources to force European kings to assemble the army large enough for a successful mega-crusade (“crusade to end all crusades”)

35. Neither the secular kings nor the Pope had the stomach for such a colossal, expensive and risky endeavor… nor other military orders (Teutonic and Hospitallers)

36. French king Philip IV the Fair felt especially threatened due to his weak finances – to put it mildly – and heavy financial dependence on Templars

37. To make things worse for the Templars – much worse - Philip IV was genuine “French Stalin of XIV century” as he wanted total control over his realm

38. Consequently, he could not tolerate the existence on his territory of mighty financial and military power independent of him – and answering to his arch-rival (the Pope)

39. Hence, his firm commitment to annihilation of Knights Templar was inevitable

40. Philip did want to write off his debts to Knight Templar and to grab their liquid assets – but it was a secondary consideration to the ones listed above

41. Pope Clement V was far too weak to protect the Templars; besides, he was French (and thus had some serious conflicts of interest) and had no desire to call for a “final mega-crusade” as he did not believe in its success

42. Charges of heresy were the only way to annihilate Knights Templar

43. Charges were bogus; however, they were based on rumors about very real heretical activities – and thus capital religious crimes – in the order

44. Baphomet was pure invention; figment of imagination of creative inquisitors; however, this idea was based of the fact that Templars used (but not worshipped) a material object in their rituals – Ark of the Covenant

45. Arrests of Templars in France were so swift, sudden and unexpected that just about all their liquid assets were seized by King’s men; consequently, the legendary Templars’ lost treasure does not exist

46. Ark of Templars was pure Old Testament religion (with Templars replacing the Jews); consequently, Templars had nothing to do with Islam, Holy Grail or with any kind of esoteric knowledge, objects or religions

47. Templars were totally focused on Ark of the Covenant and their religion was pure Old Testament – so that they had nothing to do with Shroud of Turin either – even if (and it’s a big IF) – it is authentic

48. No subsequent secular organization – not even Freemasons – that claimed to have its roots in the order of Templars had anything to do with the latter

49. The only religious organization that was the heir/successor to Templars was their Portuguese chapter - Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Order of Christ). It was founded in 1318 by the original Templars (they were not prosecuted in Portugal)

50. Order of Christ was secularized in 1789, and dissolved in 1910. It was revived in 1917 as mere Order of Merit within the Portuguese Republic

51. In Paris, Ark of the Covenant was kept in a specifically constructed underground chapel below the “official” Templar Church in Paris

52. Templars performed their religious rituals in that chapel in 1307 – right until all Templars were arrested on October 13th

53. That chapel was not discovered by King’s men and no one of the twelve members of Ark Templar survived; so, the Ark is still there (it was built to last 5,000 years at least)

54. A similar chapel was built in Cyprus where Templars performed their rituals using the replica of the Ark – most likely, it is still hidden there

55. Templars NEVER disclosed the location of the Ark – or its replica – to anyone outside the Circle of Twelve

56. It is possible that Philip IV, Clement V or Guillaume de Nogaret (or even all of them) were murdered by Templars who escaped the arrests

[RolandVT]

[RolandVT]

On 15 July 1099, crusaders of the First Crusade liberated Jerusalem from Muslim forces. It was a genuine liberation, because for over 300 years Jerusalem was a Christian city which Muslim Arabs invaded, conquered and occupied in 638 AD (it was a purely colonial, imperialist conquest as Arabs NEVER ruled the city before).

Liberation was bloody (to put it mildly); right after entering the city, crusaders began to ruthlessly massacre Muslims and Jews (about 40,000 were killed). It should be noted that atrocities committed against the inhabitants of cities taken by storm (i.e., those that did not surrender) after a siege were normal in medieval warfare by both Christians and Muslims.

Crusaders had already done so at Antioch, and Muslims (Fatimids) had done so themselves at Taormina, at Rometta, and at Tyre. It is speculated that the massacre of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, both Muslims and Jews, may have exceeded even these standards – but there is no irrefutable proof.

One week after crusaders triumphantly entered Jerusalem the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (Crusader Kingdom) was established with Godfrey of Bouillon becoming its de-facto first king.

Liberation of Jerusalem led (standard practice at the time) to the conversion of Muslim holy sites on the Temple Mount into Christian shrines. It was exactly the latter that made it possible for the team assembled by Hugh of Champagne, to begin digging for Ark of the Covenant in 1116 or so.

They found what they were looking for in late 1118 – and this find (and the availability of “office space” on the Temple Mount) made it both possible and necessary (vital even) to create the military-religious order of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Knights Templar) in 1119.

After approval in 1120 by Council of Nablus of ecclesiastic and secular lords in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem the order became officially recognized in the Holy Land; and after approval in 1129 by Council of Troyes – in all Christendom.

[RolandVT]

Serious historians, regardless of their religion (or lack of thereof) agree that Ark of the Covenant did exist. They disagree on what exactly it was, how it looked like, when and how it was built, how it was used, etc. – but they all agree that it existed.

According to biblical tradition, Ark of the Covenant was built from acacia wood – the most durable wood by far – covered with gold plates. Experts estimate that such a box will last for at least 5,000 years; given the fact that it was constructed no earlier than 1500 BC (and likely centuries later), it means that it will last for roughly 1,500 more years.

There is no evidence whatsoever that Ark of the Covenant was destroyed – or otherwise perished; all accounts point to it being hidden… somewhere. I will examine in detail all theories about current whereabouts of the Ark but only one theory makes sense – that it was hidden below Solomon’s Temple (First Temple) right before it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE.

For reasons that I will explain in one of the next sections, Ark of the Covenant stayed hidden on Temple Mount until 1118 when it was discovered by the ragtag team of Christian relic hunters assembled by Bernard of Clairvaux and his relative Hugh of Champagne.

It stayed in Jerusalem until 1187 and right before the city was captured by Saladin, it was shipped to Paris – to European headquarters of Knights Templar. It was kept there until 1307 and that year it was briefly used by top Templars in their religious ceremonies (they practiced Unitarian religion – Ark Templar).

Philip IV and his henchmen had no idea that Ark of the Covenant was in Paris in the hands of Knights Templar – so they were never looking for it. All of the “keepers of the Ark” (Templars aware of the location of the Ark) either were killed by Philip’s thugs – or were otherwise prevented from ever getting to see the Ark again.

Given the fact that “keepers of the Ark” practiced Christian heresy that would have landed them on a burning pyre at the stake, it is highly unlikely that any of them ever passed his knowledge of the location of the Ark to anyone.

Hence, the Ark most definitely still sits in a secret underground chapel (chamber) somewhere in Paris – below what (most likely) was one of the churches built by Knights Templar.

Waiting to be discovered.

[RolandVT]

As I have stated in the previous section, although none of the serious historians disputes the existence of the Ark of the Covenant, they heatedly disagree on just about everything else: what exactly it was, how it looked like, when and how it was built, how it was used, etc.

I have already stated (in the Introduction) that am Roman Catholic and – unlike many (if not most) Catholics – do not separate my faith from my works. Consequently, this book is written from a thoroughly Catholic perspective. More precisely, from the orthodox, traditionalist, pre-Vatican II Catholic perspective.

Consequently, I firmly believe (and there is no irrefutable evidence to the contrary) the Biblical account (narrative, perspective) of the Ark of the Covenant. More specifically, I firmly believe that Ark of the Covenant (also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God) was exactly what the Bible says it was.

It was (still is as it very much exists today) wooden storage chest decorated in solid gold accompanied by an ornamental lid known as the Seat of Mercy (the lid got this name because it was used in religious rituals of the Day of Atonement).

I firmly believe that the Ark contained (and still contains) Tablets of the Law – two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments given by God (via Moses) to the Jews. The Ark also contained – and still contains – Aaron’s rod (symbol of religious authority over the Israelites that had magical powers) and a pot of manna (edible substance that God bestowed upon the Israelites while they were wandering the desert for 40 years after the Exodus and before the conquest of Canaan).

However, the Ark was far, far more than just a religious object – even the most sacred object. It was a bridge; a divine spiritual channel (occultists would say “energy channel”) between God and His Chosen People (Jews/Israelites).

More precisely, a key part of the channel – the other two being the High Priest of the Old Testament religion (Old Testament Judaism) and the Tribe of Levi (priestly tribe). Consequently, Jewish religion prior to the destruction of the Second temple in 70 AD was, indeed, Religion of the Ark (which was continued to be used even after it was hidden in 587 BC to prevent its capture by the Babylonians).

There is a belief (born after Jews rejected Christ and subsequently lost the Temple and the Ark for good) that the group of people that finds the Ark and accepts Ten Commandments, will build the bridge to God and become His new Chosen people – the New Israelites. Which makes perfect sense.

And that’s exactly who founders of Templars became after they found the Ark.