Knights Templar History Blog and Medieval Resources

In Boston, 25 organizations are competing for grant money. One of these buildings is Salem Old Town Hall, designed by Charles Bulfinch, a very influential American Mason, who at one point was appointed the Architect of the Capitol. David Ovason's book "The Secret Architecture of Our Nation's Capital" discusses his role in creating the original dome of the Capitol building. The Bulfinch dome has been since replaced, but he must be credited for much of symbolism one sees in Washington today. It does not get more Templar than that, folks!!!

Salem's Old Town Hall is one of Bulfinch's New England creations. It needs some serious work, including reinforcement of the foundation. You can help this building win a $100,000 grant by voting for it daily until May 17:

Go to OTH's site
Salem Old Town Hall

Or use a direct link
Vote daily for Salem Old Town Hall!

If you want to pass this information around, go ahead!

There is a site that goes into considerable detail about the ways Knights Templar held certain numbers in great respect and built their practices around them. Such as:

The number 3 (omnipresent)

* The 3 religious vows (common to all monastic orders).
* The 3 mandatory alms every week.
* The 3 annual fasts.
* The 3 meals per day.
* The 3 meat meals per week.
* The 3 presentations of the novice before the Chapter prior to the reception ceremony.
* The obligation to accept a 3 against 1 fight.
* The 3 assaults of the enemy before the Temple's counterattack.
* The 3 horses that the Knight Templar received when setting off on an expedition.

and the list goes on...

The number 8

* The 8 days of penitence to be suffered by a Knight Templar guilty of a venial sin.
* The 8 sacraments received by the Knights Templar.
* The 8 angles of the cross pattee humettee.
* The 8 articles of the oath taken by the future Knight Templar.


The number 9

* The 9 traditional founders of the order.
* The 9 Knights Templar required to form a commandery.
* The 9 provinces of the Temple of the West.
* The 9 years' preparation for the Temple (1118 to 1127).
* The 72 articles (7 + 2 = 9) of the Primitive Rule.
* The 180 years (1 + 8 + 0 = 9) for which the order was in existence.
* The 9 000 Templar commanderies (unverifiable number given by Matthieu Paris).
* The 117 (1 + 1 + 7 = 9) charges leveled at the order during the Inquisition.
* The death of the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, also characterized by the number 9: he was executed on March 18 (1 + 8 = 9), 1314 (1 + 3 + 1 + 4 = 9).


Here is my take on this. Notice that there is a lot more things and entities listed under the auspices of number 3. It seems that 3 is just a good number for most things that are not in particularly great supply. So, there was nothing specifically "Templar" about using 3. 8 and 9, although both numbers with substantial numerological pedigree, are more difficult to come by in most cases. It seems to me that 9 was of particular importance, because the Templars for a long time insisted that there were only 9 members, even when undoubtedly daily operations of the Order required more knights and servants (who technically are also Templars).

http://www.maisnie-champenoise.org/uk/temple2.html

Every once in a while a movie comes out that manages to demonstrate with perfect clarity how bad the original book was and then adds more levels of ridiculousness to the whole deal. NBC's "Last Templar" is such a movie. The first night of the mini-series was completely unnecessary. It did not establish anything that could not have been told in a few words. Sure enough, you can't have Templars without a Templar treasure. And there should be a document describing the whereabouts of the said treasure. Can we get to the point now? Well, apparently not without showing Mira Sorvino fight crime Amazon style!

My favorite thus far is the miraculous delivery of a small group of Templar Knights during a storm. They way they rise victoriously out of the sea, wearing their chainmail suits of armor weighing over 50 pounds... And don't forget the swords!

I wish it was possible to come up with a more believable name for the Turkish town. When I read the book it became immediately clear to me that the word "Fonsalis" probably has something to do with the Latin words FONS and SALIX. And yet it took an almost revelatory experience on Tess' part to figure this out. She is supposed to know Latin, you know.

Still I am waiting to see if the script writers managed to escape one little mistake that the author of the book made. I will have to wait until later today to find out...

Just a quick note. The much awaited book by Barbara Frale "The Templars: The Secret History Revealed" well, has been revealed... I haven't received it yet. There is no doubt that the book was meant to capitalize on the interest in all things Templar when NBC shows its mini-series "The Last Templar" in late January.

The Templars: The Secret History Revealed

I have a growing collection of Templar related merchandise. Yet I find it silly for an adult to buy toy soldiers, no matter how well they are made. This exquisite set of bookends features Crusader knights in armor. There can hardly be a better way to highlight an area in your home library (should you have one) where you keep books on the Knights Templar, the Middle ages or history in general.



See also:
Bookends in home library design

I feel this is sort of an obligation :) The trailer for The Last Templar is out:



Once again, this is a NBC Mini-series that will be shown in the winter of 2009. In my personal opinion, this will not be a huge hit, but for those of us who enjoy codes, Knights Templar and that sort of stuff it will be a nice little distraction.