Knights Templar History and Medieval Resources: Holy Grail Secrets

A new book claims that the Holy Grail is most certainly in Wales. The funny thing is that the author actually argues with Dan Brown as if his opinion was in some way academically and methodologically valid. I also like this passage in the article:

More recently a theory was put forward by former Western Mail journalist and bard, Owen Morgan, who claimed the Grail was not an object but the beautiful landscape of Wales.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales ... -21328768/

In my personal opinion, the Holy Grail is also not an object. It has become a symbolic representation of the money that can be potentially spent by tourist in any given location. As the peddlers at Renaissance fairs cry out: "Holy Grails! Get them while their holy!"

The book's title is:
Eternal Chalice: The Enduring Legend of the Holy Grail (I.B.Tauris, £18.99)

It has always been a mystery to historians why the Order of the Knights Templar remained a very exclusive group of only nine knights for many years after its inception. Surely, there were many valiant knights who were willing to join the Order, and their help would have been appreciated, given the formidable task of protecting Christians in the Holy Land. After much research, I have concluded that the original nine knights formed a team and created a ball game, now popularly known as "baseball." This discovery immediately clears out many difficulties. In baseball clubs of modern era only nine players are allowed on the field, while the organization itself could easily consist of thousands of people with various functions assigned to them. The nine knights were simply the members of the team that were activated for any given game. Further research is needed in order to establish what other teams existed in Palestine during the Middle ages, but there are indications that the Jerusalem Templars played against the Tripoli Hospitallers, as well as the ever fearsome Qadmous Assassins.

It seems that after the loss of Jerusalem the Outremer League was disbanded. However, the legacy of the game was passed on through various secret societies, and its first secular account appeared in England in 1744 (A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, by John Newbery), only decades after the Masons began to gain influence and recognition in Europe. Undoubtedly, the Masons envisioned immense opportunities for baseball in the Americas. It is possible however, that Masonic baseball upon its arrival to the colonies simply merged with the version of the game that was first brought into the New World by Henry St. Clair and his followers (see Templars in America: From the Crusades to the New World by Tim Wallace-Murphy & Marilyn Hopkins). One way or another, the United States of America, the country largely founded on Masonic principles, was the place where baseball truly flourished, as we all know. By the 21st century, baseball became an international sport.

Another area of future research is the meaning of baseball. Of course, the mere layout of any baseball field bears a strong resemblance to the Masonic emblem. Can baseball’s deep symbolism be ever fully understood? Could it be that the entire game actually contains secret knowledge that the Templars were able to gain in the Holy Land? Is it possible that the popular game is, in fact, the elusive Holy Grail? Not being an expert on religious symbology I cannot even begin to comprehend the mystery of squares and circles, and the mind-boggling numerology of the sport known even amongst the profane as the “game of numbers.” Anxiously, I am awaiting the response of Harvard’s renowned professor Robert Langdon.

Pictured above: Jacques de Molay, a trading card (reconstruction).

Started a new page where I plan to publish a few typical documents that shed light on how the Knights Templar acquired their legendary wealth. These documents will demonstrate that vast amounts of donations (money, land etc) that literally started to pour into the coffers of the Order soon after its establishment. Of course, it is also important to remember that Papal bull Omne Datum Optimum created a special status for the Knights Templar, allowing this wealth to be kept and increased without interference.


Sources of the Knights Templar wealth

"A group of scientists believe the Holy Grail and other lost objects, which according to Christian mythology were guarded by the Knights Templar, may be located in the rural district Hrunamannahreppur in southwest Iceland."

http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandrev ... _id=297522

I don't know Icelandic, but the translation of Hrunamannahreppur is pretty transparent: Iceland wants more tourism. But who knows...

I was convinced that the theme of the Knights Templar would die out for a few years after being exploited to the max just recently. Apparently, Dan Brown thinks otherwise:

The whole industry is impatient. Book sales are generally sluggish, and one explosive, high-profile title can jump-start sales across the board as customers pour into the stores and walk out with a bagful of titles. When Bertelsmann AG reports 2007 results in March, it will be the first time since 2002 that it didn't get a boost from "The Da Vinci Code."

Meanwhile, the nation's biggest retailers can barely restrain themselves. "We're constantly asking," says Bob Wietrak, vice president of merchandising at Barnes & Noble Inc.

So where is the new novel? It's a mystery worthy of the deepest secrets of the Knights Templar. Mr. Brown, holed up in New Hampshire, isn't saying. His agent, Heide Lange, isn't, either.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120122061077215305.html

Well, I bet anything that Brown has been looking at this old book:

"Geschichte des Tempelherrenordens, nach dem vorhandenen und mehreren bisher unbenutzten Quellen" by Wilbelm Ferdinand Wilcke.

It is a rather early publication (1826-27) that seems to be full of all sorts of speculations, some of which possible went unnoticed in the ensuing amateurish Templar lore-passing.