Knights Templar History: Origins of baseball and the Knights Templar

This site deals primarily with the history of Medieval Knights Templar, largely leaving aside modern followers.There are posts related to the history of the Knights Templar, as well as materials about Medieval History in general: books, movies, online resources etc. I don't avoid dealing with dubious and mythical conceptions regarding the Middle Ages and the Order of the Knights Templar, but I tend to be rather skeptical...

Origins of baseball and the Knights Templar 
Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 05:24 PM - Holy Grail Secrets, Medieval Knights Templar History, The Templar Legacy, Conspiracy, Secret Societies
Posted by Knights Templar Vault
Latin language and the vicinities, painting of Rome

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).

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The Da Vinci Code at Lambuth University 
Friday, March 28, 2008, 02:50 PM - Dan Brown Templar Watch, Knights Templar in the Movies, Knights Templar Books
Posted by Administrator
Lambuth University has acquired a reproduction of the rare text Proceedings Against the Templars for display in the Luther L. Gobbel Library. An unveiling ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. today, according to a Lambuth press release.
...
On Monday, Lambuth will host an overview lecture about the Knights Templar at noon; "The Da Vinci Code" will be shown in the library at noon on April 1; Lambuth University Religion professors Gene Davenport and Cindy Wesley will debunk The Da Vinci Code and discuss myths of non-mainstream faiths in the library at noon on April 2.


Seriously? They will actually show "The Da Vinci Code" as a part of the festivities commemorating the purchase of a $9000 book published by the Vatican?

http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 80309/1002
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New Danish film with some Knights Templar references 
Wednesday, March 26, 2008, 12:53 AM - Knights Templar in the Movies, The Templar Legacy, Conspiracy, Secret Societies
Posted by Administrator
The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar is to be released in Malta later this month.

The film is the last instalment of a popular Danish children’s adventure feature shot almost entirely in Malta in June and July of last year. The story follows Danish teenage friends on holiday in Malta in search of a lost treasure of the Templar knights said to be buried on the island. Therefore Malta is featured as Malta.



http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=66705
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Oremus et pro Iudaeis 
Friday, March 21, 2008, 06:54 PM - Medieval History of Europe, Religion, Christianity, Christian faith
Posted by Knights Templar Vault
Quote of the day:

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What is the effect of Benedict's new version of the Latin phrase?

Homolka: He indicates that he believes that the path to salvation, even for Jews, can only go through Jesus, the savior. This opens the floodgates for the conversion of Jews. The Internet is already full of comments by conservative, right-wing Catholics who say: "Wonderful, now we finally have the signal to convert the Jews." This kind of signal has an extremely provocative effect on anti-Semitic groups. The Catholic Church does not have its anti-Semitic tendencies under control.


http://www.spiegel.de/international/wor ... 72,00.html

What kind of leap of faith is required to assume that simply because the Pope, as every reasonable Christian, believes that salvation is only possible through Christ his main motive is to instigate anti-Semitic tendencies?

Here is a much more balanced account of the story. It includes a rabbi's explanation of a daily Jewish prayer for the conversion of "all of the impious of the earth." His main point is just excellent:

These Jewish prayers are the counterparts of the one desired by Benedict XVI, which asks for the salvation of all Israel when time reaches its fullness and all humanity enters into the Church. The prayers of Jewish and Christian proselytism share the same eschatological spirit, and keep the gate of salvation open to all men.

Both the prayer "It is our duty" and the Catholic "Let us pray also for the Jews" are the concrete expression of the logic of monotheism and of its eschatological hope.

http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/ar ... 3041?eng=y
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Mystery in the making 
Gotta read this one. Apparently, someone is trying to make the Vatican overturn the 700-year old ruling about disbanding the Order of the Knights Templar. With lawyers and all! We're talking full recognition, property rights and whole nine yards.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/19/religion
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A little known Templar recruitment strategy 
Thursday, March 13, 2008, 06:58 PM - Jokes and anecdotes, Medieval Knights Templar History
Posted by Knights Templar Vault
The brothers of the Knights Templar Order were prohibited from wearing shoes with pointed toes, as well as fur trims on their attire (other than sheep's fur). This, of course, indicates how fashionable this sort of footwear was at the time, and medieval illuminated manuscripts seem to confirm this trend. The way I would see it: sign me up! As long as I am legally protected from wearing such buffoonish shoes, I might as well be a Templar knight! Many, I am sure, felt the same way.
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Knights Templar in Florentine art? 
Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 08:23 PM - Templar Art, Pictures, The Templar Legacy, Conspiracy, Secret Societies
Posted by Knights Templar Vault
The 58-year-old Hudson resident indulged in one of his intellectual passions: the Crusades-era monk-warriors known as the Knights Templar.

In the third of a series of lectures, Linnell spoke about a specific facet of the much-mythologized group: Templar motifs represented in the art of the 15th century Florence.


http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1746438761

I would not mind learning more about this connection. Unfortunately, the article somehow missed all the interesting stuff!
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