This group - often said to be nine in number - had the mandate of protecting Christian pilgrims who were en route to the Holy Land to visit the shrines sacred to their faith.

Somewhere between the years of AD 1118 - 1120, King Baldwin II granted the group quarters in a wing of the Royal Palace on the Temple Mount (the Al Aqsa Mosque).

It has been generally accepted that, for the first nine years of their existence, the Templars - as they came to be known - consisted of nine members.

Although it has been widely speculated that the Templars wished to keep it this way to cover their secret mission of digging for buried treasure on the Temple Mount, the simple fact remains that the lifestyle adopted by the Order was not to everyone's taste. As such, the Templars had difficulty in recruiting members to their cause in the early years.

In the year 1127 the Cistercian abbot,Bernard of Clairvaux, wrote a rule of order for the Templars that was based on his own Cistercian Order's rule of conduct. Additionally, Bernard did a great deal to promote the Templars.

Perhaps Bernard's greatest contribution to the Order was a letter that he wrote to Hugues de Payens, entitled De laude novae militae (In praise of the new knighthood.)

This letter swept throughout Christendom drawing many men, of noble birth, who joined the ranks of the Templar Order. Those who were unable to join often gifted the Templars with land and other valuables.

While it is true that the Templars were not permitted, by their rule, to own much of anything personally, there was no such restriction on the Order as a whole. As such, the gifts of land were accepted and put to immediate use by the Templars, who farmed the land generating additional wealth.

Over the years the Templars rose from their humble beginnings to become the wealthiest of the CrusadingOrders - eventually garnering the favour of the Church and the collective European monarchs.

This wealth, generated in the West was put to immediate use in the East to buy arms and raise armies. Although the Templars are regarded as the greatest of the medieval military Orders, the record shows that they lost more battles than they won. Despite a brutal win/loss record, the Order did play an important role in the Holy Land.

However, after two centuries of defending the Christian faith, the Order met its demise when Philip IV - known as Philip le Belle (the Fair) - sought to destroy the Templars.

Historians are generally in agreement that Philip was motivated by greed rather than his belief that the Templars were corrupt.

Regardless of his motivations, Philip had the Templars arrested on October 13, 1307.

The Templars were tortured and confessions were given. These confessions included:

 Trampling and spitting on the cross

 Homosexuality and Sodomy

 Worshipping an idol

Philip was successful in ridding the Templars of their power and wealth and urged all fellow Christian leaders to do the same thing.

In 1312 the Templars were officially dissolved by Pope Clement V at the Council of Vienne. Although the Templars were not found guilty of the crimes they were charged with, it was felt that the reputation of the Order had fallen to so low a state as to warrant dissolving the Order.

On March 18th, 1314 the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar,Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake, for having recanted his earlier confessions of guilt.

De Molay is said to have cursed King Philip and Pope Clement as he burned, asking both men to join him in death within a year.

The story is an apocryphal legend; however, it is one that has come to be widely accepted.

Although there is no historical truth to the de Molay curse story, both Pope Clement V and Philip IV followed de Molay to their graves within the year.

Templar Punishment and Discipline

In any monastic institution the must, of necessity, be found a set of rules by which to govern the order. The Templars were no exception to this concept and in 1128, Bernard of Clairvaux assisted in drawing up the Templar Rule.

The purpose of this article is not to show every detail of the Templar Rule, but rather to examine some of the punishments that members could expect, should they violate the rule.

Upon being charged with a violation, the Commander would call the brethren to hear the charges against an offender. When the accused brother confessed his fault he was then asked to leave the room. At this time the Commander would seek the advice of the brethren as to what penance to apply.

If his infraction was small or if he was found to be innocent, no penance would be given. However, if he were in violation of a major infraction of the rule then the General Chapter would later conduct a trial.

Below is a list of some of the consequences a brother of the order could face as a result of violating the Templar Rule of order:

Expulsion From The Order

This was the highest punishment a Templar knight could face. Upon expulsion from the order, he had an obligation to join the Cistercians, which always had a close relationship with the Templars. It was hoped that by joining this non-warrior monastic order the expelled Templar would save his soul.

Below are the infractions to cause such expulsion:

 Murdering a Christian

 Divulging the Chapter's meetings

 Committing acts of sodomy

 Committing an act of heresy or denouncing the Christian faith

 Conspiring or making false charges against a brother

 Leaving the Temple house for more than two days without permission

 Fleeing the enemy during battle while the Beauseant was flying or without permission of the Marshal

Loss Of Habit

Losing the habit of the Order was a penance of shame. Taken from the guilty brother were his habit, weapons and horse. This penance befell any that committed the following infractions:

 Fought with another brother

 Lost or murdered a slave

 Killed a pack animal or lost their horse due to their own neglect

 Told untruths about themselves

 Injured any Christian person out of anger

 Had sex with a woman

 Threatened to join the Saracens

 Leaving the Commandery at night in anger

 Throwing their Templar coat to the ground in anger

 Loaned any Temple assets without permission of the order

It is important to note that all of the above crimes could be forgiven. If a brother repented with sincerity of his actions, and providing the brethren agreed, he would be restored with his habit and weapons after a period of time - often one year plus one day.

The Templars and the Shroud of Turin

Any discussion of the Shroud of Turin is bound to be controversial. Those who view this sacred and holy relic fall into two camps, those that believe it to be the undisputed earthly evidence of a Christ risen and those who believe it to be a medieval forgery.

It is not the intention of this web site to cast doubt on or support the authenticity of the shroud, but rather to show its possible relationship to the Knights Templar. We receive many letters from angry people who wish to enter into lengthy debates about carbon 14 reliability. We are aware of new evidence that puts the reliability of carbon 14 dating in question, so please refrain from telling us of the findings or directing us to URLs that make the claims.

There are two theories that relate to the Templars having been involved with the Shroud, one, which would support the authenticity of the Shroud and another, which would refute it.

In 1204 the Crusaders sacked the city of Constantinople. Among them were the Knights Templar, whom some scholars contend took the Burial shroud of Jesus from the city. To support this theory, author Ian Wilson who wrote the book "The Shroud of Turin: Burial Cloth Of Jesus?" makes the claim that the head that the Templars were accused of worshipping was none other than that of Jesus. His belief is that the Shroud when folded depicted the head of Christ and was referred to as the "Mandylion." There is a painted panel at Templecombe in England that shows a bearded head like that, which is depicted on the Mandylion.

In their two books, "The Hiram Key" and "The Second Messiah," authors Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas paint a contrasting picture to the Mandylion theory. The authors theorize that the image on the Shroud of Turin is in fact that of the last Grand Master of the order, Jacques de Molay, who was tortured some months before his execution in 1307. The image on the shroud certainly does fit the description of de Molay as depicted in medieval wood cuts, a long nose, hair shoulder length and parted in the center, a full beard that forked at its base, not to mention the six-foot frame. De Molay was said to be quite tall.

However, many have criticized the theory on the basis that the Templar rule of order forbade the Templars from growing their hair long. What critics of the theory overlook is that during DeMolay's seven years in prison it is highly unlikely that he would have been afforded such luxuries as good grooming.

Knight and Lomas claim that the shroud figured in the Templars rituals of figurative resurrection and that DeMolay's tortured body was wrapped in a shroud, which the Templars kept after his death. Lomas and Knight further believe that lactic acid and blood from DeMolay's tortured body mixed with frankincense (used to whiten the cloth) etching his image into the shroud.

When the shroud was first put on display in 1357 (50 years after the disbanding of the order) by the family of Geoffrey de Charney who was also burned at the stake with de Molay, the first people viewing the shroud recognized the image to be that of Christ.

The authors theorize that Jacques de Molay may have been tortured in a manner similar to Christ as a mockery. Certainly then, the wounds suffered by de Molay where the same as those of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

Today it is commonly believed by many, through carbon dating, that the shroud dates to the late 13th century and not to the date of Christ's supposed crucifixion. It is interesting that the church revealed these carbon dating results on October 13th, 1989, which is the same day the Templars were arrested by Church and State. According to the authors:

"Carbon dating has conclusively shown that the Shroud of Turin dates from between 1260 and 1380, precisely as we would expect if it were the image of Jacques de Molay. There is no other known theory that fits the scientifically established facts. Through experimentation, we know that the figure on the Shroud was on a soft bed of some kind, which strongly suggests that the victim was not dead and was expected to recover."

The Second Messiah pg. 161 - Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas

Regardless of whether the findings of Ian Wilson or Knight and Lomas are correct, it is evident that this most holy and venerated relic has found its way into the Templar mythos.

Lynn Picknet and Clive Prince, authors of "Turin Shroud: In Whose Image?" present another theory of interest on the matter. Readers will recognize the authors from the book, "The Templar Revelation." In the authors' earlier book the duo claim that Leonardo Da Vinci who created an early photographic technique manufactured the image on the shroud of Turin.

The Knights and the Holy Grail

With the advent of the internet, there appears to be a swelling tide of interest relating to the question as to whether the medieval Knights Templar in fact possessed the Holy Grail. The answer to this is a very simple one: There is no doubt whatsoever that the Templars possessed the Holy Grail.

The explanation behind this answer, unfortunately, remains somewhat complicated and, to a degree, very speculative. The key, as I have learned during the writing of The Labyrinth Of The Grail, is to constantly "look beyond" what appears at first to be the true answer. The simple reasoning is that why else would both the Church and State pursue the Templars to the far ends of the earth and torture them beyond compassion. Obviously, the accusations of blasmephy were only an excuse to justify their actions. It really doesn't take any skill to recognize that the inner circle of the Templars possessed something far more valuable than mere silver and gold - something that threatened the very being of the Church and State.

What the Templars possessed, and became sworn guardians of, was the unbroken line of "ancient knowledge" which among other things allowed the ancient mariner to circumnavigate the world. It is now coming to light that trade among the "Old World" and the "New World" had regularly occurred throughout the Neolithic to Roman eras by "societies who were in on the secret." Hints of these visits and settlement now appear to be revealing themselves through a variety of sources including classic mythology, Indian legend and maritime folklore, as well as through recent archaeological discoveries.

This knowledge was pure power. Societies that not only possessed the ability to track the sun, moon and the stars, but possessed the inherent wisdom to maintain the "secret" of being able to fix longitudinal positions long before it became common practice, were societies in constant danger of being exterminated. On the other hand, those societies who were able to exploit their advantage to the fullest such as the earliest Templars enjoyed a status rivaled by none.

In other words, the Templars, and those who came before them, were accorded the ability to "look beyond" standard Church dogma to places yet to be "discovered" - the mythical Otherworld.

Think about it for a moment. If you possessed an unlimited source of raw material, fertile land, and mineral wealth, would you reveal it to the world? No, I don't think that you would, especially if you were in the business of "brokering" peace among nations. The Templars would surely have considered this knowledge to be a "God-given gift." Thereby, the Templars would have considered themselves to be the guardians of a direct "conduit" between God and man. The Templars would have also believed that this conduit of knowledge straight from the heavens exposed itself through the Mysteries of Christ. To the Templars, this embodiment of heavenly knowledge was The Holy Grail.

You may ask how was it that longitudinal coordinates could be established in pre-Christian times prior to the development of the chronometer. Again, the answer is the simplest, yet most complicated, of all possibilities. Since the concept of time began, man has turned his eyes to the sky and followed the paths of the heavenly bodies. Evolving from this activity was the establishment of strategic viewing positions, which allowed the "Ancients" to establish "roseline" (meridians) around the world. These ancient stone circles and menhirs found around the world, such as Stonehenge, were used to track the known paths or circuits of the eclipses of the sun and the moon.

It was this recognition of "order" and "pattern" in all that made up the universe, which resulted in the development of "sacred geometry." As such, sacred geometry was derived through man's ability to reason, which means that all men possessed the "Grail knowledge" through the "art of reasoning." Come to think of it, there is nothing really "sacred" about it, other than the knowledge that certain Egyptian "royal lines" came to assume it as their God-given right.

Indeed, modern society should not be looking to certain royal houses to capture the "lost art," but to its historical guardians including the Celtic Druids and Irish, and medieval Knights Templar. Hence, the seeker of the true Holy Grail must follow the path to the source of Celtic tradition and its Indo-European roots. Only when one understands their roots will one better understand themselves. And for the seeker who is able to arrive at the proper application of knowledge and understanding, wisdom and truth will be revealed.

Coming full circle, these four "commodities" were the "Grail treasures" that the inner core of Knights Templar possessed. Unfortunately, even sailing half way around the world in A.D. 1398 to what was considered a New Jerusalem (modern-day Nova Scotia) could not prevent the Templars from being relentlessly pursued by both Church and State. Therefore, it was in the wilderness of A(r)cadia that the 14th century spiritual leader of the Knights Templar, Prince Henry Sinclair, buried the Holy Grail until such time that a more enlightened society could make better use of its virtues.

In this circumstance, one can only conclude that the Holy Grail was the recorded knowledge of the Ancients, set down by those initiates who were willing to sacrifice their lives to perpetuate in words the one true connection between heaven and earth.

Remember that the Celtic soul lies in the head. Thus, the Templars did not allow their hearts to rule their actions. Similarly, the Holy Grail awaits those who practice the simple art of reasoning, enabling them to look beyond the trappings that await them on their journey.

The Knights and the Ark of the Covenant

To answer this question we must attempt to peer back through the historical mists to try and determine whether anyone - let alone the Templars - could have found the Ark. The first issue, however, is whether the Ark could have been sufficiently well hidden so as to avoid being destroyed or plundered during the final sack of the temple by Titus in AD 70. The Bible provides us with a clue to the answer. The last time that the Bible mentions the Ark is in 2 Chronicles 35:3 when King Josiah ordered that it should be returned to the temple.

"Put the Holy Ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders."

We can date this event to around 623 BC and a number of conclusions can reasonably be drawn from this record.

1. The temple priests had moved the Ark to safe keeping during the preceding turbulent times and the Holy Ark was returned to the temple because there is no reference to the fact that it was not, and that would have been an important event.

2. Those in authority, including King Josiah, were well aware that the Ark had been safely hidden until the time that he ordered it to be returned to the temple. The fairly off-hand manner in which this event is dealt with indicates that it was not unusual to hide the Holy Ark during periods of crisis.

3. Whatever and wherever the hiding place was, it had successfully protected the Ark between 950 BC when Solomon built the first temple and 623 BC when King Josiah gave his direction to the temple priests. The effectiveness of the hiding place is demonstrated by the knowledge that it remained a secret on at least four occasions when Jerusalem was over-run during those 327 years.

Having shown that the Ark could have remained hidden during the periods of Roman and later Muslim occupation leads to the next question of why would the Templars search for the Ark? The Knights Templar were conceived in the French city of Troyes - pronounced trois meaning three - which was the capital city of Champagne. At the same time that the Templars were being considered, the man who would become Saint Bernard during his own lifetime was beginning his monastic career with the Cistercians. The Cistercian monks were - at that time - heavily involved in deciphering Hebrew texts. The link between the two strands was Hughes, Count of Champagne. Hughes began his adulthood as a monk before taking on the mantle of Count. He first visited Jerusalem as a pilgrim in 1104 and only a few years later nine of his vassals returned to found the Knights Templar quartered in the Al Aqsa mosque on Temple Mount. Stories abound that the Templars spent the first 10 years or so of their existence digging under Temple Mount. Captain Wilson, Lieutenant Warren and a team of Royal Engineer found strong support for these rumours. In 1867, they re-excavated the area and uncovered tunnels extending vertically, from the Al Aqsa mosque, for some 25 metres before fanning out under the Dome of the Rock which is generally thought to be the site of King Solomon's temple. Crusader artefacts found in these tunnels attest to Templar involvement.

Elsewhere on this Web Site, the strong connection between the Knights Templar and the Freemasons is explored.

The earliest written copies of Masonic ritual state unequivocally that the ancient masons found the Ark of the Covenant hidden in a cave under the site of King Solomon's temple.