Turning the Templar Key is an exhilarating romp through the history of Freemasonry in search of the -
Origins of the Masonic Knights Templar.
On Saturday 13th Oct 2007 it was seven hundred years to the day since the Knights Templar were struck down in a secret dawn raid by the King of France. Their assets were seized, their members were arrested and they were accused of heresy. So began one of the most mysterious and tenacious conspiracy questions of history.
Were the Templars wiped out or did they survive by starting new Orders to preserve their secrets?
How did a medieval Christian Brigade of Martyrs, hungry for death on the battlefield. come to inspire the many conspiracy theories of noble, mystical, warrior monks which pervades modern literature? How did a religious Order which was forcibly disbanded seven hundred years ago maintain such a grip on the modern Western imagination?.
Best-selling writer Robert Lomas sifts through the myths and legends and finds the startling truth.
Freemasonry is a complex muddle of separate groupings, called 'degrees'. All Freemasons join the Order as a 'Candidate' and then take a series of three degrees to become a Master Mason. These are all taken within a 'Craft Lodge', sometimes called a 'Blue Lodge', after the color of a Master Mason's apron. Any Master Mason who wants to learn more of the Craft then has to join new groups, which act like lodges, but call themselves by different names such as 'Chapter', 'Encampment', 'Preceptory', 'Conclave' or 'College'. These are often referred to as the 'higher' degrees. Three of the main systems of 'higher' degrees are the "Ancient and Accepted Rite", the "York Rite" and the "Royal Order of Scotland". They all lead to different types of Templar degrees. Together they make up the Templar Masonry whose origins are revealed in this book.
Why were the Knight Templar forcibly disbanded?
What happened to their legacy?
Did they survive disguised as other Orders?
Returning to the unanswered questions of The Hiram Key, best-selling author Robert Lomas, uses newly available information to uncover the roles of Viking Pirate kings, Pretenders to the Crown of Scotland, Custodians of Holy Relics and Political Opportunists to reveal an unexpected story.
His quest takes him back to the beginnings of civilization to reveal a startling legacy of religious symbolism and belief which has its roots in the beginnings of a religion of farming, which he reconstructs using computer simulation to explain the latest archo-genetic findings.
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