The Templar Treasure at Gisors
The mysterious Knights Templar originated in the Middle Ages, when pilgrims needed armed supporters to assure them safe passage to the Holy Land. Within 100 years the Templars had become a significant power by themselves, reporting directly to the pope and, it was rumored, in control of vast wealth--until 1307, when the French king terminated the order, dispersed its knights, and claimed its property. But did the order really die? Did it really give up its treasure? Markale, the Sorbonne's Celtic studies star who has brought new life to Arthurian and other pre-Christian material, here explores the legends of occult rituals associated with the Templars. The treasure of the title existed, he claims, not so much on the physical as on the spiritual plane. An inner circle of Templars possessed an esoteric, potentially heretical vision that was cloaked from even ordinary knights of the order. And the rumored great wealth? It has not been found nor, Markale suggests, will it be, at least not buried in castle vaults.Patricia MonaghanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved