The Templar Code For Dummies

A captivating look into the medieval (and modern day) society of the Knights Templar

The Templar Code is more than an intriguing cipher or a mysterious symbol - it's the Code by which the Knights Templar lived and died, the Code that bound them together in secrecy, and the Code that inspired them to nearly superhuman feats of courage and endurance.If you know a little or a lot about the Templars, read The Da Vinci Code (or saw the movie), or are a Catholic wanting to know the church's official stance on the Templars, you're in the right place.

The Templar Code For Dummiesreveals the meaning behind the cryptic codes and secret rituals of the medieval brotherhood of warrior monks known as the Knights Templar. With this comprehensive and user-friendly guide, you'll learn:

• What part the Knights Templar played in the Crusades

• How the Order started as protectors of pilgrims

• The myths of the Holy Grail, and how they're connected to the Knights Templar

• How the Knights Templar rose so high and fell so far

• How the fraternity of the Freemasons' modern Order of Knights Templar figures in

• Why the Catholic Church didn't like Dan Brown's version of the Templar story

• The Catholic Church's relationship with women and the connection with the Knights

• Why the Knights Templar still captures our imagination today

• Whether the Knights had a real part to play in historic events such as the French Revolution and the American Civil War

You can learn about all of that and so much more, including sites where the Holy Grail might actually be, what you can't miss if you're sightseeing in Templar territory, and potential hiding places of Templar treasures. Get your copy of The Templar Code For Dummiesto learn more about the fascinating history of this intriguing group of knights.

Auteur

Christopher Hodapp is a Freemason who has traveled
extensively reporting on the Masonic practices in the United
States, United Kingdom, France, and elsewhere.

Alice Von Kannon is a historian and writer, who has
worked for many years in the advertising and commercial production
business.

Contenu

Introduction 1

About This Book 3

Conventions Used in This Book 4

What You're Not to Read 5

Foolish Assumptions 5

How This Book Is Organized 6

Part I: The Knights Templar and the Crusades 6

Part II: A Different Kind of Knighthood 6

Part III: After the Fall of the Templars 6

Part IV: Templars and the Grail 7

Part V: Squaring Off: The Church versus the Gospel According to Dan Brown 7

Part VI: The Part of Tens 8

Icons Used in This Book 8

Where to Go from Here 9

Part I: The Knights Templar and the Crusades 11

Chapter 1: Defining the Templar Code 13

Knights, Grails, Codes, Leonardo da Vinci, and How They All Collide 14

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon 16

Defining knighthood 17

Defining monasticism 19

Warrior Monks: Their Purpose 20

A vow of nine crusader knights 21

Don't leave home without it: The Templars' role as international bankers 22

Builders 24

Templars in Battle 24

Betrayed, Excommunicated, and Hunted 25

So where'd everybody go? 26

The riddle of Templar symbols 26

Templars in the 21st Century 28

Templars and the Grail quest 28

Templars and the fringe 28

Chapter 2: A Crash Course in Crusading 31

Getting a Handle on the Crusades 32

A Snapshot of the 11th Century 33

Fealty, fiefs, and feudalism 33

Pilgrimage 34

Y1K: The end of days 36

The Spanish ulcer 37

The dilemma of the second son 39

Piracy and trade 40

The First Crusade: A Cry for Help, a Call to Arms 40

Meet the Byzantines 40

Go East, young man! 41

Peter the Hermit 43

Get out the beer, we're here! 44

Forward ho! 45

The massacre of Jerusalem 46

The founding of Outremer 48

Let's Give It Another Shot: The Second Crusade 49

A dynamic new Muslim force 51

Jerusalem falls 52

The Third Crusade 52

The celebrity crusade 54

Richard and Saladin 54

The Final Curtain 55

The Fourth Crusade 55

The Fifth Crusade 56

The Sixth Crusade 56

The Seventh Crusade 56

Chapter 3: The Rise of the Knights Templar 59

The Perils of Pilgrimage 60

Why bother? 61

St Helena discovers it all 62

Medieval muggers 63

Where'd everybody go? 65

A New Knighthood 67

The Poor Knights of Christ 67

The Knights Templar 68

Keeping their oath 71

A Simple Mission Creates a Powerful Institution 71

Digging in the temple 71

A windfall of money and power 72

Bernard of Clairvaux 73

The Council of Troyes 74

Opposition to the Templars 75

The Explosion of the Order 76

New gifts 77

Eyes of the pope 77

International Bankers 78

Check, please 79

Building boom 80

Imitation, the Sincerest Form of Flattery 80

The Knights Hospitaller 81

The Teutonic Knights 82

Livonian Brothers of the Sword 83

Up Where the Air Is Thin: The Templars Reach Their Zenith 83

Part II: A Different Kind of Knighthood 85

Chapter 4: Living in a Templar World 87

A Standard Unlike Any Other 87

The Templar Rule 88

Warriors and monks 90

Templar do's and don'ts 90

A Templar day planner 91

No women allowed 93

The pride and the power 93

Punishment and penance 94

Who's in Charge around Here? 94

Grand Master 95

Master and Commander 95 Seneschal 95</p&...