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 Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 4:28 pm
JastaElf Yes, they do--and the author did his homework. But keep in mind that it IS a work of fiction. Of course, it is also entirely possible no one knows everything about the Templars and what they were up to.
There's a neat website where you can read a LOT more on them:
http://www.templarhistory.com/
And if you'd like to read some VERY well done fiction about them, may I recommend this:
http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Knights-Templar-Katherine-Kurtz/dp/0446601381
Katherine is a superb writer herself, and here she did the same thing with the Templars that she did with her Deryni universe: opened it up to other writers, and got the stories compiled for publication. There's a follow-up collection called On Crusade: More Tales of the Knights Templar and that's also pretty cool.
As long as you sift the fiction for the fact, fiction can be a fun way to learn! smile I know it's a work of fiction but it's based on actual events. This Da Vinci code would go very well in the History & Fantasy thread. Wouldn't you say? And yes, if we can know the difference between fact and fiction, we can learn quite a few things from films like those. And thanks for the links, I believe I'm gonna check them out later.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:29 pm
The Templar Knights are a phenomenon, in wich historical facts in fiction have bluring borders. Very early you had gossips about them and this gossips grown to real fantastic stuff. So for example the richness of this order, most probably the reason for the actions of Philippe le Beau against them. Already in his times, the gossips of the treasure of the Templars became legendary dimensions.
But the reasons for there richness were not so legendary. It was moslty the result of warfare and of trades and clever banking actions. The Templars did especially one very tricky thing: In medival times, travelling was extremely dangerous. A pilgrim, wich wants to get to the Holy Land, had to make sure, that also his money get save to his goal. The Kight-Orders (also for example the Deutsche Orden) had so take care about that. So they invented some kind of a non-cash method: The pilgrims payed their money in an "temple" or monastery of the order for example in Paris and got a paper, on wich was written the summa of the in payed money. Now it was possible for the pilgrim to hide this paper, maybe in his boot. In case of an ambush, the robbers had to go with empty hands. Arrived in Jerusalem, the pilgrim went to the temple, showing his paper. Now he get his money back, but a definit sum was retained by the order.
Another richness was the contact to the arabian culture. In these times, the arabian culture was much higer envoluted than the occidential culture. The occident really made his profit because of the crusades, not military but in the case of sience and philosophy. The Knight-Orders participated mostly on this Evolution. Maybe some of the reproches of blasphemy or occultic practics resultes on the use of scientistic methodes and utensils.
These things are - so I would say - things, wich we can account as historical facts. Other things are rather fictions, elaborated out of this facts, the pleas under the torture, and the wishes of the people.
With this legends another legend melted: The legend of the holy grail, specially in the version of Wolfram von Eschenbachs Parzival. The legend of a knighthood, wich is guarding the calice, wich was used by Christ at the last supper and wich absorbed his blood under the cross, fit very well in the backround of legendary knighthood. This legend is also the basis of the story of the DaVinci-Code: The container of the bood of Christ is reinterpreted to a bloodline. Btw.: That plot is not new and also not invented by Brown. As far as I know two French in the 50's of last century tryed to etablish some kind of racist stuff with that story: Parts of the french people as the offspring of Christ...
Wow, sorry, didn't want to write so much...
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:47 pm
That's just fine Ekklesiast. Mel really appreciates these kind of posts.
I must say that I had no knowledge of that system you mentioned with the pilgrims and the piece of paper. I suppose that was like the "checks" system we use nowadays. I wonder if that was the very first system used that was like that...
That thing with the "Holy Grail" has been included in many different concepts that I've lost count but, one of my favorite movies concerning it has to be Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade.
Lastly, I just want to mention that the word "Templar" sounds cool & dignified. I like it a lot! 3nodding
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