Grail Quest

The History

In the year 70 AD, the Roman emperor Titus took the city of Jerusalem. Its entire wealth was plundered as well as that of the Temple of Herod, known also as the third temple. This was the creation of Herod the great who ruled from 37 to 4 BC. He was a prodigious builder and ordered the construction of innumerable fortresses and temples throughout his lands. He also rebuilt Strato’s tower which was renamed Caesarea and of course no King can be without nokia 3360 free ringtonesfree ringtones sanyo sprintnokia 3360 ringtonesdownload free christian ringtonese315 motorola ringtonesfree ringtones for lg verizon wireless phone,download ringtones for verizon wireless,verizon ringtonesdownload free mobile ringtones tкомпютриcell cellular customer phone ringtones us,cellular info phone remember ringtones u.s,cellular phone ringtones24 free ringtonesfree crazy frog ringtonesdownload free maker ringtonesnokia 7210 ringtonescell free phone ringtones sprintmake your own mp3 ringtonesfree christian ringtones,christian free info remember ringtones,free christian music ringtonescell free nextel phone ringtonescricket download free ringtones2 pac ringtones,free 2 pac ringtonesalltel free music ringtonesyahoo ringtones free downloadnextel ringtones cdcrazy frog listen ringtonescingular ringtones shopdownload free bollywood ringtonesericsson polyphonic ringtones sonydownload free ringtones cellular onemusic ringtones,much music ringtones,music real ringtonesfree lg ringtones verizon vx6000cricket free ringtonesfree nokia polyphonic ringtonesbollywood free latest ringtonesarabic download free ringtonesverizon lg vx6000 free ringtonesfree midi ringtonesdownload free ringtones lgdownload wwe ringtones for freenokia composer ringtonesfree britney spears ringtones,britney spears ringtonesalltel free real ringtonesmotorola ringtones w315make mp3 ringtonesdownload free ringtones,free ringtones maker download,download free ringtones virgin mobilesprint pcs ringtones,info pcs remember ringtones sprintdownload free new ringtones24 ringtones,24 fox ringtones,24 download ringtonesfree motorola real ringtonesdownload free ringtones for alltel phone,alltel lg ringtones,alltel ringtonescingular go phone ringtonesnextel music ringtonesphone ringtones verizon his royal palace which was duly constructed in the year 24BC. The temple in Jerusalem was started around 19 or 20BC and finished in a bout 63AD. A huge amount of time which certainly hints at its size and complexity.

The records of the day show that some 10,000 workers took part in the building of the temple of which around 1,000 were priests who had been specially trained as carpenters and possibly also in other crafts. Although historians are unanimous in declaring that this temple was not to be compared to that of Solomon there is little doubt that it was a spectacular building. For the times, it outranked anything in the known world and it is unlikely that even the Romans would not have failed to marvel at such a structure. Titus himself dearly wanted to preserve the building which he felt would have made a splendid addition to the Roman empire and an excellent base from which to work. Although we have a few clues as to what was contained within the temple we can be fairly sure it was not as spectacular as the treasures found within the Temple of Solomon. An idea of its wealth is contained in Josephus’ account, paragraph 7 and this seems to suggest quite considerable opulence, monetary as well as artistic. Flavius Josephus who actually witnessed the entire event recorded the account in his War of the Jews, books 6, chapter 4 which you can read by clicking here.

As the attack against the Temple itself and the Jews who were guarding it, intensified, the building was seen to be burning. Some of the Roman soldiers spurred on by this ran in to the temple and began to set more fires. Titus by now had arrived on the scene and despite making strenuous efforts to get his troops to quench the fires, the flames spread rapidly throughout the entire building. By now his soldiers were consumed with hate and greed and even though they could clearly hear Titus calling to them at the top of his voice, they paid no attention. In the end the entire temple was burned to the ground.

One story tells of the Roman soldiers returning to the ruins when the fires had died out and actually pulling apart the blocks of masonry which had made up the walls and foundations in order to get the gold that had run in between the stonework. As well as the contents of the city of Jerusalem undoubtedly everything within the temple was also looted. It should not be overlooked that this was an exceptionally bloody episode by any historical standard. Accounts speak of over one million people being mercilessly slaughtered. The treasure of Jerusalem was taken back to Rome in triumph where initially at least, the greater part of it would have been stored. Items of great artistic value may well have been preserved as part of the state treasure. As a commemoration of Titus and his conquest of Jerusalem an arch was built in Rome following his death.

On one of the panels can be seen his troops carrying off the plunder from the temple. Clearly visible is the giant Menorah. The relief does not give a particularly good idea of the size of the Menorah but as can be seen there are a great many people required to transport it. It therefore seems likely that it was a substantial piece weighing several hundred kilos.

Some 300 years later, in the year 394, Alaric the 1st was proclaimed king of the Visigoths. Originally a Germanic tribe, the Visigoths lived for the most part in eastern Europe. In those days they served the Romans as mercenaries. However upon the death of Theodosius I, Alaric renounced his allegiance to Rome. As their new king, Alaric led his troops

into Greece where he conquered Sparta, Argos and Corinth. He would also have taken Athens itself but for a substantial ransom paid by the Greeks.

Not long after this impressive victory his army came into conflict with the Romans and he suffered a defeat at the hands of the Roman General Flavius Stilicho. He made off with his plunder and later, with some diplomacy, managed to secure from the Romans the position of Prefect of the Roman province of Illyricum. Obviously obsessed by the wealth of Rome, Alaric again tried to invade Italy and was once again beaten by Stilicho. Upon the death of Arcadius in 408 AD the Roman empire abandoned its plans to invade the eastern empire which presumably would have rid them of the Visigoths once and for all. Unfortunately for the Romans Alaric took this as a sign of weakness and asked for almost 2000 Kilos of gold as a tribute upon payment of which he would renounce his plans to invade Rome. Stilicho convinced the government that paying such a sum would be a wise move.

Unfortunately not everyone in Rome agreed with Stilicho and Honorius had him executed and, in addition, reneged on the agreement with Alaric. As you may imagine Alaric was not amused and immediately invaded Italy, laying siege to Rome. A huge sum of money was paid as ransom but in 410 Alaric captured Rome anyway and sacked it. It is said that his troops took six days to empty the city of its wealth. Not only did the Visigoths remove everything of value that the Romans possessed but it is believed they also got hold of a large portion (if not all) of the fabulous treasure of Jerusalem which had lain untouched in the vaults of the city. Now it was the turn of another conquering army to return home with the spoils of war held aloft in triumph. At this point you must try to comprehend the sheer quantity of treasure the Visigoths must have had in their possession. First there was all the treasure they obtained from their expedition to Greece which included a huge ransom paid by the Athenians. Next there was the entire wealth of the city of Rome and finally there was a large portion of the treasure of Jerusalem.

The Visigoths spread out from Italy capturing various regions throughout Spain, Portugal and France. In these early days they made Toulouse their capital.

The location of this vast treasure remains hidden until the end of the century when Alaric II finds himself under attack by Clovis. Not wishing his fortune to fall into enemy hands he moves it to his stronghold at Carcassonne. From this point on, not one single reference to the treasure appears anywhere in the annals of history. Speculation has offered one possible resting place for this fortune, namely the fortress of Rheddae, an ancient Visigothic stronghold and capital of the district known as the Razes. Today Rheddae is more commonly known as Rennes-le-Chateau, a sleepy little village in the backwoods of the Languedoc.

next: Berenger Sauniere

On the morning of March 19, 1314, a seventy year old man and a companion were forcibly taken by their jailers to a small island in the River Seine. The previous day they had been condemned to the gruesome death of being slowly roasted over a fire. This man had been a member of the Knights Templar, the warrior monks, for forty nine years. He had been Grand Master of the Order since 1292. He was the the twenty-third and last Grand Master of the Knights of the Temple of Solomon. Or was he?

Hugues de Payen, was a noble from Champagne, France. He was a vassal of Hugh, Count of Champagne, as was Andre de Montbard. De Montbard was the uncle of Bernard of Clairvaux (later to be named St. Bernard) a monk who helped them get their Holy Rule from the Pope.

Baudouin I, King of Jerusalem gave the nine knights a wing of his palace, which was located on Temple Mount in Jerusalem Their headquarters was above the foundation of the original Jewish Temple built in the time of Solomon. Thus they were named the Poor Fellow Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon.

The nine were quite sincere about their order and vowed to live as monks. Practicing a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. For nine years no one else was admitted into the order.

After the nine year period Hugues de Payen returned to France to find more brothers for the order.

Due in large part through the aid of St. Bernard they received their Holy Rule from the Pope in 1128.

The Temple

There is no doubt the nine performed their duties as Crusading knights, but, there is great reason to suspect that while headquartered on the Temple

Mount that the nine Templars did some exploration and excavation underneath the Temple Mount. In the late 1800s a group of British Army Engineers did an excavation themselves.

They found evidence of tunnels that were dug many centuries earlier, within these tunnels they found evidence of Templar presence: a broken Templar sword, pieces of a lance, a Medieval spur of European design and a Templar cross.

What were the nine knights looking for and what did they find? Unfortunately to this day no one really knows. But it has been speculated that they may have found the Ark of the Covenant, and/or the Treasures of the Temple of Solomon, rebuilt by Herod, or scrolls dating from the early days of Christianity, the teachings of the Jerusalem Church of Christianity. The Ark of the Covenant had been hidden, as well as other Holy items during the Jewish rebellion against the Romans in Palestine (66 - 70 AD).

When it appeared that all was lost the Jews hid as many of their Holy items as possible - whatever they had time to hide. This included relics, scrolls and might have included the Ark. The Jerusalem Church (Nasorean) also hid away its teachings on scrolls at this time. There was total devastation in Israel, thousands were killed, the Nasorean Community was wiped out, the Temple was looted of whatever valuables it still contained, and razed to the ground. The Land of Israel was annihilated.

It is within the realm of possibilities that the original nine Templars found the treasures of the Temple. It is equally possible that the knights found scrolls from the Church at the time of Christ and adopted these teachings as part of their belief system or worldview.

 Initiation and Lifestyle

New brothers were admitted on a periodic basis, the rite took place in a Templar Church, those in attendance were the supplicant, the presiding priestly brother, the Head of the Preceptory and the brothers of the Preceptory.

Prior to the rite taking place the assembly of brother knights were asked if they had objection to the candidate being accepted into the Order. If there were no dissenting voice, the supplicant was asked several questions, pertaining to his being able to take the vow. He was asked if he were free, without allegiance to any other master, was his birth legitimate, was he of noble lineage, was he in good health, free of debt and. He was also asked if he was in a state of excommunication with the Church. If he could answer all these questions to the satisfaction of the brothers he was ready to enter the Order.

The supplicant than was asked to kneel and his hand was placed upon the Bible, he vowed to become a servant of the Lord, to follow the customs of the Land and to defend the Holy Land.

The white Templar mantle was then placed upon the new brothers shoulders.

The Templar monks lived lives quite similar to those of the Cistercian monks, from whom they received their principles.

Full brother knights wore white mantles, lesser brothers wore brown or black colored mantles. In the year 1146 the Pope decreed that they were to wear the eight-pointed star, the Cross Pattee upon the left breast of their mantles.

They were required to wear closely cropped hair and beards. This was in an age when European fashion was to be clean shaven. Apparently they were quite biblical looking in a old testament sort of way with their long beards. They were known for their fanaticism and long beards. And were greatly respected by their Moslem adversaries for both reasons.The Templars rose early in the morning and started the day off in prayer. There was a mandatory service which included Mass and a ritual of reciting the Lords Prayer (Pater Noster) 28 times. Often enough if the knights were not in the field or on campaign, the Pater Noster ritual would be repeated another three times throughout the course of the day.

This morning mass was the start of their fourteen hour workday.

They fasted until noon, at which point they would have their meal, break fast. They would gather in the refectory where they would recite more Pater Nosters prior to eating. The purpose of the meal was monkishly utilitarian, it was to eat, it was not a social event. Meals were taken in silence.

After this break fast there was more prayer. Then the daily duties were done. Everyone was assigned their task. There was little wasted time for the Knights, and their was no time for leisure pursuits.

The Templar mantle was to be worn at all times. They were not allowed to take meals or refreshment without having it on.

They practised two Lenten seasons of forty days of fasting before Christmas and Easter.

Punishment by the order was severe. A knight would lose his habit if he fought with another Templar or Christian, could be placed under house arrest, confined to quarters and lose all privileges, for disobeying orders or deviating from the rule of the Order or Preceptory. For theft, heresy, divulging Templar information, or willfully and knowingly killing a fellow Christian the Knight could be expelled from the Order, which was akin to becoming an anathema.

 The Military Monks

The Knights Templar were feared and respected by their foes in the Holy Land. They were admired by their foes as holy men fighting a Jihad. In fact the Templars were fearless in many of their encounters and would pitch into their enemies astride their charging warhorses against incredible odds. And quite often the enemy would turn and run, because of the ferocity of the attack. They fought like men possessed, they did not ask for quarter and the Order expected them to fight unto death itself stayed their sword arm. They had a rule that retreat from an enemy would not be countenanced unless the odds were greater than three to one against them.

Templars captured or falling into enemy hands could expect death, as they were not ransomed as was the custom at the time for prisoners. After the devastating Battle at the Horns of Hattin, in which the Holy Land was lost, several hundred Knights Templar prisoners were executed.

Beside the fact they were ferocious in battle the Templars were the equivalent of a ‘medieval tank’. They wore a chain mail shirt beneath their white mantle, as well as armored gauntlets on hands and protection for the shins and feet. Chain mail was also draped across the head with a further metal helmet on top.

They used a sword of European design, that being a long, large straight sword with two cutting edges. As a backup to the sword they carried a mace, or morning star, which caused tremendous crushing damage to foes.

The Templars mode of fighting was to ride into their enemies on their powerful warhorses, crashing upon them as a wave crashes upon the shore. They rode as a unit in formation and hit with a devastating and crushing power.

All Templar Knights were allotted three horses by the Order the first was ridden by his personal sergeant who carried his lance, the second the Knight rode into battle the third was a spare for the knight and ridden by a retainer, or man at arms.

The Templar battle standard was the Beaucient, it was comprised of a white and black vertical blocks, it has also been depicted as below with the Cross Pattee afloat on the field.

Structure of the Order

The Grand Master of the Templars was the Orders ultimate leader; he oversaw the entire Order and all its provinces and answered only to the Pope.

Serving the Grand Master, as his right hand was the Seneschal of the Order, he was the major domo of the Order.

The Order had ten geographic Provinces they were:

In the Holy Land:

Jerusalem
Antioch
Tripoli

In Europe:

Anjou France
Poitou France
Tripoli France
Apulia Italy
England
Portugal
Hungary

Each Province was administered by the Grand Preceptor/Prior and a Commander. Within each Province were Preceptories composed of small holdings, which included chateau and small farms, and large estate holdings which included castles, large farms, manors and their outlying areas. These Preceptories or Houses were in turn administered to by a Preceptor/Prior and a Commander.

The next rank was in the local Preceptory or Household was the knights themselves.

Then the armed servants, or sergeants who supported the knight in battle as men at arms. The next strata was composed of servants of the Order who saw to the day to day operations of the Preceptory, whether it be tanning leather, baking bread, grooming horses or making arms and armor. The servants of the Order wore a brown or black mantle.

The Clergy of the Order wore a Green mantle. Besides the obvious purpose of tending to the spiritual need of the household, the clerics also served as clerks, scribes, bankers and diplomats. Whereas the fighting knights themselves were illiterate or barely literate (most fighting men of the period were not well educated), the clergy of the Order was highly literate and educated.

It has been estimated that at the high water mark of the Order there were 20,000 individuals in the Templar organization of which 2,000 were knights.

The Preceptories

The Preceptories served two primary purposes: to generate income for the necessary funds to carry on the Defense of the Holy Land, and to serve as recruiting stations for new knights for the fighting force.

The cost of maintaining the Order was astronomical. Lay servants had to be paid, the Preceptories had to be maintained, the Defensive structure of the Holy Land had to be maintained, maintaining their fleet of ships as well as many other costly endeavors in which the Order was involved. The cost of equipping one knight was exorbitant. Without the income generated by the Preceptories and to a lesser extent the gifts of land and species to the Order the Knights Temporal could not have existed.

The Order did however receive extensive gifts of land and estates. After the creation of the Holy Rule for the Templars, wealthy nobles and landowners gave them many valuable tracts of land. Payens was given gifts of property in Burgundy, Provence, the Languedoc, Flanders, England, Spain and Portugal.

Hugues de Payen himself oversaw the building and establishment of the Preceptory in Scotland. It was built on land owned by his wife, Catherine Sinclair.

The Order spread into Italy in 1130. They were able to access very important ports.

In 1131, the Order helped King Alfonso I of Spain in the war against and subsequent expulsion of the Moors from Spain. The Order was given very large tracts of land in Catalonia and Aragon, and a one fifth of all the Moorish treasure that was captured in compensation for their aid.

In 1137, the Order was given Essex Manor by the King and Queen of England.

The Preceptories were set up in such a manner that they were all connected via the main European land routes, they also had access to the most important seaports.

The Templars regarding their Preceptorial Holdings kept extensive records, these records included the measurements of each individual holding as well as its relative worth. This was necessary because they had to know how much income could be generated in order to support their defense of the Holy Land.

The Preceptory households varied in size from small chateaux to large extensive estates. The smaller households supported two to three brother knights, where the larger ones would support to upwards of 30 knights. The smaller holdings were usually grouped as close as possible to a larger Preceptory.

The larger Preceptories usually included a castle or fortified manor house. The defenses of these properties were built in the typical medieval style with walls enclosing it, and water filled moat surrounding the outside of the walls.

Within the walled property could be found the typical medieval components of a castle: living quarters, stables, a refectory, warehouses, a dungeon or jail, an armory, a chapel or church, a treasury and a defensible keep. Where they differed from the norm was that they also included a library or scriptorium

A Commander and Chaplain administered to the larger Preceptories. The structures of the households day to day operations and responsibilities were quite clear, and there were official offices within the Preceptory. The Administrator of Alms was responsible for distributing sustenance and relief to the poor. The Steward was responsible for all the operations and upkeep of the household. The Marshall was responsible for the security issues of the Preceptory.

As the Order grew over time the Preceptories were known as places of safe storage for important documents, money, artifacts and regalia. Quite a few nobles and monarchs made use of the Templar strongholds to keep their treasuries, Charters and writs. Also very frequently the Clerics of the Preceptory were asked to draft official documents, vouchsafe the documents keeping and storage and if necessary execute the word of the document.

Beside being self-sufficient the Templar holdings generated a huge amount of revenue. These holdings included choice farm and grazing land, livestock, groves of fruit and olive trees, vineyards, as well as the facilities for making flour, wine, leather, olive oil, weapons.

Money started to amass after providing for the mission of the Order, they had great surpluses.The Templars were exempt from tithes, levies, taxes and duties. Based on today’s dollar the annual Templar income could conceivably been in the neighborhood of sixty million dollars.

They evolved into international bankers. They floated huge loans for Kings and nobles and charged interest for the loans. They wrote money drafts for travelers at their Preceptories, which were redeemable, when the traveler reached his destination at the nearest Preceptory.

The Templars even after having been displaced from the Holy Land were at the height of their power, their wealth was indeed greater than that of many kings and nations at that time. There were many who envied them their success, including Philip the Fair, King of France, who in dire need of money, brought about their downfall

End of the Order

Early Friday morning October 13th 1307, agents of the King of France arrested all Templars that could be found at the their Preceptories, chateau, and outlying areas. There was a total dragnet in France to apprehend each and every one of them. Supposedly 15,000 Templars were rounded by the King.

This act had been carefully planned for close to a year. King Philip, had some experience with this huge type of undertaking, he had previously had his marshals descend upon all the Jews of France, confiscated their property, and had them deported.

It would appear that the Templars had some idea as to what was about to transpire, because on the previous day the Grand Master, de Molay, had them gather and destroy as many of the records of the Order as was possible. He, or someone else had also sent a message to all Preceptories that no member was to divulge or mention the secrets, customs or rituals of the Order. De Molay also advised them not to resist arrest.

Philips intent it seems was to confiscate the wealth and lands of the Order in order to pay his huge debts, and no doubt to cancel any debt he may have had with the Templars. He had also at one time attempted to join the Order, and he had been denied. He wanted the Order destroyed.

What is certain is that the Treasury of the Templars did indeed elude Philip. The Templar fleet had left their port and set sail prior to the arrest that morning. There were no real riches to be found at the Preceptories.

It is believed that half of the eighteen ships went north to Scotland and the other half south to Portugal. Those Templars arrested in France were about to undergo a harrowing time of excruciating terrible torture to extract the confessions necessary to convict the Order. The atrocities committed upon them by the Inquisition did indeed extract the confessions necessary to build a case by the King of France, and have the Order disowned by the Pope.

The Templars in the other Templar Provinces faired much better. Several were arrested in England but by and large they were not persecuted in any other country, in fact they seemed to have disappeared. In the case of Scotland and Portugal the outlawed Templars were openly welcomed. Many of the regents of Europe wrote to the Pope telling him of the injustice being done to the Order on behalf of the King of France.

This was for all intents and purposes the end of the open Order, and the Pope under great pressure and influence by Philip would dissolve the Order and negate its Holy Rule.

Just what is the Holy Grail?  Is it the cup of the Last Supper in which the blood of Jesus was collected at the Crucifixion?  Is it a Bloodline, such as Dan Brown depicts in his fictional novel ‘The DaVinci Code’.  Is it a quest for knowledge, an alchemical quest towards perfection?