The Dark Side of the Christian Gothic Movement
If you don't want music while you read, click the stop button on this console: Please note: You can also visit our our Goth page or read read a number of chapters about Gothic archicture and its iniatory rituals by Hank Harrison by clicking here. Welcome back! We're starting this page with a few items introducing the forbidden knowledge of the history of Gothic cathedral building, but we'll be adding much more here soon, so check back here or on the site history page at sitehistory.htm. Your view of world history will never be the same again! One aspect which we won't introduce in a general way here at present is the large number of strange images which appear in osensibly Christian churches: preChristian deities, images of human and animal sacrifices, all manner of overtly sexual images, etc. You can read a lot about this by following the links in our Scriptorium here. What we will examine is the alleged masonic connections of the Knights Templar. Protectors of Pilgrims or Plunderering Pirates? "There are Frenchmen among you, of your lineage and from your retinue, who hold with the Saracens. You confide in them and trust in them that they should and will help you, but they are false and treacherous...may you be brave and of great courage and, pray, do not forget to put to death those treacherous Templars." -- Prester John in his letter to various Christian kings of 1165 There is much more to the story of the construction of the Gothic cathedrals of Europe than most people know. We start our inquiry with the murky origins of the Knights Templar. The ostinsible purpose for the organization of the Templars was to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land. This can easily be seen to be a lie, for several reasons: 1) There were only a few knights. There is no possible way that less than 10 knights could have made a significant difference in such a large area that would need to be covered. 2) We know from the contemporary accounts that the knights, once sequestered in their spacious and luxurious surroundings, were not seen to emerge to perform the work in which they were supposed to be engaged. 3) They were recalled to Europe by their lord after the work for which they were really sent to do had been completed. What were they up to? There has been a theory circulating for a number of years that states they were really on an archaeological dig for the Ark of the Covenant or the Temple Treasure, which was supposedly still under the Temple. This, theory explains their secrecy and their need to be in that precise locale. It could also explain their incredible wealth (although there are other explanations we will be examining here in the future). What it does not explain at all, however, is how, in every aspect of their plan, they were given every possible assistance by every hand. The of Jerusalem even kicked everyone out of the Templars' quarters so they would have total privacy! There are a couple explanations: 1) Everyone was bribed. This is hard to buy, as the amount of money to impress some of the extremely wealthy and powerful lords would have had to be great. 2) Everyone was given or promised a "piece of the action." This presents the same problem as the first. 3) Everyone was lied to. It would have been very obvious to people in the same locale that this had occurred, and lords would not have taken at all kindly to having been deceived. 4) The powerful lords whose cooperation was essential for the work were told the truth, on condition that they kept it secret. All good Christian potentates would have done so readily if they had been told that the search was for lost relics of early saints. They may have been involved in some other ways, as well, which would have helped assure their silence. The grave problem would seem to be not knowing definitely what the dig was for. Fortunately, we have much more evidence to examine, which will shed light on this very question. Who Was Prester John? But what of the letter quoted from above? Who was Prester John and why did he have a vendetta against the Templars? He was reputed to have great magical powers, including stones with magical powers. This has thrown many off the track because he was also supposed to be a Christian king. He must be a creation of pure fantasy, they say. Who could possibly have fit this description? Actually, as visitors to The Avalonian Catholic Website well know, many Christians over the centuries have practiced magic. But perhaps the place to look for Prester John is far to the south of Europe: in the dark recesses of Africa. The Ethiopian Church has many practices that are magical and unique, such as the use of healing icons, which are written on paper and amazingly resemble devices found in early Coptic papyri containing magical spells used by early Egyptian Christians. Since the Coptic Church has always been credited with founding the Ethiopian this shouldn't be too surprising. There is actual recorded evidence of the presence of the Knights Templar in Ethiopia. "Harbay, reigning Zagwe monarch of Ethiopia before his brother Lalibela deposed him, is deduced to have been the mythical Prester John. Derived from Jano, a reddish-purple toga worn only by royalty, the word [Jan] meant 'king' or 'Majesty'..." ~ Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal In Parzival, "a member of the Grail Company...spoke, amongst other things, of riding 'deep into Africa...past the Rohas'. ...Rohas was the old name for a town in the remotest highlands of Ethiopia - a town now called Lalibela in honor of thee great king who was born there and who made it his capital when he returned to it in triumph in the year of our Lord 1185...Lalibela had spent the previous quarter of a century in Jerusalem rubbing shoulder with the knights of a military-religious order whose headquarters stood on the site of the Temple of Solomon - knights who would have had a special interest in any contender to the throne of a country which claimed to possess the lost Ark that the Temple had originally been built to house." ~ Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal "If a land should lose its lord, and its people see the hand of God in it and ask for a new lord from the Gral Company, their prayer is granted...God sends the men out in secret." ~ Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival Ethiopia's diplomatic relationship with Christian Europe was to continue into the following century: "It is known that this emperor [Wedem Ara'ad of Etiopia] in the year of our salvation 1306 sent thirty envoys [who]...presented themselves reverentially (sic) before Pope Clement V at Avignon." ~ Giovanni da Carignano (a Genoese cartographer active during the years 1291-1329) "By a considerable margin, the eleven rock-hewn churches of Lalibela were the most architecturally advanced building that Ethiopia had ever known (indeed, in the considered opinion of UNESCO, they deserved to be ranked amongst the wonders of the world.)....Towering edifices, the churches remain places of living worship eight hundred years after they were built. It is important to stress, however, that they were not built at all in the conventional sense, but instead were excavated and hewn directly out of the solid red volcanic tuff on which they stand. In consequence, they seem superhuman - not only in scale, but also in workmanship and in conception." "...Considerable efforts have been made to cloak their real natures: some lie almost completely concealed within deep trenches, whole others hide in the open mouths of huge quarried caves. Connecting them all is a complex and bewildering labyrinth of tunnels and narrow passageways with offset crypts, grottoes and galleries - a cool, lichen-enshrouded, subterranean world, shaded and damp, silent but for the faint echoes of distant footfalls and priests and deacons going about their timeless business." On the arch "of the ceiling of the rock-hewn church of Saint Mary's...can be seen a stylized croix pattee contained within a Star of David - a most unusual symbol in a Christian place of worship, but one to which it is known that the Knights Templar were particularly attached. Behind the arch...[is] a cloth-wrapped column said by the priests to have been engraved by King Lalibela himself with the secrets of how the rock-hewn churches were made." Another croix pattee is carved on a boulder on the outskirts of Axum, and several more can be found "in the ruins of King Kaleb's palace - a structure that could well have been still standing and inhabited in the thirteenth century." ~ Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal But What About Saint Thomas in India? The problem with this theory is the following passages written by Prester John: "If indeed you wish to know wherein consist our great power, then believe without doubting that I, Prester John...exceed in riches, virtue, and power all creatures who dwell under heaven. Seventy-two kings pay tribute to me. I am a devout Christian and everywhere protect the Christians of our empire...We have made a vow to visit the sepulcher of our Lord with a very great army...to wage war against and chastise the enemies of the cross of Christ... Our magnificence dominates the Three Indias, and extends to Farther India, where the body of St. Thomas the Apostle rests. It reaches through the desert toward the place of the rising sun, and continues through the valley of deserted Babylon close to the Tower of Babel..." ~ Prester John, letter addressed to Manuel Commentus, Emperor of Byzantium, 1165 Since St. Thomas is buried in India, we seem to have a problem immediately. Here is one author's explanation: "...so muddled were medieval notions of geography that India was thought to be somewhere near the Nile; thus when, in 1177, the Pope wrote to Prester John, his letter was presumably carried into 'Middle India,' or Ethiopia." ~ Mysteries of the Past So letters could be delivered to far off lands, even though it was unknown where the really were? Hmmm... Actually, there is a potentially bigger problem with this letter. It is dated the same year as that which we quoted above (at the top of this section). If the king had been deposed or was fighting a potential deposition, how could he promise such large aid? We should note two things. Firstly, Prester John seems at great pains to stress how great and powerful he is. He could simply have been boasting of something he couldn't deliver: a common fault of politicians. Secondly, by the time this letter to the Byzantine ruler was written, he may actually have fled to what we know as India. We'll research this Ethiopian history and post our finding here soon. But for now, we conclude that the brother of Lalibela is the best candidate for the position of Prester John, and we ask our readers to ponder the implications of the Knights Templar helping someone overthrow the rightful ruler of a nation halfway around the world. To be continued... The Man Behind the Maltese Mantles In the Templars' Rule, reference to their oaths is made, but nowhere is it stated to whom they gave their allegiance. This is significant because the Templars from the very beginning were given all manner of immunities, including some protecting them from the jurisdiction of the Church. To be continued... Why Is There a Pentagram on the Top of This Page? The Knights Templar loved the pentagram so much they even put it on their tombstones! Many of their builders used it in their mason's marks. They even installed a spooky stained glass window of an inverted one in Amiens Cathedral, which you can see here, here (Look in the upper left tower.), here, and here! 'Nuf said. Templar Potheads: The Knights Templar and Cannabis And connected to the Holy Grail... Born in Blood There is a useful book called Born in Blood. It argues that old French terms that are present in an often debased form in modern speculative Freemasonry indicate a direct connection between medieval Templars and the speculative Craft. A few colorful historical examples are also used to shore up the thesis. While this much would seem acceptable, the book's further claim that this proves that Freemasonry was the original inheritor of all the knowledge of the Templars, is untenable for several reasons: 1) It is unreasonable to assume that the most important keys, namely the meaning of the historical portrayals in the degrees, would have been lost and not have included stronger moral charges to the candidate which would have been more in keeping with the lodge's purposes, if this were true. 2) The argument that the need for secrecy led to the loss of knowledge is not terribly valid. Contrary to modern Masonic claims that the dire oaths are not to be taken seriously, they were put there for a reason. This was important and secret wisdom, and someone wanted to make sure that the pearls were not cast before swine. 3) The language factor may prove a connection but not an inheritance or legacy. A good analogy would be Gerald Gardner pointing to portrayals of the scourge on ancient Greek friezes and claiming that it proved the existence of ancient Wicca. It only proved that many people in many different times used the scourge, but nothing more. It is more reasonable at this point to conclude that the Templars (or a higher and older organization) created speculative Freemasonry as a tool. This does take some of the glamour off the Illuminati's idea of infiltrating Freemasonry, though, which was to later prove so troublesome to the likes of George Washington. The matching graphics on this page are here because of the generosity of Earth Graphics Thank you! All written material in this site is copyrighted by the Most Rev. Jon Ryner, except where noted. The Avalonian Catholic Church avalonians@nospamlycos.com (Remove nospam to write.)
Please note: You can also visit our our Goth page or read read a number of chapters about Gothic archicture and its iniatory rituals by Hank Harrison by clicking here.
Welcome back! We're starting this page with a few items introducing the forbidden knowledge of the history of Gothic cathedral building, but we'll be adding much more here soon, so check back here or on the site history page at sitehistory.htm. Your view of world history will never be the same again!
One aspect which we won't introduce in a general way here at present is the large number of strange images which appear in osensibly Christian churches: preChristian deities, images of human and animal sacrifices, all manner of overtly sexual images, etc. You can read a lot about this by following the links in our Scriptorium here.
What we will examine is the alleged masonic connections of the Knights Templar.
Protectors of Pilgrims or Plunderering Pirates?
"There are Frenchmen among you, of your lineage and from your retinue, who hold with the Saracens. You confide in them and trust in them that they should and will help you, but they are false and treacherous...may you be brave and of great courage and, pray, do not forget to put to death those treacherous Templars." -- Prester John in his letter to various Christian kings of 1165
There is much more to the story of the construction of the Gothic cathedrals of Europe than most people know. We start our inquiry with the murky origins of the Knights Templar.
The ostinsible purpose for the organization of the Templars was to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land. This can easily be seen to be a lie, for several reasons: 1) There were only a few knights. There is no possible way that less than 10 knights could have made a significant difference in such a large area that would need to be covered. 2) We know from the contemporary accounts that the knights, once sequestered in their spacious and luxurious surroundings, were not seen to emerge to perform the work in which they were supposed to be engaged. 3) They were recalled to Europe by their lord after the work for which they were really sent to do had been completed.
What were they up to? There has been a theory circulating for a number of years that states they were really on an archaeological dig for the Ark of the Covenant or the Temple Treasure, which was supposedly still under the Temple. This, theory explains their secrecy and their need to be in that precise locale. It could also explain their incredible wealth (although there are other explanations we will be examining here in the future). What it does not explain at all, however, is how, in every aspect of their plan, they were given every possible assistance by every hand. The of Jerusalem even kicked everyone out of the Templars' quarters so they would have total privacy!
There are a couple explanations: 1) Everyone was bribed. This is hard to buy, as the amount of money to impress some of the extremely wealthy and powerful lords would have had to be great. 2) Everyone was given or promised a "piece of the action." This presents the same problem as the first. 3) Everyone was lied to. It would have been very obvious to people in the same locale that this had occurred, and lords would not have taken at all kindly to having been deceived. 4) The powerful lords whose cooperation was essential for the work were told the truth, on condition that they kept it secret. All good Christian potentates would have done so readily if they had been told that the search was for lost relics of early saints. They may have been involved in some other ways, as well, which would have helped assure their silence. The grave problem would seem to be not knowing definitely what the dig was for. Fortunately, we have much more evidence to examine, which will shed light on this very question.
Who Was Prester John?
But what of the letter quoted from above? Who was Prester John and why did he have a vendetta against the Templars?
He was reputed to have great magical powers, including stones with magical powers. This has thrown many off the track because he was also supposed to be a Christian king. He must be a creation of pure fantasy, they say. Who could possibly have fit this description?
Actually, as visitors to The Avalonian Catholic Website well know, many Christians over the centuries have practiced magic. But perhaps the place to look for Prester John is far to the south of Europe: in the dark recesses of Africa.
The Ethiopian Church has many practices that are magical and unique, such as the use of healing icons, which are written on paper and amazingly resemble devices found in early Coptic papyri containing magical spells used by early Egyptian Christians. Since the Coptic Church has always been credited with founding the Ethiopian this shouldn't be too surprising.
There is actual recorded evidence of the presence of the Knights Templar in Ethiopia.
"Harbay, reigning Zagwe monarch of Ethiopia before his brother Lalibela deposed him, is deduced to have been the mythical Prester John. Derived from Jano, a reddish-purple toga worn only by royalty, the word [Jan] meant 'king' or 'Majesty'..." ~ Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal
In Parzival,
"a member of the Grail Company...spoke, amongst other things, of riding 'deep into Africa...past the Rohas'. ...Rohas was the old name for a town in the remotest highlands of Ethiopia - a town now called Lalibela in honor of thee great king who was born there and who made it his capital when he returned to it in triumph in the year of our Lord 1185...Lalibela had spent the previous quarter of a century in Jerusalem rubbing shoulder with the knights of a military-religious order whose headquarters stood on the site of the Temple of Solomon - knights who would have had a special interest in any contender to the throne of a country which claimed to possess the lost Ark that the Temple had originally been built to house." ~ Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal
...Rohas was the old name for a town in the remotest highlands of Ethiopia - a town now called Lalibela in honor of thee great king who was born there and who made it his capital when he returned to it in triumph in the year of our Lord 1185...Lalibela had spent the previous quarter of a century in Jerusalem rubbing shoulder with the knights of a military-religious order whose headquarters stood on the site of the Temple of Solomon - knights who would have had a special interest in any contender to the throne of a country which claimed to possess the lost Ark that the Temple had originally been built to house." ~ Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal
"If a land should lose its lord, and its people see the hand of God in it and ask for a new lord from the Gral Company, their prayer is granted...God sends the men out in secret." ~ Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival
Ethiopia's diplomatic relationship with Christian Europe was to continue into the following century:
"It is known that this emperor [Wedem Ara'ad of Etiopia] in the year of our salvation 1306 sent thirty envoys [who]...presented themselves reverentially (sic) before Pope Clement V at Avignon." ~ Giovanni da Carignano (a Genoese cartographer active during the years 1291-1329) "By a considerable margin, the eleven rock-hewn churches of Lalibela were the most architecturally advanced building that Ethiopia had ever known (indeed, in the considered opinion of UNESCO, they deserved to be ranked amongst the wonders of the world.)....Towering edifices, the churches remain places of living worship eight hundred years after they were built. It is important to stress, however, that they were not built at all in the conventional sense, but instead were excavated and hewn directly out of the solid red volcanic tuff on which they stand. In consequence, they seem superhuman - not only in scale, but also in workmanship and in conception."
"...Considerable efforts have been made to cloak their real natures: some lie almost completely concealed within deep trenches, whole others hide in the open mouths of huge quarried caves. Connecting them all is a complex and bewildering labyrinth of tunnels and narrow passageways with offset crypts, grottoes and galleries - a cool, lichen-enshrouded, subterranean world, shaded and damp, silent but for the faint echoes of distant footfalls and priests and deacons going about their timeless business." On the arch "of the ceiling of the rock-hewn church of Saint Mary's...can be seen a stylized croix pattee contained within a Star of David - a most unusual symbol in a Christian place of worship, but one to which it is known that the Knights Templar were particularly attached. Behind the arch...[is] a cloth-wrapped column said by the priests to have been engraved by King Lalibela himself with the secrets of how the rock-hewn churches were made." Another croix pattee is carved on a boulder on the outskirts of Axum, and several more can be found "in the ruins of King Kaleb's palace - a structure that could well have been still standing and inhabited in the thirteenth century." ~ Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal
On the arch "of the ceiling of the rock-hewn church of Saint Mary's...can be seen a stylized croix pattee contained within a Star of David - a most unusual symbol in a Christian place of worship, but one to which it is known that the Knights Templar were particularly attached. Behind the arch...[is] a cloth-wrapped column said by the priests to have been engraved by King Lalibela himself with the secrets of how the rock-hewn churches were made." Another croix pattee is carved on a boulder on the outskirts of Axum, and several more can be found "in the ruins of King Kaleb's palace - a structure that could well have been still standing and inhabited in the thirteenth century." ~ Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal
But What About Saint Thomas in India?
The problem with this theory is the following passages written by Prester John:
"If indeed you wish to know wherein consist our great power, then believe without doubting that I, Prester John...exceed in riches, virtue, and power all creatures who dwell under heaven. Seventy-two kings pay tribute to me. I am a devout Christian and everywhere protect the Christians of our empire...We have made a vow to visit the sepulcher of our Lord with a very great army...to wage war against and chastise the enemies of the cross of Christ... Our magnificence dominates the Three Indias, and extends to Farther India, where the body of St. Thomas the Apostle rests. It reaches through the desert toward the place of the rising sun, and continues through the valley of deserted Babylon close to the Tower of Babel..." ~ Prester John, letter addressed to Manuel Commentus, Emperor of Byzantium, 1165
Our magnificence dominates the Three Indias, and extends to Farther India, where the body of St. Thomas the Apostle rests. It reaches through the desert toward the place of the rising sun, and continues through the valley of deserted Babylon close to the Tower of Babel..." ~ Prester John, letter addressed to Manuel Commentus, Emperor of Byzantium, 1165
Since St. Thomas is buried in India, we seem to have a problem immediately. Here is one author's explanation:
"...so muddled were medieval notions of geography that India was thought to be somewhere near the Nile; thus when, in 1177, the Pope wrote to Prester John, his letter was presumably carried into 'Middle India,' or Ethiopia." ~ Mysteries of the Past
So letters could be delivered to far off lands, even though it was unknown where the really were? Hmmm...
Actually, there is a potentially bigger problem with this letter. It is dated the same year as that which we quoted above (at the top of this section). If the king had been deposed or was fighting a potential deposition, how could he promise such large aid?
We should note two things. Firstly, Prester John seems at great pains to stress how great and powerful he is. He could simply have been boasting of something he couldn't deliver: a common fault of politicians. Secondly, by the time this letter to the Byzantine ruler was written, he may actually have fled to what we know as India. We'll research this Ethiopian history and post our finding here soon. But for now, we conclude that the brother of Lalibela is the best candidate for the position of Prester John, and we ask our readers to ponder the implications of the Knights Templar helping someone overthrow the rightful ruler of a nation halfway around the world.
To be continued...
The Man Behind the Maltese Mantles
In the Templars' Rule, reference to their oaths is made, but nowhere is it stated to whom they gave their allegiance. This is significant because the Templars from the very beginning were given all manner of immunities, including some protecting them from the jurisdiction of the Church.
To be continued... Why Is There a Pentagram on the Top of This Page? The Knights Templar loved the pentagram so much they even put it on their tombstones! Many of their builders used it in their mason's marks. They even installed a spooky stained glass window of an inverted one in Amiens Cathedral, which you can see here, here (Look in the upper left tower.), here, and here! 'Nuf said. Templar Potheads: The Knights Templar and Cannabis And connected to the Holy Grail... Born in Blood There is a useful book called Born in Blood. It argues that old French terms that are present in an often debased form in modern speculative Freemasonry indicate a direct connection between medieval Templars and the speculative Craft. A few colorful historical examples are also used to shore up the thesis. While this much would seem acceptable, the book's further claim that this proves that Freemasonry was the original inheritor of all the knowledge of the Templars, is untenable for several reasons: 1) It is unreasonable to assume that the most important keys, namely the meaning of the historical portrayals in the degrees, would have been lost and not have included stronger moral charges to the candidate which would have been more in keeping with the lodge's purposes, if this were true. 2) The argument that the need for secrecy led to the loss of knowledge is not terribly valid. Contrary to modern Masonic claims that the dire oaths are not to be taken seriously, they were put there for a reason. This was important and secret wisdom, and someone wanted to make sure that the pearls were not cast before swine. 3) The language factor may prove a connection but not an inheritance or legacy. A good analogy would be Gerald Gardner pointing to portrayals of the scourge on ancient Greek friezes and claiming that it proved the existence of ancient Wicca. It only proved that many people in many different times used the scourge, but nothing more. It is more reasonable at this point to conclude that the Templars (or a higher and older organization) created speculative Freemasonry as a tool. This does take some of the glamour off the Illuminati's idea of infiltrating Freemasonry, though, which was to later prove so troublesome to the likes of George Washington. The matching graphics on this page are here because of the generosity of Earth Graphics Thank you! All written material in this site is copyrighted by the Most Rev. Jon Ryner, except where noted. The Avalonian Catholic Church avalonians@nospamlycos.com (Remove nospam to write.)
Why Is There a Pentagram on the Top of This Page?
The Knights Templar loved the pentagram so much they even put it on their tombstones! Many of their builders used it in their mason's marks. They even installed a spooky stained glass window of an inverted one in Amiens Cathedral, which you can see here, here (Look in the upper left tower.), here, and here! 'Nuf said.
Templar Potheads: The Knights Templar and Cannabis
And connected to the Holy Grail...
Born in Blood
There is a useful book called Born in Blood. It argues that old French terms that are present in an often debased form in modern speculative Freemasonry indicate a direct connection between medieval Templars and the speculative Craft. A few colorful historical examples are also used to shore up the thesis.
While this much would seem acceptable, the book's further claim that this proves that Freemasonry was the original inheritor of all the knowledge of the Templars, is untenable for several reasons: 1) It is unreasonable to assume that the most important keys, namely the meaning of the historical portrayals in the degrees, would have been lost and not have included stronger moral charges to the candidate which would have been more in keeping with the lodge's purposes, if this were true. 2) The argument that the need for secrecy led to the loss of knowledge is not terribly valid. Contrary to modern Masonic claims that the dire oaths are not to be taken seriously, they were put there for a reason. This was important and secret wisdom, and someone wanted to make sure that the pearls were not cast before swine. 3) The language factor may prove a connection but not an inheritance or legacy. A good analogy would be Gerald Gardner pointing to portrayals of the scourge on ancient Greek friezes and claiming that it proved the existence of ancient Wicca. It only proved that many people in many different times used the scourge, but nothing more.
It is more reasonable at this point to conclude that the Templars (or a higher and older organization) created speculative Freemasonry as a tool. This does take some of the glamour off the Illuminati's idea of infiltrating Freemasonry, though, which was to later prove so troublesome to the likes of George Washington.
The matching graphics on this page are here because of the generosity of Earth Graphics Thank you!
All written material in this site is copyrighted by the Most Rev. Jon Ryner, except where noted.