Author(s): Michael Haag

New Hardbacks

This is the first history of the Templars since the Vatican published its sensational records, clearing them of heresy. It investigates the Templars' history, legends and mysteries - and the belief that their hand can be seen in everything from the Cathar heresy to Masonic conspiracies. And it illuminates the background to what is believed to be the setting of Dan Brown's new novel for 2008.An order of warrior monks founded after the First Crusade to protect pilgrims to Jerusalem, the Templars developed into one of the wealthiest and most powerful bodies in the medieval world. Yet two centuries later, the Knights were suddenly arrested and accused of blasphemy, heresy and orgies, their order was abolished, and their leaders burnt at the stake. Their dramatic end shocked their contemporaries and has gripped peoples' imaginations ever since.This new book explains the whole context of Templar history, including, for the first time, the new evidence discovered by the Vatican that the Templars were not guilty of heresy.