The Knights Templar and Their Myth

by Peter Partner

Bound by religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, the Knights Templar were a Military Crusading Order engaged in religious war in the Holy Land. At the end of the thirteenth century, after their withdrawal from Syria, they became the apparently innocent victims of a campaign of slander and persecution mounted against them by the French government. The ruthless dissolution of the Knights Templar was only the beginning of a new and strange chapter in their history. They soon became the focus of numerous beliefs about their presumed occult powers, and by the eighteenth century their history had undergone a mythical metamorphosis--they figured highly in occult fantasies of magical practices and hidden knowledge as well as in the romance of the Gothic novel, with its frequent tales of monastic impropriety. In this widely praised book, author Peter Partner elucidates the history of the Templars as well as the beliefs that have developed around them in more recent times. From the tangled traditions of occultism to concepts of crusading chivalry, from political conspiracy to governmental greed and papal corruption, Partner shows how a medieval act of political injustice grew into a modern fantasy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0892812737
• ISBN13: 9780892812738
• Release Date: May 1990
• Publisher: Destiny Books
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Knights TEmplar -- Again or ... Still?!

A responsible, serious, historical examination of the Knights Templar and the myths that arouse from their destruction and disappearance. He treats all masonic claims of Templar origin as fanciful at best and intellectually dishonest at worst. While more academically responsible than those that try to prove the Templar origins of the Craft which inevitably and invariably stretch the meaning of good evidence to cover gaps in documentation, Partner may be too timid about accepting the wealth of evidence suggesting that order's influence on the development of Freemasonry.

Debunking the Myth of the 'Murdered Magicians'

Peter Partner's 'The Murdered Magicians: The Knights Templar and Their Myth' is a book no serious student of the Medieval crusading order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon should be without. For anyone whose knowledge of the Templars comes from the nonsense written by Baigent and Leigh in 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' Partner's book is a must-read-but only if they are interested in historical fact and not the fantasies of the type offered under the guise of scholarship by popular authors like Baigent and Leigh.The first part of the book deals with actual Templar history; the second half deals with the subsequent myths which developed around them. Partner does a good job of documenting how nineteenth century Masonic Lodges appropriated the Templar story in order to legitimize and provide an ancient pedigree for the Craft.

A brilliant historical look at the Templar Knights

This book is not for anyone hoping to keep delusions about the Templar Knights. It does in places draw conclusions that are non-sequitur, but the history presented is factual according to reliable sources. As the author points out, it is possible that some of the crimes and 'heresies' attributed to the Templars could have been performed by some Templars, but it is unlikely that all of them performed the described rituals. The purported worship of 'Baphomet', for example, was probably created under the duress of torture. 'Baphomet' is the French word for Mohamad at the time, and the various descriptions given seem to be people searching for a way to stop being tortured. Did the Templars hold onto holy objects like the Ark of the Covenant, the Shroud of Turin, or the Holy Grail? These are questions that are not addressed in this book, except with an enduring scepticism. However, the author does leave room for possibilities. As a historically accurate depiction, it should preclude any such searches as a basis for knowledge. It is an interesting and factual look, with a fascinating plot.

Templar Knights,pathos,spoils:How Triumph ,Naught Sweet

From the gates, references say :are the gold and silver of the Hebrews.Traveling through places of Sevice to fighting toward Napolean's Malta, All over...Hemmingway could probably scrape the grizzle of blood, blood money and doing the thinking for so many so hapless, unable, needy.

Wonder what happened to the Knights Templar after 1314?

Read this book and you might find out. The first part, dealing with the rise and fall of the Knights Templar, is fairly standard. The second part, however, dealing with the stories and myths later associated with the Templars, is outstanding. Partner porvides a detailed look at how many post-medieval and modern groups came to appropriate the Templar heritage as their own. Several "legitimate" claims are disposed of through Partner's careful detective work.