The king of France was jealous of these knights who were a combination of international bankers military police(in the Mid East)and Special Forces and surpressed them on Friday Oct 13, 1307. What if Phillip did not do this- possibly because he died before he could do anything. What next? Would they reveal secrets about Mary Magdalene? What say you?
Knights Templar survive Phillip the Fair's purge
- Thread starter edvader
- Start date
I don't think there would be earth-shaking consequences. Much is made these days of the 'Secrets of the Templars', but I remain unconvinced there were that many of them. Bear in mind that all the stories of the Baphomet and the oracle of the head etc. came from protocols of confessions extracted under torture. AFAIK no Templar ever came forward of his own account to accuse the order of heresy, neither were such accusations made prior to the purge. That being said, I am pretty sure they had a little bit of illicit mysticism going. It would be out of character for a group of warrior monk CFOs not to - parallels can be found in many other orders and were usually tolerated, sometimes corrected, occasionally violently purged (think of the Franciscan Poverelli or the cult of Mary practised with such intensity in some Dominican houses, frex). Perhaps the head was even real and they thought they had some hugely important relic secreted away - maybe the head of St John the Baptist or something. There could be Gnostic speculation or some kind of Islamic-inspired Purism behind it all. I just don't think it would add up to too much in the eyes of modern scholars. As to secrets about Mary Magdalen - like, what secrets? It's not like all the speculation about her person, her life, and her relationship with Jesus is modern, and no document the Templars could have would actually furnish proof of anything (well, OK, sort of a personally signed steamy letter, but I doubt that 
) Anything else they could say about Jesus would easily fit into pre-conceived slots in Catholic heresiology; Adoptionism, Arianism, Manichaeism, Judaicising etc.
What would the order be able to become? The Teutonic order dominated trhe Eastern Baltic for centuries and was one of the wealthiest landholders in Germany, bringing forth a number of important people and fostering among other things the mechanic arts (order members authored Germany's first treatise on land allotment and a quite interesting cookbook, inter alia). THe Orders of Calatrava and - what was the name of their POrtuguese counterpart, I forget - played parts in maritime exploration and the administration of conquered territories along the Muslim frontier. the Hospitallers played an important role in the Mediterranean for ages, based first on Rhodes, then on Malta, and resisted a massive siege before degenerating into pirates and finally into a gentlemen's club. Could the Templars have played a similar role in France and Britain? What would they have made of the Hundred Years' War? I mean, whichever way it went, they'd certainly make it worth their while, and I doubt they'd be stooges of the French. Navigating between rival powers... I have visions of lots of money and acres of land changing hands. Who needs crusades
) Anything else they could say about Jesus would easily fit into pre-conceived slots in Catholic heresiology; Adoptionism, Arianism, Manichaeism, Judaicising etc. What would the order be able to become? The Teutonic order dominated trhe Eastern Baltic for centuries and was one of the wealthiest landholders in Germany, bringing forth a number of important people and fostering among other things the mechanic arts (order members authored Germany's first treatise on land allotment and a quite interesting cookbook, inter alia). THe Orders of Calatrava and - what was the name of their POrtuguese counterpart, I forget - played parts in maritime exploration and the administration of conquered territories along the Muslim frontier. the Hospitallers played an important role in the Mediterranean for ages, based first on Rhodes, then on Malta, and resisted a massive siege before degenerating into pirates and finally into a gentlemen's club. Could the Templars have played a similar role in France and Britain? What would they have made of the Hundred Years' War? I mean, whichever way it went, they'd certainly make it worth their while, and I doubt they'd be stooges of the French. Navigating between rival powers... I have visions of lots of money and acres of land changing hands. Who needs crusades
ED(Mister) If they think you've found them out you might be...heh...in trouble...heh heh...
Templar empire in America ?
If the Templars hadn't been suppressed, could they have actually utilised all their resources to fund exploration and colonisation expeditions to North America and establish the 1st long-lasting European presence since the Vikings ? I also recall reading that after the OTL dissolution of the Order, many refugee Templars were reputed to have fled to Scotland, where they exercised considerable influence- could the unscathed, intact Order have done so on a much larger scale ? What about becoming the basis for some civic order which could survive to the present day, a la the Knights Hospitallers/Knights of St John becoming St Johns Ambulance Service ?
If the Templars hadn't been suppressed, could they have actually utilised all their resources to fund exploration and colonisation expeditions to North America and establish the 1st long-lasting European presence since the Vikings ? I also recall reading that after the OTL dissolution of the Order, many refugee Templars were reputed to have fled to Scotland, where they exercised considerable influence- could the unscathed, intact Order have done so on a much larger scale ? What about becoming the basis for some civic order which could survive to the present day, a la the Knights Hospitallers/Knights of St John becoming St Johns Ambulance Service ?
You may want to look at "A Different Fate for the Templars" in the writer's forum if you haven't.