This was the first book I read regarding the "Money Pit" in Oak Island, Nova Scotia (New Scotland), so I kind of knew what to expect with regards to the history of the Knights Templar, the Temple of Jerusalem, Rennes le Chateau in France, and of course Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. What I wasn't expecting was the author's excellent analysis on language -- the similarities between the Micmac native tribe in Nova Scotia and many words in Celtic, old Irish and Scottish - and even shows how the Mac, and Mc prefix of surnames is derived from this tribe. This further proved that explorers from Scotland came to the New World well before Columbus, but still after the Norse (which have blood relations with many Scots).
The premise of the theory behind the book is that the bloodline of Jesus, the Holy Grail you could say, has been kept secret in either through hidden documents, verbally through descendants, or the actual chalice exists. This "treasure" was hidden underneath the Temple of Jerusalem just before the Jewish Revolt in ~70A.D. It is also claimed that a pregnant Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimethea, and a few other "Marys", fled to Southern France, where there exists many Chapels and icons dedicated to Mary, as being the wife of Jesus. The big theory is that this bloodline was mixed with the Merovingian line. The author's knowledge of these Frank families was extensive and interesting. The document of the bloodline (read: Holy Grail) and a treasure was hidden in Rennes le Chateau and discovered by a clergyman who became rich.
Then the Grail was passed on to be hidden under Rosslyn Chapel, along with the treasures, some Dead Sea Scrolls, and other documents that the Knights Templar grabbed from the under the Temple of Jerusalem during the Crusades. This is a prominent theme in Masonic ritual of the higher degrees.
Then these treasures were taken to Nova Scotia in the 15th century by William St. Clair of Rosslyn after he built his infamous Chapel, and buried there in what is known as the Money Pit. It's called the Money Pit because millions of dollars have been spent by various investor syndicates trying to excavate and discover what the treasure is down there (including a young Franklin Roosevelt), but no treasure has been found. It was discovered as a pit in the late 18th century by some boys playing in the area.
What I didn't like about the book was the author's lack of knowledge of Freemasonry - specifically the history and the ritual. He's obviously, and sadly, not a Freemason. He assumes without any credible reference or proof that Freemasonry was created out of the Knights Templar. While this is the most likely theory regarding the origin of speculative Freemasonry - and there is credible evidence out there (see Rosslyn Chapel built in the 15th century and the St. Clair family), he doesn't go into it at all - he says "it's obvious". He missed many opportunities to quote Masonic ritual in relation to his theory that Masonic authors have done many times. Luckily, I knew about these missed opportunities and applied it myself.
The sad thing about the dark ages, is that from the fall of the Roman Empire (ironically not long after Emperor Constantine forcibly implemented Christianity as the official religion of the Empire) and up to the Crusades, there isn't much recorded in history. All that sticks out is the Merovingian and Carolingian families of France and Germany who rule the monarchies. (I've even read mathematical theories that the dark ages actually didn't exist and that this is not 2004, but much earlier!).
He concludes that we may never know what's down the Money Pit, whether it's a decoy, or it's daVinci's or Sir Francis Drake's stuff. I've read theories that the Holy Grail is in Switzerland, a country founded by families of Knights Templar who fled France after their unjust persecution by King Philip in the 14th century. But who knows - that's what's fun about Grail hunting!
Snaky gives this book 4 fists out of 5. Although it wasn't a convincing book overall, there were aspects that filled in some gaps in my research of the Holy Grail that were satisfying. There's much more to the book than what I have here and fans of "The DaVinci Code" would really like this book.
No comments:
Post a Comment