The Temple and the Lodge
The Strange and Fascinating History of the Knights Templar and the Freemasons
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- USD 10.99
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- USD 10.99
Descripción editorial
Coauthors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh recount the events that led to the strange and sudden disappearance of the Knights Templar in the fourteenth century and their reappearance in the court of excommunicate Scottish king Robert the Bruce. Following the survival of certain unexpected Templar traditions, the authors document the evolution of a world-changing order through the birth of the Masonic lodge. They chart the history of Freemasonry through its medieval roots and into the modern era.
The book posits that the order’s contribution to the fostering of tolerance, progressive values, and cohesion in English society aided in preempting a French-style revolution in England; that Freemasonry was an essential keystone in the formation of the United States; and that America itself is an embodiment of the ideal “Masonic Republic.” This groundbreaking thread of analysis challenges the accepted traditions of Western history as it is currently taught. What is the true source of our most valued traditions? Twenty years since its original publication, The Temple and the Lodge remains a trenchant and essential edition to any collection of Western history.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
George Washington, Ben Franklin and Edmund Randolph--all framers of the Constitution--were active Freemasons, as was John Marshall, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In this riveting and careful study, Baigent and Leigh (coauthors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail ) suggest that Freemasonic lodges served America's Founding Fathers as a working model for our federal system. Freemasonry's doctrine of universal brotherhood and tolerance, they assert, had a liberalizing influence in England and France, in particular on Voltaire, Hume, Rousseau, Montesquieu as well as their disciples in what was to become the United States. Early, largely conjectural chapters link Freemasonry to remnants of the Knights Templar, a medieval society of European warrior-monks, some of whose members appear to have found refuge in Scotland. This jigsaw's pieces include Grail romances; the Scots Guard, personal bodyguard to the French king; Scottish freedom-fighter Robert Bruce; Rosicrucians; and the British Royal Society. Photos.
