The Temple and the Lodge: The Strange and Fascinating History of the Knights Templar and the Freemasons

by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628720280
Publisher:	Arcade
Publication date:	04/01/2011
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	328
Sales rank:	546,676
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Michael Baigent, along with Richard Leigh, is the bestselling author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, The Messianic Legacy, The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception, and other books. Born in New Zealand in 1948, he died in the UK in 2013.

Richard Leigh, born in New Jersey, spent most of his life in the UK and was also a writer of short stories. He died in in 2007.

Mitch Horowitz is a PEN Award–winning historian whose books include Occult America, One Simple Idea, and The Miracle Club. His book Awakened Mind is one of the first works of New Thought translated and published in Arabic. The Chinese government has censored his work. Twitter @MitchHorowitz | Instagram @MitchHorowitz23.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Esoteric History and Our History: Rediscovering The Temple and the Lodge Mitch Horowitz ix

Illustrations xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction xix

Prelude 1

Part 1 Robert Bruce: Heir to Celtic Scotland

1 Bruce and his Struggle for Power 17

2 Military Monks: the Knights Templar 41

3 Arrests and Torture 51

4 The Disappearance of the Templar Fleet 63

5 Celtic Scotland and the Grail Legends 77

Part 2 Scotland and a Hidden Tradition

6 The Templar Legacy in Scotlan 87

7 The Scots Guard 103

8 Rosslyn 111

9 Freemasonry: Geometry of the Sacred 123

Part 3 The Origins of Freemasonry

10 The Earliest Freemasons 149

11 Viscount Dundee 162

12 The Development of Grand Lodge 171

13 The Masonic Jacobite Cause 183

14 Freemasons and Knights Templar 193

Part 4 Freemasonry and American Independence

15 The First American Freemasons 201

16 The Emergence of Masonic Leaders 212

17 The Resistance to Britain 221

18 The War for Independence 230

Interlude 252

19 The Republic 256

Postscript 263

Appendices 268

Notes and References 271

Bibliography 291

Index 300

Editorial Reviews

"Ambitious and controversial . . . the perfect book on the topic for the general reader." —Booklist

"In this riveting and careful study, Baigent and Leigh suggest that Freemasonic lodges served America's Founding Fathers as a working model for our federal system." —Publishers Weekly

"Convincing." —Kirkus Reviews

"A worthy conclusion to their investigations into secret societies ancient and modern."—Sunday Times (London)

"Meticulously researched and annotated and well worth reading."—Oxford Times

From the Publisher