The Origin of the Knights Templar
Several of the nine (actually eleven) original Knights Templar be-
longed to a family that could be traced to the Merovingian King
Dagobert II, who was murdered on 23 December 679. Catholic histo-
rians up to the middle of the 17th century denied the existence of
Dagobert II.
Another member of this family was the man who travelled to the
"Holy Land" together with the Knights Templar and became the first
king of Jerusalem after the reconquest - Baldwin I (younger brother
of Godfroi de Bouillon, the first grand master of the Order of Zion).
During Easter 1118, his cousin Baldwin II took over power and
created a base for the Knights Templar in his palace.
Some of the riches of Jerusalem (including the Holy Grail) as well
as secret documents were probably transported to southern France in A. D. 410, when Rome was plundered by the Visigoths.
At the end of the fifth century, the Merovingians conquered large
parts of what is today France and united it into one nation. The
Merovingians became the first royal dynasty of France, and despite
all claims to the contrary, the dynasty continued. Michael Baigent,
Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln wrote about this in their book "The
Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" (New York, 1983). They assume that
the Knights Templar already had detailed knowledge of the Temple of
Solomon, when they first travelled to Jerusalem.
There is a connection between the Merovingians and the Jewish
tribe of Benjamin. Southern France became the residence of many
Jewish tribes. Jews principally populated an area from the Pyrenees
to the estuary of the Rhone, especially the area around Narbonne.
This area was earlier controlled by the Arabs.
In 1128, the first group of temple brothers returned home, where
they met Pope Honorius II and Bernard of Clairvaux, the leader of a
then impoverished order. He was related to at least one of the nine
temple brothers. The Knights Templar were recognized by religious
leaders, who held council in Troyes in France the same year, despite
38that they knew the knights were godless villains, heinous plunderers, murderers, perjurers and adulterers.
Bernard became their guardian and in time, he became a very rich
man. He built and paid for 90 monasteries and 80 cathedrals. He was
very enthusiastic about the Knights Templar and wrote a handbook
for the order in 1135.
In 1134, work on the largest Gothic cathedral in the world was
begun in Chartres on Bernard's orders. Gothic architecture seemed to appear from nowhere and took the world by surprise. It was sus-
pected that the original Knights Templar had found documents
concerning the architecture upon which the temple of Solomon was
based. The freemasons are constantly referring to the building of the
temple and the mythical architect Hiram Abiff.
The Church had earlier excommunicated many of those who were
recruited. The grand master called the Knights Templar the legal
executors of Christ and the Church gave them the right to bear arms.
The pope exempted the temple brothers from the sin of killing. The
order punished a member very severely if he broke even the smallest
of the temple rules.
The emblem of the Knights Templar was a horse with two riders on
its back, a symbol of poverty and brotherhood. But one of the sym-
bols of the Knights Templar was a skull and crossbones. Was this
really a testimony to their harmlessness?
The Knights Templar worshipped the cult of Mitras and attempted
to take power in Europe. Secret signs were used as a part of their
conspiracy.
Architects of Deception pg.38,39 Juri Lina