Brief History of Knights Templar Prince Hall Affiliated Masonry

Over a period of 200 years, the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon — the Knights Templar for short, which began as a 9-man team of well-intentioned noblemen, dedicated to defending the Holy Land from the Saracens, became the most powerful — and most secretive — organization in history.

These warrior monks owned many fabled religious treasures including, it is said, the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus as he perished on the Cross, and they were also thought to be the guardians of that most revered of all Christian relics, the Holy Grail.

The Templars possessed immeasurable wealth. Kings of Europe came to them cap in hand to
negotiate loans. They created many fundamental aspects of today’s international banking system like the bank note and letters of credit. Yet faithful to their solemnly sworn vows of poverty, the individual members of this secret society were penniless.

But when the Knights Templar was destroyed in the 14th century, their incredible riches vanished into thin air.  To escape persecution by King Philip of France, the Templars’ treasure — and their enormous fleet moored at La Rochelle — simply disappeared.   To this day, its whereabouts has never been discovered.

History books also describe how the Templars were in possession of a mysterious "great secret".  Some historians have suggested this merely related to their connection with the grail. But more recent accounts have painted a different picture.  This "great secret" may have been a particular knowledge which, if revealed, would undermine our fundamental view of Christianity itself.

Equally mysterious are accounts claiming that the organisation never really died at all.   The end of the Templars was signified by the execution of their the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, who was roasted alive before a chanting mob in Paris in 1314.   But some historians believe they simply changed their name and went underground.   Evidence has ever been cited which links famous figures from more recent history with the Order — hundreds of years after it officially ceased to be.  Sir Isaac Newton is named as one.  The great Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama journeyed with the Templar cross insignia on his sails, as did Christopher Columbus.  Evidence even suggests that the Templars discovered America some 80 years before Columbus.

There are those who maintain that the Order of the Knights Templar are still in existence today, though under another name.  Throughout Europe, its members are still thought to meet secretly to discuss unknown business, conduct arcane rituals and plot our destiny behind closed doors.  The order of warrior monks who were to become one of the most powerful and controversial organisations in European medieval history, were known by a variety of names; the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, la Milice du Christ or, more commonly, the Knights Templar.  Detailed accounts of the founding of the order are non-existent.  The main source used by historians are the documents written by Guillaume de Tyre some seventy years after the event, and while this is commonly accepted as the true account, alternative versions do exist, some of which are supported by documentation that makes them seem reasonably credible.