Re: Templars&Masons

["John S. Quarterman" <jsq@mids.org>]

[ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@zilker.net.
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>The Templar's were outlawed across Europe in 1309-1312 their
>lands and property going to the local Kings, the Pope or the
>Knights Hospitallers of St. John.  Hence it is very unlikely
>that the Rosslyn Chapel ties directly to any Templar Order
>or History directly as the construction was in the mid
>1400's.  I am unaware of any St. Clair/Sinclair being a
>member of the Templar Order. As this was a somewhat secret
>organization it is hard to say but this part of History is
>mostly unstudied. If they were it may tie to the Sinclairs
>of Normandy which did not all migrate to Scotland after
>1066.

When Philip the Fair suppressed the Templars in France in 1307,
some escaped overseas.  It is often supposed that some of them
fled to Scotland, where Robert the Bruce would likely have welcomed
a group of trained fighters who would have good reason to be very
loyal to any king who would let them in.

Meanwhile, in England, the Templars were formally suppressed, but
it was not done with nearly the ruthlessness or suddenness as in France,
so it would have been relatively easy for some of them to head north.

Andrew Sinclair in his book The Sword and the Grail makes a pretty
good case (largely from gravestones and Templar buildings) for the
existence of Templars in Scotland about this time, for the evolution
of the Masons from them, and for their association with the Sinclairs
of Rosslyn.

And, as many people have noted, Rosslyn Chapel itself is strong evidence
of Masonic connections with the Sinclairs; the place is pervaded with them.
There are a number of Templar symbols in its stonework, as well, such
as the two knights on the same horse.

Thanks,
John
-- 
John Sinclair Quarterman <jsq@mids.org>
President, Matrix Information and Directory Services (MIDS)
mids@mids.org, http://www.mids.org, +1-512-451-7602, fax: +1-512-452-0127
1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 500W, Austin, TX 78723
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