The Templar Papers: Ancient Mysteries, Secret Societies, and the Holy Grail [Paperback]

Oddvar Olsen (Author), Lynn Picknett (Contributor), Robert Lomas (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2006

Much has been written about the group of 14th-century warrior monks known as the Knights Templar. Some authors, such as Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code, portray them as folk heroes wrongly accused. Others disagree, saying the Templar story is ultimately one of greed, deception, and idolatry.

Just who were the Knights Templar? And what is their legacy?

In The Templar Papers, author and historian Oddvar Olsen has assembled a veritable Who's Who of experts to unravel the mystery. Instead of rehashing previous scholarship, this book delves into new aspects of Templar lore, such as the origins of the order and its supposed survival after 1314.

It attempts to answer the following:

• Were the Templars devil worshippers who venerated a mysterious head? • Was the head that of John the Baptist? • What exactly did they find in Solomon's Temple? • Did they keep, and later hide, the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant?

You'll also discover the Templar link to Mary Magdalene and the Freemasons, including answers to questions such as:

• Were Jesus and Mary lovers or, in fact, husband and wife? • Did Mary give birth to a child after Jesus' death? • Did Freemasonry originate from the Templars?

The Templar Papers offers the inquisitive reader several lifetimes of research and insight. This is a distinctive and truly unique compilation that will stimulate your mind and settle the controversy.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Oddvar Olsen has studied mystery traditions and mythology since the late 80s, when he decided to specialize in the Knights Templar. In 2002 Olsen started The Temple, a successful periodical on the Knights Templar and related subjects, which he still edits and publishes. He lives in Somerset, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: New Page Books; 1 edition (February 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564148637
• ISBN-13: 978-1564148636
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,153,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Templar Papers, June 25, 2006

By 

jjmazza (Marshfield, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Templar Papers: Ancient Mysteries, Secret Societies, and the Holy Grail (Paperback)

This is the 3rd book I have read on The Templars. The text is a hodge-podge of interesting facts and spectulations on The Knights Templar. The disorganization and disjointed style makes the information difficult to follow. There is entirely too much repetition and too many rhetorical questions in every chapter. There is virtually no chronologic order to the material. It would have been very helpful to the reader if the author provided a simple map to indicate the location of the many places, temples, churches etc. mentioned in the text. It was difficult to know without searching other references if the location of the place, incident, battle, or refuge referred to was in the Middle East(holy lands), France, SCotland or England!

In Chapter 6, one of the contributing authors(Defoe)gives a history of the Canadian Masonic Templars and later in the same chapter, R. Lomas, presents a brief history of Freemasonary. This was a bit perplexing and again, this underscores the disorganization of the text material.

Finally, given the problems that quickly become obvious to the reader, the editor must take some blame or responsibility for the poorly organized material of the text.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poorly edited mess -- avoid it, December 6, 2007

By 

Pope Cahbet "pope_cahbet" (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Templar Papers: Ancient Mysteries, Secret Societies, and the Holy Grail (Paperback)

I checked this one out from the library and managed to read it, but just barely. It is almost a textbook example of poor editing (both in terms of copy-editing - making sure all the needed words were present and that the punctuation was correct, and in terms of content-editing - making sure that the authors had something coherent and interesting and on-topic to say). If you want to know about the Knights Templar, read almost any other book in print -- this one is a waste of your time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ralls vrs Olsen, August 23, 2007

By 

Steven D. Wittberger "Steve Wittberger" (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Templar Papers: Ancient Mysteries, Secret Societies, and the Holy Grail (Paperback)

I didn't get a feeling that the authors answered the questions set out on the jacket to any great satisfaction. I definitely prefer reading Karen Ralls, as a scholarly author, rather than the popular history authors presented here.