Before reviewing any of these books, I wish to stress that this blog posting is not intended to imply that I believe that the Knights Templar of the Crusade period were the origin of Freemasonry. This posting is explicitly about three very responsible books, written by non-Masons, so far as I know, who treat the subject of the Crusades or the Knights Templar quite responsibly. The fourth book is a great read, but, as I explain below, not reliable from a scholarly point of view.
To all interested in the subject of the Templars, particularly if they come at the topic with some ideas about the Templars and Freemasonry, I recommend they read the books in this blog posting in the order in which I review them.
The first book I recommend is The Dream and the Tomb: A History of the Crusades, by Robert Payne. It does not treat the Knights Templar as a separate subject; instead, it examines the whole period of the Crusades, all eight of them (or nine, depending on how one counts them). The Crusades were an important era in European history during which Europeans came into long and close contact with cultures of the Middle East. It lasted from roughly 1100-1300 A.D. Payne's book is well written enough for scholarly research, yet very readable for a generally literate audience. He includes good maps and offers fascinating "cross-cultural" insights that often are eerily relevant to the conflicts in the region we see and hear about today. I read it as the US invaded Iraq and was struck by many similarities -- and dismayed that our leaders were so uninformed about many tactical aspects of warfare in the region that could be had for the reading!
Anyone interested in the Knights Templar are advised to read Payne's book first. It is essential to understand the entire period and its conflicts and various players before focusing on any particular aspect of them.
The second book to read is The Templars, by Piers Paul Read. It is a rigorously historical and scholarly treatment of the history of the Knights Templar. It is heavier going than Payne's book, but this is to be expected when one narrows the focus. It has interesting photos of artifacts, maps and other items to bring the subject to life. This book is the first place to go before dealing with any of the cultural sequela following the official disolution of the Order in 1312.
The third book to read is The Knights Templar and Their Myth. It too is a great read and one that is historical in focus, and it finally takes the curious reader beyond the period of the Knights Templar into the following centuries -- to examine responsibly the power of the myth of the Templars. Here is where you will find at least a primer into the oft-told story that the Freemasons are derived from the Templars, a myth that the Chevalier Ramsey made famous in the mid 1700s.
Finally, Born in Blood, by John Robinson. This book is not very good from a scholarly perspective. The evidence he cites is tenuous -- the connections he draws across time, connecting people and events are forced, yet convincing to those who have not taken the time to learn more about the Templars from reliable scholarly sources. To the uninitiated (pun intended), there seems to be some smoke but, to abuse the metaphor, Mr. Robinson is fanning a bed of fast cooling embers. The trail he purports to reveal as one that connects the two organizations has too many gaps -- and other possible explanations.
Despite my disagreement with his conclusions, he does offer a wealth of well documented information and he writes very well and with passion.
Enjoy them all!
