Conspiracy Theories: The Knights Templar and The Bloodline of Jesus

Founded in the twelfth century to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land, the Knights Templar (Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple) took their name from the location of their headquarters next to the ruins of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. Grants of land and money, and expertise in banking made the order rich and powerful until its destruction at the hands of the French monarchy and the Pope in 1312.

What the Theorists Say:

Excavating the ruins of the Temple, the Knights discovered the Holy Grail, only it wasn’t a physical object but a shocking revelation that undermined the very basis of the established Church. Jesus had survived the crucifixion and gone on to father children with Mary Magdalene. This divine bloodline had ruled most of Europe as the Merovingians but now depended on the guardianship of the Templars to survive and assume its rightful role in fighting the forces of darkness. This and other discoveries – for example, the talking head of John the Baptist and the secrets of monumental masonry – were the true basis of Templar wealth, power and influence, and also led them to follow a new version of Christianity with strange rites, such as spitting on the cross and worshipping heads.

Threatened by the Templar secret, the Church colluded with the jealous French monarchy to destroy the Order and steal its wealth, accusing them of devil worship, homosexuality and suppressing them with great cruelty. Forewarned, the Templars’ mighty fleet fled with the Order’s most valued treasures, setting up a new base of operations in Scotland around the Rosslyn Chapel built by the Sinclair family. Here the Templars lived on, eventually founding the Freemasons and other secret societies, and guiding the discovery of America and later the American and French Revolutions. Meanwhile, the Bloodline of Jesus lived on under the guardianship of these new orders, in particular, a French outfit called the Priory of Sion, whose members included prominent artists, intellectuals and leaders, from Leonardo da Vinci to Victor Hugo. This global network of Templar-descended secret societies guides much of world history from the shadows.

The Official Story?

‘Proper’ historians scoff at most of this tale. It is true that the Templars were suppressed in 1312, and that lurid allegations were made against them, but this was typical of heresy trials of the time. There are no records of the Templars ever having discovered something in the ruins of Solomon’s Temple or elsewhere. They had no fleet and there is no evidence that treasures were smuggled out. However, the Order did live on in a diminished form in Scotland and Portugal, and while they may have had a role to play in Portuguese voyages of discovery, there is no evidence of a significant role in Scottish history. Since the eighteenth century, branches of Masonry and other secret societies have often claimed to be descended from the Templars. This is romantic fantasy and has no basis in fact. The Priory of Sion is basically a fiction invented by a French con man and promoted by modern-day alternative archaeologists to help shift books, as is the entire story about the Bloodline of Christ.

Should you be paranoid?

An entire industry of books, documentaries and even tourism has evolved around the Templar mystery but it is a house of cards. The ‘evidence’ for most of the conspiracy theory is simply a chain of suppositions. There is, however, a core of fascinating historical mystery. The Templars genuinely did have many strange practices and beliefs, doubtless borrowed from time spent in the Middle East during the Crusades. They may be early examples of the mythical tradition of Gnostic Christianity which, as an intellectual movement, went on to inspire the Enlightenment and the French and American Revolutions.