The Science of Conspiracy Theories

The Knights Templar conspiracy

The Knights Templar conspiracy

This is the celebrated military and financial wing of the Vatican during the crusades, mostly from 1100's until 1312, when they were officially eliminated. The conspiracy in this case is that members of the secret society didn't go away and are involved in banking institutions and the military as well as the Vatican.

The official name for the Templars is The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ of the Temple of Solomon, or the Order of Solomon's Temple. I would assume that the involvement with Solomon's Temple had to do with the main goal of the crusades. The Templars were created or sanctioned by the Catholic Church in 1129, and they helped with the crusades, guarding pilgrims to the Holy Land when they controlled it. Of course, when the Holy Land was lost, interest in the Templars faded and it wasn't long before King Philip IV of France put them out of existence because he owed them a lot of money. Members of the Templars were tortured to give false confessions and then burned at the stake. Pope Clement V disbanded the Templars in 1312.

The Templars were involved with the mythical search for the Holy Grail and secrets of Jesus' association with Mary Magdalene. There is also the rumor that the Templars buried a lot of loot under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Another rumor is that they found the Arc of the Covenant. Most of these claims are based on legend and mythology of the time. This is very typical of secret societies.

Supposedly, the Free Masons adopted some of the symbology and the military orders of the Templars. This is one of the reasons that Catholics were forbidden to be members of the Free Masons under the penalty of excommunication.

The media has employed these legends and mysteries in books and movies, notably 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown. The computer game 'Assassin's Creed' displays the Templars as antagonists.

Some modern secret groups have adopted the Templar name and status. One such is the Grand Commandery Knights of Templar of Texas. There is also an official USA Knights Templar organization, better known as the U.S. Grand Priory of the Knights Templar, also known as the Supreme Military Order of the Jerusalem Temple.

So, there you are. The Knights Templar is still around. I'm not sure what sort of influence they have in banking and politics, but they're still doing whatever it is that Templar do.

Thanks for reading.