The Irish Origins of Civilization

Irish Origins Appendices

My thesis concerning the global influence of the ancient Irish, or Arya, is substantiated by archaeological and technical discoveries in recent years. It is confirmed by recent studies into the Minoan civilization of Crete. In late 2010, archaeologists discovered artifacts which revealed the startling fact that Cretans navigated the seas over 130,000 years ago.

The Mediterranean island of Crete, south of Greece. Some speculate that the Minoan civilization was a remnant of Atlantis. Rather it was an outpost of the Western Arya. (Here for more...)

Two modern authors who have examined the Minoan culture are Alan Butler and Stephen Dafoe. Their books The Warriors and the Bankers and The Knights Templar Revealed, provide us with a new understanding of Cretan or Minoan civilization that so closely resembles that of the ancient Irish. Regrettably, like so many researchers throughout the ages, Butler and Dafoe do not consider anything but the East to West transit of the elements of civilization. That the reverse situation could have occurred is, alas, a question that does not enter their minds, even though their own discoveries, when seen from the correctperspective, strongly support the theory. Some of their key discoveries regarding the Cretans and the world's powerful secret societies, considerably strengthen our own controversial theories regarding the importance of the Irish Druids (the Arya) in world history.

While looking into the geometry employed by the Cretans in the creation of their cities, towns and ritual centers, Butler and Dafoe inadvertently stumbled across proofs concerning the West to East movement of the elements of civilization.

It became clear to Butler and Dafoe that some ancient Western race had not only measured the Earth in detail, but had created a vast network of geomantic lines across Britain, France and Western Europe. Knowledge of these lines, and of their creators and purpose, has been preserved by the world's most powerful dynasties, particularly the Knights Templar of France and Britain. The men at the head of these dynasties made decisions that changed the history of the world.

The Templars arose from many prominent European dynasties, several of which had close ties to eastern dynasties. The European dynasties include the following:

Merovingian
Carolingian
Angevin
Brandenburg
Carpetian
Guise
Ibelin
Welf (Guelph)
Haspsburg
Hanover
Battenberg (Mountbatten)
Bowes-Lyon
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Oldenberg
Plantagenet
Savoy
Stuart
Tudor
Windsor

Powerful Templar families controlled Burgundy and Champagne in France, and enjoyed intimate connections with the Roman Church. Indeed, during the eleventh century, Templar families were officially commissioned by the Pope to attack Jerusalem and take it from the Islamic Saracens. Allegedly, during the thirteenth century, the Templars fell from grace and were excommunicated. Allegedly, after the Pope's edict against them, most of the chief Templars in France were hunted down and murdered. However, many leading Templars relocated to Scotland and Ireland, after handing the bulk of their wealth into the keeping of their cousin orders, the Knights of St. Andrew of the Thistle and the Knights Hospitallers. The story of the subsequent conflict between the Templars and Hospitallers is detailed in the masterly work Born in Blood, by John Robinson.

The most recent findings overturn the age-old consensus on the suppression of the Templars. New found documents show that the Pope had absolved the Templars of their sins, and had not excommunicated them. The Templars benefited from the their "history" as promulgated by scribes under their power:

In September 2001, Barbara Frale discovered a copy of the Chinon Parchment dated 17–20 August 1308 in the Vatican Secret Archives, a document that indicated that Pope Clement V absolved the leaders of the Order in 1308. Frale published her findings in the Journal of Medieval History in 2004. In 2007, the Vatican published the Chinon Parchment as part of a limited edition of 799 copies of Processus Contra Templarios. Another Chinon parchment dated 20 August 1308 addressed to Philip IV of France, well-known to historians, stated that absolution had been granted to all those Templars that had confessed to heresy "and restored them to the Sacraments and to the unity of the Church" – Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia (Entry on the History of the Knights Templar).

Who Were the Cretans?

We will not rehash the official stance on the Minoan civilization. We refer readers to the Wikipedia entry for the relevant information.

The Egyptian Connection

From an academic point of view, the Minoan civilization is considered the finest in Europe. It was sophisticated and an inspiration to many other races. The work of Butler and Dafoe reveals the Cretans to have been a technically advanced Western people. As I mention above, recent discoveries suggest the Cretans were related biologically or, at least economically, with the Hyksos kings of Egypt. Artwork found in the Hyksos city of Avaris appears to be of Cretan artifice, and a few investigators believe trade took place between these peoples. Writers, such as Ralph Ellis, point to the fact that when the Minoan civilization was brought to an end by the devastating volcanic eruption on the nearby island of Thera, the Hyksos empire subsequently went into rapid decline. The search for a stronger relationship between the Hyksos of Egypt and the Cretans continues.

Examples of Minoan merchandise have regularly turned up in various tombs in Egypt. They have been found in the Levant and, through the matter is somewhat contentious, Minoan-type jewelry and goldwork has even been found in the graves of Wessex Culture, a race living in what is now southern England at a time contemporary with Minoan Crete at its heyday. The Cretans established a chain of outposts throughout the Aegean and the Mediterranean...trade was probably on a fairly large scale. Soon after the takeover of Crete by the Mycenaeans of mainland Greece sometime around 1400 BC, there are records to indicate that the palace of Knossos alone was running over 50,000 sheep - Alan Butler & Stephen Dafoe (The Knights Templar Revealed).

...there is much on Crete from Minoan times to show the existence of a flourishing middle class which may have been partly made up of private merchants. Plush villas have been located, some very close to the many ports of the island, whilst in those places where everyday Minoan life is viewable, such as in the lava-buried settlement on Santorini, it appears that even the common folk of the Cretans lived a very comfortable life - ibid.

Cretans and Philistines

After the Minoan civilization was decimated by the eruption of Thera, the Cretans took refuge in the Levant where they were known as the Philistines. It is important to remember the antipathy which existed between the Philistines and the Israelites. Given that the latter were of the Hyksos clan we can say that there may be flaws in the theories of certain investigators (such as Ralph Ellis) who have assumed a connection between the Cretans and the Hyksos. If this connection was as intimate as asserted then we are bound to ask why those "Israelites," whom we now understand to be identical with the Hyksos, would not be close friends or allies of the Philistines? Either the Bible's accounts are inaccurate, or we have to consider it likely that the Philistines (originally from Crete) were not, in fact, affiliated with the biblical Israelites in an intimate way. The Hyksos (Israelites) were patristic. They were Atonists. And this also suggests they were unrelated to the Cretans whose entire civilization revolved around goddess worship. The fact that the Cretans, and possibly the Philistines, were matriarchal may be one of the main reasons for the antipathy reported to have existed between them and the Hyksos people. The chief god of the Philistines was Baal. This is most suggestive, since Baal was probably a version of the Irish and Phoenician Bel. Baal (pronounced bayal) was associated with the bull and this animal was venerated by the arch-enemies of the Hyksos, the Amenists of Egypt.

And so, an alternative theory could be that the early Cretans were closer to the Amenists of Thebes, rather than to the Atonists (Israelites) of Avaris and Heliopolis. And since the Cretans were influenced by Megalithic races from the West, could their Amenist confederates in the land of the Nile not also have been? We see no reason to doubt this conjecture.

The Minoan civilization was based on sheep and salt. The Dead Sea area is exceedingly rich in salt, which is why the Cretans or Philistines would have been satisfied to set up a new base in the region after their own homeland was rendered unlivable.

...the very name "Palestine" is directly responsive to Minoan Crete for it derives from the word "Philistine" which is the name given to a particular group of people present in the area by the emerging Hebrews, who themselves were operative in Palestine from about 1400 BC onwards...significant amounts of Minoan-type artifacts have been found in Gaza.

Technology of the Elder Race

The Druids are men of penetrating and subtle spirit, and acquired the highest renown by their speculations, which were at once subtle and profound. Both Caesar and Mela plainly intimate that they were conversant with most sublime speculations in geometry and in measuring the magnitude of the earth - Ammianus Marscellus (Historian 350 AD).

Despite the cover-ups and lies told about the ancients we find that the further we go back in time the more sophisticated and elaborate the technology becomes. The skill of the ancients can hardly be fathomed. We also find that the technological expertise and scientific abilities were transported across Europe in a direction contrary to the official consensus of establishment historians. We find that the technically endowed race moved from the West to the East and not the other way around.

The late Professor Alexander Thom, an engineer from Oxford University, worked tirelessly for many decades, carefully surveying and measuring the many megalithic standing stones, stone circles and other alignments left on the landscape of Britain and parts of France since truly ancient times. One important fact emerged as a result of such tireless efforts. Almost every monument, dating from at least 3500 BC until around 1500 BC, had been built using the same basic linear measurement. This, Professor Thom discovered, was on average 82.96656 cm in length and he named it the "megalithic yard."

When applied to the geometry and mathematics that Alan had discovered in Crete, it became obvious that the megalithic yard was part of a mathematical "world view" that had perpetuated across a vast period of time and throughout large areas of Europe. With the megalithic yard and the geometry of which it was an intrinsic part, the ancient peoples of Britain, and locations much further afield, must have had an astonishing knowledge of the true dimensions of the Earth upon which they lived.

Cretans and Unknown Western Influences

The Cretans had formed an important part of the "megalithic cultures" originally emanating from the far west of Europe, though thanks to a twist of geological fate, they ultimately found themselves living amidst the Semitic races in the Middle East.

The megalithic yard is much older...and was certainly in use in Britain as early as 3500 BC, at which time the Minoan civilization was still a full thousand years short of its ultimate emergence. Since there is little or no evidence of the existence of the megalithic system within central or southern Europe, the inference must surely be that the Minoan civilization ultimately responded to ideas that had originated further West.

Religion of the Cretans

In terms of religion, the chief deity seems to have been a goddess whose personality differed depending on what sphere of life was the focus of attention at any particular point in time. Nature worship was certainly present, with a preference for the depiction on ritual vessels and seals of various types of trees - Alan Butler & Stephen Dafoe (The Knights Templar Revealed).

LEFT: Image of Herne the "Hunter," also known as Nikor or Cernunnos. One of the original pre-Celtic gods worshiped throughout Britain and France. RIGHT: The same god seen both as a woman and a man from Crete. This offers strong proof of close connection between the Minoan civilization and that of Britain. In Crete, this god was known as "Master of the Animals." The deity is also found as far east as India where he was known as Shiva-Pashupati - "Lord of the Animals." Similar images have been unearthed in Susa, Sumeria. Throughout Britain and France, temples and shrines dedicated to Cernunnos were systematically targeted and destroyed. Many churches and cathedrals were erected over these earlier sacred sites. Cernunnos - the Horned One - was rescripted to appear in Christian lore as Satan. However, the word God, as used by Christians, derives from the word Gott or Goat, betraying the truth of the matter. (Here for more...)

Xavier Guichard and Earth Geomancy

Guichard believed that parts of western Europe had once been covered by a series of long straight lines, sometimes running for many kilometres across the landscape. Many of these, he maintained, commenced at central "hubs" and radiated outward, like the spokes of a bicycle wheel...along along the lines were settlements which contained place names of a very specific type. All the places in question contained an "al" component, for example "Alaise," "Calaise," Falaise," and the like.

Salt Line Dynasties

The "al" component, Guichard believed, was the remnant of the Greek word "hal," which means salt. Guichard through therefore that these lines across the landscape had been a form of navigation most probably used from the early transportation of salt from one place to another.

Ancient Occult Geomancy Revealed

In addition to the radiating "bicycle spoke" lines, Guichard also claimed to have found another, completely different, set of lines. These were very much like the modern lines of longitude and latitude to be found on any map. Once again these were sprinkled with the "al" place names, but unlike modern lines of longitude and latitude, they were not exactly I modern degree of arc apart. Guichard's lines...were almost exactly 59 modern minutes of arc apart...the period during which Guichard claimed the lines had been laid down was contemporary with the use of the megalithic yard and in the same geographical areas.

...our Bronze Age ancestors had considered the Earth to be split into 366 divisions, and not 360...it stood to reason that longitudinal lines would be very slightly closer together. The expectation was that they would occur at just over 59 modern minutes of arc.

The "Celtic" Connection

The Celts, probably moving into Britain after about 500 BC, had shown a great reverence for the Salt Lines and had placed many shrines and sacred sites upon them. This had also been true of the Romans and, later, the Anglo-Saxons.

The most surprising aspect to Salt Line research lay in the fact that it soon became obvious that the run of the lines, though actually invisible on the ground, had retained a mystical significance for countless centuries after those creating the lines had ceased to exist.

The Templar Connection

After discovering the work of Xavier Guichard, and after researching the so-called "Salt Lines" which had existed all over France, Britain, and Western Europe from ancient times, Alan Butler discovered something interesting about the elite Norman families of France that had accompanied William I to England in order to invade and conquer that country. The Normans who had estates and houses on prominent locations of the Salt Line matrix deliberately set up their new English estates and houses on Salt Line locations. This act confirmed their awareness of the Salt Line matrix. What's more, Alan Butler discovered that some of the most prominent Normans who were positioning themselves so deliberately, according to occult megalithic geometry, played a prominent part in the Crusades and in the creation of the Cistercian monastic order. These Normans seized Britain for the Vatican and they also lead the war to take Jerusalem from the Saracen. They were the same men who went on to form the Knights Templar. The work of Guichard, Butler, and Dafoe, therefore, reveals that the Templars were fully aware of Druidic geometry, and had taken great pains to empower themselves by way of it. The Knights Templar were closely associated with the Order of Zion and Knights of St. John Hospitalers.

It was whilst studying these very powerful French and Norman families that Alan started to come across the names of individuals who had played an important part in the prosecution of the First Crusade, which captured Jerusalem for Christianity in 1099. These same families, and other Salt Line families who were blood-related to them, had been instrumental in the formation of the Cistercian monastic order and that of the Knights Templar.

Templars and Cistercians

Butler and Dafoe assert that the Templars were an offshoot of the Cistercian monastic order whose vast estates sat all too precisely on Salt Line locales. Like the Templars, the Cistercians were keepers of Druidic knowledge concerning the Earth.

Our initial research had already shown connections between the families involved in the evolution of the Cistercians and the Templars and the megalithic peoples of Britain and France. Perhaps, we postulated, there were also tangible associations between the same people and the remnant of the Minoan civilization, itself a megalithic culture.

Essenes, Templars, Cistercians

Butler and Dafoe have thrown new light on the mysterious sect known as the Essenes. The Essenes are believed to be the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls which the Vatican wished to sequester after their discovery in the mid 1940s. Officially, the Essenes have been considered an extremist Jewish sect who broke away from the synagogues and temples of the Pharisees and Sadducees in order to live a monastic life. However, there is little actual proof for this conjecture, and scholars cannot agree on the actual origins or beliefs of the Essenes. Butler and Dafoe maintain that there are close parallels between the Essenes and the Cistercian order. If this be true, it would establish a direct link between the Essenes of the ancient world and the Knights Templar. One of the accusations levied to the Templars by the Church of Rome (after their fallout) was that they venerated a severed bearded male head. If the Templars did indulge in a practice of this kind it might be because of their relationship to the Essenes since John the Baptist, the beheaded initiator of Jesus Christ, was an Essene leader.

...we can find no monastic institution anywhere near as similar to the Essene communities as that of the much later Cistercians.

The authors go on to delineate the parallels of belief and activity between the Essenes and Cistercians in their book.

Merovingians in Ireland

Central to the rise of the Templars and Cistercian order was the powerful Merovingian kings and princes. This French dynasty was very ancient. It may have been connected to the Amorites. Interestingly, the syllable mero (from "Merovingian") is not far removed from Amero or Amarru, the name for the ancient Amorites of Syria and Babylon.

They may have also been related to and descended from the infamous Hyksos dynasties of Egypt. It appears that this is likely since the Freemasonic orders which arose due to Merovingian patronage embody Atonist-Israelite theology. Moreover, the authors Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln have asserted, in their much disputed book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, that Jesus Christ was a Merovingian. Alan Butler and Stephen Dafoe have uncovered crucial facts about the earliest days of the Knights Templar and have exposed the Merovingian influence behind the French cabals. Their findings substantiate a good deal of the information to be found in Holy Blood, Holy Grail, which was published in 1982. The authors emphasize that Europe was radically changed by the Cistercian and Templar nobles whose craving for power knew no bounds.

All was well in Frankish Gaul until the reign of Dagobert II...held the throne between AD 673 and 676. The kingship of Dagobert did not last long and yet it represents one of the most important departures in the story of the Cistercian and the Knights Templar. As a result of Dagobert's death, a cauldron of conflicting ideas and interests came about. Amidst the ensuing turmoil, the old Salt Line families of France and Britain embarked n an initiative that nearly turned Europe completely on its head. The ultimate result of their efforts was the creation of the Cistercians and their armed brothers, the Templars.

The authors insist that Dagobert had spent time in Ireland were he had been exposed to the teachings of the Culdean monks. Through them he learned a heretical type of Christianity that was frowned upon by the Vatican hierarchy. The complex dynastic agreements which existed between the Vatican and the kings of France would be jeopardized if a hostile king came to the throne, replacing the forefathers who had been so easy to control. The Vatican set about supporting a Carolingian king to supplant Dagobert whom they distrusted. They wanted a puppet king completely loyal to the tenets of Roman Catholicism, and not someone that had been contaminated by Irish Culdaism infused with Druidic elements. This alignment with the Carolingian dynasty was unusual given the fact that the latter had no love for Roman Catholicism, and had even persecuted Latin Christians. Frankish Catholicism under the Merovingians and Carolingians was the greatest threat to Roman Catholicism. Causing divisions between the Frankish dynasties was a good way to strengthen and ensure the Vatican's own domination. The French kings had invaded and conquered Britain and were a powerful force to be reckoned with.

The Franks conquered territory far beyond the original borders of their homeland, extending down into northern Italy and threatening the autonomy of the Vatican. Ultimately, feudal values were passed to the emerging Normans who in turn carried the principles, together with the now fully developed Roman Catholicism, to England after the Conquest of 1066.

The Burgundian Connection

In the history of secret societies certain locations figure prominently. Burgundy in mid-eastern France is one such location. We recommend the reader refer to the Wikipedia entry on this region which, along with neighboring Lorraine and Champagne, played such a major role in the history, not only in the creation of the Cistercians and Templars but in world history.

Reason for the Crusades

The authors believe that one of the main reasons why the Crusades were planned had to do with the need to deal with the population explosion occurring in France and other western European countries. The Vatican promoted the martial and chivalric way of life and tales of adventure and conquest which enflamed heroic spirits. The west could be depopulated once men fervently rode east to war. Rival families and hostile nobles could be weakened and property left unclaimed by those knights who never made it back home.

Toward the end of the eleventh century, the population of western Europe was growing rapidly. The rise in feudalism had led to the creation of numerous major and minor aristocratic families, many of which had large numbers of sons, only a few of whom could hope to inherit family estates.

Godfroi de Bouillon

One of the most interesting aspects of Godfroi's arrival in Jerusalem is that it was known he was attended by a virtually anonymous group of obviously very powerful individuals. Forming a sort of shadowy conclave, they appear to have wielded more power than Godfroi himself - Alan Butler & Stephen Dafoe (The Knights Templar Revealed).

When the Crusaders seized Jerusalem Godfroi was offered the crown. He mysteriously turned the offer down and his brother Baldwin became the first king of Jerusalem. The French Templars had extended their dominion even further afield. This made them happy but even though they were employed by the Roman Church, they now posed and even greater threat to that Church which watched Frankish expansion with caution. The authors stress that there were very important reasons why Godfroi rejected the privilege of becoming the first king of Jerusalem. (See Volume Two). They focus attention on what was happening secretly in the city of Troyes, the capital of the Templar elites. It was from the palace of the Hugh, Count of Champagne, that plans were being laid for the overthrow of the Roman version of Christianity. The Burgundian families had been raised in the Culdean tradition and although they outwardly took orders from Rome they secretly despised Rome's control. Hugh and his close associates, including Godfroi de Bouillon, wished to end the power of the Vatican and replace its version of Christianity with something older and more "elevated."

Bernard de Clairvaux

Soon after this time a major figure in Christian history appears on the stage. His name was Bernard de Clairvaux, and he was a major spokesman and advocate for the Templars.

...in 1115, so the story goes, Hugh, Count of Champagne offered a tract of land not far from Troyes for the foundation of a new Cistercian abbey. Bernard was only twenty-five years of age and had been a monk for just over two years and yet, against all the odds, he was chosen to be abbot of the new establishment, which he called Clairvaux - Alan Butler & Stephen Dafoe (The Knights Templar Revealed.)

De Clairvaux was instrumental not only in the progress of the Cistercian order of France but also in the education and nomination of Pope Innocent II (real name Gregorio Papareschi) who would replace Pope Honorius II in Rome. Interestingly, his choice was based on the fact that Innocent was a committed believer in the sanctity and importance of the Virgin Mary. Bernard himself was particularly enamored by king Solomon, and we cannot stress the significance of this enough. Did the Knights of the Temple of Solomon adopt their name because they admired this old world, Old Testament, figure more than Jesus Christ?

Further evidence for Bernard's personal respect for a feminine aspect to godhead comes from his virtual obsession with a book of the Bible known as Solomon's Song of Songs. This is one of the strangest parts of the Jewish and Christian Old Testament, and at base owes little to Judaism in its present, orthodox sense - Alan Butler & Stephen Dafoe (The Knights Templar Revealed).

Another reason why Bernard de Clairvaux's role was so vital to the advancement of the Knights Templar is clarified when we understand the content of his document De Laude Novae Militae ("In Praise of the New Knighthood") written in praise of the Templars and to bring them public recognition. The document was conceived by Hugh de Payens who desired a way to make the world understand what made the Templars different from other chivalric orders, and a Templar different from other knights. Apparently, this piece of propaganda worked wonders for the order. In particular, the document stressed that the fact that the Templars were a fraternity of monks as well as soldiers.

Thus in a wondrous and unique manner they appear gentler than lambs, yet fiercer than lions. I do not know if it would be more appropriate to refer to them as monks or as soldiers, unless perhaps it would be better to recognize them as being both. Indeed they lack neither romantic meekness nor military might - Bernard de Clairvaux (De Laude Novae Militae.)

The original Templar knights remained in Jerusalem until 1127 when most of them returned to Champagne. There, in Troyes...they were officially declared to be a monastic order sanctioned by the pope of the day, Honorius II. No pope would have been wise to refuse the request, especially since it was made by Bernard of Clairvaux, undoubtedly the most powerful man in Western Christendom by this period - Alan Butler & Stephen Dafoe (The Knights Templar Revealed).

Templars, Cistercians, Nasoreans

Helinand, the most frequently quoted medieval author on the subject of the Grail, was greatly influenced by Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), the same Bernard who had been personally responsible for obtaining the papal rule for the Knights Templar. There were profound links between Bernard’s monastic order, the Cistercians, and the Nasoreans, who fought and died for Jerusalem in AD 70. The Cistercians wore white robes, as did the Nasoreans, and so to did the Knights Templar before adding their red cross -Philip Gardiner and Gary Osborn (The Serpent Grail).

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From
The Warriors & the Bankers
by Alan Butler & Stephen Dafoe

In this fine book on Templar history, the authors deal with three crucial areas that have given rise to much controversy. They deal with the all-important connection between the Knights Templar and the Freemasons, with the differences between Scottish Rite and York Rite branches of Masonry, and with the role of Switzerland as a new bastion of Templar power after the purges of the fourteenth century.

We present a few important passages from the book.

Philip IV of France

He was known as Philip le Bel, meaning "the Fair." However, despite his nice sounding name he was a tyrant and sought to destroy the Templars and steal their wealth. He was in league with the weak Pope Clement V, who resided not in Rome but in Avignon, France.

Owing to the weakness and irresolution of Pope Clement, the royal plan succeeded. After an unsuccessful attempt of the Pope (in August, 1307) to unite the Templars and the Hospitallers, he yielded to the demands of King Philip and ordered an investigation of the order, against which the king brought charges of heresy - (page 15).

Pope Clement V (1264-1314) and King Philip IV (1268-1314)

Templar-Rosicrucian Connection

Templar graves have been found in several sites in Palestine which contain a carved effigy of a warrior's sword, which itself is a cruciform shape, around which are entwined roses - (page 54).

...the route taken by the rose into Templar beliefs probably owes a great deal to a pre-Christian deity called 'Rosemerth,' who was worshiped in Lorraine (now a part of France) since time out of mind. It was at her shrine, Sion Vaudemont, that the Virgin Mary was first named 'Queen of Heaven,' a theme that St. Bernard of Clairvaux took up some 60 years later. St. Bernard influenced the Vatican to offer Mary this position officially.

...the common dog rose (Rosa Canina) is rare among plants in that it does not have to be cross-fertilized to produce its fruit, the rosehip. In this sense the rose is capable of virgin birth, and it seems unlikely that this potential was lost on our distant ancestors.

...the first time that the Rose Cross was mentioned in conjunction with a contemporary and espoused religious belief was in the early part of the 17th century, when a series of documents known as the 'Rosicrucian Manifestos' began to circulate in Western Europe. Authorship of these documents has never been irrefutably established, but they were probably written by a man called Johann Valentin Andrea, a Protestant preacher from Wurttemberg in Germany.

Protestants and Rosicrucians

...Europe was deeply damaged by the Thirty Years War, which represented a setback for Catholicism as the driving religious and political force in Western Europe. For a while the Catholic forces made great gains and Protestant sympathizers flocked out of Europe, but especially to Holland, to find refuge in England. Many of them were aided in their flight by a quasi-Masonic-type institution known as 'The Christian Unions.' The main organizer of these clandestine brotherhoods was Andrea, also supposedly author of the Rosicrucian Manifestos.

Luther and the Rosicrucians

It is extremely doubtful whether the first stirrings of rebellion against the Catholic Church, again propagated by a German, Martin Luther, of the 16th century, could ever have become the raging force for reform that it proved to be in the following century, without the bravery and persistence of men and women who held Rosicrucian ideals.

The Invisible College

Rosicrucian ideals grew apace and nowhere more so than in Britain, though it is impossible to assert that ideas such as these were anything out of the ordinary to a particular section of society in Britain at the time. A specific group of early Freemasons, most of whom also enjoyed Rosicrucian leanings, had already formed themselves into a fraternity called 'The Invisible College,' which began meeting in the middle years of the 1640s...Most of the first members of the Royal Society were either known Rosicrucians, or else were staunch supporters of similar beliefs.

Templarism and Freemasonry

...According to the United Grand Lodge of England, Freemasonry began in 1717 with the formation of Grand Lodge, whereas the Knights Templar were disbanded and dissolved not so long after the 1307 persecutions of King Philip IV of France. It follows therefore that there was a gap of four full centuries between the last Templar and the first Freemason...any person who has looked at the issues carefully must first come to the conclusions that not only did the Knights Templar, in one form or another, very definitely survive beyond 1307, but that Freemasonry, on one form or another, significantly predates the 18th century.

Freemasons do not consist of one cohesive body, centrally run and all-encompassing. The Masonic fraternity consists of the individual members who gather in individual Lodges. These Lodges are, in turn, governed by a Grand Lodge. Although each Grand Lodge worldwide recognizes the others, with few exceptions, there is no one universal governing jurisdiction.

• This is the reason why there can be so many ideological differences between lodges and individual Freemasons. The Irish lodges can be separated into Orange and Green. We have the Republicans on one side and the Loyalists on another. In Germany, there are English lodges with English fascists as members. In Italy, Propaganda Due, is a Catholic order of ardent fascists competing with left wing Freemasonic lodges. There are elite lodges with Protestant nobles and royals, and lodges were the members are primarily Catholic, like P2. And although Masons are meant to believe in the brotherhood of all men, white lodges, particularly those of upper class members, rarely if ever allow Blacks or Asians to become members. 
  

Not only does the fraternity owe its existence to Templarism, the fraternity seems to loudly proclaim it in a number of ways...the Masonic body known as York Rite contains three sub-groups called Capitular, Cryptic and Chivalric Masonry. These three bodies of the York Rite are perhaps better known...as The Royal Arch, Cryptic Rite and Knights Templar. It is this latter branch that smacks of Templarism, containing the Chivalric distinctions of Illustrious Order of the Red Cross, Knight of Malta, and Order of the Temple (Knights Templar). These Chivalric Masons meet in Preceptories or Commanderies generally named after heroes of the Crusades, for example 'King Baldwin Preceptory'.

The homage to Templarism does not end here for modern Freemasonry, as even its group for young men is called de Molay after the martyr of the Knights Templar - ibid.

Scottish Masonry

If we assert, as we must do, that Freemasonry is originally a Scottish peculiarity, we must, of course, support our belief with proof and this proof starts with the Masonic guilds. Guilds of operative masons had existed since early medieval times not only in Scotland but all over Europe. These fraternities were something of a mixture between a trade organization and a trade union, bent of protecting the interests of those participating in a particular trade.

The Sinclairs

...as early as 1441 James II, who was King of Scotland at the time, appointed the St. Clair (Sinclair) family as patrons and protectors of Scottish masons. The King made this a hereditary office and declared that annual meetings would be held in Kilwinning, Scotland. This early date roughly coincides with the building of Rosslyn Chapel, near Edinburgh, and it is upon the bastion of this sturdy little Gothic masterpiece that so many claims for the origins of speculative Freemasonry rest.

...it has been suggested that Hugh de Payens, the first Grand Master of the Templar Order, was married to a St. Clair heiress. There is no doubt that the St. Clairs are of French origin, or that St. Clair eventually became Sinclair.

The earliest Scottish reference to a 'speculative' Lodge of Freemasons comes from...a charter of 1598...well over a century before Grand Lodge in London was formed. The first speculative lodge was already known in the 1598 charter as 'The Old St. Mary's Lodge,' ...It was located in Edinburgh, which is only a few miles from Roslin, and for some time after this, successive charters, signed by Scottish monarchs, attest to the fact that the Sinclair family had historical rights to Scottish Freemasonry that predominated over those other families.

This is the predominately Protestant branch, as opposed to the mainly Catholic Scottish Rite branch whose members supported King James of the House of Stuart. The York Rite branch was initiated by Protestant Charles Howard of the prestigious Howard family who owned vast territories of land in North West England and in Yorkshire.

The Howards had been tremendously powerful in England or centuries, having been, since the days of Richard III, the Dukes of Norfolk...one branch of the family, headed by a noted turncoat and political opportunist by the name of Charles, ultimately became Dukes of Carlisle...There they intermarried with the D'acre and Greystoke families, gaining vast estates in Yorkshire, to add to those in Cumberland.

The Third Earl of Carlisle, another Charles, fell out with his political contemporaries in the North West, and decided to build a fantastic new seat, close to York. This house, Castle Howard, was built on the ruined foundations of an Anglo-Saxon castle called Henderskelfe.

Castle Howard positively shouts Freemasonry, from the pyramids and the obelisk in the grounds, to the Bacchanite, Cerenite and astronomical treatment of the Grand Hall, staircase and dome. And there is little doubt that this branch of the Howard family have been staunch Freemasons up to the present day. In fact, even before this section of the Howard family split from its Norfolk counterparts, it is known that the Dukes of Norfolk were early Freemasons.

The Dukes of Carlisle were Protestant by inclination. it is therefore highly likely that Charles, though a keen Mason, would have wished to distance himself from Freemasonry, many of the members of which were plotting the return of the Stuart monarchs. As a result it seems highly likely that Charles Howard was instrumental in either taking Freemasonry to York and replaced the Stuart affiliation with one based on early Anglo-Saxon history, which showed England as superior to Scotland and he avowed Christianity to lie at the center of the York Rite.

Replete as it is with Christian symbolism, York Rite Freemasonry still espouses Templar beliefs - probably to a greater extent than any other branch of Freemasonry - and in this regard it is representative of the Sinclair's earlier, Scottish, Freemasonry.

We have shown that Templarism has been endemic to Freemasonry from its inception, long before the formation of Grand Lodge in London. It is apparent that the transformation from Templarism to Freemasonry took place in Scotland at the time of the building, by the Templar family Sinclair, of Rosslyn Chapel...During the reign of James I, a Scottish-born Stuart King, it traveled from Scotland with the King and his ministers, and took root in England. Ultimately it fell into disfavor during the difficulties experienced by the Stuart monarchs, and lived underground until the Hanoverian accession. At this time it was 'massaged' to accommodate the needs of the moment and its Stuart sympathies were exorcised.

From first to last, and despite the patently absurd assurances to the contrary by representatives of Grand Lodge in London, Freemasonry...is Templarism reborn, at a time when to be a Templar in a Christian country would have meant death...the Knights Templar could never have have been totally destroyed by the actions of one European monarch, even though that king had the backing of a tame Pope.

Templarism and the Switzerland Connection

...the Templars remained absolutely central to everything that was happening in Europe, and what is more they were partly instrumental in the formation of the Western World as we know it today. The Templar state was, and is, Switzerland.

Many authors have shown the very strong association between Templar history and ideals and a particular French dynasty - the Merovingians. Clovis I, the first Christian French monarch, had been born of this bloodline...it is almost certain that Merovingians, and what they had represented, lay at the heart of Templarism and the Merovingians had been especially strong in the area we today call Switzerland. Chief among their strongholds in the Alps had been the town that today is known as Sion, the very name of which shouts Templarism, and lives as a testimony to the virtual obsession regarding Sion - Jerusalem - that lay at the heart of the First Crusade.

• Sion was originally a Hyksos city in Egypt. Moreover, the Order of Sion's charter was signed by a Lodge in Switzerland. (See Volume Two).

At the self-same moment in history when the Templar order found itself facing public approbation, and when the crowned heads of Europe at last seemed powerful enough to stem its influence, a new and remote mountain state, thought one on the very frontiers of France, began to forge its independence, with the use of a soldiery that became synonymous with efficiency, bravery and ferocity.

It was in Geneva that the League of Nations was formed after the First World War, and it was also from Geneva that the International Red Cross sprang up in the 19th century. Earlier still, Switzerland had fostered the embryonic notion of Protestantism, which without the important bastion it found in Geneva, may never have survived to challenge the retarding and corrupt influences of the all-powerful Catholic Church in the 16th and 17th centuries.

RECOMMENDED LINKS

Minoans Were From the West (Proof Positive)
Cretans Sailed Sea 130,000 Years Ago
The Megalithic Yard
Philip IV
Clement V

Irish Origins Appendices