The Templar Revelation file:///F:/F_E_R_T_I_G/Ablage/Picknett,%20Lynn%20-%20The%2... THE TEMPLAR REVELATION SECRET GUARDIANS OF THE TRUE IDENTITY OF CHRIST Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book would not have been possible without the help and support of a great many people, but, due to the controversial nature of our conclusions, we must point out that those listed below do not necessarily share our opinions. We would like to thank: Keith Prince, for his meticulous research, both in the library and in the field, on our behalf, for his incisive and often highly unorthodox thoughts on the subject—and for literally risking life and limb for this project. Craig Oakley, for unfailing support, enthusiasm and help with our research. Filip Coppens, for enthusiastically directing us to, and supplying us with, much invaluable research material. Lavinia Trevor, our agent, for smoothing the way for this book and keeping the pressure off us. Jim Cochrane, our editor at Bantam Press, for his informed and constructive comments—and for keeping the pressureon us. And thanks too, to his colleagues Kate Melhuish, Sheila Corr and Martin Macrae. Lucien Morgan, for really making us think about this book! The material on Rennes-le-Château in chapters Eight and Nine owes a great debt to information supplied by, and discussions with, many people: In the UK, to members of the Rennes-le-Château Research group, especially John and Joy Millar, Gay Roberts, Howard Barkway, Jonothon Boulter, Marke Pawson, and Guy Patton. Thanks to Guy also for help with our research into the Knights Templar. In France, particular thanks are due to Alain Féral, Sonia Moreu, Antoine and Claire Captier, Jean-Luc and Louise Robin, Celia Brooke, Marcel Captier and Elizabeth van Buren. (And also to Monique and Michel Marrot at La Pomme Bleue at Rennes-le-Château, whose meals often made our day.) We would also like to acknowledge our debt to the late Jos Bertaulet and his research into Notre-Dame de Marceille. Thanks to his widow Suzanne and sons Christian and Diederick for their hospitality. John Stephenson and Anita Forsythe, for looking after us at Ferran, enlivening our trips to the Languedoc 1 von 269 25.10.2006 10:11 The Templar Revelation file:///F:/F_E_R_T_I_G/Ablage/Picknett,%20Lynn%20-%20The%2... and sharing their local knowledge with us. Thanks too for their wonderful hospitality and entertainment, and for lending us Gold. Peter Humber for allowing us to use his house in the Languedoc during our first research trip, and for hisvery relaxed reaction to what we nearly did to it…and thanks too, to the villagers of Ferran and the Fire Department of Montréal for coming to our aid on that fateful 17 January 1995. And also Peter’s late-lamented Café Fou in Boundary Road, which seemed fated to be our refuge, somehow. Robert Howells, for many highly enjoyable after-hours discussions into all matters esoteric, and for the benefit of his wide-ranging knowledge. André Douzet, for generously sharing the results of his exhaustive research into French mysteries. Niven Sinclair, for his great generosity and fascinating insights into Rosslyn Chapel and the Knights Templar. Jane Lyle, for sharing her extensive knowledge about sacred sexuality with us, and—as always—for laughter, encouragement and practical support. Steve Wilson, for his help with the Mandaeans, for giving us a platform at ‘Talking Stick’ and for an entertaining and memorable train journey. Karine Esparseil López, for her help with French translations, support and much-valued friendship. Thanks also to the following for their help in various ways, either by supplying us with much-needed information or simply with their support and encouragement: Nicole Dawe and Charles Bywaters and and their respective daughters, Laura Dawe and Kathryn and Jennifer Bywaters; Trevor Poots; Andy Collins; Dominique Hyde; Lionel Beer and hisTEMS group; Steve Moore ofFortean Times ; Bob and Veronica Cowley ofRILKO ; Georges Keiss; Yuri Stoyanov; Benoist Rivière; Henri Buthion; Jean-Pierre Aptel; André Galaup; Louis Vazart; Gino Sandri; Manfred Cassirer; Alun Harris; John Spencer; Steve Pear; Olivia Robertson of the Fellowship of Isis; Caroline Wise; Gareth Medway; Tony Pritchett; Mick and Lorraine Jones; Mark Bennett; Dave Smith and Natalie Hac; Loren McLaughlin; David N.Corona; Dr Richard Wiseman; sylvia Patton; Barry and Fiona Johnstone; Sarah Litvinoff; Vida Adamoli; Helen Scott; Michèle Kaczynski; Mary Saxe-Falstein; Sally ‘Morgana’ Morgan; Will Fowler; Sheila and Eric Taylor; Samuel López; James Dew; Nic Davis; Lisa Bailey; David Bell; I-N. And to the staff of the British Library Reading Rooms and the Westminster Reference Library. Thanks to the joint emergency services of Limoux and Carcassonne for rescuing Keith Prince—and to our anonymous friend who telephoned for help from Notre-Dame de Marceille. THE TEMPLAR REVELATION CONTENTS Introduction Part One: The Threads of Heresy 1: The Secret Code of Leonardo da Vinci 2: Into the Underworld 2 von 269 25.10.2006 10:11 The Templar Revelation file:///F:/F_E_R_T_I_G/Ablage/Picknett,%20Lynn%20-%20The%2... 3: In the Footsteps of the Magdalene 4: Heartland of Heresy 5: Guardians of the Grail 6: The Templar Legacy 7: Sex: The Ultimate Sacrament 8: ‘This is a Terrible Place’ 9: A Curious Treasure 10: Divining the Underground Stream Part Two: The Web of Truth 11: Gospel Untruths 12: The Woman Whom Jesus Kissed 13: Son of the Goddess 14: John Christ 15: Followers of the King of Light 16: The Great Heresy 17: Out of Egypt Appendix 1 Continental Occult Freemasonry Appendix II Rennes-le-Château and the ‘Tomb of God’ Notes and References Select Bibliography Index Photos INTRODUCTION Leonardo da Vinci started the quest that led to this book. It was our research into that fascinating but elusive Renaissance genius and his part in faking the Turin Shroud that developed into a much wider and more involving investigation into the ‘heresies’ that had secretly driven his ambitions. We had to find out what he was part of, what he knew and believed, and why he had employed certain codes and symbols in the work he left for posterity. So—although we are aware that this is a mixed blessing—we have Leonardo to thank for the discoveries that have become this book. 3 von 269 25.10.2006 10:11 The Templar Revelation file:///F:/F_E_R_T_I_G/Ablage/Picknett,%20Lynn%20-%20The%2... It seemed strange at first to find ourselves drawn into the complex and often murky world of secret societies and heterodox beliefs. After all, Leonardo is commonly supposed to have been an atheist and a rationalist. But we were to find that he was no such thing. Very soon, in any case, we had left him behind and found ourselves alone with some profoundly disturbing implications. What had started as a modest enquiry into some interesting but hardly world-shattering cults had become an investigation into the very roots and beliefs of Christianity itself. It was essentially a journey through time and space: first forward from Leonardo to the present day, then backwards beyond the Renaissance, through the Middle Ages to first-century Palestine, to the scene set by the words and deeds of our three main Protagonists—John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene and Jesus. Along the way we had to pause and examine many groups and secret organizations with a totally new and objective eye: the Freemasons, the Knights Templar, the Cathars, the Priory of Sion, the Essenes and the cult of Isis and Osiris. Of course these subjects have been discussed in many other recent books, notablyThe Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln—which was originally a particular inspiration to both of us—The Sign and the Sealby Graham Hancock,The Temple and the Lodge by Baigent and Leigh, and most recently,The Hiram Key by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas. We owe a debt of gratitude to all these writers for the light they have shed on our shared areas of investigation, but we believe that all of them have failed to find the essential key to the heart of these mysteries. This is hardly surprising. Our entire culture is based on certain assumptions about the past, and in particular about Christianity and the character and motives of its founder. But if those assumptions arewrong , then the conclusions based on them will stop very short of the truth, or will at least present a distorted picture of the facts. When we first confronted the disturbing conclusions that we set out in this book we had to believe we were mistaken. But there came a point when we had to make a decision: should we carry on with our investigation and make our conclusions public, or forget we had ever made those crucial discoveries? We decided to go ahead; after all, this book seems to follow on naturally from those listed above as if its time has truly come. In tracing the beliefs held by thousands of ‘heretics’ over the centuries we have uncovered a remarkably consistent picture. Underneath the traditions of many apparently disparate groups there lie the same—or very similar—secrets. At first we thought that these societies were secret out of mere custom, or perhaps affectation—but now we understand why they needed to keep their knowledge away from the authorities, and especially from the Church. The main question, however, is not what they believed, but whether or not those beliefs were based on anything substantial. For if they were, and if the heretical under ground really did hold the missing key to Christianity, then what we are left with is a truly revolutionary scenario.