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Baldwin IV (Baldwin the Leper), c.1161–1185, Latin king of Jerusalem (1174–85), son and successor of Amalric I. Raymond, count of Tripoli, was regent from 1174 to 1176. Baldwin was constantly engaged, except for a truce (1180–82), in defending his kingdom against Saladin. In 1183 his leprosy began to spread very rapidly; he appointed Guy of Lusignan as his regent, but in the same year he withdrew the commission and had his five-year-old nephew crowned king as Baldwin V (d. 1186). Raymond was regent for Baldwin V, who was succeeded as king by Guy of Lusignan. Minority Baldwin spent his youth...

AS A BUILDING, Rosslyn Chapel, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, is intriguing. The exterior features Gothic gargoyles and flying buttresses, while inside there are ornate pillars, carvings and an extraordinary ceiling. As a place of mystery, it is a magnet for those with exotic - some might say outlandish - theories. Built in the mid-15th century by some of the best stonemasons in Europe, the chiselled scenes and symbols would have been easily understood by their medieval audience but seem baffling to us today. The most striking example of their craft is the Apprentice Pillar, which is beautifully carved and...

Within a very short period of the formation of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, a new style of church architecture began to spread across Western Europe. The first examples of this are to be seen in France, where great Cathedrals such as that of Chartres sing loud the praise of what became known, much later as 'Gothic'. Whether or not the Knights Templar had any direct part in the creation of this revolution in religious building has always been something of a bone of contention, though it is clear that the fledgling organisation had...

I know we like to post news stories on this board and go OMG OMG OMG teh udder side teh suXorZ!!11! It's rare that anyone really writes anything somewhat original so, here, I'll do something like that. I'm amazed at some of the twists that are going on in political and legal life right now. So much so that I really think it's worth commenting on. In some ways, we're going in the absolute wrong direction. Now before you get a knee jerk reaction and say i'm a "traitor" or some DUmmie here to quiety say "It's because of Bu$hco...

Folks, Zenit.Org is featuring an interview with Massimo Introvigne, director of the Turin-based Center for Studies in New Religions, regarding the existence of the so-called "Illuminati," and their links to the Freemasons, the Knights Templar, etc., as well as the resurgence of their myth in Dan Brown's "historical" novels, Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code. This is my favorite quote:Those who want to persuade us that a secret Illuminati cabal did lead the world from the Renaissance to the 19th century, and continues to do so today, have a very difficult burden of proof, and never even came close...

Pope was investigating Knights Templar before his election "The Insider" mailing list article, 30 April 2005. *** The new Pope, Benedict XVI, was actively investigating secret societies including the Knights Templar and the Illuminati, it was revealed yesterday. Details were exposed by a local newspaper in Hertfordshire, England. Cardinal Ratzinger was head of the Inquisition, the arm of the Church set up to investigate, persecute or eliminate heretics. But the curious thing is, we now know that he started his investigation shortly before he was elected as the new Pope. Did he know something? He certainly made no secret of...

Thursday May 26, 2005 ROME: TEMPLARS, CAPITAL TO HOST RELIGIONS PARLIAMENT (AGI) - Rome, Italy, May 7 - Rome will host the religions' Parliament, revealed the Grand Master of the Templars, Francesco Dario Labbate, who on Monday, May 15, will appoint 600 new templar knights in the S. Prisca all'Aventino church. The S. Cecilia choir will sing Gregorian chants. Among the knighted there are important American and Chinese financial people as well as exponents of the Ethiopian Royal House. The Templar order intends to promote the birth of a Religions Parliament in Rome to pay homage to the religious ecumenism...

The last crusade of the Templars By Ruth Gledhill The knights want a Papal apology nearly 700 years after they were disbanded and hounded into exile THE VATICAN is giving “serious consideration” to apologising for the persecution that led to the suppression of the Knights Templar. The suppression, which began on Friday , October 13, 1307, gave Friday the Thirteenth its superstitious legacy.A Templar Order in Britain that claims to be descended from the original Knights Templar has asked that the Pope should make the apology. The Templars, based in Hertford, are hoping for an apology by 2007, the 700th...

PDE News SACRED STONE STILL MAKES TREES AND FLOWERS BLOOM Apr 6 2004 ONE of the strangest archaeological artefacts I ever saw is housed at a secret address in Kilbarchan. It's the stone head of a black-skinned, pre-Christian goddess which surfaced near the majestic West Church in the picturesque Renfrewshire village. Although the beautiful red sandstone kirk is just over a century old, it occupies the site of the pre-Reformation St Catherine's Chapel. Equally enigmatic - and carved on an ancient stone wall surrounding the snowdrop- silvered tombstones in the graveyard - is the sword of a Knight Templar thought...

For centuries the intricately carved stones of Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh have tantalised historians, archaeologists and devoted Christians. A labyrinth of vaults beneath the 15th-century home of the Knights Templar is reputed to contain dozens of holy relics, including early gospels, the Ark of the Covenant, the fabled Holy Grail - and even the mummified head of Christ. More than 550 years after the first foundation stones were laid, modern technology is about to put the legend to the test. A group of Knights Templar, successors to the warrior monks who sought asylum from the Pope by fleeing to Scotland...

    Exploring the Roots of Terrorism(From Summer 2002)An Interview with James Wasserman by Griselda Steiner As our sense of invulnerability went up in flames on 9/11, Americans have been trying to fathom the history and current circumstances that led to these unimaginable events. While the 20th century witnessed many reversals of national rivalry after World War II, the 21st is laying bare a culture clash that is over a thousand years old. James Wasserman's most recent book, The Templars and the Assassins—The Militia of Heaven, a fascinating study of two medieval Islamic sects, has already been translated into four...