Templars, Columbus and the Vatican Cover-up (2018)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HCRNYVN
Set in Rhode Island and Ireland, inspired by the 1980s Vatican Bank Scandal and featuring a treasure map, carved on a sword, indicating that Christopher Columbus may have aided the Templars in secreting a treasure in America.
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Author’s Note
My wife Kim and I loved the 2014 movie, The Monuments Men, starring George Clooney and Matt Damon. Later, in the summer of 2018, we visited the city of Ghent, in Belgium, and were able to see firsthand the fabulous painting upon which the movie was based, the Ghent Altarpiece. When I learned that the painting had historic ties to both the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail, and that one of the panels in the painting was never recovered after World War II, well, it was game on! I knew I had found the subject for this, my ninth book in the series.
What I did not expect was to find so many intriguing connections between the painting and Templar legends. The painter, Jan van Eyck, ran in a circle of other medieval artists and intellectuals, including Leonardo da Vinci and the Duke of Burgundy, who were fascinated with ancient mysteries and secrets kept by groups such as the Templars; the Duke of Burgundy, in fact, founded his own secretive Order of the Golden Fleece, modeled after the Templars. And many aspects of the painting’s symbolism tied back to the outlawed Cathars and other groups who questioned Church orthodoxy. Following these hidden clues and connections allowed me to gain further insight into one of the great mysteries of this millennia: What did the Templars really believe, and were these beliefs the reason the Church turned on them? My research on the secret Templar seals, and the symbolism embedded in their images, was especially enlightening. Based on these secret seals, it seemed more and more apparent to me that the concept of duality was crucial and fundamental to Templar theology and belief.
Of course, this is the “Templars in America” series, so I would be remiss if I did not explore the possibility that this painting, and the secrets it held, was tied to the secret exploration of America by the Templars. The painting was commissioned in the 1420s, not long after Scottish Prince Henry Sinclair and his group purportedly explored New England. I was not the least bit surprised to learn that William Sinclair, grandson of Prince Henry and the builder of the iconic Roslyn Chapel, was a member of the Duke of Burgundy’s exclusive Order of the Golden Fleece. This was just one of many intriguing connections between the painting and the secret Templar exploration of America.
Of course, because the Just Judges painting is still missing (as I recount in the story, the panel was stolen in 1934 and has not been seen since), we may never know what secrets were embedded within it. Someday, hopefully, the painting will be found. Until then, fiction writers like myself—along with my readers—are left to speculate and wonder at the possibilities.
As is the case with all the books in this series, if an artifact, site or object of art is pictured, it is real (except as specifically noted below). And if I claim it is of a certain age or of a certain provenance or features certain characteristics, that information is correct. Likewise, the historical and literary references are accurate. How I use these objects and references to weave a story is, of course, where the fiction takes root. For inquisitive readers, perhaps curious about some of the specific historical assertions made and evidence presented in this novel, more information is available here (in order of appearance in the story):
* The Getty Foundation maintains an excellent website displaying high-resolution images of the Ghent Altarpiece painting, here:
http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/ghentaltarpiece/#home
* For more information about Himmler and his search for ancient Atlantis, see:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/444076/The-Nazis-search-for-Atlantis-and-the-Holy-Grail
* My introduction to the book Caesar’s Messiah, by Joseph Atwill, and the fascinating themes therein, came through correspondence with Mr. Carlos Varin, who was kind enough to reach out to me and suggest this topic for possible inclusion in a Cam and Amanda adventure.
* For more information on John Kanzius and his discovery of using salt water as a power source, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kanzius.
* The “There are poisons that blind you” quote is from the August Strindberg novel, The Red Room.
* The side-by-side images depicting differing numbers of spires and parapets in the two versions of the Just Judges painting (the photograph on the one hand and the painted reproduction on the other) is a plot device created by the author. In reality, the background buildings in the two versions appear to be identical, there being no difference in the number of spires and parapets.
* The Philip Coppens quote about the Duke of Burgundy, and more information regarding same, can be found here:
https://www.eyeofthepsychic.com/vaneyck/
* The Rules of the Knights Templar Order are set forth here:
http://www.templiers.org/regle1-eng.php
* For more information regarding The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb painting being based on the All Saints’ Day celebration, see here:
file:///C:/Users/David/Downloads/dokumen.tips_adams-l-history-of-western-art.pdf at p. 269
* For the assertion that the Dead Sea Scrolls prophesized two messiahs, priestly and kingly, see here:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-d-tabor/waiting-for-the-messiahs-one-two-or-three_b_7454860.html
* For the assertion that the foremost knight in Knights of Christ panel is carrying the banner of Utrecht, see Hubert and John Van Eyck, Their Life and Work, Volume 1, by William Henry James Weale, at page 47.
* For this quote: “In a recent study it has been reported in the Journal of Applied Physics that the Great Pyramids are able to focus electromagnetic energy, particularly electromagnetic waves of the radio frequency range.” See here:
https://resonance.is/new-study-reveals-electromagnetic-properties-of-the-great-pyramid-of-giza/
* For the assertion that Van Eyck was the only painter who actually depicted a working Masonic lodge (a sheltered place at the foot of a tower in a drawing depicting Saint Barbara), see The Early History and Antiquities of Freemasonry, by George Franklin Fort, at page 197, footnote 2.
* For the assertion that an art historian in Europe identified the front judge in the Just Judges panel as Henry Beaufort, see:
https://www.arnolfinimystery.com/henry-beaufort
* For the assertion that the razored cut of Henry Beaufort’s hair was meant to hint at his Templar ties, see https://catchlight.blog/category/people/henry-beaufort/. This Catchlight blog offers many excellent insights and observations regarding the van Eyck brothers and their paintings.
* For the assertion that obelisks are a power source, see:
https://www.ancient-code.com/ancient-power-sources-of-the-gods-advanced-technology-and-our-ancestors/
* This quote about Abraxas is attributed to author Herman Hesse, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature: “The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must destroy a world. The bird flies to God. That God’s name is Abraxas.”
So did Hitler really believe the Just Judges painting contained a secret map leading to the Holy Grail? Apparently so, at least enough so that he devoted substantial resources and energy to finding the missing piece of art. And would it have changed the outcome of the war if he found it? Probably not, in my opinion. But this is the kind of stuff that keeps me up at night, playing “what-if” games. Hopefully it has cost you a bit of sleep, and given you some enjoyment, as well. Thanks for reading.
David S. Brody, August, 2019
Westford, Massachusetts
Photo Credits
Images used in this book are the property of the author, in the public domain, and/or provided courtesy of the following (images listed in order of appearance in the story):
* Images of the Ghent Altarpiece p
ainting, credit Wikipedia.
* The four Hunter Mountain Cave Map artifact images, courtesy Zena Halpern.
* Cleopatra’s Needle, credit Ekem and Wikipedia.
Acknowledgements
Readers may not realize that the finished version of a novel is often the fifth or sixth draft of the story, each draft becoming iteratively improved (hopefully) over the prior version. Those tasked with reading these early versions, armed only with red pens and caffeine, perform an invaluable task. I offer my heartfelt thanks, for their insights and astute observations and comments, to (in alphabetical order):
John Amato
Mary Baier
Jeff Brody
Tracy Lee Carroll
Randy Dickey
Michele Doucette
Linda Hurley Going
Christopher Hardy
Lynn Arnold Hassell
Mark Hickox
Jim Ingalls
Penny Lacroix
Paul McNamee
Richard Meibers
Richard Naud, Sr.
Jeanne Scott
Richard Scott
Sam Varjabedian
Mary Yannetti
Michael Yannetti
As always, my wife Kim provided invaluable feedback and advice during the writing process. Together we visited the Hunebedden sites along with Ghent and Bruges, so it wasn’t all drudgery and hard work. But being the “first reader” of a sprouting novel is generally not much fun—the story is often disjointed and the characters undeveloped. To the extent the book is a success, it is due to Kim’s keen eye and deft touch.
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