Kilwinning Abbey did indeed exist; its ruins still feature prominently in the town of the same name in Ayrshire. Every mention in the novel is factual, except for the abbey’s connection with the Knights of Arcadia. Allegedly it has connections with the Freemasons – and the various symbols found there does potentially support this. According to certain researchers, the abbey is not without connections to the Templars, including their alleged survival. These claims, though deserving of future research, remain unproven.
Tomar
All of the references to Tomar I believe to be accurate. The Church of Santa Maria do Olival is accurate, as is the interior. The sacristy, presbytery and vaults, however, are fictional, as is its location as the former burial place of King Solomon. The church has long been rumoured to contain a hidden passageway that runs to the Convento de Cristo or the nearby castle, but no such tunnel has ever been found. There is also a legend that the church once housed the Templar treasure, but this similarly cannot be validated at present.
The Cross, Nova Scotia
References to The Cross and New Ross are largely made up. The town of New Ross indeed exists; it is also true that the site was once known as The Cross. In the 1970s, a family, the Hopes, rented a small house in New Ross and uncovered in their garden evidence of a former structure – further reading, Joan Hope, A Castle in Nova Scotia. Exactly what the structure was remains a mystery. According to some, it was a castle, a Viking longhouse or something similar.
To date, I have not been able to visit the ‘castle remains’, so I cannot comment on authenticity. Its use in this novel is entirely fictional. The house in the novel does not exist, nor does the labyrinth beneath the ruins. It is possible that a castle that largely matches my description in the novel did once exist, but this is speculation.
Allegory
Allegory in art is no great mystery. It is the premise that characters or events could represent a device or concept. One of the most famous types is the memento mori – the reminder of mortality. Use of allegory extends beyond art and can often be found in fiction. For example, according to some commentators, many of Shakespeare’s plays are allegories for events that happened during his own time – Macbeth was arguably inspired by elements of the Gunpowder Plot.
The Shepherds of Arcadia/The Flaying of Marsyas
One of the key themes used in this novel was the importance of two paintings by the Italian Baroque artist Guercino. Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591-1666), or Guercino, was indeed a famed painter. Among his famous works were the two used in this novel.
The first is The Shepherds of Arcadia, painted by Guercino 1616–22, now on display in the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica in Rome. The painting itself is a memento mori, demonstrating the instance when two shepherds come face to face with death. The painting is also the first known to include the Latin saying Et In Arcadia Ego. As described in the novel, it concerns two shepherds looking at a skull atop a tomb – or, according to others, a cippus. A mouse is also present close to the skull, in addition to either a bee or a blowfly. A bird of some description, allegedly an owl, sits perched on a branch in the top right.
The painting has connections with the other Guercino painting mentioned in this novel, The Flaying of Marsyas by Apollo, and was completed around the same time. In Greek mythology, Marsyas was a man famed for his wisdom and the central character in two stories: most famously, his challenging, or being challenged, to a flute contest by Apollo and losing. As a result, Apollo gets to treat the loser in the way he desires. In the flaying scene, the two shepherds from the first painting are also present, though the skull and tomb are both absent.
The Shepherds of Arcadia is particularly fascinating. Many reading this author’s note will be familiar with elements of this. To UK readers, its main claim to fame is that Guercino was almost certainly the inspiration for the painting of the same name by the French painter Nicolas Poussin.
Like Guercino, Poussin was an historical figure, but his memory is clouded in controversy – not to mention inaccuracies. That said, there are also some pretty spectacular known facts. The original painting of The Shepherds of Arcadia is kept at the Musée du Louvre, in Paris, and depicts three shepherds and a woman gathered around a tomb. Almost certainly inspired by Guercino, Poussin was commissioned to paint the shepherds painting by an Italian cardinal, Giulio Rospigliosi, who would later be remembered as Pope Clement IX.
Even more incredibly, the King of France, Louis XIV, was unquestionably interested in Poussin. While in Rome, Poussin was apparently visited by a Louis Fouquet, brother of Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finances to Louis XIV 1653–61. In a letter, dated 17 April 1656, between Louis and Nicolas Fouquet, Louis went into detail of his meeting with Poussin, stating
He and I planned certain things, which I shall with ease be able to explain to you shortly – things which will give you, through Monsieur Poussin, advantages which even kings would have great pains to draw from him, and which, according to him, it is possible that nobody else will ever rediscover in the centuries to come. And what is more, these are things so difficult to discover that nothing now on Earth can prove of better fortune nor be their equal.
The meaning of this letter has never successfully been explained, making for some pretty elaborate theories from various writers – you know the ones I mean! While much of this is conjecture, one aspect that cannot be doubted is Louis XIV’s own interest in Poussin. The king later confiscated Fouquet’s correspondence, and Louis eventually succeeded in purchasing several of Poussin’s paintings for his private quarters.
Unfortunately, the exact meaning of the phrase Et In Arcadia Ego has also come into question – totally unnecessarily. Though it is true that the phrase is subject to ambiguity, Arcadia could mean Heaven or an area in Greece, the painting’s standing as a memento mori in an age when such paintings were popular seems beyond all doubt. In his poetic work of 1504, entitled Arcadia, the Italian poet Jacopo Sannazaro had already spoken of Arcadia as a lost world of utopian quality.
Unlike the Guercino painting, the work by Poussin has been the subject of interest about the position of at least two of the shepherds’ hands. This is particularly interesting and also inspired one of the themes in this novel. Matt Anson is drawn to Acadia by the covering of the letter R in the Guercino image on the monument. A similar argument has been put forward regarding the Shugborough monument (see below). The way in which the Guercino paintings appear on the cover of this novel is not the same as the original masterpieces and has been changed to illustrate this point.
Another interesting historical enigma is Poussin’s own tomb in the Church of San Lorenzo at Lucina, located in Rome. The church is old, allegedly built on ruins linked to an ancient Christian cult. Among its peculiarities is a doorway leading to a throne, once used by the popes in Privy Council meetings. Within this church is a monument to Poussin erected in 1832. Included below his bust is another engraving of the Arcadian shepherds, in addition to a memorial written in Latin
Parce Piis Lacrimis Vivit Pussinus In Urna
Vivere Qui Deder At Nescius Ipse Mori
Hic Tamen Ipse Silet Si Vis Audire Loquentem
Mirum Est In Tabulis Vivit Et Eloquitur
Or perhaps in English
Hold back your pious tears, Poussin lives in this Tomb
He had given his life without knowing how to die,
He keeps quiet in here but if you want to hear him speak
It is surprising how he lives and talks in his paintings.
The monument was paid for by his fellow countryman, the novelist François-René de Chateaubriand. Apart from his fame as the apparent founder of ‘romanticism’ in French literature, Chateaubriand was also a stout defender of the Catholic faith.
For the conspiracy theorist, there is more than enough material here for which one’s head could explode. For those who love their history, connection to the line ‘without knowing how to die’ fits in very nicely with another of history’
s enigmatic characters, the Comte de St. Germain – that elegant Frenchman who never seemed to grow old and whose legendary identity has linked him with everyone from the Wandering Jew to the Man in the Iron Mask. Intriguingly, this brings me on to another facet of the novel.
The Anson Family
My principal protagonist in The Larmenius Inheritance is named Matthew Anson, a man of ancient lineage. Though the family in the novel is completely fictitious, a real family of the same name did exist – themselves not without connections to the Poussin paintings and the Comte de St. Germain.
In the English county of Staffordshire is a country estate, Shugborough Hall, that was built by the Anson family in 1656–1720. Among their number, Admiral George Anson (1697–1762) was famous for his naval reforms, heroics in the Seven Years’ War and his successful circumnavigation of the globe. In light of his achievements, no fewer than seven British warships have been named HMS Anson. Mention of him in the novel, however, is entirely fictitious. The Anson estate in Ayrshire is also fictional and is not based on Shugborough – for a start Shugborough is far smaller. I have, though, used one of Shugborough’s more famous features as inspiration for the grounds of the Scottish estate. In the grounds of Shugborough are eight monuments, added by George Anson’s brother, Thomas, between around 1746 and 1765 and allegedly inspired by George Anson’s round-the-world voyage. In this novel, there were four monuments, all of which were placed in strategically important positions.
Among the monuments at Shugborough is the Shepherd’s Monument: lying in an isolated position, surrounded by hedges, close to the Doric Temple. The monument is a sculpted relief of the Poussin painting, though the image is mirrored. In this novel, I have included a similar monument for the paintings by Guercino.
Shugborough’s Shepherd’s Monument is equally famous for its inscription. That inscription, matching the one I have used in my novel, has never been accurately deciphered, though many have tried – including me. Theories of its meaning are wide ranging, including everything from a location of the Holy Grail to a love letter from Anson to his wife. According to certain researchers, a code exists – a combination of the words and certain positions of the shepherds’ hands in the monument – and thus marks the words Nova Scotia, matching the Acadia theory. Up to this point, previous investigators have connected this not to New Ross but Oak Island. Exactly what exists down in the mysterious ‘money pit’ is anyone’s guess. My own belief is that the pit predates the Templars. It is also my view that the Shugborough monument has nothing to do with the Templars or the Holy Grail.
But it does have another great claim to fame. In the novel, I included a four-verse riddle on the back of the Guercino painting. This was inspired by a real quatrain written by Nostradamus.
Quand l’efcriture D.M. trouvée,
Et cave antique à lampe defcouverte,
Loy, Roy, & Prince Ulpian efprouvée,
Pavillon Royne & Duc fous la couverte
Though totally separate from this novel, the real history of the Anson family is itself worthy of interest. It is known that the family owned at least one copy of the Poussin painting – in a separate painting, Lady Anson can be seen holding it.
But strangely, Guercino has received very little attention compared to Poussin. Why is this? And how about some of these theories that the title Et In Arcadia Ego is actually an anagram? If Et In Arcadia Ego is an anagram concerning something of great importance, doesn’t it hold that the Guercino painting contains that same hidden meaning? Does it not also hold that the Guercino painting is the more important of the two as it is older?
Surely the more likely explanation is that both Guercino and Poussin simply painted their respective Shepherds paintings to represent mortality, just like the hundreds of similar creations by other artists. Renieri’s Magdalene with a cross and skull, for example – generally accepted as Mary Magdalene’s contemplation of her mortality and faith in Christ.
When considering such theories, it is often useful to research not what an author includes in a presentation, but rather what they chose to leave out.
The Corte-Real Brothers
Gaspar Corte-Real (1450–1501?) and Miguel Corte-Real (1448–1502?) were both Portuguese seafarers and knights of the Order of Christ. Their father, João vaz Corte-Real, (died 1496) was also a famed seafarer and the alleged discoverer of Newfoundland in 1471–2 – according to a document held in Lisbon, the land is referred to as Terra Nova do Bacalhau, the New Land of the Codfish.
In 1500, Manuel I of Portugal sent Gaspar Corte-Real on a mission of exploration to the lands of Codfish, apparently in search of a quick passage to Asia. In 1501, he set out on a second voyage, along with Miguel and at least one other caravel, and made land somewhere in the region of Labrador or Newfoundland. As the weather deteriorated, Miguel returned home, and Gaspar remained in charge of the last remaining caravel. After Gaspar’s failure to return, Miguel set out again in a bid to find his brother.
As of 1502, neither sailor was seen again. Their brother, Vasco Anes Corte-Real, was denied permission to search for his brothers, though a later attempt proved fruitless. According to Brown University academic Edmund B. Delabarre, Miguel Corte-Real made the markings on the Dighton Rock.
Hiram I of Tyre
The King of Tyre was an historical man. It is mentioned in the Book of Kings that Solomon requested the help of Hiram to assist in the construction of the First Temple. According to Masonic lore, the man sent his best architect, Hiram Abiff. The history of Phoenicia, Tyre et cetera mentioned in this book is a combination of fact and fiction. The First Temple of Solomon was destroyed in 586/7BC, and the second in AD70. The Third Temple, as described in the Book of Ezekiel, is regarded by most as a metaphorical location: one that will only be realised in a physical sense at the time of the coming of the Jewish Messiah, referred to in Christianity as the Second Coming of Christ.
That said, there are at least two societies who see the building of a Third Temple as being a more tangible objective. This has been a source of much controversy. The building of the Third Temple, depending on the exact site, could not occur without the destruction of two Moslem sites: the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
Talk of the Third Temple is a complex issue both in religion and the political state of Israel.
The Location of the Mountain of God
According to the Book of Exodus, when Moses led the Israelites out of captivity, he parted the waters of the Red Sea and later climbed a high mountain, at which point he received the Ten Commandments from the God of Israel.
Should Exodus be used in isolation, the location of the mountain was Sinai, the term used in the Torah. However, in the Book of Deuteronomy the mountain is referred to as Horeb.
The question is, firstly, are Sinai and Horeb the same place, and secondly, where is that place?
Tradition places the biblical Mount Sinai in the real life Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Most Jews, Christians, Moslems and scholars accept this view though the theory is not without flaws. The present name predates the historian Titus Flavius Josephus and may have derived solely from tradition. Other possibilities have included Saudi Arabia and the Valley of Edom.
Edom, in particular, is a site worthy of investigation. According to the Song of Deborah, God is said to have dwelt at Mount Seir located in the mountains of Edom.
Further argument has been put forward that the biblical Sinai is Jebel al-Madhbah at Petra. This is particularly interesting. To take the biblical account of a loud trumpet sound being heard at Sinai as fact, this could indeed match the well-known natural phenomenon that occurs here, locally dubbed the trumpet of God. Equally fascinating, the famous sightings of red cloud at al-Madhbah seems an exact fit for the ‘Glory of the Lord’.
But better still is the local tradition. The narrow valley where Petra is sited is known locally as Wadi Musa, literally translating to Valley of Moses. Furthermore, above the entrance to the siq (the entrance of Petra) is Ain Musa, the Spring
of Moses.
In my opinion, Edom could well be the famous site and would also equate well with other aspects of the Old Testament. Another problem has been locating the point of the Red Sea that Moses parted. This might well be because of a mistranslation of the Hebrew Bible. Was it the Red Sea Moses parted or the Sea of Reed?
The presence of the Knights Templar in the area during the 12th century is well documented. The head was indeed Ralph de Sudeley of Warwickshire, as described in the novel. The tomb discovered by Sudeley in the novel is fictitious. However, according to author Graham Phillips, Sudeley found a chest. It is Phillips’s belief this may have been the Ark of the Covenant.
Solomon
According to the Book of Kings, Solomon was the son of King David, stated in the two books of Samuel as King of the United Monarchy. Solomon is famed for his wisdom, given to him by God. The biblical account of Solomon refers to him as being a great king, but one who fell into shame after his wife, the daughter of an unnamed pharaoh, led his heart unto other gods. Historical evidence of Solomon is far scarcer – Josephus mentions him, but there are many gaps to be filled in.
Acts of Solomon
It was written in the first Book of Kings that the wisdom and acts of King Solomon were recorded in another book, The Acts of Solomon. Supposedly this was one of many books written by the minor prophet Iddo.
The Larmenius Inheritance Page 47