- Knights Templar and popular culture
The
Knights Templar have many references inpopular culture , yet most of them quite inaccurate. The truth is that they were aCatholic military order that existed from the1100s to the1300s , to provide warriors in theCrusades . [Karen Ralls, "Knights Templar Encyclopedia: The Essential Guide to the People, Places, Events, and Symbols of the Order of the Temple" (New Page Books, 2007).] They were quite famous inmedieval times, and stories and legends have grown about them over the centuries.In modern works, the Templars are generally portrayed in one of two ways; as villains, misguided zealots, or representatives of an evil secret society, and as the keepers of a long-lost treasure.
Receptions in scholarly settings
Their depiction in such works of art has already received considerable scholarly attention as the subject of the Annual Conference of the American Culture Association. [http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=141682 Masons, Templars and the Holy Grail: Historical Conspiracies and Popular Culture] ] Literary theorists puzzle over Eco's use of the Templars as a symbol of postmodernist rewriting of history. Johannes Bertens asks about "a satire on the literary theory of deconstructionism in its near paranoid over-interpretation?" [ [http://www.onderzoekinformatie.nl/en/oi/nod/onderzoeker/PRS1236144/ Bertens, Prof.dr. J.W.] ] Barber writes that "Mystic Templars are omnipresent in all good conspiracy theories." [Barber's "The New Knighthood" (Cambridge U Press, 1995) paraphrased by Elaine Graham-Leigh] On "Day to Day" on NPR, "Alex Chadwick discusses the literary fascination with the Knights Templar with Laura Miller, book critic for Salon.com." [ [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5294791 Knights Templar Inspires Trio of Best-Selling Books] ] Torun Museum had "The Knights Templar - History and Myth" exhibition where "Apart from pieces of "high art," the exhibit will grant equal importance to "popular culture" items (literature, film, Internet content) exploring the subject of the Knights Templar." [" [http://www.culture.pl/en/culture/artykuly/wy_wy_templariusze_historia_mit_torun THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR - HISTORY AND MYTH] " at Torun, District Museum, October 23 - November 28, 2004] Finally, a "National Post" editorial notes that "the Templars remain a living presence in popular culture. This has happened precisely because the historical record concerning their sudden annihilation in the early-14th century at the hands of Philip IV ("the Fair") of France has been so sparse and ambiguous. Time and revolution have damaged and dispersed the sources, and made the Templars a magnet for speculation and imagination." [Marni Soupcoff, " [http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2007/10/22/the-post-editorial-board-the-truth-about-the-templars.aspx The Post editorial board: The truth about the Templars] ," "National Post" (October 22, 2007).]
Notable examples
Novels and comics
A brief list of some works which have featured the Knights Templar:
* "
Ivanhoe ", an 1820 novel by SirWalter Scott , has as its villain Sir Brian de Bois-Gilbert, a "Templar Knight."
* "The Da Vinci Code ", bestselling 2003 novel by Dan Brown. This was also adapted into a film version in 2006.
* "The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids", an 1855 short story byHerman Melville treats the Templars with greatirony .
* "Mumbo-Jumbo " (1972) has a Templar Knight "Hinkle Von Vampton" who serves as the main villain inIshmael Reed 's postmodernistsatire
* "Foucault's Pendulum", a 1988 novel byUmberto Eco , which features the mythos of the Knights Templar as keepers and defenders of theHoly Grail .
*"The Revenge of the Shadow King ", by Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis, relates an alternate history of the Knights Templar, aligning them with an age-old order whose primary role is to defend the world from the powers of darkness. In this book, the Templars still exist and operate today from the shadows of an underground organization.
*"The Last Templar ", byRaymond Khoury is a "Da Vinci Code"-style thriller.
*"Les Rois Maudits " byMaurice Druon depicts the death of the last Grand Master of the Order, and plays with the legend of thecurse he laid on thepope ,Philip the Fair , andGuillaume de Nogaret .
*Katherine Kurtz has written many books with Templar characters and themes, and edited the "Crusade of Fire " anthology
*Swedish authorJan Guillou has written a trilogy aboutArn Magnusson , a fictional Swedish character from theMiddle Ages who was forced to become a Knight Templar, went toJerusalem and after returning toSweden , was a leading military figure shortly before the time ofBirger Jarl .
*Canadian authorJack Whyte has started a series of books called the Templar Trilogy; the first book is "Knights of the Black and White"Films
* The film "Revelation" (2001), in which the order tries to clone
Jesus Christ for evil purposes.
* "The Ballad of Parzival " by Sir Walter Scott, features Parzival the hero as a Knight Templar. The ballad is the basis forRichard Wagner 's great opera with the same name.
* The mythos of the Knights Templar (presented as the fictional "Knights of the Cruciform Sword") as keepers and defenders of theHoly Grail is also a central plot point in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade " (1989).
*Dolph Lundgren plays the role of a modern day member of the Knights Templar in the1998 movie "The Minion".
* "National Treasure", 2004
* "Kingdom of Heaven", 2005 shows the incompetent last King of Jerusalem,Guy de Lusignan , and his bloodthirsty henchman, Reynald de Chatillon (not a Templar himself), as Templars. [Dr. Cathy Schultz, " [http://www.stfrancis.edu/historyinthemovies/kingdomofheaven.htm Making the Crusades Relevant in "KINGDOM OF HEAVEN"] ," "History in the Movies" and "Providence Journal" (5/6/05).]
* A series of horror films ("Tombs of the Blind Dead ", "Return of the Evil Dead ", "The Ghost Galleon ", "Night of the Seagulls " and "The Church") by Spanish director Amando de Ossorio depict the Knights Templar as resurrected mummies in search of human blood.
* The Templar Knights are featured in the 2001 French film "Le Pacte des loups ", in which the symbol of the Templar Knights is seen upon the walls of an old Templar stronghold and upon the Beast's armor. The cult seen in the movie is also supposedly a rogue Templar organization, originally sent by the Pope to teach the King of France a lesson.Music
* "Knights of the Cross" is a concept album about the Templars by German metal band Grave Digger.
*The Templars (band) aNYC Oi! band is inspired by the Knights Templar.
* Templecombe Records' The Templars, aNYC Oi! band's own label (in conjunction with TKO Records), is named after a Knights Templar site in Sommerset, England.
*HammerFall , a SwedishPower metal band, refer to themselves as "The Templars of Heavy Metal", making frequent reference to the Templars on many of their albums.
*Holy Knights , an ItalianPower metal band, has an album titled "A Gate Through the Past" which describes the story of the Knights Templar.Games
* The best-selling video game "" borrows extensively from the history of the Knights Templar, and the game features a group of warrior-monks known as The Blades.Fact|date=June 2008
* , from 2004 byTDK andStarbreeze .
* The Templars are mentioned in various video games such as Ion Storm's "Deus Ex ", "Deus Ex 2 " andRevolution Software 's "Broken Sword ", which suggests a Neo-Templar group. Many of these plots are derived in one way or another from theIlluminatus trilogy .
* Utilizing material from the book "Holy Blood, Holy Grail " the thirdGabriel Knight game, "Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned ", posits both an alternative history of Christ and the suggestion that the Templar treasure, buried in France'sLanguedoc , is Christ's remains.
* TheBlack Templars Chapter of the Space Marines from the "Warhammer 40,000 " tabletopwargame are based directly on the historical Knights Templar.
* The High and Dark Templar are both units of the Protoss race in the gameStarcraft .
* depicts the Templar Knights idol,Baphomet as a recruitable demon of the Vile Clan. He is also responsible for the rushed summoning of the Buddhist demon, Mara that resulted in Mara materializing in a slime body.References
See also
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