The Nanteos Cup

The story of the Nanteos Cup begins during the reign of King Henry VIII. In the late 1520’s, Henry began making steps to separate England from the spiritual authority of the Catholic Church. The disagreement between the Church and King centered round Henry’s desire to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragorn. Catherine had not produced a male heir for Henry and he wished to marry Anne Boleyn in hopes of producing a son. Henry bantered with the Catholic Church for a number of years. Henry exchanged letters and delegates with the Holy See in hopes of winning his annulment. The Catholic position was not only one of Church doctrine, but of politics. The Pope, not wishing to alienate England

In 1533, Henry took matters into his own hands and secretly married the pregnant Boleyn. Parliament then passed an act that dissolved Papal authority in England. This act made an English Court’s decision that Henry’s marriage to Catherine was legally annulled, and therefore his marriage to Boleyn valid. The Parliament’s actions also proscribed placing Henry as the spiritual leader of the newly formed Church of England. The doctrine of the Church of England was the same as Catholic doctrine with the exception of the Pope’s authority in matter of faith. By 1536, all public and ecclesial officials had to publicly denounce the authority of Rome in accordance with the Reformation Parliaments acts.

There was no public outcry for the loss of Papal authority. Most commoners saw the Catholic Church as a spiritual protection racket. The Church charged to perform weddings, baptisms, or funeral services. Without these services, the Church’s stance was that entry into heaven could not be obtained. To Henry, the Catholic Abbeys and Monasteries represented pockets of resistance to his reign. Pragmatically, they also represented a stream of income to the crown. Most Abbeys had large tracks of farmable land and other material assets that could be put to the King’s use. To insure that the monasteries were conforming to the law, Thomas Cromwell organized groups of commissioners to perform ecclesial spot checks. This turned out to be a rather lucrative job for the commissioners. Who had the honor of looting the monasteries where the monks were found to be in violation of the law.

It is during this time the Nanteos Cup surfaces. In 1539, the King’s commissioners were sent to check on the Abbey of Glastonbury. The Abbot of Glastonbury had evidently never denounced Papal authority. Some loyal Catholic had tipped the Abbot off that the commissioners were in the area. Upon hearing this, the Abbot made plans to hide the Abbey’s most prized possession. Along with what ever gold and silver wares the Abbey possessed, an olive wood cup measuring about five by three inches was hidden. One legend says the Abbot sent seven monks to the Strata Florida to safe guard the cup. The Abbot stayed at Glastonbury to cover the monk’s escape. For the Abbot’s devotion to his faith and the cup, the old priest was hung and Glastonbury Abbey was sacked. A second, more likely version, is that the Abbot accompanied the monks and barely escaped the commissioner’s ravages of Glastonbury.

At the Abbey Strata Florida in Cardiganshire, the monks found momentary refuge. Supposedly, they hid their treasure under a loose floor board in the main chapel. It wasn’t long before the commissioners picked up the monk’s trail. For a second time, the former Glastonbury Monks were informed that their position was in jeopardy. The group of seven could not go to ground forever. They had to find a patron to shield them from the King’s agents or leave the country.

The monks then made contact with the Powell family. It was also rumored that the Powell family was partners with the neighboring Stedman family in a rather extensive smuggling operation. There was said to be a tunnel running nearly a mile from the coast to the Powell’s manor. The local tavern talk was that the Powell’s loyalties to the King were bought with bribes to the local magistrates. Possibly it was the smuggler nature to turn a profit or secret Catholic ties that connected Lord Powell with the monks. For whatever reason Powell’s reasons, the seven monks were directed to fleet to the Powell estate of Nanteos.

When the monks reached Nanteos, the terms of their safe haven was struck with Lord Powell. In exchange for sanctuary, the Abbot would become personal chaplain to the family and the remaining monks would become servants around the estate. Lord Powell agreed and let the monks remain at the estate for as long as they liked. This arraignment went along for years. The monks lived their days with little difference than they had at Glastonbury. The only exception being, hiding in the costal tunnel when prying eyes came to the estate. The monks kept their part of the bargain for a number of years. All the while, keeping the secret of the cup they had spirited away from Glastonbury.

The ravages of age or disease began taking their toll on the monks, until only one remained. On his death bed, the lone Glastonbury monk called for Lord Powell. It was there he entrusted Powell with the olive wood cup and it’s secret. Lord Powell was told that this was the cup used at the Last Supper. It had been brought to Brittan by Joseph of Arimathea after the crucifixion. It must have been with some trepidation he took the cup from the dying monk. Viewing what he had been told was the Holy Grail. The monk charged the Powell Family to guard the cup, until the “Church shall claim her own.”

Lord Powell must have taken his charge seriously, because it stayed in the family for nearly 400 years. In 1739, the Nanteos House was rebuilt by Thomas Powell. The cup was housed in a glass container of an upstairs room. Visitors to Nanteos were even told the generations old tale of how this cup came into the family’s possession. The cup stayed there for another 200 years, attracting pilgrims hoping to receive miraculous healing from the cup. Water that had rested in the cup was sent to serious ill friends and family members all over the world. Richard Wagner made a trip to Nanteos in 1855 to see the cup while writing Parsifal, at the invitation of George Powell. George recounted tales of the cups healing powers to Wagner. It even convinced Tom Mac Donald of Western Mail and South Wales News to write an article on the cup. On 5 July 1934 he recounted the story of an 80 year old man who was healed of some unnamed sickness after drinking from the cup.

The pilgrims that traveled to Nanteos House to drink from the cup have taken a physical toll on the artifact. Those desperate enough to receive the blessings of the cup took to taking bites out of it. Hoping that by ingesting some of the cup, they would be made well again. At some point after the 1934 article was written, a silver ring was placed around the rim to hold the cup’s cracked pieces together. Some say that it was then the miraculous benefits of the cup ceased.

When the last of the Powell family passed away in 1952, the Nanteos House was sold to a Major Mirylees. The Mirylees were somewhat private about the cup. They no longer publicizing the fact they were the owners of the “Holy Grail”. The family did allow a few interviews regarding the cup. One was a 1997 BBC Television documentary and another was an interview granted to the Martinist Review in 1959. In the Martinist Review article, Marjory Mirylees hinted that the cup was still being used to some extent to heal the sick. She also mentioned that sometimes the water that was poured in the remaining portion of the cup turned a yellowish color, and tasted almost like wine. Mrs. Mirylees also assured the reporters that experts had told her the wood had absolutely nothing to do with the color change.

The present Mirylees have moved from Nanteos House. The once proud House has turned into a run down bed and breakfast. Choosing to preserve both the cup and their privacy they moved to Herefordshire and deposited this contender for the true Grail in a Lloyd’s Bank safety deposit box. The only time the Nanteos Cup has been displayed was in 2001, at the launching of a book Nanteos and their Families. At the time, Miss Mirylees said that she still sent water out from the cup.

Knights Templar Reading Lists

In the last few years there has been a ton of books written on the Templars. The following are good starting points for not only the known history of the Order, but a primer on the conjectural side of Templar history.

Dungeon, Fire and Sword; John Robinson

John Robinson, author of Born in Blood, writes his history of the Knight's Templar in this text. While the text is informative on the Templar's, it tends to turn into a history of the Crusades and the politics of the era. Robinson does have a story telling style to his history and the text is recommended to those who are looking for an over view of what is historically known about the Templars. For those who are looking for speculation about what the Templars could have done or what they might have been involved in during the Crusades, this is not a text you'll want to pick up.

The Templars : Knights of God; Edward Burman

This is a very concise overview of the Templars during the Crusades. The weakness of most texts dealing with the Templars is that the focus tends to be on the Crusades, and mention of the Templars is an after thought. Knights of God attempts to break that mold. The author’s focus is very clear in trying to report on what is known about the organization. It’s a good starter text for anyone wishing to get a historical background of the Knights.

The Trial of the Templars;Malcomb Barber

Malcolm Barber is one of the world’s leading medieval historians. He has written a number of histories of the Templars and of the Crusades. I decided to put this one on the reading list because of the events it deals with. To understand any post 1307 conjectural history of the Templars, one must understand how and why they fell from power. Barber takes a close look at the surviving documentation to report on this subject in depth. There is a very scholarly air about Barber’s writing, but it is in no way impenetrable to the armchair historian.

Sign and the Seal : The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant; Graham Hancock

If one says nothing else about Graham Hancock, it would be that he is a man of adventure. Hancock's was a journalist for a number of prominent English newspapers during the 1970's, and was the Economist's East African correspondent in the early 80's. Trained as a sociologist at Durham University, Hancock's travels impressed upon him that what we know about history is not really what we know about history. It is from this framework we come to Hancock's first crypto-historical book the Sign and the Seal.

Hancock's theory is that the Holy Grail is the Ark of the Covenant. Hancock became fascinated with the Falasha Jews of Ethiopia while on assignment there in 1983. The Falasha's folklore tells that the Ark of the Covenant was taken from Israel by Solomon and The Queen of Sheba's son, and returned to Ethiopia. There exists a church in Axum, that Christian Ethiopians believe houses the Ark. Hancock goes on to claim that the Knights Templar figured out where the Ark was and went to Ethiopia to find it.

Hancock's arguments are rather compelling. The present day practices of Ethiopian Christians and architecture bearing Templar Crosses, go a long way in presenting his case. Should the Ark of the Covenant still exist, Hancock's argument will make you think there is no better place in the world that it would reside.

As to the Holy Grail connection, Hancock uses Grail Literature as a hidden code to decipher that the Grail is the Ark. While the argument for the Ark residing in Ethiopia is compelling, the link between the Grail and the Ark is not so. The strength of this text is in Hancock's interviews with Ethiopian Religious leaders and research into the history of Ethiopia.

The Templars and the Grail : Knights of the Quest

Dr. Karen Ralls explores the legendary and literary links between the Templars and the quest for the Grail. I was fortunate enough to meet Karen at a conference in 1999 in London. At the time she was an Deputy Curator of the Rosslyn Chapel Museum. Her insights on things Grail related yield some interesting results. She also supports the web site Ancient Quest

Templar Documents Sold at Auction in London

Click here for the full source article

In London this past week John Goodchild auctioned off deeds of the Knights Templar dating back to the 12^th and 13^th Centuries. These deeds relate to holdings in the Lofthouse and Newland areas in England. The documents also have references to Temple Newsam Given the Da Vinci Codefuror, the street value of any such documents has risen significantly. I suspect that a close watch of upper end action houses lots will yield a number of such items up for sale in the coming months.

Goodchild supports a local research center in Wakefield, a displays what is simply known as the Goodchild Collection. According to a UK ARCHON search, this collection simply houses some family’s deeds from the Wakefield area. Goodchild as also written a texts relating to the Wakefield area . However, I cannot find any references on the net to the book News from Newland. It’s likely that the book is available at local book shops. Goodchild’s books and research generally follow the history of the Wakefield area. The majority of Goodchild’s texts are published by Tempus Publishing and Wakefield Historical Publications. The conspiracy theorist in me, that I do try to suppress when writing this blog, notes that Wakefield Historical Publications web site does display the Fleur-de-lay at the top and bottom of every page.

Points I found interesting about the article

• The Templar documents came from a large estate that Goodchild is not willing to name. I know there are numerous donations to charities and the like that hold anonymity clauses. But Goodchild states that he is not “prepared” to disclose this information. I know this is a matter of semantics, but interesting none the less.

• Goodchild states in the article that he had no idea of the value of the Templar documents he held. This is a rather odd statement. How could a retired archivist not know anything related to the Templars would hold significant value?

Once again, the job of the Grail Seeker leads to more questions that answers. I just wonder what else is in Mr. Goodchild’s achieves.

Freemasonry Book Lists

Most people come to researching Freemasonry through a few different avenues.

• Conspiracy Theory
• Origins of the organization and its links to other groups (Templars, Rosicrucians, Kabalistic Schools)
• The meaning of Rites and rituals
• Freemasonry’s link to past historical movements (The American Revolution, The French Revolution, Robert the Bruce)

Most of which are very valid lines of inquiry since many lines of modern day Grail are at tangent topical lines. I would give anyone a few pointers if you’re just beginning to look into the subject.

There are a ton of very poorly written and thought out texts about Freemasonry. I tend to stick to the texts that present either historical or conjectural account of the organization. Generally the more inflammatory the text is, the poorer the research and the argument is. The The Brotherhood by Stephen Knight is a prime example of my assertion. Emotion tends to take the place of logic in books of this type. This is not to say that there are no valid arguments for “Masonic conspiracies”. One has only to look at the Henry Morgan affair in the early 1800’s and the 1980’s Italian P2 lodge scandals for that. Keep one thing in mind when exploring historical events and Masonry. Events center around groups of men that are Masons, not Masonry acting as an organization. Most Masonic Lodges these days have problems putting together summer picnics, let alone controlling countries and banking systems.

If you’re interested in the ritual of Freemasonry, another word of caution. Ritual varies from State to State, and Jurisdiction to Jurisdiction. Don’t expect to pick up a text containing a particular Degree’s work and try to dissect it word for word. Use these texts to grasp the stories and lessons they present. I fear that one would be wasting their time if they did such a thing. The rituals have changed so much over the years, if such a link existed, it is lost.

Below are some primer texts

Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry; Brent Morris

If you know nothing of Freemasonry and want a good place to start, this is it. Brent Morris is the editor of The Scottish Rite Journal and a 33^rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason. He takes pains to paint what modern day Masonry is truly about and what he perceives as its origins.

Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry; John Robinson

This has to be the finest book on the subject of the first three degrees of Masonry, and Freemasonry’s connection to the Knights Templar I have ever read. Robinson came to his hypothesis quite by accident. Robinson began by investigating a little known late middle ages English Revolt, which lead him to the Templars/Freemasonry connection. Robinson also goes into exhaustive detail and explanation of the Blue Lodge Degrees. This is the text that started me down the road I am on now, so it holds a special place in my heart.

Freemasonry & the Birth of Modern Science; Robert Lomas

Robert Lomas of Hiram Key and The Second Messiah fame explores the English Royal Society and it’s links to Freemasonry. Although, some of the links are tenuous, their overall hypothesis of Freemasonry being the driving force behind the Royal Society is valid enough. This text also gives a good look into Freemasonry in the years before the official formation of the Grand Lodge of England.

Duncan's Ritual of Freemasonry

Duncan’s Ritual is a guide to all of Freemasonry’s Ritual. From the Blue Lodge Degrees, and York Rite degrees; one is presented with the verbiage from work. Keep in mind my previous admonition; view these works as guides to the stories and lessons taught within the Degrees and not something to be dissected word by word.

A New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry

Written by A.E. Waite, this text is exactly what it says. It takes numerous topics from Masonic history and ritual and attempts to explain their meanings. Waite was a prolific writer of all things occult in the early 1900’s. Waite’s research is exhaustive and once again hits on many tangent Grail lines. We will be seeing more of his texts as the reading lists go on.

The Temple and the Lodge; Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh

The authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail give conjecture of what happened to the Knights Templar after the 1307 arresets. Their thesis is that the Templars fled to Scotland and fought with Robert the Bruce against the English. They further hypothesis that the Templar’s rituals turned into Freemasonry. Baigent and Leigh extend their research into Freemasonry during the American Revolution and the formation if the US.

Book Lists and Reviews are Comming

Over the past few days, I have had a number of emails regarding books that I might suggest on a number of topics. The next few blogs I post will contain books on various topics that would be of interest to you Grail Seekers out there. If you have any other topics that you trip your trigger, drop me a line and I’ll dig through my library to see what I can come up with.

On a note of shameless self promotion, I have included links for each of these texts to Amazon. Grail Seekers is a proud affiliate with Amazon (and hopefully soon Alibris), so if you’re interested in a text please utilize these links. And finally, Grail Seekers has cool swag at Café Press Thank you for your continued support in Grail Seekers.

Folks, Try This at Home

Yes it is true. There are those that went out to see the Da Vinci Code and immediatly bought spade and shovel and headed to Rosslyn. Folks, dig in your own back yards will you? Even if you do find something, you would probably wreck any archeological value it might have...

Steinbeck and the Holy Grail

I have wasted my time once again. I have been working on a Blog about John Steinbeck and the Holy Grail, and was hoping to post it tomorrow. I have gotten scooped by Marty Cheek of the Gilroy Dispatch. (His article can be located here.) The Holy Grail and Arthurian legend is a reoccurring theme in Steinbeck’s works. I highly recommend Mr. Cheek’s article if this interests you at all. Marty, you might have scooped me, but you didn’t get it all.

Steinbeck’s Grail allusions actually begin in his 1933 novel To An Unknown God Steinbeck tells the tale of farmer Joseph Wayne. Who has been given a blessing from his father and goes to build a farm in a distant valley. Wayne develops a pagan belief system centered on his interaction with nature. Wayne begins to see the mystical in many aspects of the farm. He believes that a tree holds the spirit of his dead father. After Wayne’s brother cuts down a tree, the valley is besieged by drought and pestilence. Wayne feels that the only way to save his valley is to sacrifice himself. He eventually silts his wrists, and his blood spilling on the ground brings about a rain storm.

Given Steinbeck’s self-professed love an Arthurian Legend, the connection with the tale of Parsifal and the Fisher King cannot be over looked. The blight on the Fisher King’s land began with a wound to his testicles from the Holy Spear. The kingdom is restored when Parsifal answers the question of, “Whom does the Grail Serve?” The answer is “the Grail is located within himself [the Fisher King].” Just as the means to restore Joseph Wayne’s lands is within himself. Finally, some versions of the Fisher King’s story have him dying within three days of the kingdom’s resurrection. Another sacrifice made for the greater good.

A final work of Steinbeck deserves note in reference to the Grail legend and The Da Vinci Code in particular. The Short Regin of Peppin IV (1957) is a little celebrated Steinbeck text. The political satire centers on the French’s attempt to revive the monarchy through a descendant of Charlemagne. While there is no great conspiracy with the Priory of Sion in Steinbeck’s work, it is interesting he would write of the return of the Merovingian line. Pierre Plantard, had to have been amused at this book coming out a year after supposedly reformed the Priory.

Then again who knows why an author writes about anything. I can daydream that Steinbeck was “in the know” can’t I?

The Da Vinci Code, a Visual Review

I saw the Da Vinci Code last night, and I cannot say that I was disappointed. This is one of the few movies that I have ever seen that did not stray from the original text. (Unlike the movie version of Starship Troopers, from which Robert Heinlein is still spinning in his grave.) After a little while, I even bought into Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. The majority of reviews I’'ve read stick pretty much to these points and anything else alone.

Going into the movie, I was more concerned with the visuals. Given that Dan Brown, or some savvy marketing person, has a penchant for visual Easter Eggs; I was hoping for a visual feast. Ron Howard disappointed me here. I felt that the key buildings in the book were treated was characters. Since each structure had its own mystery to unravel, Brown almost personified the buildings. Howard was lacking in this area. There is nothing visually that would give one the idea of just how large the Louvre is, or what an important history and art it contains. I have visited three of the key buildings in the movie and will gripe and praise accordingly.

The Temple Church; located off Fleet Street in London, this is a magnificent example of a Templar building. The main part of the Church is round; an architectural theme that reoccurs in Templar built churches, but is not communicated by the film makers. One thing Howard almost got right is the feeling of darkness the church conveys. No, not an evil darkness, but walking into the Church one gets the feeling that it is sucking any ambient light into the walls. This combined with the garish figures on the walls, can give one an intimidating feel. This had to be the goal of the Templars, to ward off the faint of heart. Unless some of the stained glass was knocked out since I visited; I have no idea where the dove could have come from.

Westminster Abby; I did like the ghostly images hanging around the Abby as the characters walked in, giving an actual feel of the place. Westminster is so crowed with tombs of historical figures, it would be hard to think there were not a few lost souls wandering around. It is so crowed, I almost knocked a velvet rope pole into Elizabeth I's tomb. Had I not caught the pole in time, I would have immediately been deported. I give Howard, an A for effort, but the scope of the Abby was still lacking in the visuals.

Rosslyn Chapel ; is such an explosion of images there’s almost no way Howard could have conveyed it all. I was disappointed there was not at least one pan on the Apprentice Pillar. This column is one of the most distinct and speculated about features of Rosslyn. There is a very short glimpse of it over Hanks shoulder, but no more.

Here are my two biggest problems. The first is that there is no “Star of David” on the overhang to the Crypt. I'’ve checked my memory and my photos, and if there is one I am mistaken. The one that was in the movie didn'’t even match the color of the stone around it. Finally, the Crypt is no where near that big. There are no storage rooms off to the sides. Rosslyn isn’'t hiding works of art or chest full of old raffle receipts. What bothered me most about the scene is that the Crypt is interesting enough without having to embellish it.

I’'ve said my peace. Go see it, but don’'t sell yourself short on digging a little deeper into the architecture that should have been in the foreground and not the background of the film.

Music and the Rosslyn Cubes

Stuart Mitchell has made the news recently for collaborating with his father Thomas Mitchell in cracking the code of the mysterious Rosslyn Chapel Cubes. (For the whole 27 Apr 2006 Scotsman article, click HERE The first news of this hit the Scotsman back on 4 Oct 2005) The Mitchells believe that the 213 cubes hold the code to a piece of medieval music that will unlock the secrets in the stones of Rosslyn. Thomas Mitchell has been working on this problem for the last 20 years. According to the Scotsman article, The breakthrough to interpreting the notation came when Mitchell's father discovered that the markings carved on the face of the cubes seem to match a phenomenon called Cymatics or Chladni patterns. Chladni patterns form when a sustained note is used to vibrate a sheet of metal covered in powder producing marks.

Well its not that much of a break through. On 16 June 2002, the Scotsman reported a similar theory in the article Japanese bid to solve mystery of the Rosslyn cubes. As early as 2002, Panasonic UK has been working on the cube mystery with, eight scientists and music specialists from around the world. Their slant was that the music produced from the cube code might produce a sort of healing music. Their hope was that some sacred cord which would enhance the ultrasonic healing devices the Panasonic markets.

Oddly enough, Panasonic's key to breaking the code might sound familiar. The article states, One of the theories is that the notes were recorded using a brass plate covered with sand. When the brass plate was struck with a bow, it vibrated, creating a distinctive pattern of sand lines for that particular note.

So whats really going on here? Did the April 2006 Scotsman article overstate the Mitchells making a break through in cracking the code? Is there a connection between the Panasonic UKs research and the Mitchell project?

Not that this is any earth shattering conspiracy, but there are some interesting questions raised in the discrepancies. I'll snoop some more and post any additional findings.

Vatican Denys Reforming of the Knights Templars

This was posted from the ZENIT News Agency on 23 May 06. I'm trying to sift through German web sites to come up with the original text of the letter in question. Below is the text found at here

ZENIT News Agency, The World Seen from Rome

Knights Templar Letter a Fraud, Says Holy See

VATICAN CITY, MAY 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See says that a letter -- allegedly written by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano -- recognizing a new order of Knights Templar, is false.

The false document, which has circulated in Germany in recent months, asserts that the Vatican has recognized the new "Templerorden." The Holy See has received numerous inquiries about the document.

The Holy See responded with a note published Sunday in the Italian edition of L'Osservatore Romano stating that "this letter is false."

"As is known, the old Order of Templars was suppressed by Pope Clement V (1305-1314) and was never reinstated by any of his successors," explained the Holy See.

The Vatican note confirmed that "the Holy See, in addition to its own equestrian orders, recognizes and oversees only the Sovereign Military Order of Malta -- the Sovereign Hospitaller Military Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta -- and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem." ZE06052302

What's really intriguing to me is that back in 2002, the Italian Magazine Hera

(you'll have to do a Babel Fish translation on this site if you can't read Italian) reported that Dr. Barbara Frale unearthed The Chinon Document. This document, found in the Vatican Secret Archives, gives the impression that Pope Clement exonerated the Templars.

"(...) and since they have humbly begged forgiveness from the Church for those misdeeds, pleading absolution, we decree that they are absolved by the Church, that they are restored to communion and that they may receive the holy sacraments." Chinon Document as quoted in Templars: The Flame of Innocence; Adriano Forgione; Hera Magazine 2002.

I'd hate to break any copyright laws by republishing their article on this blog. However, the nice folks at Hera sent me an English translation in 2002. If you're interested in a copy, drop me a line and I'll get you a copy.

This seems to be at odds with the Vatican's statement above regarding the Templars. It's also odd that the Vatican would make a statement like this. They usually keep quite about things they dismiss out of hand. Possibly with the Da Vinci Code publicity, the Holy See decided to squash this rumour out right.

Again I've run up against the language barrier. Frale published The Knights Templar in 2004, in Italian. The blurb for her dissertation leads one to believe that she addresses the Chinon Document in her text. Once again an interesting trail goes cold, and the questions grow.