One of Freemasonry most respected and widely read authors gives us his account of the Crusades and the often reported connections between the Knights Templar and Freemasonry. Mackey was prolific as an author and his books included the History of Freemasonry in seven volumes, the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry in two volumes, Symbolism of Freemasonry, Masonic Jurisprudence, Manual of the Lodge, Book of the Chapter, Principles of Masonic Law, Lexicon of Freemasonry and the Mystic Tie. Included in this work is a biography of Mackey by Robert I. Clegg, who revised later editions of Mackey's classic Encyclopedia of Freemasonry.

Two masonic scholars examine an aspect of the fraternity's history that often gets overlooked. Brother Clegg looks at Freemasonry and Monasticism in the Middle Ages, while Brother Leadbeater examines a wide range of historical topics within both speculative and operative masonry, from that era of history.

Explores the hidden history of Freemasonry from ancient Rome, through the Middle Ages, to the present • Shows the close connection between medieval masons and the Knights Templar • Illustrates the sacred nature of Roman and medieval trade associations • Reveals the missing link that connects the lodges of modern Freemasonry to the medieval brotherhoods of builders Historians often make a sharp distinction between the operative Masonry of the Middle Ages and the speculative Masonry of modern times, emphasizing that there is no direct bridge connecting the two. Modern historians also have scoffed at Masonic claims concerning the close relationship between the Lodge and the Temple. Using medieval archives housed throughout Europe, historian Paul Naudon reveals that there was in fact a very intimate connection between the Masons and the Knights Templar. Church records of medieval Paris show that most, if not all, the Masons of that time were residents of the Templar censive, which allowed them to enjoy great exemptions and liberties from both church and state as a result of the protection afforded them by this powerful order. Naudon shows that the origins of Freemasonry can be traced back to the collegia of ancient Rome. He traces the evolution of organizations such as the Comacine Masters, the Arab turuqs, and the brotherhoods of builders created under the aegis of the Benedictines and the Knights Templar, all of which provide the vehicle for the transmission of a sacred tradition from pre-Christian times to the modern era. This tradition is the source of Masonic ritual and symbolism, and it provides the missing link in the transformation of the operative Masonry of the medieval cathedral builders to the spiritual principles of modern speculative Masonry.

From the authors of the international bestseller Holy Blood, Holy Grail, a history of the Freemasons from the Knights Templar to America's founding fathers. In The Temple and the Lodge, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh reveal the survival and evolution of a world‑changing order through the birth of the Masonic lodge. Recounting the brutal events in the fourteenth century that led to the sudden disappearance of the Knights Templar—a powerful military and banking order founded in 1119 and active in the Crusades—the authors document the Templars’ reappearance in the court of excommunicate Scottish king Robert the Bruce. Tracing the survival of certain Templar traditions in the birth of the Masonic lodge, they chart the history of Freemasonry from its medieval roots into the modern era, and from Europe to colonial America and the young United States. Baigent and Leigh marshal the evidence that the order’s contribution to fostering tolerance, progressive values, and cohesion in English society helped preempt a French‑style revolution in England. Freemasonry was an essential keystone in the formation of the United States, and the authors argue that America itself is an embodiment of the ideal “Masonic Republic.” Their groundbreaking analysis challenged the accepted history of the influence of Freemasonry on America’s framers and revolutionists, which most mainstream historians ignored until recently. Thirty years since its original publication, The Temple and the Lodge remains a trenchant and essential work on the influence of esoteric thought and beliefs in Western history. This edition includes a new foreword by Mitch Horowitz, the PEN Award–winning historian of alternative spirituality and author of Occult America and Awakened Mind.

This exploration of the remarkable people and influential activities of the Knights Templar and Freemasonry is truly stunning. It sheds considerable new light on how the practices, symbols and rituals of these two brotherhoods took shape and affected the world around them. "Born in Blood" began this work before its author passed away in 1996. Now historian Sanford Holst has gathered many more discoveries and internal documents that give a deeper look into the workings of the Templars and Freemasons. The roots of Masonry are traced to Solomon's Temple, the rise of Christianity, and the Crusades, causing this society's relationships with stonemasons and the Templars to take on new and significant meaning. We come to see how actions by Templars and Masons affected the fall of kings in Europe, the rise of democracy, and the Vatican's loss of its supreme position atop the Christian world. After Masonry emerged into public view in 1717, it had a strong influence on George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and other Masons who worked to create a new country in America. These experiences are seen through the eyes of people who lived through the actual events -- often told in their own words and drawn from remarkable collections of records dating from those times. A tantalizing question is asked: what practices among the Templars and Masons still affect our lives today? This well-documented look inside the secretive Templar and Masonic societies provides answers that may surprise you.

There is now no published theory to explain the enigma of the Turin Shroud that fits the known evidence. Many people want the shroud to be proof of Christ's mission, but Knight and Lomas prove that it is not. The truth behind the shroud is an epic story of pride, greed, powerlust and suffering. It had been prophesised that the Messiah would return shortly after 1230AD. Jacques de Molay was born in 1244, beacame a Templar in 1265 and Grand Master om 1297; the Templars regarded themselves as the guardians of the secret teachings of Jesus. In 1307 Molay was arrested at the instigation of the Pope, who was alarmed at the spread of this influence - and was crucified. Using the latest scientific techniques , the authors prove that the shroud Molay was wrapped in is the one now known as the Turin Shroud.

Dr. Albert G. Mackey appears as author of this " Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and its Kindred Sciences," which, being a library in inself, superseded most of the Masonic works which have been tolerated by the craft — chiefly because none better could be obtained. Here is a work which fulfils the hope which sustained the author through ten years' literary labor, that, under one cover he "would furnish every Mason who might consult its pages the means of acquiring a knowledge of all matters connected with the science, the philosophy, and the history of his order." Up to the present time the modern literature of Freemasonry has been diffuse, lumbering, unreliable, and, out of all reasonable proportions. There is, in Mackey's "Encyclopaedia of Masonry," well digested, well arranged, and confined within reasonable limits, all that a Mason can desire to find in a book exclusively devoted to the history, the arts, science, and literature of Masonry. This is volume three out of four and covering the letters M to R.

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