The Templar Revelation

In the course of their investigations into Leonardo da Vinci and the Turin Shroud, Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince found clues in the work of the great Renaissance artist that pointed to the existence of a secret underground religion. More clues were found in a twentieth-century London church. These were the beginnings of a quest through time and space that led the authors into the mysterious world of secret societies and such bodies as the Freemasons, the Knights Templar and the Cathars and finally back to the ideas and beliefs of the first century AD and a devastating new view of the real character and motives of the founder of Christianity and the roles of John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene. They reveal nothing less than a secret history, preserved through the centuries but encoded in works of art and even in the great Gothic cathedrals, whose revelation could shake the foundations of the Chruch.

The most closely guarded secret of the western world is about to be revealed—and you will never see Christianity in the same light again. In a remarkable achievement of historical detective work that is destined to become a classic, authors Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince delve into the mysterious world of the Freemasons, the Cathars, the Knights Templar, and the occult to discover the truth behind an underground religion with roots in the first century that survives even today. Chronicling their fascinating quest for truth through time and space, the authors reveal an astonishing new view of the real motives and character of the founder of Christianity, as well as the actual historical—and revelatory—roles of John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene. Painstakingly researched and thoroughly documented, The Templar Revelation presents a secret history, preserved through the centuries but encoded in works of art and even in the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe, whose final chapter could shatter the foundation of the Christian Church.

Explains the mysterious background of the bestseller ¿The Da Vinci Code¿. Delves into the worlds of the Freemasons, the Cathars, the Knights Templar, and the occult to discover the truth behind an underground religion with roots in the first century that survives even today. Presents a new view of the real motives and character of the Christian Church, including: the actual historical -- and revelatory -- role of Mary Magdalene who was not a prostitute, but the wife of Jesus; the shocking idea that John the Baptist was a rival of Jesus who founded a substantial movement that continues to exist today; and the existence of a secret society called the Priory of Sion that continues to preserve these ancient secrets of the early Christian Church. Illustrations.

Acting as a historical detective, the author of this text strips away the layers of deception and propaganda that surround the Christian story in a quest to find the real Mary Magdalene, asking such questions as was she a reformed prostitute who spent the rest of her life in penitence; or was she merely one of the women who followed Jesus?

The Knights Templar were the most powerful military religious order of the Middle Ages. Formed to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land, they participated in the Crusades and rapidly gained wealth, lands and influence and were answerable to none save the Pope himselffirst bankers, and invented the modern banking system that is still in use today, and were also involved in exploration and engineering.

The first thrilling novel in Raymond Khoury’s New York Times bestselling Templar series. In 1291, a young Templar knight flees the fallen holy land in a hail of fire and flashing sword, setting out to sea with a mysterious chest entrusted to him by the Order's dying grand master. The ship vanishes without a trace. In present day Manhattan, four masked horsemen dressed as Templar Knights stage a bloody raid on the Metropolitan Museum of Art during an exhibit of Vatican treasures. Emerging with a strange geared device, they disappear into the night. The investigation that follows draws archaeologist Tess Chaykin and FBI agent Sean Reilly into the dark, hidden history of the crusading knights—and into a deadly game of cat and mouse with ruthless killers—as they race across three continents to recover the lost secret of the Templars.

The authors of "The Templar Revelation" expose the truth about the shadowy organization known as the Priory of Sion, answering questions such as whether the Priory actually exists to protect the sacred bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene or if the group's history is an elaborate hoax.

"We make landfall on an island of oaks." So reads a 12th century Templar manuscript recovered from a medieval Italian church. Two of history's great mysteries-the fate of the Knights Templar and the truth about the Oak Island treasure-reveal themselves in this fascinating saga of hidden history. "The book we've all been waiting for!" says Rick Lagina, star of History Channel's Curse of Oak Island.