From billyapt at hotmail.com Mon Jan 18 15:15:08 2010 From: billyapt at hotmail.com (William Apt) Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:15:08 -0600 Subject: [ilds] Sorry to bother you but I have another question Message-ID: Page 82, Penguin ed.: Montolive: Can anyone tell me what the lines in German say? Online translation sites are inconsistent in their results. Thanks! _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390707/direct/01/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20100118/4ab40518/attachment.html From Charles-Sligh at utc.edu Tue Jan 19 06:48:16 2010 From: Charles-Sligh at utc.edu (Charles Sligh) Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:48:16 -0500 Subject: [ilds] Alexandria: an author's tour Message-ID: <4B55C630.4060400@utc.edu> > Alexandria: an author's tour > > TS Learner, author of a new thriller set in 1970s Alexandria, takes us > on a tour of the catacombs, cafes and archeological sites of Egypt's > decadent colonial jewel > > TS Learner > guardian.co.uk > Tuesday 19 January 2010 12.45 GMT > http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/jan/18/alexandria-egypt-ts-learner?page=all -- ******************************************** Charles L. Sligh Assistant Professor Department of English University of Tennessee at Chattanooga charles-sligh at utc.edu ******************************************** From rwhedges at hotmail.co.uk Mon Jan 18 19:50:31 2010 From: rwhedges at hotmail.co.uk (RW HEDGES) Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:50:31 +0000 Subject: [ilds] Goodness grotbags Message-ID: Very funny with the peter cook and dudley moore. Terribly good. And here's:"Gideon's own definition of an Englishman.....:An Englishman may be defined as a soft centred creature with a tough and horny shell, through which two sensitive antennae (humour and prejudice) explore the world around him" Ok my bits and bobs are bad but this is really good stuff! What a poem there Bruce! Where's it from? I have a small Durrell collection. No poems. I love that one! Nice! RW _________________________________________________________________ Got a cool Hotmail story? Tell us now http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20100119/46987ae0/attachment.html From Christine.Truebner.Amt51 at stadt-frankfurt.de Tue Jan 19 02:54:29 2010 From: Christine.Truebner.Amt51 at stadt-frankfurt.de (Truebner, Christine) Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:54:29 +0100 Subject: [ilds] Haiti Internet for family searchers: www.icrc.org/familylinks In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ?rzte Zeitung online, 14.01.2010 * * * Rotes Kreuz richtet Kontakt-Webseite f?r Haiti ein GENF (dpa). Das Internationale Komitee vom Roten Kreuz (IKRK) richtet eine Webseite ein, um Kontakt zu den Menschen zu erm?glichen, die vom Erdbeben in Haiti betroffen sind. Auf www.icrc.org/familylinks k?nnen Einwohner Haitis oder Menschen im Ausland Namen von Angeh?rigen oder Bekannten eintragen, mit denen sie Kontakt aufnehmen m?chten. Gesuchte k?nnen sich direkt auf der Internet-Seite melden und antworten. "Ziel der Aktion ist es, die Wiederherstellung von Kontakten zwischen Angeh?rigen zu beschleunigen", wird Robert Zimmerman, stellvertretender Leiter der Abteilung Zentraler Suchdienst und Schutzt?tigkeiten des IKRK, in einer Mitteilung vom Donnerstag zitiert. Das IKRK hatte schon bei fr?heren Katastrophen solche Webseiten eingerichtet, zum Beispiel beim Hurrikan "Katrina" in den USA im September 2005 oder beim Tsunami in Asien im Dezember 2004. www.icrc.org/familylinks Lesen Sie dazu auch: Chaos nach Beben im Armenhaus der Karibik (in diesem Artikel finden Sie auch eine Liste mit Spendenkonten) Beben-Katastrophe in Haiti - Internationale Hilfe l?uft an Flughafen gesperrt: Helfer kommen nur auf Umwegen nach Haiti Deutsches Rotes Kreuz schickt mobiles Krankenhaus nach Haiti Christine Tr?bner c/o 51.F12 Jugend- und Sozialamt Stadt Frankfurt am Main Eschersheimer Landstr. 241 - 249 60320 Frankfurt am Main Tel: 069/212-44901 Fax: - 36858 www.aelterwerden-in-frankfurt.de ________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20100119/c86ac82b/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 486 bytes Desc: font-size.png Url : http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20100119/c86ac82b/attachment.png -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 1203 bytes Desc: mail.png Url : http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20100119/c86ac82b/attachment-0001.png -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 964 bytes Desc: print.png Url : http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20100119/c86ac82b/attachment-0002.png From Christine.Truebner.Amt51 at stadt-frankfurt.de Tue Jan 19 02:42:50 2010 From: Christine.Truebner.Amt51 at stadt-frankfurt.de (Truebner, Christine) Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:42:50 +0100 Subject: [ilds] Sorry to bother you but I have another question: what about the link or the line???? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Now there is my change: but nowhere to look for what you like to have translated! Could you send the link please? Sincerely Christine Tr?bner c/o 51.F12 Jugend- und Sozialamt Stadt Frankfurt am Main Eschersheimer Landstr. 241 - 249 60320 Frankfurt am Main Tel: 069/212-44901 Fax: - 36858 www.aelterwerden-in-frankfurt.de ________________________________ Von: ilds-bounces at lists.uvic.ca [mailto:ilds-bounces at lists.uvic.ca] Im Auftrag von William Apt Gesendet: Dienstag, 19. Januar 2010 00:15 An: ilds at lists.uvic.ca Betreff: [ilds] Sorry to bother you but I have another question Page 82, Penguin ed.: Montolive: Can anyone tell me what the lines in German say? Online translation sites are inconsistent in their results. Thanks! ________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20100119/8fc5c1d1/attachment.html From billyapt at hotmail.com Tue Jan 19 07:07:34 2010 From: billyapt at hotmail.com (William Apt) Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:07:34 -0600 Subject: [ilds] Sorry to bother you but I have another question: what about the link or the line???? In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: No link. Later today, though, I will send the passage from the book. Thanks! Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:42:50 +0100 From: Christine.Truebner.Amt51 at stadt-frankfurt.de To: ilds at lists.uvic.ca Subject: Re: [ilds] Sorry to bother you but I have another question: what about the link or the line???? Now there is my change: but nowhere to look for what you like to have translated! Could you send the link please? Sincerely Christine Tr?bner c/o 51.F12 Jugend- und Sozialamt Stadt Frankfurt am Main Eschersheimer Landstr. 241 - 249 60320 Frankfurt am Main Tel: 069/212-44901 Fax: - 36858 www.aelterwerden-in-frankfurt.de Von: ilds-bounces at lists.uvic.ca [mailto:ilds-bounces at lists.uvic.ca] Im Auftrag von William Apt Gesendet: Dienstag, 19. Januar 2010 00:15 An: ilds at lists.uvic.ca Betreff: [ilds] Sorry to bother you but I have another question Page 82, Penguin ed.: Montolive: Can anyone tell me what the lines in German say? Online translation sites are inconsistent in their results. Thanks! Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now. _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390707/direct/01/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20100119/5e50bfcf/attachment.html From bredwine1968 at earthlink.net Tue Jan 19 11:38:59 2010 From: bredwine1968 at earthlink.net (Bruce Redwine) Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:38:59 -0800 Subject: [ilds] Fox Macabre Totentanz In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2729EDDF-AA1C-4019-B06B-CE87164E2689@earthlink.net> Mountolive in Alexandria Quartet (Faber, 1968), p. 454. The lyrics are apparently from the cabaret scene in Berlin during the 1920s. Think of Marlene Dietrich singing this. Berlin, dein Tanzer is der Tod! Berlin, du wuhlst mit Lust im Kot! Halt ein! lass sein! und denk ein bischen nach: Du tanzt dir doch vom Leibe nicht die Schmach. denn du boxt, und du jazzt, und du foxt auf dem Pulverfass! No response from our German friends, so I'll give it a go. My German is very poor, so here's a very free translation. Berlin, your partner in dance is death! Berlin, you dig eagerly in dirt/shit! Stop! Lay off! Reflect a little! You're still dancing sensuously, not shamefully. For you're boxing, you're jazzing around, you're fox-trotting on a powder-keg. Misspellings in the German: Tanzer should be T?nzer; wuhlst, w?hlst? BR On Jan 18, 2010, at 3:15 PM, William Apt wrote: > Page 82, Penguin ed.: Montolive: Can anyone tell me what the lines in German say? Online translation sites are inconsistent in their results. > > Thanks! > > Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now. _______________________________________________ > ILDS mailing list > ILDS at lists.uvic.ca > https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20100119/0beee918/attachment.html From bredwine1968 at earthlink.net Tue Jan 19 20:00:58 2010 From: bredwine1968 at earthlink.net (Bruce Redwine) Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:00:58 -0800 Subject: [ilds] Goodness grotbags In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <68CDBEAE-46E8-4357-962E-DDDF7AB01AC5@earthlink.net> RW, "PRESSMARKED URGENT" was published in 1946, when LD was in the diplomatic corps. Durrell wrote a lot of poetry. He probably thought of himself as first of all a poet. The Collected Poems, 1931-1974 is out of print. Peter Porter has a selection of his favorites, Lawrence Durrell: Selected Poems (Faber 2006). Get it. You'll probably like "A Ballad of the Good Lord Nelson." The poetry ranges from the abstruse, the metaphysical, the sensuous to the just plain doggerel. He had great range. I like to think old LD could be as deep and philosophical, as when he was silly and humorous ? which is the case with "PRESSMARKED URGENT." I may be alone here, though. Bruce On Jan 18, 2010, at 7:50 PM, RW HEDGES wrote: > Very funny with the peter cook and dudley moore. Terribly good. And here's:"Gideon's own definition of an Englishman.....:An Englishman may be defined as a soft centred creature with a tough and horny shell, through which two sensitive antennae (humour and prejudice) explore the world around him" > Ok my bits and bobs are bad but this is really good stuff! What a poem there Bruce! Where's it from? I have a small Durrell collection. No poems. I love that one! Nice! > RW > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20100119/fd89ae07/attachment.html From Christine.Truebner.Amt51 at stadt-frankfurt.de Wed Jan 20 01:44:42 2010 From: Christine.Truebner.Amt51 at stadt-frankfurt.de (Truebner, Christine) Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:44:42 +0100 Subject: [ilds] Fox Macabre Totentanz In-Reply-To: <2729EDDF-AA1C-4019-B06B-CE87164E2689@earthlink.net> References: <2729EDDF-AA1C-4019-B06B-CE87164E2689@earthlink.net> Message-ID: Herre is my translation, not much better, but the false understood 4th line may sound a little like Durell had it - with my means: Berlin, Dein T?nzer ist der Tod Berlin, your dancer is the death Berlin, Du w?hlst mit Lust im Kot! Berlin, you're digging with desire in excrements! Halt ein! Lass sein! Und denk ein bisschen nach: Hold on! Leave it! Think a bit: Du tanzt Dir doch vom Leibe nicht die Schmach. You're not dancing disgrace nevertheless off your body. Denn Du boxt, und Du jazzt, und Du foxt auf dem As you're boxing, and you're jazzing, and you're foxtrotting on a gunpowderbarrel. Pulverfass with delight Christine Tr?bner Mountolive in Alexandria Quartet (Faber, 1968), p. 454. The lyrics are apparently from the cabaret scene in Berlin during the 1920s. Think of Marlene Dietrich singing this. Berlin, dein Tanzer is der Tod! Berlin, du wuhlst mit Lust im Kot! Halt ein! lass sein! und denk ein bischen nach: Du tanzt dir doch vom Leibe nicht die Schmach. denn du boxt, und du jazzt, und du foxt auf dem Pulverfass! No response from our German friends, so I'll give it a go. My German is very poor, so here's a very free translation. Berlin, your partner in dance is death! Berlin, you dig eagerly in dirt/shit! Stop! Lay off! Reflect a little! You're still dancing sensuously, not shamefully. For you're boxing, you're jazzing around, you're fox-trotting on a powder-keg. Misspellings in the German: Tanzer should be T?nzer; wuhlst, w?hlst? BR On Jan 18, 2010, at 3:15 PM, William Apt wrote: Page 82, Penguin ed.: Montolive: Can anyone tell me what the lines in German say? Online translation sites are inconsistent in their results. Thanks! ________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now. _______________________________________________ ILDS mailing list ILDS at lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/ilds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.uvic.ca/pipermail/ilds/attachments/20100120/0964fe6b/attachment.html From marcpiel at interdesign.fr Wed Jan 20 04:54:54 2010 From: marcpiel at interdesign.fr (Marc Piel) Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:54:54 +0100 Subject: [ilds] Under Alexandria In-Reply-To: <4B4768C1.4090609@utc.edu> References: <4B4768C1.4090609@utc.edu> Message-ID: <4B56FD1E.5010507@interdesign.fr> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8468803.stm From Charles-Sligh at utc.edu Wed Jan 20 05:58:14 2010 From: Charles-Sligh at utc.edu (Charles Sligh) Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:58:14 -0500 Subject: [ilds] [Fwd: Paper Proposals for OMG XVI -- New Orleans] Message-ID: <4B570BF6.20108@utc.edu> Dear Durrellians: The deadline for the submission of paper proposals for the New Orleans conference has been extended until February 15, 2010. Please take a moment to send Don your proposal if you have not done so already. Paul Lorenz Secretary/Treasurer * On Miracle Ground XVI Durrell and the City: Reconstructing the Urban Landscape Call for Papers * *'The city, half-imagined (yet wholly real) begins and ends in us, roots lodged in our memory."* from /Balthazar/ July 7-10, 2010 Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans This conference is sponsored by The International Lawrence Durrell Society and Louisiana Tech University On Miracle Ground XVI will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of /The Alexandria Quartet/ with a reassessment of the cities, especially Alexandria, that have been associated with Durrell's life and work. We will encourage a variety of perspectives and theoretical approaches -- historical, biographical, sociological, psychoanalytic, textual, and cultural -- in order to create a "multiple-mirror" effect and explore how Durrell's cities are really the major "characters" in his fiction. The conference will be held in New Orleans, a city that is itself being reassessed and reconstructed after the devastating hurricane of 2005. Although Durrell never visited New Orleans, he did suggest the city would make a perfect setting for an "American Quartet." Indeed, the Crescent City -- with its mix of races, languages, and religions; its reputation for sensual indulgence; and its annual celebration of Carnival -- is more closely aligned with Durrell's Alexandria than any other American city. Through concurrent sessions, papers will establish the links between the host city and Alexandria as well as explore other themes and topics related to Durrell?s urban landscapes. Some of the possible themes include the following: Multi-cultural Worlds (French, Spanish, English, African, Native-American, and Caribbean): New Orleans and Alexandria; Gastronomic Durrell; Musical Durrell; The Carnivalesque: Masks, Murder, and Mayhem; Literary New Orleans/Literary Alexandria; Love, Lust, and Lechery: Sex and the City; French Durrell; Creole Durrell; Durrell and the American Experience; Religious Practices (Voodoo, Vampirism, Catholicism, Gnosticism, Cabalism); Durrell?s Vast Ghost: History, Hauntings, and Authors; Decadence and Separatism (Alexandria and Egypt/New Orleans and Louisiana). All sessions will take place in the newly renovated Hotel Monteleone, on Royal Street, at the heart of the French Quarter. ** *SUBMISSION INFORMATION* Submit all proposals by email to Donald P. Kaczvinsky at _dkaczv at latech.edu_ byFebruary 15, 2010. Use the subject heading "Durrell and the City." The proposal should be attached as a Word Document and include the following: Name of presenter, rank, and university affiliation (if any) Paper title Return address 250-word abstract of the paper topic Brief (1 paragraph) biography for the conference program Requests for specific material (recorder, video projector, or other equipment) Receipt of the proposal will be confirmed by email reply. Two panels will be reserved just for graduate students, and a $100 cash award will be given for the best paper by a graduate student. *REGISTRATION INFORMATION* Registration for the conference is due by May 1, 2010. Registration Fee :: $125 Late Registration Fee :: $150 (after May 1st) Graduate Students :: $50 Late Registration Fee (Student) :: $70 (after May 1st) Send a check or money order in American dollars to: Paul Lorenz University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Mail Stop 4980 Pine Bluff, AR 71601, USA Email: _paullorenz at sbcglobal.net_ *HOTEL INFORMATION* The conference has reserved rooms at the Hotel Monteleone for all participants at the rate of $129/night. For reservations, contact the hotel directly at 504-708-4668 and ask for "Durrell and the City." You may also visit the hotel website at _http://hotelmonteleone.com_ . The Monteleone will provide free continental breakfast for all participants staying at the hotel. For those looking for other accommodations, contact the New Orleans Visitors Bureau at _http://www.neworleanscvb.com/_. *FOR MORE INFORMATION* Donald P. Kaczvinsky, President The International Lawrence Durrell Society Department of English Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA 71272, USA _dkaczv at latech.edu_ -- ******************************************** Charles L. Sligh Assistant Professor Department of English University of Tennessee at Chattanooga charles-sligh at utc.edu ******************************************** From Charles-Sligh at utc.edu Thu Jan 21 16:03:55 2010 From: Charles-Sligh at utc.edu (Charles Sligh) Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:03:55 -0500 Subject: [ilds] "as it happens, I am writing a biography of Lawrence Durrell" Message-ID: <4B58EB6B.7010409@utc.edu> See the interview below for the latest on the biography and a bit on Avignon. 24 January 2010? Yes, my sources send me this stuff from somewhere just ahead in the space-time continuum. I enjoyed reading Michael's Templars book on the plane back from London this last July. C&c. *** > *latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-caw-sirens-call24-2010jan24,0,4772757.story > latimes.com > * > *THE SIREN'S CALL > The Siren's Call: What really happened to the Knights Templar? > A talk with Michael Haag, author of 'The Templars: The History and the > Myth.' Why did they disappear? Blame it on the king of France, Haag says. > > By Nick Owchar > > January 24, 2010* > > The Templars were an elite taskforce -- consider them the Green Berets > of the Middle Ages. They were known for their service to the pope, > their fierce determination to wrest Jerusalem from the enemy, their > great wealth and, like many groups, their secrecy. > > For a group so secret, though, they've received an incredible amount > of attention both in the years BDB (before Dan Brown) and ever since. > > Michael Haag, who has occasionally contributed to our pages, decided > to weigh in and settle the misinformation bandied about by various > recent books with his own, "The Templars: The History & the Myth" > (Harper: 384 pp., $15.99 paper). He shared some of his revelations > with the Siren's Call during a recent conversation. > > The Siren's Call: Why did the Templars appeal to you enough that you > set out to write a book on them? Was it the result of coming across > them in the course of writing your other books about Alexandria and > "The Da Vinci Code"? > > Michael Haag: I already had a pretty good knowledge of the history, > the landscape and the architecture of the Crusader period; writing > about the Templars brought things into sharp focus. I have traveled > widely throughout the Middle East and have visited every Crusader and > Arab castle of significance, including the Templars' last redoubt at > Sidon in Lebanon, their fortified city of Tortosa and their castle at > Safita. I've also been to the Hospitaller's great castle of Krak de > Chevaliers and the Assassins' eyrie at Masyaf, all in Syria, not to > mention the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where the Templars had their > headquarters, the mount itself giving the knights their popular name > (properly they were the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the > Temple of Solomon). > > TSC: They also figure in Lawrence Durrell's "Avignon Quintet," don't > they? You're writing about him, aren't you? > > MH: Yes, as it happens, I am writing a biography of Lawrence Durrell, > who, as you say, runs the Templars as a theme through his "Avignon > Quintet." There is an element of economy in this: informing myself > about Durrell's interest in the Templars by writing a book about the > Templars! Durrell's interest in the Templars, which goes hand in glove > with his interest in the Cathars and Gnosticism (also discussed in my > book), is one that is widely shared -- for the Templars have enjoyed > an afterlife that goes well beyond their destruction in 1312 and > continues to this day. Which is why I deal not only with the history > of the Templars, which lasted only two centuries, but also with the > myth of the Templars, which is rooted in the foundation of Solomon's > Temple 3,000 years ago and remains alive in various forms in the > present day. > > TSC: There are so many books now out there about the Templars, thanks > in large part to the interest Dan Brown created with his "Code." Was > there something that these books weren't saying about the Templars > that you felt needed to be told? > > MH: Books about the Templars fall into two categories. Some are > strictly history and confine themselves to the two centuries of the > Templars' existence. Others are speculative and deal in the many > stories surrounding the Templars, in what you might call the afterlife > of the Templars that continues in the popular imagination to this day. > I wanted to take a serious look at both the history and the mythic > afterlife and to show how they are intimately related and always have > been -- how the Templars became the subject of popular imagination > already at their inception, celebrities, you might say, the superstars > of the Middle Ages. > > Superstars? > > Already during their heyday, the Templars attracted to themselves many > associations, legends, rumors and romances. When the story of the Holy > Grail first began circulating in medieval Europe, it was immediately > associated with the Templars. This star quality of the Templars was > due partly to their prominent role in the central movement of the > times, the Crusades and the defense of the Crusader states in the > East, where the Templars were surrounded by potent historical and > sacred associations. After all, the Templars were founded on Christmas > Day 1119, within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the spot which > marks the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and > they were headquartered on the Temple Mount, which indelibly > associated them with stories surrounding the Temple of Solomon -- and > nothing in medieval Christendom could beat that! > > But being in the spotlight is not always the most favorable place to > be, certainly not when things begin to go wrong. And for the Templars, > everything went wrong when the Crusaders lost Acre in 1292; the West's > hold on the Holy Land was lost and so was the Templars' raison d'?tre. > > Their extinction was breathtakingly swift, wasn't it? > > It is the most dramatic thing about them; knights belonging to an > order of great power, wealth and reputation, owing obedience only to > the Pope, were arrested in dawn raids across France, tortured and made > to confess to abominable crimes and heresies, were often put to the > stake, and their order dissolved. The reasons for their fall have long > been shrouded in mystery and this has given rise to yet more fevered > speculations. What did the Templars really know, what did they really > possess, what were they really all about? And why did the pope, the > very man to whom they owed sole obedience, let them down, abolish > their order and let them go to the stake? > > Do we now have any answers to these questions? > > We do. New discoveries in the Vatican's Secret Archives, just as I was > considering writing this book, revealed the truth of the pope's role > in the end of the Templars and revealed the truth about the Templars > themselves -- and, no, the Templars were not heretics nor blasphemers, > and for what it was worth, they took to the stake and to their graves > the pope's blessings and absolutions. But the pope, and indeed the > papacy itself, the very independence of the Roman Catholic Church, was > under threat from the king of France, a fanatic with totalitarian > designs. My book has been the first book to revise the history of the > Templars, and revise their afterlife too, in the light of these > remarkable revelations. > > Whenever the Templars are mentioned in books and articles, I usually > find that it is in connection with their vast wealth - and, along with > this, their vast greed. Why? > > They were extremely expensive to maintain. They were the most superb > fighting force in the world at that time, something like supersonic > fighter-bomber pilots in our day, where each man and his equipment > costs a fortune to keep operational. A single mounted knight in France > in the 13th century required the proceeds from 3,750 acres to equip > and maintain himself, and for Templars operating overseas in the Holy > Land, the costs were much greater since much had to be imported, not > least their horses. The Templars' training, their armor, their horses, > their squires, their sergeants, not to mention building and > maintaining castles, required an enormous outlay. And the knights > themselves could suffer high mortality rates in climactic battles and > needed to be replaced. All these costs were met through donations from > the faithful back in Europe, usually in the form of estates large and > small as well as tithes from the Church. > > As individuals, the Templars were poor ascetics, but as an order, they > were extremely wealthy. In fact, they became so accomplished at moving > funds between Europe and the East that they soon set up as > international bankers -- the first bankers of modern times. Their > lands and their liquid wealth made them a ready target for greed, and > the greed came not from among the Templars but from Philip IV, the > king of France, who, after stealing the wealth and properties of > France's Jews and throwing them out of the country, turned on the > Templars. That was the real motive for the Friday the 13th arrests: > The king of France needed money to pursue his wars in Flanders and > against the English, and he also was asserting himself against the > papacy, laying claim to being the man who called all the shots in > Europe, whether secular or religious. It was a form of expropriation > and nationalization, accompanied by tortures and executions and, of > course, the necessary propaganda and lies -- blaming the Templars for > being blasphemers, for being heretics, for being haughty and greedy. > In the minds of many, the mud stuck. > > Few really seem to associate any other characteristic with them, > though, except greed. No one talks about, for instance, their > fantastic ability as military strategists and fortress builders. What > excellent qualities should people know about? > > Well, in comparison to the egregious greed, cruelty and lies of the > king of France, the Templars were honest in their faith and > straightforward in their conduct. They should be remembered for their > bravery, which was legendary, their dedication, which was absolute -- > a few dozen Templars could turn the weight of battle and save a > kingdom. Their attrition rate was high: At least 20,000 Templars were > killed either on the battlefield or after being taken captive and > refusing to renounce their faith to save their lives. Without the > Templars, the Crusader venture in the East would have lasted only half > as long as it did. After the Battle of Hattin, in which Saladin was > victorious, he ordered the decapitation in cold blood of all his > Templar captives, a hundred men, fearing them above all others because > "they have great fervor in religion, paying no attention to the things > of this world." > > As builders of castles and churches, they were men of powerful vision > and exquisite taste; they have left behind them in the Middle East > today numerous beautiful monuments speaking of the Romanesque and > Gothic styles of the France and England from which they came. > > Tell us a little bit more about their organization as an elite task > force - were they the first to submit only to papal authority? In > defending the Holy Land, why was this direct line of obedience only to > the pope so important? > > In the late 11th century, the Church was involved in the Investiture > Controversy over whether the secular powers of Europe or the papacy > itself had the authority to appoint high church officials in each and > every state. Secular kings and princes were eager to have the > authority for themselves, as it would give them control over the great > wealth and powers such officials could command. But in the event, it > was an argument that the papacy won. Papal assertion did not end > there; only the pope could establish a university or approve a > monastic order; and when the Byzantine Empire sent to Rome for help > against a fresh Muslim invasion, it was the pope who raised the First > Crusade. > > By means of a series of papal bulls in the early 12th century, the > Templars were recognized as an independent and permanent order within > the Catholic Church answerable to no one but the pope. Their "grand > master" was chosen from among the ranks of Templar knights who > conducted their elections free from any outside interference. The > Templars were also given their own priesthood answerable to the grand > master, which made the order independent of the diocesan bishops in > both Europe and the East. The First Crusade itself had been called for > by the pope, and the kingdom of Jerusalem, like the other Crusader > states, owed themselves to papal initiative and the continuing > goodwill and energy of the papacy for support and maintenance from the > West. The pope did not want to see the Templars fall subject to > religious or political rivalries. It is not that the pope actually > controlled the Templars; rather, by owing allegiance to no one but the > pope, the Templars maintained their independence from all and sundry > and could give themselves freely and single-mindedly to their supreme > task, the defense and preservation of the Holy Land. > > Defending Jerusalem, you said earlier, was their reason for existing. > When it fell, the Templars were in limbo, but didn't they try to find > a new mission for themselves? > > The Templars were founded to protect pilgrims on their way to > Jerusalem and other sites throughout the Holy Land. In time their task > became to defend the Holy Land itself -- not just Jerusalem but the > several Crusader states which included the kingdom of Jerusalem, the > county of Tripoli and the principality of Antioch. The city of > Jerusalem fell to Saladin in 1187, though it changed hands several > times thereafter, but meanwhile the new capital of the kingdom of > Jerusalem became the port city of Acre, and when Acre fell in 1292 the > Crusader venture was effectively over. Yes, there were a few attempts > to regain the Holy Land, and the Templars, who were temporarily based > in Cyprus, took the lead in these, but when finally they lost their > tiny island outpost of Ruad in 1302, they looked highly redundant. > > The Hospitallers were also a religious order of fighting monks, and > they might have found themselves in the same boat as the Templars. But > they quickly captured the island of Rhodes from the Byzantine Empire, > which was Christian, and turned it into a state of their own, which > allowed them to harass the surrounding Muslim powers and which also > gave them protection from jealous Christian powers in Europe. The > Hospitallers eventually retreated to Malta, finally to be driven out > by Napoleon in 1798, though the order still exists and even has > quasi-sovereign state observer status within the United Nations. > > The Templars might have enjoyed a twilight existence in this way had > they taken some large and defensible island, perhaps Cyprus, as their > own. But instead of putting their own interests first, they so > completely identified with their role as defenders of the Holy Land > that they placed their trust in the pope and the king of France, > Philip IV, who were contemplating launching yet another crusade. The > Templar grand master Jacques de Molay and other high officers of the > order were in France precisely to discuss such matters when they and > all other Templars on French soil were arrested at dawn in October > 1307 by Philip IV and accused of blasphemy and heresy. > > When people ask, "Who were the Templars?," they're not using the > correct verb tense, right? Some people believe they still exist today > through their connections to the Freemasons and others. > > In the mythic sense, the Templars are with us today, if only because > many people wish it to be so. Such people include the Freemasons, some > branches of which claim descent from the Templars who are said to have > survived the persecutions of Philip IV and gone underground, to arise > again wearing aprons and carrying trowels, among them such seditious > figures as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. The French > Revolution was blamed on the Freemasons, who some people with lively > imaginations said were really the Templars in disguise. Bringing > matters more up to date, the Templars are behind the World Bank, the > IMF, the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Group, and also NATO, > the European Union, the United Nations and the Skull and Bones Society > at Yale. All of this is discussed in my book. > > But the claim that the Templars discovered America, on the face of it > one of the most far-fetched claims of all, actually contains a great > deal more than a grain of truth. > > How so? > > They were not eradicated everywhere throughout Europe. In Spain and > Portugal, they had performed good service in the local crusades, what > we now call the Reconquista, against the Arab occupation of the > Iberian peninsula, and instead of being disbanded, they were simply > reestablished under other names and given royal protection and favor. > In Portugal, the Templars became the Order of Christ, and none less > than Prince Henry the Navigator became their grand master, using > Templar wealth and zeal to send ships down the coast of Africa and far > out into the Atlantic, to the Azores and Madeira. The achievements of > Vasco da Gama, who found the first sea route round Africa to India in > 1498; of Ferdinand Magellan, who in 1519 initiated the first voyage > round the world; and of Christopher Columbus, who discovered America > in 1492, were all the fruits of Prince Henry the Navigator's lifelong > endeavor as Grand Master of what had been the Templars. > > Thank you for your time. -- ******************************************** Charles L. Sligh Assistant Professor Department of English University of Tennessee at Chattanooga charles-sligh at utc.edu ********************************************