I’ve been busy filming with the History channel in the Portuguese town of Tomar for a thrilling new documentary series about the Knights Templar. It’s called Buried: Knights Templar and the Holy Grail and is presented by Mikey Kay and Garth Baldwin.
This will accompany the new Templar drama Knightfall about to grace your TV screens.
DISCOVER: What links the Freemasons and the Knights Templar?
Buried follows the Templar quest for the Holy Grail and I caught up with the team in Tomar, the headquarters of the Knights Templar in Portugal.
Tomar, in central Portugal, was on the frontier between the Christian crusader kingdoms of northern Spain and Portugal and the Islamic caliphate to the south. This is when cities like Lisbon, Seville and Cordoba were ruled by emirs. But slowly, the crusaders and Templars conquered the whole Iberian peninsula.
One Muslim army tried to storm Tomar and the cost of much blood, the Knights Templar held the city and pushed them back. One gate where a very vicious struggle took place between Knights Templar and Muslims is still called the Gate of Blood.
I’ve visited this town many times, dominated by its Templar fortress. It’s a hugely atmospheric and enigmatic place. Nowhere I’ve been to in the world captures the essence of the Templars like Tomar.
After the Knights Templar were crushed in 1307, the Portuguese simply rebranded them as the Order of Christ. And this is why we wondered in the programme whether Tomar could have been a safe haven for Templars worldwide? And could their treasure have been buried there?
Together with the team, we set out to unearth some Templar secrets and you can find out how we got on later in the autumn – or Fall for my American followers!
Great stuff, can’t wait.
Linda
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It’s being aired in January – I’ll keep you posted!
Examen the Piri Reis Map to see were the Templar Fleet fled to, also the Island of Corvo had a supposed statue of a Knight on a Horse pointing west and remember that Corvo is halfway between Europe and the new land to the west.
Carlos – Piri Reis, not his real name of course, played a big part in putting to an end Portuguese dreams of having a foothold on the Arabian peninsula. Fascinating man. His map is, as you know, a curious item – made up of Arabian, Indian, Portuguese and older depictions of the world as it was known. Some people believe it shows Antarctica. Regarding Corvo – have you read this book? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Atlantis-Caribbean-Comet-Changed-World-ebook/dp/B0721YSS6B/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518085949&sr=1-1&keywords=9781591432661 All the best, Beardy History!
I have Portuguese DNA that is connected to the sephardic branch of Jews group.
The funny part is that this dna comes from both sides of my family. Both sides of my family never knew each other until the 1950’s.I believe many jews were smart blended into templars or Christs Knights and brought their money and contacts with them. My father’s family come thru the Netherlands,france and Britain. My mother’s side came thru Iceland into Canada and then down to the U.S.
Each side of my family were also stone workers, sea captains and free masons. I believe the Templars also left a dna trail.
This Dna trail should probably be investigated to prove the knights did carry on into Christ Knights then the free masons.
Thanks for listening I Am enjoying the show.
Cathryn
Cathryn – Sorry for the late response! I’ve been in Finland of all places on a project but back now. Interesting what you say about your DNA as my Portuguese family, on my mother’s side, was from a region called Tras-os-Montes where many Jews fled to seek shelter from the Spanish Inquisition. They do say in Portugal that you can’t know who is descended from Catholics and those who converted to Catholicism from Judaism and Islam – so called “New Christians”. Surname apparently can give you a clue – those referring to trees, so I’m told, suggest Jewish ancestry. I guess Jewish people forced to convert didn’t want to adopt saint’s names. Iceland is an interesting connection. Of course, there is the theory that the Templars fled with their treasure in 1307 from Scotland to Iceland and following Viking sea routes ended up in Canada and even New England. Sounds like you have some detective work to do! Tony