Re: Knights Templar (KT) reference in Kate Bush FAQ

[chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (chris williams)]

In article <pwh.780341506@elmegil> you write:
>ptrei@bistromath.mitre.org (Peter Trei) writes:
>>Lets see, what's being reccomended for references to the Knights Templar?
>>Holy Blood, Holy Grail
>>	This is the sort of book which make serious historians puke. Again and
>>	again, they speculate on something in one chapter, and in the next say
>>	'as we have previously proved', and go on the the next level of castles
>>	in the air. They quote "sources" which, days after they see them, are
>>	'stolen' or 'lost'. Do you take their central thesis seriously, which
>>	proposes that Christ survived crucifixion, and shacked up with Mary
>>	Magdalen in the south of France, with His bloodline surviving to this
>>	day? Get real.
>
>Why don't YOU get real.
>
>I said it was an interesting book, I didn't say it was a definitive
>reference.  I fact, I can't recall saying it was a reference at all.
>Nor did I say I believed the premise.

    Strange subject for two people to argue about while tossing the word
"real" around. This is probably going to annoy some folks, but here
goes...personally I find the idea of a person being killed and brought
back to life a *lot* less plausable than the idea that a person faked
death and snuck off, or just plain dying, leaving his followers to
invent some story about coming back to life and *then* going back
to heaven. Call me a cynic.

    It wasn't even very original.

    I've read _Holy Blood, Holy Grail_ and found it an interesting,
though deeply flawed book. But I *do* find it's thesis credible.

    On the *other* hand though, I doubt Kate's explaination about
"finding this old symbol in a barn." She probably was familiar with
the Knights Templar. I believe one of her 10 "O-Level"s was in history.

    On our first trip to England we were wandering around the City of
London and noticed the KT symbol on the "Temple." We wound up having
nice chat with one of the guards as he nipped out for a pint before
the pubs closed. He talked a bit about the Knights and King John.
I'm very rusty on my English history, but I got the impression that
the Knights are far from obscure. 

    She probably chose it with the full knowledge of the Knights in
rejecting the Catholic church. She doesn't discuss it, but from the
various things she has said about religion, she could hardly be
described (even by the the most liberal priest) as a Catholic anymore.

    I'd be interested in hearing Peter Manchester's thoughts on this
subject, but he is swamped with work at the moment. Competence is it's
own punishment.


                          Chris Williams of
                             Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
                               chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (his)
                                 vickie@njin.rutgers.edu      (hers)