Publisher Description
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.
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About the Authors
Michael Baigent was born in New Zealand in 1948. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Canterbury University, Christchurch, and holds a master's degree in mysticism and religious experience from the University of Kent in England. As an author and speculative historian, he has been published in 35 languages; he is the author of From the Omens of Babylon, Ancient Traces, and the New York Times bestseller The Jesus Papers; he is the coauthor of the international bestsellers Holy Blood, Holy Grail and The Messianic Legacy (with Henry Lincoln and Richard Leigh); and the coauthor of The Temples and the Lodge, The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception, Secret Germany, The Elixir and the Stone, and The Inquisition (with Richard Leigh). Since 1976 he has lived in England with his wife and children.
About Rick Adamson
Rick
Adamson is an award-winning voice artist with more than twenty years’
experience in voiceovers, spoken word events, event announcing, and children’s
media, as well as commercials for well-known international corporations. He has
narrated numerous television and film documentaries, including Croatia, co-narrated with Martin Sheen.
His audiobook narration includes more than two dozen major books, as well as
dozens of early-reader titles for juveniles. He won the prestigious Audie Award
in 2011 for Best Inspirational/Faith-Based Fiction for In a Heartbeat, and he was among the finalists for the 2006 Audie
Award for Best Personal Development/Motivational Work for Younger Next Year. He earned an AudioFile Earphones Award for the
ensemble narration of Rough Water.