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Edited By Oddvar Olsen
Paperback: 254 pages
Publisher: New Page Books
Language: English
ISBN: 1564148637
Oddvar Olsen is no stranger to readers of this publication. The English Templar researcher contributed to our eighth issue with an article on Henry de Blois, the Bishop of Winchester. Olsen is also the publisher and editor of The Temple, a periodical on the Knights Templar and related subjects, which he started in 2002.
The Templar Papers is a compilation of articles from Olsen’s aforementioned periodical.
While 13 may have been an unlucky number for the Templars of old, it is the magic number for The Templar Papers, as 13 modern Templar writers have contributed to the work.
The list of contributors reads like a veritable who’s who of modern Templar literature with Lynn Picknett, Robert Lomas, Dr. Karen Ralls, Sandy Hamblett, Yuri Leitch, Vincent Zubras and yours truly being but a few of the 13 authors and researchers, who have contributed to the publication of this book.
Olsen breaks the work down into six chapters on a variety of subjects related to the Templars and each chapter contains a variety of entries, reprinted from the pages of his publication.
The editor himself provides several of those entries in the book, starting with a comprehensive account of the history of the order, which is the focus of the first chapter.
Sandy Hamblett, who has written for this publication in the past, provides two articles on Godfrey de Bouillon, which is a particular passion of hers.
The third Chapter of the work deals with women of the grail and contains entries from Lynn Picknett, Yuri Leitch, Damian Prestbury and Ani Williams.
One of the most popular aspects of the Knights Templar is the various mysteries surrounding the order. To this end, the reader will not be disappointed as the book contains articles on the source of the Grail, the Larmenius Charter, the Abraxas seal and answers to the question on whether or not the Templars worshiped a severed head.
For those who prefer a more contemporary account of Templarism, the fifth chapter presents articles on Templar Preceptories, Balantrodoch, St. Michael’s Church and the Fall of Acre in 1291.
The final chapter of the 254 page compilation is dedicated to Freemasonry with Robert Lomas providing an article on the early history of Freemasonry and an article on the history of Canadian Masonic Templarism, contributed by myself.
While I am not a fan of compilation books in the fiction genre, I feel that they are a valuable asset in the world of non-fiction writing, for they provide a variety of opinion and perspective on the topic.
The Templar Papers is an excellent overview of Templar topics and a wonderful opportunity for those who have missed obtaining copies of Olsen’s The Temple to catch up on all the great articles that have been published therein over the last few years.
Order The Templar Papers: Ancient Mysteries, Secret Societies, And the Holy Grail from amazon.com.
About Us
TemplarHistory.com was started in the fall of 1997 by Stephen Dafoe, a Canadian author who has written several books on the Templars and related subjects.
Read more from our Templar Reviews & Interviews Archives – Templar History
TemplarHistory.com was started in the fall of 1997 by Stephen Dafoe, a Canadian author who has written several books on the Templars and related subjects.
Read more from our Templar Reviews & Interviews Archives – Templar History