This is a remarkably interesting book. (Do you know the difference between pirates and privateers? And between them and corsairs? And the connection between pirates and their flag, the Jolly Roger and the Order of Knights Templar and the Freemasons? And Christopher Columbus?) I know that when I first opened it, my hopes were not high; I don't think I even expected to finish it. But the book's opening theme, diffusionism v. isolationism, grabbed me at once. It was something I had been half aware of, that had been niggling away at the back of my mind, but had never formulated or seen formulated clearly, like this.
The question is: was it easier for people in prehistoric and ancient times to travel by land or by sea? To go along the bank on foot or along the river in a boat? To go round the coast on foot (along the cliffs, through the marshes, across the estuaries) or round the coast by boat? And if they had the boats to go round the coast, what was there to stop adventurous souls from venturing out to see what lay beyond the horizon?
There are maps purporting to come from, or to be copies of maps that come from, ancient times, which show places not "discovered" until relatively modern times, such as the Americas and Antarctica.
They also sometimes show accurately the world as it was thousands of years ago, and has not been since, such as with the Bering Land Bridge intact or with many more islands in the Greek Aegean.
As we see, the book is not set entirely in our period, but its heart is (1) the Templar Fleet, (2) early Atlantic voyages, and (3) the mystery of Christopher Columbus; all of which are very much relevant to our period.
According to the author, the Templars divided up their fleet. One fleet was stationed in Portugal, where it became the core of the Portuguese navy under men such as Prince Henry the Navigator and was closely linked to the Order of the Knights of Christ, a reconstituted Templar order whose first Grand Master was King Alfonso IV.
The second fleet based themselves in Scotland, under the Sinclairs, and undertook north Atlantic and transatlantic exploration and settlement. It was this group, the author suggests, who were entrusted with the Templar treasure, the Holy Grail, the Holy bloodline, whatever, and this may have been what motivated them to seek a safe haven on the far side of the Atlantic.
The third fleet remained in the Mediterranean, where they pursued their war with the Vatican and attacked ships flying the flags of states that overtly supported the papacy, such as France and Spain. They thus became labelled pirates and the Jolly Roger (the skull and cross-bones), a Templar emblem, became the flaf associated with piracy. When you outlaw an organisation, its members become outlaws.
Did the Templars have maps of the Atlantic and the New World? Did Columbus have such maps?
It was the chapter on Columbus that I found most original and interesting.
Recommended - especially that chapter - to all who are interested in the continuing story of the Templars after their official dissolution, and all who would like to know more of pre-Columban transatlantic exploration.
MBG
(On this latter subject, Tim Severin's The Brendan Voyage is also strongly recommended. Severin retells the story of St Brendan's sixth-century voyage across the Atlantic from Ireland to America, and describes in vivid detail his own successful attempt to replicate that voyage, Thor Heyerdahl style, in a leather curragh built exactly according to the original medieval specifications. A wonderful book by a great travel writer.)
JM
