April 17, 2006
Templar grave find
I've been waiting for a more substantial writeup, but might as well note this brief yet remarkably bad article out of Australia:
The first bodies of the Knights Templar, the mysterious religious order at the heart of The Da Vinci Code, have been found by archaeologists near the River Jordan in northern Israel.There's no lack of fully occupied Templar tombs around, though there's surely a shortfall when it comes to real mysteriousness vs fictional mysteriousness.
British historian Tom Asbridge yesterday hailed the find as the first provable example of actual Knights Templar."Provable" in what sense? Perhaps Dan Brown will enlighten us.
The remains were found beneath the ruined walls of Jacob's Ford, an overthrown castle dating back to the Crusades, which had been lost for centuries.Looks like this comes out of an upcoming BBC Timewatch special.
They can be dated to the exact day -- August 29, 1179 -- that they were killed by Saladin, the feared Muslim leader who captured the fortress.Wow, personally killed by Saladin himself!
"Never before has it been possible to trace their remains to such an exact time in history,' Mr Asbridge said. "This discovery is the equivalent of the Holy Grail to archaeologists and historians. It is unparalleled."Ain't that "Holy Grail" reference a bit telling?
PS Just to clarify: the article is silly and sensationalized, but the discoveries that prompted it are anything but. Thomas Asbridge is hardly the first scholar to have had his words twisted and taken out of context by the press. His work is of particular interest to me, so I hope he will not mind my reproducing the following from him:
The castle of Jacob'’s Ford was garrisoned by Templars when it fell in 1179, but it also contained many other soldiers, servants and builders. There is a strong possibility that one or more of the bodies discovered on site might be that of a Templar, but this could never be stated with absolute certainty.I am quoted in the article as stating that ‘never before has it been possible to trace their remains to such an exact time in history’, with the quote positioned to imply that ‘their remains’ refers to Templars, but, in fact, ‘their remains’ was a general reference to those engaged in the wider crusading endeavour of the twelfth century.
Similarly, I am quoted as saying: ‘This discovery is the equivalent of the Holy Grail to archaeologists and historians. It is unparalleled’. When made, this statement did not relate to the supposed discovery of Templar remains, but to the discovery of the long lost castle of Jacob'’s Ford. The story of this fortress is both fascinating and revelatory, but not for the reasons outlined in the Telegraph’s article.
Posted by David on April 17, 2006 2:35 PM
The best book on Knights Templar is Helen Nicholson's The Knights Templar: A New History. Last sentence of the book sums up her view very well: "It is a strange tribute to the enduring appeal of this ordinary religious Order - in existence for less than two centuries, and last seen nearly seven hundred years ago - that not only the original Order but even the myth of the Order and the 'false' modern Orders which bear its name have become part of serious history."
She is a senior lecturer in medieval history at Cardiff University and the book is an easy read with lots of pictures that cut through the nonsense surrounding the Templars. Highly recommended for anybody who wants the facts.
Posted by: Charles on April 17, 2006 3:12 PM
There is a very simple explanation for the apalling quality of the article. Most people working in media, indeed much of Australia, cease work for the weeks on either side of Easter. And, the pool of competition in media is very small, leading to great laziness. Make that two reasons. On top of that, the general understanding of history in this wide brown land is apallingly bad. Three reasons. Three reasons for the apalling quality. Plus, they spend rather too much time in the comfy chair... you weren't expecting that, were you?
Posted by: Robert Hook on April 18, 2006 6:10 PM
And the Daily Telegraph is a truly crap rag, a typical Murdoch artefact.
I've never thought of the size of the pool causing laziness. Certainly general writers do specialist work, and there ain't enough people paid to give their attention to stories. Journalists themselves talk about the rise and rise of the telephone reporter, since there is no time to leave the comfy chair. To my mind, all to do with squeezing the production process to maximise profits.
Interesting about our attitude to history. Not seen as a practical subject leading to work - not even as a journalist. Until a few years ago we erased local history in favour of our European origins, so I knew more at school about Jethro Tull and the three field system than I did about the battle to grow wheat here.
Now I think there is more attention to local history, but a loss of the connection to our longer term origins. Walpole and the eighteenth century rise of the prime minister belongs to all of us; as does the growth (for instance) of free, secular education.
However, in raising the issues above, I am left to wonder just how much history on British television addresses any of these issues. It seems to be all old battles, exhumations and mysteries of missing heads. I have no idea how it is taught in schools.
Posted by: david tiley on April 20, 2006 12:37 AM
cronaca.com