The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ

Pay with

About The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians Of The

Product Description The most closely guarded secret of the western world is about to be revealed—and you will never see Christianity in the same light again. In a remarkable achievement of historical detective work that is destined to become a classic, authors Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince delve into the mysterious world of the Freemasons, the Cathars, the Knights Templar, and the occult to discover the truth behind an underground religion with roots in the first century that survives even today. Chronicling their fascinating quest for truth through time and space, the authors reveal an astonishing new view of the real motives and character of the founder of Christianity, as well as the actual historical—and revelatory—roles of John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene. Painstakingly researched and thoroughly documented, The Templar Revelation presents a secret history, preserved through the centuries but encoded in works of art and even in the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe, whose final chapter could shatter the foundation of the Christian Church. Review Colin Wilson Author of Atlas of Holy Places and Sacred Sites One of the most fascinating books I have read since The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. About the Author Lynn Picknett is a writer, researcher, and lecturer on historical and religious mysteries. Her seminal book, written with Clive Prince,  The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ, inspired the New York Times bestsellers The Da Vinci Code and The Secret Supper. They are also the authors of The Sion Revelation: The Truth About the Guardians of Christ's Sacred Bloodline. She lives in London, England. Clive Prince is a writer, researcher, and lecturer on the paranormal, the occult, and historical and religious mysteries. With Lynn Picknett, he is the author of The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ and Turin Shroud: In Whose Image? He lives in London, England. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. CHAPTER ONE: THE SECRET CODE OF LEONARDO DA VINCI It is one of the most famous -- and enduring -- works of art in the world. Leonardo da Vinci's fresco The Last Supper is the one surviving piece of the original church of Santa Maria delle Grazie near Milan, being on the only wall that remained standing after Allied bombing reduced the rest of the building to rubble in the Second World War. Although many other admired artists such as Ghirlandaio, and Nicolas Poussin -- even such an idiosyncratic painter as Salvador Dali -- have also given the world their version of this significant biblical scene, it is Leonardo's which has, for some reason, captured the imagination more than most. Versions of it are seen everywhere, encompassing both ends of the spectrum of taste, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Some images may be so familiar that they are never truly examined, and although they lie openly before the viewer's gaze and invite closer scrutiny, at their most profound and meaningful level they actually remain totally closed books. So it is with Leonardo's Last Supper -- and, unbelievably enough, with almost all of his other remaining works. It was the work of Leonardo (1452-1519) -- that tortured genius of Renaissance Italy -- that was to draw us on to a path that led to discoveries so breathtaking in their implications that at first it seemed impossible: impossible that generations of academics had simply not observed what leapt to our startled notice -- and impossible that such explosive information had lain patiently waiting all this time for writers like us from outside the mainstream of historical or religious research to discover. So, to begin our story proper we have to return to Leonardo's Last Supper and look at it with new eyes. This is not the time to view it in the context of the familiar art-historical assumptions. This is the moment when it is appropriate to see it as a complete newcom