A discussion of Francis Bacon is a worthy segue into a theory related to the illustrious Knights Templar.
The Templars (1129 – 1312) were one of the wealthiest and most powerful organizations in Europe. Members of the Order were revered as skilled fighters during the Crusades and other members for their economic prowess, and the innovative financial techniques they introduced.
Templar power was ultimately their undoing when King Philip IV of France, who was deeply indebted to the Order, ordered the arrest of key Templar leaders on Friday, 13 October 1307. The Pope followed suit on November 22nd issuing a decree that all Templars be arrested, and their assets seized.
Legend has it that many Templars fled to Scotland to take refuge there. Taking with them priceless religious treasures including the Holy Grail from their sanctuary at the fortress of MontsAgur. A book by Michael Bradley entitled "Holy Grail Across the Atlantic" presents enticing evidence that such an event occurred. This in turn leading to a possible role played by the ruins found in nearby New Ross and of course to the mysterious Oak Island Money Pit.
It is also worthwhile to note that the Templar order continued in Portugal as the Ordem Militar de Cristo (Military Order of Christ). The Portuguese King, Denis I, refused to follow the orders of the Catholic Church and instead merely changed the Order's name. The Portuguese explorer Joao Alvares Fagundes was said to have visited Nova Scotia around the year 1521. In 1607 Samuel de Champlain found an old, moss covered cross near what is now Advocate Nova Scotia which some believe was erected by Fagundes 80 years earlier. Another connection showing that the Templars would be aware of these lands.
The late Zena Halpern, a Knights Templar researcher from New York, and previously mentioned in regard to the Inscribed Stone also introduced a map with strong evidence of a link to Oak Island. Is there a connection between the Knights Templar and Oak Island? Was the fleet of a dozen ships that sailed with Prince Henry Sinclair in 1398 part of the Templar fleet? A fleet containing the treasures and wealth that escaping members of the Order had been able to flee with? Only time will tell.
