by Barbara Frale
An explosive new history of the medieval world's most powerful military order, the Templars — and the momentous discovery that finally allows the full story to be told.
For 700 years the tragic demise of this society of warrior-monks amid accusations of heresy has been plagued by controversy, in part because the transcript of their trial by the Inquisition—which held the key to the truth—had vanished.
Templar historian Barbara Frale happened to be studying a document at the Vatican Secret Archives when she suddenly realized that it was none other than the long-lost transcript! It revealed that Pope Clement V had absolved the order of all charges of heresy. Umberto Eco is unreserved in his praise of Frale and says in his foreword, ‘Barbara Frale’s stunning discovery of the long-lost Chinon Parchment in the Vatican Secret Archives allows us to see in a new light the church’s role in the process against the Templars.’
Using sensational new information, Frale chronicles the Templars' spectacular rise and fall against a sweeping backdrop of war, religious fervour, and the struggle for dominance, and finally lifts the centuries mystery surrounding one of the world’s most intriguing secret societies.
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