Chapter 9 The Second Holy Cabinet and the Holy Grail-5

From the 1st century AD to the 6th century AD, the empire in the north of Ethiopia centered on Axum could definitely be listed as the most powerful and prosperous country in the world at that time.It was equal in status to the Roman and Persian empires, and could send its fleets as far away as Egypt, India, Ceylon, and China.Its architectural and artistic achievements are also outstanding. It was the first bastion of Christianity in sub-Saharan Africa.The empire had converted to Christianity as early as the beginning of the 4th century AD, making the new faith the state religion (this was around the time when Constantinople the Great was miraculously converted to Christianity).

However, by the 7th century AD, the light of the Aksum Empire began to dim.Its embassies abroad are few and far between, and its once formidable military power is clearly in decline. This remarkable change eventually led to the complete isolation of the country, mainly due to the growth of Islamic hostility and the siege of Abyssinian Christianity.This change occurred during the lifetime and posthumous period of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570-632 AD).Edward Gibbon wrote in his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: "Surrounded by the enemies of their religion, the Ethiopians fell asleep for nearly a thousand years, forgetting the world and being forgotten by the world."

The 1,000 years mentioned by the great British historian are roughly from the 7th century AD to the 16th century AD.To be fair, during this 1,000-year period, Ethiopia disappeared from the world's memory.Once world famous and visited by many tourists, this Christian country on the remote African highlands has gradually transformed into a mystical land of myth and magic, where dragons and other monsters are believed to live.It became a "terra incognita" (Latin: unknown land - translator's note), where no one dared (or wanted) to venture. It must be easy to assume that during this black hole in the history of the Abyssinians they regressed to barbarism or stagnation.But my research has shown me that the historical truth is quite the opposite - as evidenced by those remarkable Lalibela monolithic churches.

During this period, Ethiopia has preserved a culture that is both rich and special.Although the culture was self-contained, and its themes were suspected to have been influenced by foreign powers, it survived intact, cut off from the outside world. In the second half of the 12th century, Prince Lalibela himself lived in exile in Jerusalem for 25 years.He also returned to Ethiopia from Jerusalem, became king, and built the monolithic churches that now bear his name. In Chapter 5 of this book, I have briefly introduced: My findings lead me to believe that when Lalibela left the holy city of Jerusalem and returned to win the throne in 1185, he may have been accompanied by a branch of the Knights Templar. Squad.I believe that the primary motive of these knights was the desire to go to Ethiopia and find the Ark of the Covenant.In addition to this purpose, it is reasonable to assume that they were very willing to assist the prince to achieve political purposes, because then they could reasonably hope that they could have a significant influence on King Lalibela.

As the reader may recall, I later heard an Ethiopian legend that some mysterious "white men" were involved in the construction of the church at Lalibela.This legend is very old.Indeed, when the legend was first recorded by the Portuguese priest Francisco Alvarez in the early sixteenth century, it was already very old. Knowing that the Templars were excellent builders and architects, it's hard for me to argue against the conclusion that they may have been the "white men" involved in building those monolithic churches.What's more, since those churches took 24 years to build, it means that these knights lived in Ethiopia for at least a long time, and may even have planned to intervene in the country's affairs for a longer period of time.

As the research progresses, I feel more and more that the above inference is correct.In order to explain why this is so, readers must first understand the brutal suppression of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century and what happened to those knights thereafter.It is also necessary to compare what happened to them with events in Ethiopia during the same period. dark times The Knights Templar was founded in 1119 AD and was officially recognized by the church at the Troyer Church Conference in 1128. Since then, it has rapidly developed into a powerful sect with great influence, wealth and prestige in all countries in the world.However, this status also doomed their destruction in less than two centuries.

The history of the catastrophic collapse of this sect has been described in too much detail in other books, so there is no need to repeat it here, just a brief introduction: On Friday, October 13, 1307, all Templars living in France were suddenly arrested.This is a well-planned mass arrest.At dawn that day, censors and marshals sent by King Philip IV of France raided hundreds of Templar residences simultaneously.By nightfall, 15,000 people had been arrested.In the public imagination, Friday the 13th has also earned a unique place as the most unlucky and inauspicious date on the calendar. The Templars were suddenly and humiliatingly arrested on charges that were as lurid as they were baseless.For example, one of their charges was denial of Christ and spitting on the statue of Christ; in addition to kissing each other obscenely, "in accordance with the blasphemy of the religion, humiliating human dignity".It is said that when Protestants teach, their anus, navel and mouth will be kissed.There is another equally serious crime: they worship idols.

During this period (until 1377), the papal residence was located in Avignon in Provence, France.There is no need to explain here why the Pope does not live in the Vatican.But the move of the Holy See so close to France clearly gave King Philip great influence over Pope Clement V (who was coronated in Lyon in 1305, and King Philip of France was also present at the coronation. ).The purpose of this influence is to completely wipe out the Templars. Philippe decided to exterminate the Templars not only in all of France, but in all countries where the order existed.To this end, the French monarch put pressure on Clement V, which eventually led the pope to sign an edict (the "Papal Bull" of 22 November 1307) ordering the arrest of Templars throughout Christendom.

Arrests have all begun in Britain, Spain, Germany, Italy and Cyprus. In 1312, the puppet pope issued another decree announcing the formal banning of the Templars.Meanwhile, thousands of Templars were subjected to the most horrific tortures.Later, many of them were burned at the stake, including the master of the religion, Jacob de Morey, and the bishop of Normandy, Geoffrey de Chanet. I do not want to detail here how the Templars were persecuted, interrogated, and destroyed.My interest in these events stems entirely from the fact that I have found evidence that the Templars may have traveled to Ethiopia in the late 12th century in search of the Ark of the Covenant.Having established that a company of knights had accompanied Lalibela out of Jerusalem in 1185, I naturally wondered what happened next.This curiosity led me to look for clues about the later history of the Templar Order.

That history is of course short: less than 130 years after Lalibela regained the Ethiopian throne, the Templars were rounded up, tortured and burned.Their real estate and money were divided among the various royal families of Europe; Nor have I found any evidence in the literature of the last century of the sect's existence that the sect went to Ethiopia in search of the Ark.After the early 1900s, the search for the Ark gradually cooled down.From then until the arrests of 1307, the sect seemed to be interested only in fighting in the Near East, and in amassing its own power and wealth.

Where can I find the information I need? I have made several attempts to list in chronological order the events that occurred in Ethiopia during the period that concerns me.But I also know that James Bruce made a long visit to Ethiopia in the 18th century and tried his best to collect and record the ancient legends there.Therefore, I went to read his "Travel Notes", which is now often placed on my desk. As I expected, I found a few pages at the end of the first volume describing the Lalibela dynasty.Unfortunately, most of what the Scottish explorer wrote down has little to do with my investigation.However, one specific detail caught my attention. Based on Ethiopian "historical documents and legends considered to be the most authentic", Bruce records that Lalibela had worked out a plan to reduce the flow of water from Ethiopia into the Nile River system, with the purpose of "causing famine in Egypt".The illustrious ruler of the Zagwe dynasty seems to have figured out the following after "rigorous survey and calculation": There are several rivers in the highlands (Ethiopia), which can be blocked by canalization and diverted to the lowlands in the south, instead of increasing their flow and making them flow north to the Nile.This, he thought, would reduce the flow of the Nile so that it would never reach a level sufficient for the Egyptians' farming needs. I have to think that this plan must have been perfectly in line with the Templars' ambitions.By the end of the Lalibela dynasty (1211 AD), the Templars' ambitions had focused on the conquest of Egypt.During this period, large-scale battles took place along the Nile River, and the Templars spent more than a year besieging the Arab fortress of Damietta in the Nile Delta.Therefore, they would undoubtedly like to see a "starved" and weakened Egypt. As a result, the plan to divert the river was never completed, "death, the old enemy of all such great works, hindered the plan and stopped this project at Lalibela".Bruce then makes the following comments about the last two kings of the Zagwi dynasty: Speaking of Lalibela's successor, Imrahana Kristos, he has nothing but being the son of a father like Lalibela, the father of a son like Nakuto Rab Outstanding.Both Lalibela and Raab are known for extraordinary performances, just of different kinds.Lalibela, I have already briefly described, whose performance is a colossal human project; and Rab's performance of overcoming himself, which is more difficult - he overcame his own ambition and willingly gave up his throne . I'm already familiar with the history that followed. In 1270, Nakuto Rab, the last king of the Zagwi dynasty, abdicated the throne to a man named Yekuno Amrak, who claimed to be a descendant of Solomon.The reader may recall that this king lived in seclusion in the remote province of Saua.There, descendants of the prince who escaped the uprising of the Jewish queen Gudit in the 10th century kept the Solomon line alive. Bruce had little to say about Yekuno Amraq himself.The same was true of his two successors, Yagoba Zion (reigned 1285-1294) and Vidham Ala'ad (who ruled until 1314). It appears that the generally rigorous research methods favored by the Scottish traveler prevented him from obtaining information on the century after Lalibela's death in 1211.He complained: "This period is all in the dark. We can guess, but since we can only guess, these efforts will lead to nothing." I already knew that the period before Lalibela became king was shrouded in a similar darkness.Thus, a whole host of unanswered questions lay before me.By far, one of the most important issues has to do with the Ark of the Covenant. I had to find out what happened to the Ark of the Covenant during the roughly three hundred years that Solomon's dynasty was interrupted (from the 10th century to the 13th century).I also have to find out if, as I assume, the Templars did gain a foothold in Ethiopia during Lalibela's reign, whether they were allowed to have direct access to the Ark of the Covenant. I also called Bele Godet, a historian living in Addis Ababa, to see if he could help me with his knowledge of Ethiopian lore. He told me: "In the 10th century we Ethiopians said that the priests and others sent the Ark of the Covenant out of the city of Axum so that it would not fall into the hands of Queen Gudit. We say that the Ark of the Covenant was sent to Ziwa On an island in Lake Eyre..." "Did you say it was in the Rift Valley, south of Addis Ababa?" "Exactly." "It's too far from Axum." "True, but keep the Ark safe, it's the closest thing you know. Gudit is Jewish. She wants to establish the Falasha religion all over Ethiopia. She wants to destroy Christianity. She burnt and ransacked Aksu the churches of the ham. So the priests sent the Ark of the Covenant away from Gudit's hands. They sent it as far away as Lake Ziway! They believed that Gudit Don't go there." "Do you know how long the Ark was on that island?" "Our legend says that it was stored there for 70 years before being sent back to Axum." I thanked Godet for his help and hung up the phone.What he told me is roughly consistent with the picture of Ethiopia's medieval history that I have been connecting.I know that Queen Gudit was king of Ethiopia for several years after she overthrew the dynasty of Solomon's lineage.I also know that her successor is the first king of the Zagwi dynasty, who may have been Jewish himself. However, later (certainly long before Lalibela's reign) the Zagwi kings converted to Christianity.Therefore, they likely agreed to return the Ark safely to its traditional resting place in Axum.It is said that when Lalibela became king, the Ark of the Covenant was still in Axum.Apparently related to this, there is also an eyewitness account of the Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia, written by the Armenian geographer Abu Saleh, and that account is found in his book Churches and Monasteries in Egypt and Several Neighboring Countries "in.According to relevant editional evidence (that is, the translator-editor of this important work explained in the "Preface"), this work was clearly written in the "early 13th century".That is to say, it was written during the reign of King Lalibela. Although Abu Saleh says nothing about the city in Ethiopia where he saw the Ark, there is still little reason to think that city was not Axum.What's more, when re-reading the relevant passage, I also found a paragraph of text that I had ignored before.That passage describes some of the ceremonial transports of the Ark of the Covenant.The geographer noted that the men who "guarded and carried" the Ark "had pink faces and red hair". I was really taken aback.I realized that what I was looking at was a second purely early eyewitness testimony that there were indeed some mysterious white people in Ethiopia during the time of King Lalibela.This is further confirmed by the fact that another translation of the same passage renders "red hair" as "blond hair". Alvarez had drawn my attention to the old legend that white men had a hand in building those amazing monolithic churches.That legend fits well with what I know of the advanced construction skills of the Templars.As if to confirm my growing theory, I now see that Abu Saleh told me an amazing news in his work written seven centuries ago: closely related to Joshu, The men who came into direct contact with it had pink complexions and red or even blond hair.In other words, they sound a lot like Nordics. Tempting as it is to speculate that these men were Templars, it confines my investigation to the early 13th century, and key questions remain unanswered.If the Nordics that Abu Saleh saw were indeed Templars, would they be content to lift the Ark of the Covenant occasionally?Did they try to take the Ark out of Ethiopia and bring it back to Europe?If they tried, were they successful? I have to admit that answering all of the above questions is seriously handicapped by the absolute lack of historical sources.The activities of the Templars were undoubtedly extremely secretive, so I am not surprised that their own documents and records reveal so little.The information obtained from Ethiopian sources is also very unsatisfactory. Having perused a great deal of material on all sides, I have to admit that the century after the death of King Lalibela was indeed a time "into darkness," and that, as James Bruce points out, we hardly Know exactly what happened during that period. Right now, I'm extremely pessimistic about being able to untangle this knot in research.Nevertheless, I called Professor Richard Pankhurst in Addis Ababa and asked him where I could find even the slightest record of any contact between Ethiopians and Europeans during that period . "As far as I know, there is no record before 1300," he replied. "So, after 1300? I think the earliest written record about the contact between Ethiopia and Europe is the Portuguese envoy to Ethiopia in 1520?" "Not exactly. Before that, there was a small group of envoys who traveled in the opposite direction. I mean, they went from Ethiopia to Europe. Actually, the first group of these envoys was in Lali It was dispatched to Europe less than a century after Bella's death. So this also belongs to the period that interests you." I leaned out on my chair: "Do you know the exact date?" "Yes," replied Richard, "that was in 1306. The embassy was also quite large. It was sent by the emperor Vidham Ala'ad. I believe the embassy was about 30." "Do you remember what the mission of this mission is?" "I can't be absolutely sure. You'll have to do your research. But I do know that the destination of this mission is Avignon in the south of France." Is it a last resort? Richard didn't know that what he had just dropped was a small bomb. Avignon was then the official residence of Pope Clement V.When he was crowned at Lyon in 1305, King Philip of France was present.Not only that, but, as I already well know, it was Clement V who ordered the arrest of Templars throughout Christendom in 1307. I now know that Avignon was visited by a high-ranking Ethiopian delegation in 1306 (the country's first delegation to Europe).A year later, mass arrests of Templars began.Did these dates and events come together by chance?Is there some potential causal relationship?In order to answer these questions, I have to verify: Did these Abyssinian envoys actually meet the Pope during their visit to Europe?If they did, then I must find out what they talked about with each other. The person who recorded the original data of the mission's visit to Europe in 1306 was a Genoese map surveyor named Giovanni Carignano, who was actively engaged in map surveying between 1291 and 1329. It was with great interest that I discovered that it was the same Calignano who, after centuries of confusion (discussed in Chapter 4 of this volume), transformed the European conception of Ethiopia. became the first authoritative person to state unequivocally that "John the Priest" ruled over a country in Africa, not in "India." Carignano met several members of the Ethiopian mission as it passed through Genoa on its way back from Avignon in 1306.They "stayed for several days" in the Italian port as the wind turned.There, the cartographer asked about their "ceremonies, customs, and religious beliefs." Unfortunately, Calignano recorded all the information those Ethiopians told him in a treatise of that time, but that treatise was later lost.All that remains of it today are brief summaries preserved in a late fifteenth-century chronicle of the people of Bergamo by the name of Jacopo Filippo Fry sti. I finally managed to get an English translation of this abstract.It consists only of a passage in which Forresti praises and summarizes Carignano's paper: It says a lot about that country (Ethiopia)... It is said that their emperor was very Christian, and that seventy-four kings and almost countless princes were loyal to him... It is known that in AD 1306, the emperor An embassy of 30 men was sent... They performed very reverently before Pope Clement V in Avignon. In addition, there are some compliments and references to "John the Prester" (which I have already mentioned). That's all we know about the first Ethiopian mission to Europe.However, despite the lack of information, it confirmed my suspicion that the envoys may have met Pope Clement V.Barely a year later, the Pope ordered a manhunt of Templars. I can find no information on the substance of this meeting.Nor do I find any explanation why the Ethiopian emperor was so eager to reach out to Pope Clement V in 1306.However, I do not think it would have been possible that Emperor Vidham Ala'ad had not had a very strong motive to send such a large embassy on such a long journey to make that unprecedented trip to Europe.Now, I feel free to speculate about his motives. I opened my notebook and wrote down the following speculations, conjectures, and assumptions: Suppose for the moment that the Templars did return to Ethiopia from Jerusalem with Prince Lalibela in 1185.Suppose they did put Lalibela on the throne.It is assumed that the "white men" who are said to have built the Lalibela church were in fact the Templars.Assume further that the "white men" who were seen carrying the Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia in the early 13th century were also the same Templars. This means that this sect has successfully won power and trust, and can exert influence on King Lalibela and the Zagwi dynasty to which he belongs.If this is the case, it is reasonable to assume that the last two kings of the Zagwi dynasty (Imrahana Kristos and Nakuto Raab) also had a good relationship with the Templars, Thus allowing the latter to continue to enjoy the privilege of access to the Ark. Assuming the above is the historical truth, assuming that for 60 years after Lalibela's death in 1121, the Templars were allowed access to the Ark of the Covenant, but of course they were not allowed to take it out of Ethiopia.Perhaps, they had already planned to take the Ark of the Covenant, and they were just waiting for the best opportunity to appear automatically.At the same time, since the knights who originally came to Ethiopia were old, the sect would send other members from Jerusalem to replace them.There is no need to rush.In fact, they were quite satisfied with leaving the Ark in Ethiopia. However, the situation changed drastically in 1270, when (for whatever reason) Nakuto Rab was persuaded to abdicate the throne and was replaced by Yekuno Amrak, who called himself A descendant of Solomon.Unlike the kings of the Zagwe dynasty, the identity of Solomon's lineage itself is inevitably closely related to the Ark of the Covenant, and is also closely related to the idea that during the reign of Solomon himself, Menelik I (Zag founder of the Uyghur dynasty) brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. Against this background, it is worth remembering that the first written edition of The Glory of the Kings was compiled by order of Yekuno Amrak.That is to say, although the oral form of this legend was very old at that time, Yekuno Amrak still wanted to formally record it in writing.why?For doing so would legitimize his kingship and glorify his power. Thus, the presence of a group of armed, martial (and technologically advanced) foreigners like the Templars in his country certainly terrified Yekuno Amrak.These foreigners, who could get ready support from thousands of members of their sect in the Near East, apparently had a special interest in the Ark and were perhaps plotting to steal it. Suppose, however, that Yekuno Amrak (who had just come to power and was not yet secure on the throne) had initially intended to appease these powerful and dangerous whites, and perhaps to convince them that, like the other kings of the Zagwi dynasty, he was willing to fight They cooperate.The tactic made perfect sense (especially since the emperor was said to have a small army).Therefore, no major events occurred during his reign.In this way, how to get rid of the Templars and keep the Ark of the Covenant, the task of finding the final solution to this difficult problem fell on his heir. Yekuno Amrak's son (Yagoba Zion, reigned 1285-1294) was even weaker than his father militarily.However, Yagba Zion's successor, Vidham Ala'ad, was of much stronger character, and his reign lasted until 1314.It is worth noting that it was the same emperor Vidham Alaad who sent that large embassy to Pope Clement V in 1306. The purpose of that mission was to cause trouble for the Templars, perhaps to provide the Pope and King (Philip IV) with an urgent motive to make them determined to destroy the Templars.Is there no such possibility?They could say that the Templars were planning to take the Ark to France, and that was one such motive.In those days, deep superstition still dominated the public imagination after all.The unique position of the Templars in their possession of such a sacred and powerful relic must have challenged the secular and religious authority of France.Therefore, those in power must do everything possible to prevent such a situation from arising. The above theory becomes even more convincing when it is placed in the context of the massive manhunts against the Templars in France and other countries.These raids all took place in 1307, about a year after the Ethiopian mission left Avignon.This is entirely consistent with the actions of King Philip IV of France: there is evidence that he had begun planning to exterminate the Templars about a year before the mass arrests (1306); there is also evidence that he had Discussed his plan several times with Pope Clement. It would of course be foolish to think that the destruction of the Templars was caused solely by the lobbying of those Ethiopian envoys.The malice and greed of Philip IV also played a role - the king had been maliciously snubbed by the order on several occasions; money, so greedy. In the same vein, however, it would be foolish to imagine that the Ethiopian mission to Avignon in 1306 had nothing to do with the events of 1307.On the contrary, I firmly believe that there is a likely connection, and that is the Ark of the Covenant. Portuguese and Scots involvement The Knights Templar is an international fraternity organization composed of monks, very rich and powerful.For such a sect, despite the best efforts of King Philip IV and Pope Clement V, they ultimately proved unable to destroy the sect easily.The repression was carried out most effectively and thoroughly in France.But even in France, some members of the order escaped arrest, for on the morning of the mass arrests, an entire convoy of the Templars quietly left the Atlantic port of La Rochelle. The raids and interrogations in other countries are far less powerful than in France.Despite this, members of the sect were tortured, imprisoned, sentenced to death, stripped of their property, and eventually disbanded in Britain (which took quite a while to start cracking down), Spain, Italy, Germany, Cyprus, and others. In Portugal and Scotland, however, almost all Templars seem to have escaped persecution.In fact, circumstances in both countries were so favorable to the Templars that they survived under different guises. In November 1307 AD, when Pope Clement V ordered the arrest of all Templars in the Christian world, Scotland was fighting fiercely to maintain national independence and oppose British colonial ambitions.The leader of this struggle was one of the most famous Scottish monarchs - Robert the Bruce (Robert the Bruce, 1274-1329, King of Scotland, reigned 1306-1329 - Translator's Note). In 1314, Robert I crushed the English attack at the Battle of Bennorborn, securing Scotland's freedom for centuries thereafter.Robert I concentrated all his energies on this war, so he had no interest in implementing the Pope's edict to suppress the Templars.He only made the appearance of repression: only two Templars were arrested, and the highest demand for the rest of the Templars was simply to keep a low profile. The Scottish king also took steps.All evidence points to him not only providing a safe haven for the Templars in Scotland, but also for members of the order who had fled to Scotland from other countries.His lenient policy was not due to his natural philanthropy, but seemed to encourage fugitive Templars to join his army.Moreover, there is convincing evidence that a Templar force did indeed fight for Robert I at the Battle of Bannorborn.This deserves further study, since it is recorded that in that famous battle the victorious Scots marched behind a small reliquary in the shape of the Ark of the Covenant. Robert I's patronage of the Templars allowed many Templars in Britain to escape arrest (because there was a delay in the implementation of the papal edict), all of which allowed the order to go underground in the British Isles.In other words, they secretly survived and were not completely wiped out.Rumor has it that the sect existed secretly for hundreds of years in the form of Freemasonry. A particular legend of Freemasonry supports this claim: after the Battle of Bannorborn, Robert I established the oldest Masonic branch (Chervening Chapter) "to receive the Templars who fled from France to Scotland". ). In the 18th century, the famous Scottish freemason and historian Andrew Ramsey wrote a book on the connection between Freemasonry and the Knights Templar, many of which provide credible evidence for this legend .Around the same time, the famous German Freemason Baron Karl von Hund also declared: "Freemasonry comes from the Order of the Templars, and therefore every Freemason is also a Templar." It is not surprising that such blunt proclamations came in the 18th century (and not in any other century) - in the 18th century Freemasonry finally "came out of the closet" and began to speak openly about itself and its history.As a result, the new openness encouraged in-depth research, and it gradually became clear that the "templar ideal" had always been an important part of Masonic ideology.The results of this research, together with much previously undisclosed material, have recently been written up in a solid and authoritative work, which lists the many ways in which Freemasonry was formed, and also discusses in detail the impact of the fugitive Templars on Freemasonry. influence on society (see John J. Robinson's "Born in Blood"). The debate is certainly heated, troubling, and highly technical, so I don't want to get involved here.What I want to point out is that the Freemasonry system has indeed inherited many of the most core traditions of Solomon’s Templars. This kind of inheritance first occurred in the British Isles from 1307 to 1314, and its spreaders were because of the special looseness in Scotland at that time. The Templars who survived the persecution of the Pope because of their environment. I have already mentioned that Scotland is not the only country that does not persecute the Templars.In Portugal, the Templars were tried but acquitted, and thus neither tortured nor imprisoned.Of course, Denis I, King of Portugal, was a devout Catholic and therefore could not completely ignore papal decrees: so he responded by paying lip service to them, announcing the formal dissolution of the Knights Templar in 1312.However, just six years later, the Templars were resurrected under new names.That new name is "Jesus Christ Warrior", also known as "Christian Knights" or more simply "Christian Church". 这种变相的转变，不仅使葡萄牙的圣殿骑士们逃过了1307年-1314年的宗教审判之火，而且使他们在1318年像凤凰那样从灰烬中复活了。从那以后，他们的生意似乎已经大多恢复到了迫害前的水平。圣殿骑士教在葡萄牙的所有财产和资金，连同所有个人财产，都原封未动地转到了"基督圣教"名下。不仅如此，1319年3月14日，这个新生的教派还得到了教皇约翰二十二世的批准和承认（教皇克莱门特五世已死）。 总之，尽管法国及其他几个国家残酷迫害圣殿骑士教，葡萄牙的基督圣教和英国的（尤其是苏格兰的）共济会，却都成了保留和发扬圣殿骑士教传统的工具。这些传统一直被保留到了遥远的未来——或许甚至被保留到了当代。 随着研究的深入，我逐渐弄清了一点：这些以此种方式而永存的传统之一，就是对约柜的追寻。 "狼一般地战斗，雄狮一般地杀戮……" 我知道，即使关于"圣殿骑士教曾在埃塞俄比亚"的理论是正确的，我也无法证实欧洲1307年的迫害发生后，圣殿骑士在埃塞俄比亚的境遇如何。 实际上，根本不存在有关维德姆·阿拉阿德王朝的历史记载。但据我推测，维德姆·阿拉阿德皇帝向阿维农派出那个使团以后，他可能一直密切关注着事态的发展，并且听到了圣殿骑士教被摧毁的消息。现在，这位皇帝确实知道了不再会有圣殿骑士被派来惹他烦恼，于是，他便着手去剪除那些还留在埃塞俄比亚的圣殿骑士，或者把他们驱逐出境，或者把他们消灭干净——而很可能是后者。 这毕竟是一个我认为能说得通的假设。如果我后来没有了解到一个事实，我很可能已经不打算在这个方面做进一步调查了。那个事实就是，以"基督圣教"为代表的"葡萄牙人的牵连"。 你看，除了两个无关紧要的例外，已知的埃塞俄比亚早期访问者全是葡萄牙人。不仅如此，葡萄牙人对这个"祭司王约翰"统治的国度的兴趣，在圣殿骑士教被摧毁后不到一个世纪就公开表现了出来，并且，基督圣教从一开始就是探访埃塞俄比亚的先锋。 在探访埃塞俄比亚方面，有确凿证据支持的最早、最积极的人物就是"航海家"亨利亲王。他是"基督圣教"的大师，其传记作者说他"意志坚定，思维敏锐，出类拔萃……在成就高尚而伟大的事业上无与伦比，雄心勃勃"。 亨利亲王生于1394年，1415年时曾经积极从事航海活动。他自己说，他的最大抱负就是去"了解祭司工约翰的国家"。与他同时代的编年史家和现代的历史学家一致认为，他把自己杰出生涯里的绝大部分时光都用在了实现这个目标上。但是，他的所有业绩依然笼罩着一团神秘莫测、错综复杂的气氛。伦敦大学已故的葡萄牙语言文学及历史教授埃德加·普莱斯塔奇曾经写道： 我们对亨利航海业绩的了解非常有限，这大都由于他当时采取的保密政策，其中包括删除事实，严禁出版历史著作……严禁出版供航海家使用的指南、海图、指导手册以及他们的航海报告。 亨利时代的确实行了严格的保密政策，甚至透露各种航海探险结果的消息都将被判处死罪。尽管如此，我们还是知道：这位亲王非常沉迷于一个想法，即亲自去埃塞俄比亚。为此，他曾做过环绕非洲的航行（当时，穿过地中海、经埃及进入红海的航线虽然要短一些，却被敌对的穆斯林军队封锁着）。 至于这位葡萄牙亲王的真正目的何在，我们只能做一番推测了。学者们普遍认为，作为一名出色的"十字军骑士"，他的意图是和那位信仰基督教的埃塞俄比亚皇帝结成反伊斯兰联盟。他也许真是如此。可是，亨利诞生前一个多世纪，所有为基督教王国赢得圣土的宏伟计划已经都被放弃了，因此我很难拒绝一个想法：亨利亲王必定还有其他的动机，还有某种隐秘的目的，而这种目的也许既能说明他采取保密政策的原因，又能说明他迷恋祭司王约翰的理由。 我进一步研究了这位大航海家的生平，越来越感到，这个动机来自于他的身份，即"基督圣教"的大师。这个身份使他继承了所罗门圣殿骑士教的所有神秘传统。值得注意的是，亨利亲王一生沉迷于研究数学及宇宙学，研究"天体运行的过程和星象学"，他周围时常有一些犹太博士和天文学家，这些人很像沃尔夫拉姆笔下的那个弗莱格塔尼斯，他"能洞见星座所包含的秘密，并宣布世上有件名叫圣杯的东西，他根据星象，毫不费力地叫出了它的这个名字"。 使我认为这位葡萄牙亲王深受圣殿骑士教传统影响的另一个因素，就是他终身未娶。基督骑士教徒并不像其前身圣殿骑士教徒那样，受独身这条严格戒律的约束。尽管如此，亨利亲王还是像他以前的圣殿骑士教大师一样，"终生未娶，保持着最大的贞洁，至死一直为童男子。"