Nothing is more calculated to wind up a Scottish nationalist than to suggest that King Robert the Bruce needed help from the Knights Templar to win the Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314.
We did it ourselves! They will cry like Braveheart. And no magical assistance from the white mantled knights was required, thank you very much. And anyway – a sceptic would point out immediately – the year 1314 is a full seven years after the Knights Templar were crushed throughout Europe. So what are they doing charging around Scotland?
Well – like all conspiracy theories – it’s complicated.
And the Netflix series on Robert the Bruce titled Outlaw King won’t have helped you much. Even despite actor Chris Pine being in the lead role. For this is a story you will only find told on blogs such as this and esoteric books on the Templars. But it’s a fun tale nevertheless.
Templar link to the Outlaw King – Robert the Bruce
In 1307, the Knights Templar in France were being arrested en masse and flung into prisons to be tortured till they confessed to heinous crimes like spitting on the cross and denying Christ. But, some Templars got away. It’s asserted that they fled in two directions: Portugal and Scotland.
In the dead of night, their ships set sail from the port of La Rochelle weighed down by vast amounts of treasure, bullion and sacred items brought back from Jerusalem. This was the Templars on the run. Facing the prospect of being burnt at the stake, the once brave warriors scurried away to save their necks. Understandable given that being burnt at the stake was one of the most painful forms of public execution in the Middle Ages.
Down in Portugal they were given royal protection and morphed into the Order of Christ – playing a leading role in the discovery of the New World. In Scotland, they teamed up with Robert the Bruce to defeat the English at the Battle of Bannockburn.
Well, that’s according to historian Robert Ferguson who says their involvement tipped the balance in favour of the Scots. Now, not only is that a claim that raises the hackles of many Scottish nationalists but it was derided as rubbish by leading Templar historian Helen Nicholson back in 2009.
However, Ferguson is adamant that between 29 and 48 Templars were on the battlefield with the Scottish when they inflicted a historic defeat on the old enemy. Nicholson counters that the only Templars left with real fighting ability in 1307 would have been in their last stronghold of Cyprus.
Now – Helen Nicholson is my favourite Templar historian and if she says they weren’t at the Battle of Bannockburn then I’m inclined to assume the knights were a no-show and Robert the Bruce achieved victory through Scottish might and cunning.
TONY, PLEASE ALLOW ME YOUR PATIENCE, AS I AM NEW AT THIS! THANK YOU !
Robert Ferguson is not a historian and no, Templars did not fight at Bannockburn and Roslin chapel was n’t built until Edward had been dead for more than a century. Hope that’s helpful.
Hi Chris – I’ve injected a more sceptical tone into a rewrite of this blog – which I think concurs with your 2016 opinion. Best, Tony
The English King Edward having heard that the Templars had taken their treasures to Roslyn Chapel led a large well armed army to find it and was repulsed by Robert Bruce, who claimed Merovingian bloodline as did the Templars, with a large force of Templar cavalry at Bannockburn, who routed the English. The treasure was said to include the Arc of the Covenant which was later taken to Newfoundland, and there are people there to this day who call themselves Arcadians who later went to French speaking US with their Creole cooking well known to this day.
All this information and much more about the Templar Francis Bacon can be found in the new thrilling mystery novel The Royal Secret. see http://www.theroyalsecret.info
Believe me the song IS worth waiting for !
Hi Tony ! Just wrote a new song for the Knights Templar movie/docu & the upcoming series on the History channel! Meeting with my producer here on August 5th to get it ready ! Its awesome ! It is telling the story ! Hope i can submit it in time !
That’s amazing news – when is the History Channel documentary coming out?
HI TONY ! JUST SAW YOUR REPLY AFTER ALL THIS TIME ! THE HISTORY CHANNEL HAS ANNOUNCED NOW—- THAT THE 10 EPISODE SERIES WILL BE COMING THIS FALL 2017 ! ITS CALLED “KNIGHTFALL ! ” THATS ONLY 5 MONTHS FROM NOW, SEPTEMBER & I STILL HAVEN’T HEARD ANYTHING AT ALL FROM THEM ABOUT MY SONG ! I MEAN NOTHING AT ALL ! I AM GETTING CONCERNED ! I SUBMITTED THE SONG TO THE HISTORY CHANNEL SUPPORT TEAM– ONLINE IN MID OR LATTER SEPT. I HAVE, SINCE THEN, PURELY BY ACCIDENT, FOUND OUT THAT ONE OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS, ( BY DNA) WHOM I HAVE NEVER MET, IS ONE OF THE MAIN PRODUCERS OF THE SERIES — RUSS CARROLL! HOW ABOUT THAT FOR A SIGN OF DIVINE CONNECTION FROM GOD? I HAD NO CLUE ! AND GET THIS ! I HAVE A NEPHEW WHOSE NAME IS RUSS CARROLL ! WILD ! HUH?? WELL, ANYWAY, IF YOU CAN FIND OUT SOMETHING ABOUT MY SONG FOR ME & GIVE ME A REASON FOR HOPE, I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT ! I WROTE THIS SONG BECAUSE— GOD ! TOLD ME TO !!! ALSO , I AM STILL ON THE LINKEDIN SITE, SO YOU CAN CONTACT ME PROBABLY FASTER THERE OR BY G-MAIL ! I DO READ YOUR G- MAIL NOTICES ABOUT THE TEMPLARS & LUV THEM ! I DO HAVE YOU & RUSS CARROLL & OTHERS WITH THE HISTORY CHANNEL AS CONNECTIONS ON MY LINKEDIN PAGE! I AM EVER PRAYING ! DEBORAH (O’CARROLL- HUNTSINGER) MCKINNEY : ” TEMPLAR BY BLOOD! ” ” STRONG IN FAITH & WAR ! ” ” ONE IN -ALL IN— FOREVER IN ! ” GOD BLESS !