Latest! [ 2008-9 ]

To join our mailing list for updates about tours, lectures, conferences and book launches, please send an email to enquiries@ancientquest.com  with 'subscribe' in the subject line. (You can easily unsubscribe at any time by responding to any notice from us with 'Unsubscribe' in the subject line).

 
Latest News

THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR ENCYCLOPEDIA
The Essential Guide to the People, Places, Events and
Symbols of the Order of the Temple

By Karen Ralls, PhD

"…..Before heaven and earth and with all of you here as my witnesses…I declare, and I must declare, that the Order is innocent.  Its purity and saintliness is beyond question."

--from the final recorded public statement by Jacques de Molay, the last Templar Grand Master, on Mar. 18, 1314, before he was led to the stake

"…..Karen Ralls gives us the basic known facts about Templar history…If you're looking for the one indispensable book about the Knights Templar, this is it." --Robert Ellwood, Professor of Religion Emeritus, University of Southern California, in praise of The Templars and the Grail

".....The Knights Templar Encyclopedia offers both general readers and specialists alike a remarkable source work on the famous medieval military Order. Scholarly and authoritative, Dr. Ralls' treasury…is highly recommended". ---Professor Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, University of Exeter (UK)

*          Who were the medieval Knights Templar?

*          How is their name connected to Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem?

*          What are the symbols of the Order?

*          Why were they suddenly arrested on Friday, 13th October 1307?

*          Where was the famed Templars' fortress --  Castle Pilgrim?

*          What London churches and properties were associated with the Templars?

*          What precious relic did the Knights Templar especially value -- guarding it day and night?

*          Why did they venerate many saints, including St Mary Magdalene?

Today, as never before, interest in the Knights Templar is growing exponentially. But who were these powerful knights of the Crusades?  What is fact and what is fiction?  And how did they become the wealthiest multinational corporation in the medieval West?

A first of its kind,  The Knights Templar Encyclopedia presents in convenient, readable, A-to-Z format, the fascinating history behind the most famed military religious order of the Crusades -- the Knights Templar.  Written by Oxford-based medieval religious historian Dr Karen Ralls, this encyclopedia has hundreds of entries featuring a wealth of information on the key Templar people, places, events, symbols, organization, beliefs, relics, trials, and more.  A product of some 16 years of meticulous research, this is an indispensable resource for the general reader and specialist alike who are interested in the factual history of the medieval Knights Templar (1119-1312).  It includes 5 appendices,  photos, list of key European medieval Templar sites, chronology,  list of Grand Masters, an extensive academic bibliography, a special Recommended Reading section, and more.

Explore the fascinating world of the medieval Templars today…
Click to order now from:
Amazon.com  ---  Amazon.co.uk

13-17 September 2008 --  Tour to Chartres / Paris / Laon -- with Dr. Karen Ralls, presenter and guide, organized by the Jupiter Trust (Oxford, England).  Come join us as we explore the extraordinary birth and development of the Gothic style in France, which led to a futher flowering of the great Gothic cathedrals of the High Middle Ages. Our journey will also explore the wisdom of the medieval builders and the symbolism they have left us,  stained glass,  the sacred Feminine, the Black Madonnas, geometry,  music,  and much more.  Based initially in Chartres with its stunning cathedral, crypt and labyrinth, we will also be visiting Paris -- including Sainte-Chapelle ("Holy Chapel") with its world-renowned stained glass windows, the many glories of Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Musee Cluny, home to the famed "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestries and other medieval treasures -- as well as Laon, one of the oldest Gothic cathedrals in France.  Far from a mere "Dark Age", the 12th-13th centuries peak of Gothic did not occur in a vacuum, but was in fact part of a much larger cultural milieu at the time that included other elements, such as the writing of the Grail romances, the crusades and pilgrimages, the Knights Templar,  east-west cultural exchange, and more.  Dedicated to Notre Dame, the cathedrals and medieval chapels still reveal to us today the Wisdom of the ages. "Sold out" 
For enquiries about similar tours in a future year, please email your interest at: enquiries (at) ancientquest.com

Previous USA 2006 book tour

For the latter part of 2006, Dr Ralls will be very busy with writing another book, lecturing and travel for research purposes, and as academic external examiner and media consultant. So, her public speaking schedule is somewhat curtailed at this time, but nonetheless, she will be appearing at a very broad variety of conferences and events for 2006, both academic and popular, including:

AQ: