Discuss the idea that the First and Third Crusades were similar in origin and outcome.

The reasons leading up to the First and Third Crusades were similar, but the specific end results were somewhat different. Primarily, both Crusades were called for by the reigning Pope for religious reasons, to take back the Holy Land, especially Jerusalem, from the Muslims. In addition, there were numerous other political, social and economic motives behind them. Tempers were flaring in Europe, there were large numbers of landless nobles, increasing populations needed expansion of territory and trade and as a result, kings, rulers and nobles were beginning to fight each other.

The Crusades formed part of the expansion of Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries. They were military campaigns against Muslims, carried out by Western European Christians. The Christians who embarked on these long journeys were called ‘crusaders’. The word crusader comes from the Latin work ‘cruciare’ meaning ‘to mark with a cross.’[1] The main basis of the First Crusade is often argued about, but it was probably to counter-act the fast growing Islamic religion across the Middle East, North Africa and Spain and to take back Jerusalem from the Seljuk Turks, who captured the city in 1071. [2]

In 1095 the reigning pope of the time, Pope Urban II, called for volunteers.[3] He promised all soldiers who embarked on this treacherous journey to be forgiven for all their sins, and if they died, they would go straight to Heaven. At the time, food was scarce and Europe’s population was increasing rapidly, so knights were delighted at the prospect of owning fertile new lands where their families could settle. Christian soldiers from Germany, France and Italy were then trained and gathered to form an army under Christianity and the Pope.

They marched a total of more than 2500 kilometres overland, arriving in Constantinople in 1097.[4]They reached the outskirts of Jerusalem in 1099.5 However, the crusaders were faced with a problem, the massive, 10 metre thick, walls of Jerusalem. The first attacks on the walls were not successful as the crusaders were short of materials for building siege machines. Once logs had arrived, two siege machines were built. On the 11-12th of June, 1099, the walls of Jerusalem were felled, and the bloodshed began.6 The crusaders entered the city en mass, eager to kill all that had defended it. They showed little mercy and it is believed that up to 30000 Muslim men, women and children were killed by the crusaders.7

After this famous victory, the crusaders occupied most of the coastal areas of the Holy Land. They settled in, built forts and castles and organized the formation orders of knights (e.g. The Templars, The Tutonic Knights) in order to defend these territories. The crusaders adopted many customs and ideas from the local Muslims including wearing a turban and such clothes, constructing houses in a Muslim style and using Muslim carpets and fabrics to decorate them. However, after 88 years of Christian control, a new Muslim leader, known to the crusaders as Saladin declared a holy war (Jihad) against the crusaders and recaptured Jerusalem in 1187.8

This time, the crusaders arrived by sea and quickly recaptured the coastal town of Acre in 1191, setting a base for the upcoming attack on Jerusalem.9 Unfortunately Emperor Barbarossa drowned before reaching the Holy Land and King Philip returned to France in a huff after numerous disagreements with King Richard. As a result, Richard became the sole commander of the army. After many battles with Saladin, the crusaders reached the walls of Jerusalem, but were unable to re-capture the city. A three year truce was called in 1192 and Richard plus most of the crusaders returned home to Europe.10 A condition of the truce was that Saladin and his Muslim Kingdom would allow Christians to visit the city to perform pilgrimages. Acre remained a Christian fortress, but finally fell to the Muslims in 1291.11

The origins of this initial Crusade certainly shared similarities with the Third. The Third Crusade was also launched by the pope of the time, Gregory VIII, after Jerusalem had been taken by the Muslims under  Saladin, who had declared war against all Christians. A new army of Crusaders was formed, led by the monarchs King Philip II of France, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of The Roman Empire and King Richard I of England. 12The objective again was: to re-capture the Holy Land, specifically Jerusalem, from Muslim control to allow Christians to perform pilgrimages to the city where Jesus Christ was crucified. Similarly, the crusaders who gave their lives to Christianity on this Crusade were guaranteed an instant passage to heaven.

On the other hand, the outcomes of these two crusades were different to some extent. The most obvious variation is that the First Crusading Army actually felled the walls of Jerusalem and took the city, while the Third Crusading Army did not manage to do so, the result being the three year truce.13 However, both outcomes allowed Christians to enter the city peacefully to perform pilgrimages to the place where Jesus Christ was crucified.

Secondly, the soldiers and leaders on the First Crusade were extremely violent, killing over thirty thousand Muslims, simply because they were trying to defend their city.14  Conversely, in the Third Crusade, the only bloody violent incident was when Richard ordered the execution of three thousand Muslims because the ransom that was to be paid did not arrive on time.

There was one aspect, however, in which both Crusades’ outcomes were the same, and it was also the best for Europe’s population in general. Around a century before the time of the crusades, Europe had been in a period called the Dark Ages. There was limited art, science, construction, trade and petty fighting between nations. When the crusaders and the scholars who went with them came back, they brought the extent of Muslim knowledge. They helped to teach the men of Europe certain practical matters; especially the building of castles, ship building, and methods of navigating ships.15 The Crusades also encourage trade between the East and West, and Europeans were shown new crops, strange fruits and new fabrics grown on rich and fertile soil.

In conclusion, the origins of the crusades were similar, but the majority of the outcomes were not.

[1] Bell, G. 1966, Crusaders, Edward Arnold Publishers Ltd, London, England. p.5

[2] Mason, K.J. Fielden, P. Burgess, C. Myers, J. 2004, Experience World History: Kingdoms, Dynasties and     Colonies, McGraw-Hill, Australia. p.153

[3] Bell, G. 1966, Crusaders, Edward Arnold Publishers Ltd, London, England. p.7

4, 5, 6, 7 Mason, K.J. Fielden, P. Burgess, C. Myers, J. 2004, Experience World History: Kingdoms, Dynasties and Colonies, McGraw-Hill, Australia. p.153

8 Bell, G. 1966, Crusaders, Edward Arnold Publishers Ltd, London, England. p.58

9 , 10, 11 Mason, K.J. Fielden, P. Burgess, C. Myers, J. 2004, Experience World History: Kingdoms, Dynasties and Colonies, McGraw-Hill, Australia. p.159

12 The Crusades, History World International, viewed 27th of  March, 2009

<http://history-world.org/crusades.htm>

13 Mason, K.J. Fielden, P. Burgess, C. Myers, J. 2004, Experience World History: Kingdoms, Dynasties and Colonies, McGraw-Hill, Australia. p.153

14 Mason, K.J. Fielden, P. Burgess, C. Myers, J. 2004, Experience World History: Kingdoms, Dynasties and Colonies, McGraw-Hill, Australia. p.153

15 Bell, G. 1966, Crusaders, Edward Arnold Publishers Ltd, London, England. p.60

The oldest mention of the Holy Blood Procession dates back to 1291. The guilds of Bruges were obliged to participate in a procession of horse- and guilds-men, artisans and marksmen, city councillors and clergy marching in all their splendour with the relic round the city walls. In the 15th and 16th century, profane scenes with giants, the mythical Bayard Horse and the chambers of rhetoric of Bruges were added to the biblical scenes of the mystery plays. The Noble Brotherhood of the Holy Blood is for centuries the organiser of this procession. The theme still is some sort of a Quest for the Holy Grail: a search for the meaning of life and the pursuit of happiness and fulfilment that got many names – like the Kingdom of God or the New Jerusalem… This idea Bruges being a new Jerusalem also is far from new: Bruges was deliberately built as this New Jerusalem.

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The Procession of the Holy Blood is opened by the police, a brass band, horsemen carrying the flags of Bruges, the Holy Virgin Mary as the patroness of the city and of course the Members of the Noble Brotherhood of the Holy Blood.

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Old myths – and the Old Testament – tell us of existential matters: man looking for a lost paradise.

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Abraham is departing from his familiar surroundings for a strange, but better land. But Joseph is sold by his brothers to a caravansary on their way to Egypt – people always will leave their “brother” behind. Joseph however becomes one of the most important men in Egypt, because he is able to interpret the Pharaoh’s visions. When the sons of Jacob, driven by hunger, make their way to Egypt, Joseph saves them. He is, as Jesus, an outcast who brings new life to humanity.

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In all times, there are prophets who have a keen insight and see beyond the facts. They feel what the future will bring.

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The story of Jesus’ life rings in a new time. God is speaking in Him. The birth of Christ is presented by the merchants of Cologne, because this city is the keeper of the relics of the Three Kings.

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There are scenes of Jesus and the teachers and Saint John the Baptist, who prepares the way for Jesus. John is the patron saint of the city of Florence. Therefore it is the Nation of Florence that presents us the scene of John the Baptist, Herod and Salome. The frivolous man in power, Herod, had imprisoned the Baptist because he criticized his way of living: he had taken for himself his brother’s wife.

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During a feast Herodias’ daughter danced so gracefully that Herod swore he would give her anything she asked. Salome demanded the head of John the Baptist.

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Jesus gives the answer to the meaning of life. Following Jesus means: to love God always, even if you are at risk of losing your life. Here is the entry to Jerusalem and the Last Supper, presented by the Rhetoricians of the Holy Ghost or the Thirteen.

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Jesus did not receive a fair trial. The Roman governor Pilate defended his own position, instead of searching for the truth. Jesus had to serve as a scapegoat.

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Jesus was crucified in order to appease the anger of the people and to suppress the tensions in society. As Lamb of God he takes away evil once and for all. With Him a new time begins. From this moment begins the description of Jesus’ physical and moral suffering. He is the symbol of all who are tortured up to this day.

The scenes of the scourging and the crowning with thorns are presented by the masons and stone-masons, because, from the 15th century, their public worship took place in the chapel of the Holy Blood. Jesus is now “on the cold stone” – this statue, a work in 1900 created by Michiel D’Hondt, is venerated in the chapel of the Holy Blood, but is now in the Procession escorted by a platoon of Roman soldiers.

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The events of Golgotha are represented by the miraculous cross of Damme. According to the tradition, it has been brought out of the sea by sailors. Since 1339 it is venerated in the church of Our Lady in Damme.

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The inexpressible suffering experienced by those who are left. The mother who lost her son. Girls are singing a Stabat Mater. The Pieta…

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Milan, capital of Lombardy, preserves the relic of the Holy Sepulchre. There also is a Church of the Holy Sepulchre – or a Jerusalem Church – in Bruges. The statue showed here is a copy of the one in this church (1702). In front of the Holy Sepulchre and led by grieving women goes Joseph of Arimathea carrying the chalice in which the blood of Christ was received.

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A group with banners is called “the Arms of Christ”. The banners are portraying the instruments of the Passion or Arma Christi.

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The Chamber of the Rhetoricians of the Three Saints present the scene of the Resurrection, because there are three saints in its coats of arms: St Barbara, St Catherine and St Mary Magdalene who was the chief witness of the Resurrection.

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Now starts the historical section, with a herald announcing the arrival of Thierry of Alsace, returning from the Crusades. He brings the relic of the Holy Blood with him. Tradesmen and members of the guilds go forth to welcome the Count. The band enhances the spirit of the festive arrival in this “good city” while town messengers announce the annual fair and procession.

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There are flagwavers and their flags are showing a pelican who feeds her young with her own blood to save them from starving to death; it’s a symbol of Jesus Christ you’ll find everywhere in Bruges.

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And then there is Count Thierry with the relic. Besides him is his lady, Sybilla of Anjou. There are no Templars in the Procession. Nevertheless, according to the legend, it were the Knights Templar who gave the Count the relic of the Holy Blood. Count Thierry is followed by his son Philip of Alsace, who later will be the commisioner of Chrétien de Troyer, the writer of the first Grail Story, as is told in the article Perceval and the Holy Grail of Bruges.

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Copyright by embee, used with permission

Finally, the Saint George’s Guild opens the most important section of the procession. This guild was also responsible for maintaining order in the medieval city. Is it a coincidence their red cross reminds us of the banner of the Knights Templar?

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The Holy Blood relic is carried by two prelates and four members of the Noble Brotherhood surround the shrine, dating from 1617, and set with hundreds of precious stones amongst which is the “black diamond”, coming from Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland. Here is a last picture of the shrine, taken in the morning, when it was carried out of the Chapel of the Holy Blood…

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The Holy Blood of Bruges, a New Jerusalem

Perceval and the Holy Grail of Bruges

The Medieval Procession of Penance at Furnes

The Ghent Altarpiece, also known as the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, completed in 1432 by the Van Eyck Brothers (Hubert & Jan), is a large and complex polyptych, originally made for the Joost Vyd Chapel in Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. In the eighties, for security reasons, it was removed to another chapel in the cathedral. The Mystic Lamb is regarded as a true artistic highlight of Christianity and of Western civilisation. It is said – but it’s not sure – that Hubert Van Eyck started the work and his brother Jan, the famous Flemish Primitive who was attached to the court of the Duke of Burgundy, finished it.

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A Masterwork of Mystery

The Ghent Altarpiece consists of a complex series of 24 scenes, with two doors and a central piece which is showing some saints and apostles adoring the Mystic Lamb, or the symbol of Jesus Christ. From the panels to the left and to the right, pious hermits and pilgrims, Just Judges and Knights of Christ are approaching the ceremony in the middle. The upper register shows Christ as a King, between the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, Adam and Eve. Inside, there are angels singing and making music.

The oil painting offers intricate details and composition, unrivaled realism, mystical meaning and a translucent use of colour which is responsible for the beautiful light. Over the centuries, the masterpieces has retained its luminous colours.

The polyptych, surrounded by mystery, has always been the main attraction of the impressive cathedral of Saint Bavo. After being kidnapped by the French revolutionary forces, some panels of the Mystic Lamb returned to Ghent. In 1816 however, the panels were sold for 100.000 guilders to an antiquary, while the bishopric knew they had a value of at least four times this sum… and indeed, the panels were sold very soon to a museum in Berlin for 400.000 guilders. At the end of the 19th century, these panels were cut lengthwise. In 1919, thanks to the Treaty of Versailles, they returned to Belgium again. Oh yeah, and what are the Knights Templar doing on this very catholic piece of art? 

Maybe the greatest mystery of the many mysteries surrounding the Mystic Lamb, was caused by the lower left panel, called the Just Judges. The original panel got stolen in 1934, has never been found and was replaced by a copy. It’s Belgium’s most famous unsolved mystery. Countless amateur and professional sleuths are still tracking clues. In a BBC interview with crime writer Minette Walters, Ghent’s former police chief Karel Mortier referred to the theft as “the art crime of the century”.

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The Theft of the Just Judges

In the night of April 10, 1934, two panels – the Just Judges and St. John the Baptist – measuring 1.49 x 55.5 centimeter, were stolen from the cathedral. On May 1, the bishop of Ghent received a letter, which said that the sender possessed both panels. The letter was signed “D.U.A.”. Provided he would receive 1 million francs for the Judges, he would return St. John without any charge. DUA asked the bishop to answer him through an advertisement in a newspaper, and St. John was delivered at the railroad station Brussels-North. But instead of the requested sum, the authorities only wanted to pay 25.000 francs… and the Just Judges did not return home.

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November 25… Arsène Goedertier, aged 57, a broker who lived and worked in the small town of Wetteren, aged 57, collapsed after a speech at a political rally. On his death bed, he informed his friend Georges de Vos in private that he had a file on the crime at his home. Goedertier tried to say more… but finally took the secret in his grave. Later, the police found in his home carbon copies of the messages which had been sent to the bishop by DUA. Only one single cryptic line spoke of the possible whereabouts of the Judges: the panel was “in a place where neither I nor anyone else” could recover it drawing attention.

The wife of Arsène Goedertier revealed that her late husband was an avid reader of detective novels and a true fan of Arsène Lupin, the hero in some of Maurice Leblanc’s mystery novels. Arsène, of course, was also Goedertier’s first name, and Lupin was a “gentlemen thief”. Goedertier had read The Hollow Needle (L’aiguille creuse) several times. The theme of the novel was “art thefts”. Arsène Goedertier undoubtedly felt inspired by Arsène Lupin, who always left a trail of coded messages after his thefts. Goedertier used a similar code in his ransom notes.

Arsène Goedertier was an eccentric, but although he might have typed and mailed the ransom notes, I doubt he was the original thief… and he sure didn’t act alone. The broker from Wetteren was in a very healthy financial situation. Maybe he chased some sort of a symbolic revenge. Indeed, Goedertier is said to have been “angry” at the Catholic Church.

Since 1956, former police chief Karel Mortier has dedicated himself to the search for the Lost Judges. Mortier beliefs the panel was hidden somewhere in Saint Bavo Cathedral. X-ray investigations however were fruitless. Another policeman, Chris Noppe, is convinced that the Judges are hiding in the coffin of King Albert I. A few months before the theft, the Belgian King – the hero of the Great War – died in a climbing accident, which was possibly a set up for murder. The body of King Albert I now lies in the crypt of the royal family in the palace of Laeken, near Brussels. Belgium’s own Miss Marple, Maria De Roo, is defending a conspiracy theory, claiming the authorities retrieved the panel. And I think Goedertier and two accomplices worked for Himmler’s SS and were murdered when they double-crossed a nazi agent.

Van Eyck, neo-Templar and alchemist

I do believe Van Eyck’s painting held a “Da Vinci Code”, containing information the true whereabouts of the Holy Grail, also known as the Holy Blood(line) of Christ. In the 16th century, Jan Van Eyck already was described by art historian Giorgi Vasari as an alchemist, suggesting he was a member of a secret brotherhood. In his article 666 = Satan’s Song? – Part 2: The Just Judges and Otto Rahn, Philip Coppens says that modern freemasons have noted how Van Eyck depicted a working lodge in a drawing of Saint Barbara. 

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Jan Van Eyck entered the service of Philip the Good in 1425. The Duke of Burgundy was moving his court between his palaces in Brussels, Lille and Bruges. Van Eyck resided in Lille and mostly in Bruges, where he died in 1440. He performed certain missions for the Duke, but the exact nature of these missions has remained unknown. Both men were very close, the Duke served as godfather to one of Jan’s children.

While working on his masterpiece, Jan’s patron established the Order of the Golden Fleece. The name has never been fully explained, but it is no secret that Philip was very interested in alchemy. In his palace in Brussels for example, he installed a real “alchemical room”. Though Van Eyck was employed by Philip the Good, he took the commission for the Vyd family. He knew he would have to spend a great amount of time on this Ghent Altarpiece. So, even if Jan only completed what Hubert had begun, he needed the consent of his patron. But that seemed to be no problem at all.

The Mystic Lamb clearly depicts Jesus as a King. This was very uncommon in medievalor Gothic paintings. It was also very uncommon in 1432, and even dangerous, to depict a bunch of arch-heretics on your piece of art. Under pressure of King Philip of France, in 1307 many of the Knights Templar were arrested, tortured – so they would give false confessions – and burned at the stake. The Order was disbanded by Pope Clement V in 1312 on the charge of religious heresy and sexual misconduct.

So, here is one of the great Mysteries of the Lamb of God: what are the Templars doing on this “true” catholic masterpiece? The title of the panel is “Milites Christi”, Soldiers of Christ, the official name of the Knights Templar. Moreover, they don’t look like sinners who are seeking forgiveness, do they? No, this one knight in his shining armour rides with great kings and noblemen, bearing the shield and the banner of the Temple!

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On the Ghent Altarpiece, the Mystic Lamb is spilling his blood in the Cup of the Last Supper. This bleeding lamb is common christian iconography, but the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) and the Chalice usually doesn’t show up together with the Templars, who were regarded as the keepers of the Holy Grail… or the secret of the Holy Blood(line) of Christ.

The Nazi Plot Theory

I have developed the “Nazi Plot Theory” for the first time in a book called Mysteries of the Mystic Lamb (Mysteries van het Lam Gods, 1991). Adolf Hitler came into power in 1933, just a year before the Judges got stolen. I do think the Nazi’s commissioned the theft, because of the mystic and heretic connotations of Ghent Altarpiece. Hitler wanted to seize the iconography of the Mystic Lamb and incorporate it into the Holy Canon of his own “Arian” religion, that had to compete with Christianity.

The Mystic Lamb should be read as a code and some of the panels could be incorporating documents or a map, concerning the Holy Blood brought by the Knights Templar and Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders, to Bruges. The first Grail story was commissioned by his son, Philip of Alsace. In the late 19th century the chaplain of the Holy Blood Chapel in Bruges seems to have turned into a satanist. His tale was told by Joris-Karl Huysmans in his book Down There (Là-Bas) and preceded that other story of a satanist priest, who found a treasure and/or a secret concerning the Templars, the Grail and the Holy Blood(line) of Christ. In other words, is the story of Bérenger Saunière, the parish priest of Rennes-le-Château, nothing else than an echo, a hoax, part of a disinformation project designed to turn the eyes of the world to southern France, so that the true secret could remain a secret?

The obsession of the top Nazi’s for the Ghent Altarpiece is a matter of record. During World War II, the Ghent Altarpiece was stolen by the SS and hidden in a salt mine near Salzburg. A special agent was sent to Belgium with only one task: finding the Judges! It was to SS-officer Henry Koehn that Goedertier’s widow spoke of her husband’s fascination for The Hollow Needle. Interestingly, Leblanc’s stories of Lupin, a character he created in 1905, showed a great number of indirect references to the mysteries of Rennes-le-Château…

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Read more:

Mysteries of the Mystic Lamb

The Holy Blood of Bruges, a New Jerusalem

Rennes-le-Château and the Holy Blood of Bruges

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An Elaborate Hoax

His story attracted Pierre Plantard, who wanted to play a vital role in the history of France and concocted an elaborate hoax, planting fake documents in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, that implied Plantard was a descendant of a royal dynasty. In 1967, Gérard de Sède published a book about his friend’s claim to fame. They chose the area and history of Rennes-le-Château as their setting.

The next step was The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, in 1982 published by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln.  They said Saunière found documents implying that the descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene were connected to the French royalty.  Saunière found them in his church, in a Visigothic pillar, in 1891. 

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Saunière had been a teacher in the seminary of Narbonne, but being undisciplined, he was appointed in 1885 to Rennes-le-Château. He renovated the church, built a grand estate for himself (the Villa Bethania) and a personal library which resembled the Tower of David in Jerusalem (the Tour Magdala). In 1896, the bishop of Carcassone investigated how Saunière had been able to fund these building projects. The bishop relocated him to a different parish, but Saunière refused and resigned. In 1910 he was tried for fraud; he had been selling masses he never performed. In 1917, Saunière died in poverty.

Some theories developing around Rennes-le-Château and Bérenger Saunière said that the Catholic Church was paying the priest vast sums to buy his silence, because he knew all about The Holy Blood – also known as The Holy Grail (Sang Royal, San Greal, Saint Grail) -, being “the bloodline of Christ”. He might even have discovered the grave in which Christ had been buried. Arch-heretics such as the Templars and the Cathars once were the safekeepers of the Secret. It was also the reason why Saunière lost his belief and got involved with trendy occultist and maybe satanist circles in Paris, featuring the composer Claude Debussy, the Belgian symbolist playwright Maurice Maeterlinck or that other “decadent” writer, Joris-Karl Huysmans. He also knew Emma Calvé, the Maria Callas of her age, who was a high priestess of a Parisian esoteric sub-culture.

And Nothing More?

The Mystery of Rennes-le-Château is probably a hoax, made of facts and fiction, and inspired by hard facts that had nothing to do with southern France, but with the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, Flanders. I even strongly believe that the hoax was made up to turn the attention of the public away from the real secret that was kept in Bruges.

In 1891, the year Saunière allegedly “found” something in his church, Joris-Karl Huysmans – born in Paris from a Dutch father – published his novel Là-Bas (translated as Down There or The Damned) and was the cause of a public scandal because of his depiction of satanist circles in Paris. The novel had a very vivid Black Mass scene, calling Jesus Christ an “Artisan of Hoaxes”, a “do-nothing King”, a “coward God”. 

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The “abominable truth” was that the canon Docre, Huysmans’ black mass celebrant, could be identified as the Flemish priest Louis or Lodewijk Van Haecke, Chaplain of the Holy Blood Chapel in Bruges. Docre/Van Haecke was reputed to have the tattoo of a cross on the soles of his feet, so that he could walk continually upon the symbol of the Saviour. Huysmans said that Van Haecke paid three visits to Paris, where he moved in occultist circles. He was seen in an establishment known for “its clientèle of renegade priests”.

Huysmans stated that the Chaplain of the Holy Blood, keeper of the Holy Grail, lost his faith because Jesus, “the Artisan of Hoaxes”, didn’t die at Golgotha… And who brought the one and only Holy Blood – or Holy Grail – in the 12th century to Bruges? The Knights Templar, together with a Count of Flanders, whose son later would commission Chrétien de Troyes to write the first Grail romance…

The Holy Blood of Bruges, a new Jerusalem: full story.

Read also:

The Mysteries of the Mystic Lamb

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Why can one be sure of their existence?

Historical evidence teaches us the existence of groups like this in the old ages. Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Victor Hugo each and everyone of them was part of one of these groups. Symbols for every group are known and so on.

These groups have been formed as a counterpart for religion. They satisfy the people’s desire to be part of a group, without conflicting their religious beliefs. Think of vampire societies, neo-nazi societies and so on. And like religion they can’t be eradicated, as some groups die, others are formed. Think of all the Hollywood actors joining scientology all of a sudden. At the same time, underground the same things happen with groups that are not so open.

Student societies at famous universities have enormous power, as they have ties to a high amount of influential people. They are the breeding grounds for pacts that turn into these groups after time transforms them and lets them grow.

What is their purpose?

Knowledge. Historical research on these societies has revealed their thirst for knowledge and their wish to keep that knowledge for themselves. Think of the architecture of the freemasons, the astrology of the illuminati and so on. This is also the reason why they wish to remain secret, as well as it is only allowed to certain people to become a member.

Wealth. Even though in some groups, wealth is a requirement to get in; the group will strive for wealth for the group, as well as for all its members. Sometimes this works in hierarchy, using the newest and lowest member’s wealth to keep the group’s financial status high. Think of the Templar’s treasure.

Power. These groups will try to take control over things, to shape things to the beliefs of the group. What those beliefs may be is very different for each group. Freemasons for example tried to hold to a deist belief. Vampire societies, neo-nazi groups and so on have evident goals. While I use these vampire and nazi groups as an example, they are not really that hidden and I only use them as examples that are easy to discuss. For the impact of the power, one can compare it to religion. Think of a non-religious group, with the same influence as Buddhism for example. Pretty scary, no?

How and why do they stay hidden?

While in former times they used special signs, had special secret gatherings and so on, nowadays this has grown to a lower point. Although, I don’t deny the existence of these gatherings, one must remain logical. These gatherings will only happen between the, albeit powerful and respected, unknown people of the group. These leaders will have a normal life and if Doctor Schwarz is going to visit Count Dietrich, no one will think it is a strange gathering.

Dead letter boxes. This is a system where people only know a certain place to find messages and a certain place to receive messages. This can be a mailbox, a hole in a wall, a website, a phone number and so on. The main reason for this is that if you don’t know the other people in the group you are easier controlled and you cannot give away the secrets of the society so easily.

Money. Money makes people blind. If you hire a pilot to fly to a certain place and keep his mouth shut and if you hire an island, it’s easy to stay hidden. It doesn’t have to be this drastic, but you get my point.

Passive action. If they don’t act, they don’t exist. There will be very little factual evidence of their existence, so if a journalist thinks he has a track, the group can just do nothing for a while. They will not send a hired assassin unless it really is necessary. Murder will draw more attention than just keeping quiet. It’s easier to have a journalist do an urgent report in Mongolia and thus stalling him, than murdering him.

Who is part of such a society? How can I recognize, find them and how do I get in?

Meet the right people. For neo-nazis and vampire societies it comes down to going to the right parties and following the right people. You can recognize them and if you gain their trust they’ll lead you. The same is for these other groups, meet the right people; rich, powerful, influential and they will introduce you. In order to meet them in most cases the only solution is to become rich and influential yourself.

Descent. Some societies used to pass membership from Father to son. But of course that doesn’t help you getting in. But maybe it can help you to track down members through historical research.

Start a group yourself. This is the easiest way to get into a group, but the problem is that you will have to make all decisions. If you are neither rich, nor influential, you will never manage to start with a society worth joining.

In the end we have to conclude that the most evil groups are the ones we can see, but who are so powerful that we can’t do anything about them. Oil lobby, weapon industry and so on.