![]() Spoiler warning: Do not read on if you prefer not to learn a key plot development in the The Da Vinci Code. Whether they found Solomon's treasure is not known. "The idea behind lots of these conspiracy and treasure stories is that any individual could happen upon a forgotten relic of the past, join with other like-minded mavericks, and use this relic for personal redemption or universal good."īut in the early 1300s, the knights were suppressed and executed. "They're mysterious because they were so sensationally successful," said Lisa Bitel, a history professor at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. What is true, scholars say, is that the knights became wealthy and powerful, and they may have rivaled the influence of some European kings. Many Freemasons today say they are the spiritual descendants of the knights.Īccording to legend, the Knights Templar discovered the greatest treasure in human history buried beneath the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. There is a tenuous link between the Freemasons and the Knights Templar, a mysterious order of knights founded in 1119 to protect Christian pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land. "When Washington had trouble raising his army, he called upon his Masonic brothers, because he knew he could count on them." "The Masons were founded on pretty solid principles, and a lot of those held for the Founding Fathers and probably influenced them a great deal toward democracy at the time," said Kouf, whose grandfather was a Freemason. ![]() In the new movie the Freemasons are seen in a positive light. President George Washington was also among its members. Of the 55 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, at least 9 are said to have been Freemasons. Some Christian leaders, however, have called it a secret society bent on spreading evil. The Freemasons have enjoyed a reputation as influential politicians, scientists, and artists whose works and charities have enhanced the world. Perhaps the most famous secret society is the Freemasons, a medieval guild of stonemasons that formed in England in the early 18th century and developed into a powerful fraternity. That was very exciting." Freemasonsįor an indication of the public's fascination with secret societies and conspiracy theories, jump on to the Internet, where thousands of wild Web sites claim that shadowy alliances do everything from running international affairs to managing interplanetary treaties. "After seeing the movie, my daughter grabbed a copy of the Declaration of Independence and brought it to school with her. "I hope it gets people interested in the past," said Jim Kouf, who co-wrote the screenplay. Will National Treasure do the same for moviegoers? When Dan Brown cooked up a similarly far-out plot in his runaway bestseller The Da Vinci Code-about a 2,000-year-old secret it claimed has been concealed by the Catholic Church-readers flocked to religious and historical texts to learn more about what really happened. It's become a bona fide recipe for success: Invent an old-fashioned treasure hunt, fill it with conspiracies and secret codes, and set it against a backdrop of real history. movie theaters today, is also irresistible fun. Declaration of Independence.īut the plot of National Treasure, the adventure yarn starring Nicolas Cage that opens in U.S. The clues lead him to an invisible map hidden on the back of the U.S. Now, the great-great-great-great-great-grandson of a carriage boy who learned the secret vows to find the treasure. Determined to keep it out of the hands of the British during the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin and other Masons hid the treasure in a secret location but left clues to its whereabouts in famous American landmarks. The loot was later brought to the United States by the Freemasons, a secret society. ![]() But when Howe betrays him, Gates has to race to get to the document ahead of his so-called colleague.Imagine this: Centuries ago an order of European knights amassed a huge treasure of priceless artifacts from around the world. Joining an expedition led by fellow treasure hunter Ian Howe (Sean Bean), Gates finds an ice-locked Colonial ship in the Arctic Circle that contains a clue linking the treasure to the Declaration of Independence. Historian and code-breaker Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) has been searching his whole life for a rumored treasure dating back to the creation of the United States.
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