INTERMEZZO

Let us recap the story so far. Toward the end of the eleventh century the duchies of Lorraine, Champagne, and Burgundy form a nucleus of European enlightenment. Their noble households are connected by an intricate web of lineages and marriages, the most prominent being the Merovingian bloodline, which is said to represent a tradition of enlightened priest-kings dating back to the time of Troy and Sumeria.

At this time, a group of monks addressing themselves as the Ordre de Sion arrive at Orval and grooms a young knight named Godefroi de Bouillon, who, thanks to the convenient timing of a Crusade, journeys to “free the church of the Holy Sepulcher.” With the Ordre’s assistance he becomes princeps of the holy city. In return, he installs the monks in the dilapidated abbey on Mount Sion, where their roots allegedly began around the time of John the Baptist.

Meanwhile, a noble named Henri of Burgundy receives the county of Portucale as a dowry and becomes its governor. As Count Dom Henrique, he journeys to Jerusalem at the time of its reconquest; with him is Pedro Arnaldo da Rocha, a Portuguese-born man of Burgundian heritage whose family has close ties with the Cistercian Order. The two men form bonds with a number of kinfolk in the holy city, including Godefroi de Bouillon, future Templar Grand Master Hugues de Payns, and Comte Hugh de Champagne, an early benefactor of both the Templars and the Cistercians.

Under the protection of Count Dom Henrique, the proto-Templars, the Knights Hospitaller, and the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher all establish a presence in Portucale as early as 1104. As do the Cistercians, whose abbot, Bernard de Clairvaux, sends a delegation of monks in 1119 to request the founding of a monastery from the young Afonso Henriques—Bernard’s nephew and future king of Portugal. One of the monks, Brother Roland, a founder Templar knight, acts as emissary between Portugale and Clairvaux. A second monk, Brother Gondomare—also an original Templar and alleged member of the Ordre de Sion—is revealed to be Portuguese. He accepts a property donation in the city of Braga on behalf of the Order of the Temple as early as 1114.

Even though Count Dom Henrique succeeds in reconquering Portuguese lands all the way south to Lisbon, his untimely death puts a temporary hold on plans discussed with the proto-Templars until such time as his young son, Afonso, is old enough to rule. In the meantime, the prince’s mentoring is undertaken by Payo Mendes, archbishop of Braga and prior of the Knights Hospitaller.

Back in Jerusalem the proto-Templars move on to Temple Mount in 1118 and become the Knights Templar. Hugues de Payns develops a close relationship with Arnaldo da Rocha, who has become the abbot of the Ordre de Sion; Cistercian chroniclers claim him to be a previously unknown founder Templar knight.

In 1125 the Templars discover something on Temple Mount. Hugues de Payns sends five Templar Procurators—three French, two Portuguese—to establish a Portuguese crown. Thanks to long-standing connections within Portugale, the Templars set up permanent residence in and around the city of Braga and nominate a regional Master, Guilherme Ricard. Three years before they receive official acknowledgment by the pope at the Council of Troyes, the Templars receive strategic properties in Portugal and continue to do so there at a faster rate than anywhere else in Europe.

Afonso Henriques comes of age and is secretly ordained into the Order of the Temple shortly before engaging in a war against his mother to regain control of his rightful territory, with open support from the Knights Templar.

Five months after their official proclamation in Troyes, the Knights Templar assist Afonso Henriques in securing the country’s independence; eleven years later, following Afonso’s victory at the battle of Ourique, they are instrumental in establishing Portugal as Europe’s first independent nation-state.

These are the facts so far.

The big question is, why would a group of knights and monks venture all the way from the Frankish and Flemish duchies to Jerusalem, only to establish a new territory 2,500 miles to the west?

Did the Templars and the Cistercians really believe they could build a temporal New Jerusalem in a remote corner of Europe?

Why would they constantly reference John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, Isis, ancient places of veneration, and pagan feast days?

Were their motives related to the secret they uncovered in Jerusalem, a secret that required special protection from the church and one that the knights would rather die than reveal?

And if so, did they deposit this secret in Portugal?