The Templars in El BIERZO

By Antoine Nolla Alberola

The author makes available to us the results of his work in Bierzo after two years of stay. It reveals the traces of Knowledge and Wisdom left by the in places where official history has ignored its existence until now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Antoine Nolla Alberola
• Release date: Aug 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201684181

Book preview

The result of a work like this is the fruit of the will and work of several people.

It is also true that its realization would not have been possible without the encouragement of collaborators and friends. Only with my hand on my heart can I thank you for your express and constant collaboration.

THANKS:

-To my wife Isabel and my daughters Emma and Victoria.

For their patience during the time this book has been written.

-To Josep Mª Roselló for letting me share his wisdom and knowledge.

-And to Teresa Nicolau, who would not have produced this book without her collaboration.

Foreword

I felt the need to experience the idea of researching and writing about the Knights Templar on the ground. In the same place where the white cloak fluttered in the wind and his red cross stood out in the distance.

I arrived in Ponferrada with the idea that it would be hard and difficult work, but I never would have imagined that these gentlemen would have left such a mark on a piece of land such as El Bierzo. When you walked through the streets or were in an inn, when you saw the traditional game being played, it was amazing to hear; You are proud as a Templar, You drink like a Templar or You swear like a Templar" and even more so when the phrase came to me: let them speak!

They bark, that means we ride (referring to the Templars).

Had I perhaps moved back to the time of the Middle Ages? Or is it that the origins and consciousness of these people were lived as in the past? Walking through the old town or the modern part of the town you could read; Parque del Temple, Transports Templarios, Templarios Printing Press, Meson los Templarios, Tau Bookstore.

All this gives us a small idea that during the 132 years of existence in these lands, their roots and their presence had made a dent in these simple people and their customs.

It was then that I thought it would be easier to enter or imagine those lands in the year 1178 when the Templars entered El Bierzo to search, investigate and find its essence and its history. It must be recognized that much of the history of the Templars in El Bierzo is not only due to legends and traditions that the villagers have been transmitting through generations from father to son in villages and towns, but also to a whole series of people, who, moved by personal interest, have been investigating the origins of their peoples, their folklore, their myths and legends, defending their cultural heritage from a large number of unscrupulous people. But it is also true that there are still hundreds of documents to be dusted off that have been forgotten by time in archives and in old mansions that could tell us a lot. My wish is that the dissemination of this book may cause the appearance of new evidence about the Templars in El Bierzo and in many other places. That numerous symbols appear and come to light such as: (fabrics, crosses, parchments) that is in the public domain private individuals, hoping that they will make it available to universities or historians for study and subsequent compilation, for the benefit of cultural heritage and to be able to supply so many gaps with which we still find ourselves in all this history. Sometimes the simplest legend can lead to an incalculable discovery.

And if we add oral tradition to these symbols that we have talked about previously, so important to be able to resist.

Much has been written about the official history of the Templars in recent years, most of them interesting books about the daily life of the Templars and their sad end. Others have treated the subject by projecting a manipulated and distorted image of reality.

But almost always the official story has been addressed to a selective group of people. In general, the reader without any previous information has lacked this reading. In order to transmit information in the simplest way possible, I intend to find a logic in the historical documentation and in its written evidence and let ourselves be carried away by intuitive lucidity.

The title of the book clearly summarizes my aspirations, to clearly demonstrate that El Bierzo continues to be its meeting point.

The Temple always lived in conscience with its ideals:

• Two hundred years of influence throughout Europe and the Middle East.

• Participation in most of the crusades.

• Active defenders and participate in the   of the Iberian Peninsula.

• You cannot talk about the Camino de Santiago without mentioning the Templars.

• As a historical legacy, they left us a multitude of castles, fortresses and religious buildings scattered throughout Europe.

And despite all these arguments there is no mention of them in academic history: systematically erased in all of medieval European history. Only the popular voice with its legends and stories has kept the memory of the Knights Templar alive. All religious establishments and politicians have expressly rejected and ignored them because their ideas gave fear and panic to established powers.

Although I will never stop being an admirer of the courage of the Templars. I know perfectly well that we are a long way from proving that an injustice was done and from being able to bring down the slander that exists against them. And even less to lift the excommunication that still weighs today against the Order of the Temple. In any case, the deep truths come out with determination and looking for sources that can help us discover the evidence for the solution of the mysteries. Today archaeologists and researchers find spectacular and surprising finds in places where they least expect it and if we think that the sites named in this book, not even a minimum serious investigation has been done, the result of it is pending. In short, dear reader, as always, it is the book that chooses us at the right moment and not us.

So let the book do the talking!

The author

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TEMPLARS

In the year 1096, Pope Urban II promulgated the I Crusade under the cry:

Freedom the Holy Places! God wants it!

On July 15, 1099, Jerusalem was conquered. In the year 1104, the knight Hugues de Payns together with Godofredo de Saint Omer, traveled to the Holy Land for some very special reason that only they and God knew. After four years of sojourn, they returned to France with copious manuscripts written in Hebrew and Arabic. It will not be surprising, as we will see later, that these documents were related to the Holy Grail and the recovery of the Ark of the Covenant. Hugues de Payns, Godfrey de Saint Omer and Hugo de Champagne called a meeting with certain nobles, future Templars, to explain their findings and the application of their