Book description
This is Thomas Keightley's history of three secret societies of the
Middle Ages: the Assassins, the Templars and the Fehmgerichte. A
well-researched and detailed work on secret societies, Keightley gives
a rather contemporary view, and with Dan Brown's The Da Vinci
Code bringing secret societies to the attention of modern
audiences over recent years, this ebook is even more interesting to
readers today.
The Assassins chapter begins by introducing the
state of the world in the Seventh Century, a brief history of Islam,
and Keightley then goes on to discuss many of the influential members,
as well as the organisation of the society. In the chapter on The
Templars, Keightley is critical of Medieval Christianity, and the
Christian thought which fueled the Crusades. Keightley presents an
interesting case for the respect and bravery of the Templars and their
unjust trial and subsequent dissolution. The chapter introduces the
Templars, their heroism, the classes of the Templars and provinces.
The shorter final chapter on The Secret Tribunals of Westphalia is
perhaps the most interesting through examining this little-known group
which helped to preserve order during a period of chaos in Germany in
the 14th and 15th centuries.
The Paranormal, the new ebook series
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The series includes a range of paranormal subjects from angels,
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Thomas Keightley (1789-1872) was a historian, educated at
Trinity College, Dublin, who wrote works on mythology and folklore,
and, at the request of Dr. Thomas Arnold of Rugby, a series of
textbooks on English, Greek, and other histories. Keightley was long
occupied in compiling historical manuals for educational or popular
purposes. Keightley was author of The Crusaders, or Scenes, Events,
and Characters from the times of the Crusaders (1834), and
Secret Societies of the Middle Ages, which was published
anonymously, and against his wish, in Charles Knight's Library of
Entertaining Knowledge, in 1837.
